(William Lawson – New York City, New York – 11:30 AM)

"How are you feeling?"

His hand gently ran over the soft hair of the zebra behind the metal fence. It did not move, but it allowed the familiar stranger to pet it and speak to it. William Lawson smiled as he reached down into his pocket and brought out a peanut. The black and white animal sniffed at the small nut. After a grunt of satisfaction, it took the food morsel. He gingerly ran his fingers through the soft hair again before going back to sweeping the ground.

The janitor swept the broom back and forth. Little clouds of dust flew into the air and dissipated after a few seconds. His mind wasn't on his job that day. From the moment he opened his eyes in the morning, he couldn't help but wonder if today his gift would go away. His ability. With each slow stroke across the ground, he wondered about the greatness he had been endowed with and what he would do with it.

He noticed a stray piece of garbage scoot across the ground. It was caught in a wind current. It danced in the air like a drunken butterfly before he caught it underneath his shoe. He bent down and picked it up, placing it into the nearest trash container. His eyes wondered around to the contents of the zoo. He leaned against his broom and watched the people pass by.

William Lawson, or William H. Lawson as it said on his name tag, was a thirty-five year old janitor. He wasn't the smartest person in the world, but he definitely wasn't foolish in any respect. Instead of possessing book smarts, William had street smarts. He knew when to run from a fight and he knew when to stand his ground. But he was also easygoing and kind, which was the reason why he became a janitor for the New York City Zoo. He enjoyed the company of the animals. He enjoyed the faces of the happy people.

A little girl walked up to the trash dispenser that he was near and placed an empty cardboard bucket labeled popcorn into it.

He smiled. "Thank you."

The little girl smiled back. "You're welcome."

She ran off. Back to her parents. William turned around and swept some falling leaves away. He looked at the trees. They were slowly growing browner and browner as the season progressed. Fall was coming. After a quick look around, William walked off towards another part of the zoo. A place where people could not see him.

With amazing strength, he lifted a boulder over his head and dropped it in another spot, on the opposite side of the large fence. Low rumblings coursed through the ground, making the immediate vicinity quake. He walked to the middle of the exhibit that had been closed off to visitors for renovation and took a look around.

William enjoyed playing around with his ability a little. Whenever he had the chance to pick up an object that was surely five times his own weight, he would try to pick it up. It was like a daily experiment. To see if he could still do it. Besides that, he never liked the way the exhibit had been organized. So he had made it a project to add a few of his own personal touches.

He put his hands on his hips, thinking of a good place to put the other boulder. After a choice was chosen and a nod with his head, William picked up another large rock and placed it in his desired position. "That's a good place to put it," he said to himself.

After placing the boulder on the ground he took a seat on the very top. He took a glance at the large area that was fenced off. The empty space before him. It would soon be the habitat of a mountain lion or even a tiger. He didn't know. His mind drifted with the wind and he thought about the future animal that would occupy the now empty space.

A voice came to his ears. "What do you think you're doing?"

William looked down. It was his boss. "Oh, hey there Mr. Spraggins."

"Don't 'hey there Mister Spraggins' me!" He barked. "Get your lazy butt off of that boulder and go do your job! You think I pay you for sitting around?"

William climbed down the large rock. With a smile he patted his boss on the shoulder. Before starting his daily duties, he grabbed his broom and walked off.

Mr. Spraggins shook his head. "What the heck were you doing up there anyway?"

"Thinking."

William walked away.

Mr. Spraggins shook his head again and sighed. "Freak."

William ignored the comment. He didn't care what his boss thought about him. Mr. Spraggins yelled at everyone out of frustration. He was no exception. With his broom in hand, William followed the sounds of the populace. He found few pieces of garbage on the ground and quickly threw them away.

He, once again, decided to watch the people walk by. There was a large crowd of people going towards the bird show that had already started. A few people walked by with their over-priced zoo beverages. The people. They were all thinking of something, but none of them thought that the mild-mannered janitor of the zoo held a secret. A small grin escaped from his mouth.

A young man, maybe High School age, walked by. He was accompanied by two girls and another boy. William recognized the young man, but he could not remember where from.

William turned away and attended to other duties. He walked around the zoo, looking for some trash to pick up, some leaves to brush away. Something to do. The sky was nice and blue. Clouds slowly drifted through the indigo colored heavens. Silently he wished to soar through it. But now wasn't the time.

He passed by the giraffe exhibit. William decided to take some time to watch the animals. They happily pranced along. Their golden bodies shining in the sun. Each brown box on their hide bumped up and down as they walked across the earth.

One small calf skipped to a rather tall tree and tried to reach for nourishment. It could not grasp the green leaves that were only a few inches above its head. William looked around, making sure that no one was looking. He jumped over the fence and ran to the giraffe in need. He jumped up, grabbed the branch, and slowly brought it down to the hungry animal. It happily nibbled on the leaves.

He remained in the young giraffe's company until it had its fill.

After quick pet, he jumped back over the fence and onto the cement. He looked back at the exhibit before turning to leave. A woman stood in his way. Their eyes met. William smiled and made a mental note. She was pretty. His eyes glanced back and forth, wondering if she had seen him do his amazing feat.

"Um, hello," he said before politely excusing himself.

"Wait," the woman spoke up.

He felt her hand touch his shoulder.

And he blacked out.

Continued…

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