The Water Train
The canal that had been under construction since before we set out for the deserted island was finally complete.
It ran the full circuit of the zoo, long enough to wrap the whole grounds in a single loop. The depth came up to an adult's waist, and it was wide enough that a rubber boat could drift along with room to spare. No water had gone in yet, so for the moment it still felt a little like a ravine cut into the earth.
Down inside it, the aquatic plants we had laid in advance had already taken hold—waterweeds and mosses that some of the water animals could feed on, set in place ahead of time.
All that remained to truly finish the canal was filling it with water.
"Want to fill it together? This is a milestone too. First time we put water in the canal at our zoo."
"…All right."
Noona, standing beside me, had started to say something and then simply nodded. I could tell she'd been about to tease me for commemorating every little thing, then realized I wasn't exactly wrong and let it go.
In any case, the two of us switched on the pump that would fill the canal.
A small whir rose as the pump buried underground came to life, and then, with a rumbling rush, a great volume of water poured out. We kept no creatures that lived in seawater, so what filled the canal was clean freshwater. Filtered and driven from the pump, it slowly soaked the canal bed and began to travel along the channel. Some of the waterweeds and moss tore free in the fast flow and drifted off, but most held their ground and gave the canal its shape.
As the water rose, a current formed and ran in a single direction. What had started as a trickle piled higher and higher until, before long, it stood a little above ankle-deep.
"Woohoo!"
"…"
And I got to watch the platypus, having confirmed that a current had taken shape, swimming with everything it had. The way it thrashed through the waterweeds, it looked thoroughly pleased.
The water isn't even full yet.
My disbelief at the platypus lasted only a moment. Other animals were already following, and as the water rose fast, more and more kinds of them began to appear in the canal.
"…"
A crocodile floated along as if it hadn't a thought in its head, and no reason to move.
"Honk! This stretch is ours now!"
Eight geese swam hard in a single file, as if to cork the canal shut.
"It's a swimming pooool!"
Pe-eng, too, cutting the current faster than any of the others.
The little one had lived in the sea, but a penguin isn't a creature that comes to grief without saltwater, so Pe-eng seemed perfectly fine.
"Keheheheh! Ain't this just about perfect?"
"Yeah. Now we don't gotta suffer every time we bolt."
And then there were the raccoons, drifting on the water with chicken clutched to their chests—chicken they had very clearly stolen from the tiger enclosure.
Had raccoons always swum that well? I was starting to regret running the canal right past the tigers.
Still, watching them already delighted before the water was even full, I found myself thinking I should have built the thing sooner.
And it wasn't only the aquatic creatures who liked the canal.
The animals we let roam free—the deer, the foxes—liked it quite a bit. Whenever they wanted a drink they used to have to seek out a nearby tap; now they could simply drink from the canal. Plenty of others welcomed it too. The channel ran through most of the enclosures, so the rest of the animals tended to approve, and Bbwoobbwoo, whose attention-seeking streak was so strong that he loved mingling with everyone else, liked it best of all. Even if he just stood still, all sorts of creatures passed by him. How could he not love that?
Of course, not every animal was a fan.
"Aw, come on! What's water doing here!"
The cats, none too fond of water, grumbled that it was in the way. Every one of them could jump well enough to cross even a wide canal without trouble, but they simply hated the water itself. Talk them through it and offer a reward, and they'd cooperate with a bath—but they still didn't like it.
The tigers, who had just had their food stolen by the raccoons, hated it too. The raccoons had snuck in along the canal, grabbed the meat, and plop—vanished into the water, leaving the tigers with no good way to follow.
In the end I had no choice but to block off the spot where the canal opened into the tiger enclosure.
"Daddyyyy!"
"…Why is our daughter over there?"
"Right…?"
There was another problem. So-eun was using the canal we had gone to all the trouble of building for the animals.
And she was doing it from the back of a crocodile.
"Crocodile boat!"
Perched on the biggest crocodile in the zoo, So-eun enjoyed a boat ride—no, a crocodile ride—without getting so much as a drop on her, thanks to the crocodile squirming beneath her in a desperate effort not to sink.
And behind her, the animals began to gather one by one.
The platypus and Pe-eng, who had already completed a full circuit and come back around, were following along in her wake. It was a revival of the train game So-eun used to play back in the days when she toddled around the café. Then, the train had been made of customers. This time, it was made of aquatic creatures.
One thing worried me, though. In winter we would run the heating to hold at least a minimum temperature, but it wasn't on now. So-eun could swim well enough that falling in itself didn't trouble me much—but the temperature of the water, if she did, was another matter. You never knew what might happen if she plunged suddenly into the cold.
"So-eun, the water's going to be cold. You okay?"
"Uh-huh! It's a crocodile boat, so I'm fine!"
Declaring it a crocodile boat, So-eun stroked the crocodile's head and beamed, bright as anything. The creature was so big that even with her planted on its back, there was room to spare.
At that size, she really wasn't going to fall in. The crocodile was working hard to keep from going under, and the geese, which had drawn close by then, were moving around them as if to make sure So-eun didn't slip off.
"That doesn't dig into your butt?"
"I've got this!"
At my call she lifted her hips a little, and a small pink cushion came into view. The fluffy thing let her sit there and ignore the bumps along the crocodile's back.
I had told her about the canal, and that we would be filling it today, but I hadn't known she was this prepared.
Even so, we couldn't help worrying, and Noona and I trailed along behind So-eun as she enjoyed her makeshift boat ride aboard the crocodile.
"I can't tell whether I ought to be impressed by the crocodile or by So-eun."
Watching her, the two of us felt something strange. So-eun kept her balance on the rocking crocodile without catching a single drop, and the crocodile floated along with her aboard—both of them were remarkable.
After we had followed them for nearly a full loop, I decided there wasn't really anything to worry about. Even in front of the motor, where the current ran strongest, they moved as if it were nothing. There was no chance of her falling in.
"How are you going to get down off the crocodile? Want Dad to help you?"
"I'm fine!"
Even getting off the crocodile boat was no problem. The crocodile could climb the ramps we had built here and there so the animals could get in and out, or, partway along the canal, Bbwoobbwoo could lift So-eun into the air. She demonstrated both methods for me, then straightened the cushion on the crocodile's back and climbed aboard again.
"Hehe."
As if she already knew how to savor a leisurely life, So-eun produced a carton of banana milk from who knows where and began to sip. She even leaned back on one arm, completing a thoroughly relaxed pose.
"She's our daughter, but really…"
Noona couldn't hide how absurd she found the sight. And while we stood there, halted by that absurdity, So-eun drifted out of view with the crocodile riding the current.
"Ack, it's cold!"
"…Bboni, what are you doing?"
"Me too…! I'm gonna give her a ride in the water too!"
Stop!
I hurriedly froze Bboni, who was about to swim the canal after So-eun as she slipped from sight. You're a fine mount on dry land. Not in the water.
Only after I soothed the dejected Bboni with a video call to Muhammad did I manage to shut down her attempt to conquer the canal.
"Cheongho! You can't go in either!"
"And how am I supposed to stay out, sir?"
"You think you can?"
At that, Cheongho looked terribly disappointed and trailed along the bank beside So-eun as she drifted on the canal.
Whether I ought to thank any of it or not, within a few days the tour route through our zoo had changed. Visitors used to wander left or right and circle the grounds however they pleased; now they began to follow the direction of the canal.
The effect was especially pronounced on days when So-eun was floating along on the water. So many animals followed her that if you simply followed So-eun, you could see most of them. When we let the animals roam and people tried to watch them, some would hide, or their paths wouldn't line up, and visitors would miss them—but that hardly happened anymore.
In the end, once the canal was finished, a few of the cats aside, people and animals alike were satisfied.