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you?”
    I pulled my hand out of the cage, slowly again, and watched him for a minute, deliberating on what had happened. He had an almost human expression of melancholy on his face.
If tigers have souls, and I believe they do, I imagine his to be a lonely and sad one.
    I looked into those big blue eyes and whispered, “I wish you were free.”

4
the stranger*]
    t wo days later, I found a tall, distinguished man dressed in an expensive black suit standing next to Ren’s cage. His thick, white hair was cut short, and he had a closely trimmed beard and mustache. His eyes were dark brown, almost black, and he had a long, aquiline nose and an olive complexion. The man was alone, talking softly, and definitely looked like he did not belong in a barn.
    “Hello? Can I help you?” I queried.
    The man whipped around quickly, smiled at me, and replied, “Hello! You must be Miss Kelsey. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anik Kadam. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He pressed his hands together and bowed.
    And I thought chivalry was dead.
    “Yes, I’m Kelsey. Is there something I can do for you?”
    “Perhaps there
is
something you can do for me.” He smiled warmly and explained, “I would like to speak to the owner of your circus about this magnificent animal.”
    Confused, I replied, “Sure, Mr. Maurizio is in the back of the main building in the black motor home. Do you want me to take you there?”
    “No need to trouble yourself, my dear. But, thank you kindly for the offer. I will go and see him immediately.”
    Turning, Mr. Kadam left the barn, quietly shutting the door behind him.
    After checking Ren to make sure he was okay, I said, “Now
that
was strange,” I said. “I wonder what he wanted. Maybe he has a thing for tigers.” I hesitated for a moment, and then reached my hand through the cage bars. Amazed at my own boldness, I stroked his paw briefly and then began to get his breakfast ready.
    Speaking over my shoulder, I said, “It’s not every day a person sees a tiger as handsome as you are, you know. He probably just wants to compliment you on your performance.”
    Ren huffed in response.
    I decided to grab a bite to eat myself and headed toward the main building—only to discover a flurry of unusual activity. People were gathered together, gossiping in small, scattered groups. I snatched a chocolate chip muffin and a bottle of cold milk and cornered Matt.
    “What’s going on?” I mumbled around a big bite of my muffin.
    “I’m not exactly sure. My dad, Mr. Maurizio, and another man are in a serious meeting, and we were told to put a hold on our daily activities. We were instructed to wait here. We’re
all
wondering what’s going on.”
    “Hmm.” I sat and ate my muffin, listening to the wild theories and speculations of the troupe.
    We didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, Mr. Maurizio, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Kadam, the stranger I’d met earlier, walked into the building.
    “
Sedersi
, my friends. Sit. Sit!” Mr. Maurizio said with a beaming smile. This man, Mr. Kadam, has made me the most happy of men. He has made an offer to purchase our belov’d
tigre
, Dhiren.”
    There was an audible gasp in the room as several people jostled in their seats and softly whispered to one another.
    Mr. Maurizio continued, “Now, now . . .
fate silenzio
. Shh,
amici miei
. Let me finish! He wishes to take our
tigre
back to India to the Ranthambore National Park, the great
tigre
reserve. Mr. Kadam’s
denaro
will provide for our troupe for two years! Mr. Davis is in
d’accordo
with me and also feels that the tiger will be assuredly happier there.”
    I glanced at Mr. Davis, who solemnly nodded.
    “It’s agreed we will finish the shows for this week, and then the
tigre
will go with Mr. Kadam
con l’aereo
, by airplane, to India, while we will move on to our next city. Dhiren will stay with us this last week until we make the
grandioso
finale next Saturday!” the ringleader