ryan

A small boy wearing a propeller beanie walks to the edge of the street and looks over his shoulder. Cars pass. He waits and crosses. He walks to a pet store and goes inside.
The boy is fascinated and his mouth opens while he walks through aisles of cages and terrariums. He taps the glass cage of a gerbil, which runs inside its plastic hut and hides. The boy moves on, to the back of the store where there is a large terrarium with a snake inside.
The shopkeeper comes out from the back and greets the boy. They know each other. The shopkeeper is an old man wearing a plaid shirt and an apron. He grins and says that the boy is early but it is all right.
The shopkeeper goes to a small cage of white rats and picks one out from the bunch. He lifts it by the tail. The boy stands by the snake cage, nearly pressing his face against the glass. The snake moves slowly. The shopkeeper is talking.
Reptile brains arent as developed as mammal brains, he says. Did you read the chapter I gave you? The boy nods slowly, watching the snake.
You, see, emotions like love and compassion are carried in the outer portions of the brain. The shopkeeper brings the mouse over to the cage. You read it, yes? Strickland's experiments, in 1976? The boy taps the glass and is not paying attention.
The shopkeeper comes to the snake cage and opens the top. The reptile brain can experience fear, see? The man jabs at the snake with a stick. The snake does not react. Heh, see he knows me though. Not stupid, snakes, but still they do not understand love.
The shopkeeper drops the rat in the cage. The boy and the shopkeeper stand, wait. The snake still moves slowly while the rat scurries. Soon it eats the rat. The little boy breathes onto the glass, making it foggy.