Duck Whispering

"Hi, would you like to sign up for duck whispering?" The lady starts. My friend and I look at each other. "Duck whispering?" I repeat back. "Don't do this, Carlo." My friend and associate hisses in my ear, "We need to make it to the--"

"Relax, Rogie," I interrupt. "We got time. Besides, who isn't interested in duck whispering?" I say sarcastically. "Tell me more." I smile to the cute brunette.

"Yes," The lady starts enthusiastically. "It's pretty simple and I only will take two minutes of your time." She ushers us into her world. I follow her, look over my shoulder and motion Rogie to follow me. He sighs and I don't need to see it to know he's rolling his eyes.

"I already told you, you need to learn how to relax." I tease him. "Besides, the conference doesn't start in another ten minutes and the last thing I want is to make last-minute preparations." I look at him. He's not the type to take conferences so lightly. It's kinda of a hobby of his to stress out about little things. He wants things to run smoothly, so he does everything in his power to make it happen. Me, on the other hand, like to go on the fly. I look at duck whispering instructor. She's beautiful. That bun sits meticulously on her head. Her skirt halts half an inch above her knee, but her curves do not respect the boundaries of that fabric. I take a deep breath. Hold it in, and allow that energy to flow through my body. Oh, yes, I needed this.

Picking up girls was a hobby of mine. Then I met my wife and had to learn how to stop picking while at the same time keep enjoying their beauty. This is what I do now. Let beauty seduce me, ignite me, and then, use that light throughout my body. My wife enjoys the ramifications of it.

"What can you tell us about duck whispering?" I encourage.

"Ducks have this therapeutic property that not many animals possess. They can interact with humans at a level not even dogs or cats could. They have this innate sense of loyalty that is just awe-inspiring." She goes on and on. Besides being attractive, she's contagious. I try my best not to have side thoughts, but I can't resit, so I turn to my friend. He does the same at the same time.

'Can you believe this?' He says--by raising an eyebrow and squinting an eye.

'I can,' I answer with a nod, 'I'm actually thinking of getting a duck.' I reply.

'I'll buy one for Thanksgiving.' he smirks then we turn to listen to the her again. The place is buzzing with people coming and going, but she's got the spotlight. She's go our attentions. My side thoughts get louder.

"When a duck decides to migrate south, you won't have to worry about them never coming back. They will. Here, let me show you my duck," she pulls out her phone and shows us a picture of Daffy, her duck pet. "He is the cutest thing ever. You should've seen him when he was a duckling." She continues to tell us her story about how she found Daffy covered in petroleum. She washed him for hours thinking that its feathers were oil-stained, they were simply black, like the cartoon. "I don't know where his brood went, but--"

"What's a brood?" I ask so as to scratch my curiosity.

"Oh, a brood is a group of ducklings." She starts a whole new presentation. I can see my friend chuckling in disbelief.

"Why would you do that?" He whispers in my ear.

"I want to know," I confess.

"You're married."

"So?" I frown at the assumption.

The lady goes on and on. I enjoy the way she shares the information more than the information itself. She's lively and enthusiastic about the whole deal, but there's a subtle doubt tucking in the back of my head.

"What's your name?" I finally interrupt her. She looks me straight in the eye as if for the first time someone had asked that question and she didn't have an answer. She stared for a split second longer then blinked her confusion away.

"Oh, Amy. You?" She extends her hand.

"I'm Carlo," I extend mine and engulf her thin, delicate hand. "this is Rogelio." I point at my friend with my head.

"How long have you been doing this?" I take my hands into my pockets.

"Uh," she looks up and to the right to fetch the answer. "I've been doing this for a year? maybe?" She wrinkles her left eye then chuckles.

"For a year?" I chuckle, "you sound like a real pro." I compliment.

"Oh, thanks." she blushes and giggles. "I'm sorry if I went on a ramp. It's just been so long since people are interested in this hobby, I thought it best to share as much as I could." she played with her fingers.

"You're pretty good at it," I say. "If you had a ticket to take you anywhere in the world. Where would that ticket take you?" I ask while giving a gentle smirk. She's taken aback. She frowns ever so slightly, scratches her head, and chuckles nervously.

"Eh, wow, uh, it's been a while since I've thought of it, but I'd like to go to Japan." She answers.

"Ah, interesting." I say while keeping my card to myself. "What's in Japan that gets your interest?" I get closer, in fact so close that I make her turn towards the other side, so I'm standing where she stood while giving her presentation.

"We don't have time for that" Rogelio mouths from behind and over her head.

"Well, I've always been a fan of the culture and discipline. As a kid, I used to draw manga a lot."

"Oh really?" I genuinely smile, I look at Rogie and wink at him " what's your favorite manga?" I ask.

"Fruit Baskets," she replies without missing a beat. She pulled out her phone and showed me some of her work. I liked it, but it wasn't good enough for her to be our manga artist, yet. But I had an idea.

"Amy, If I were to ask you to be part of our team." I start and pause while I scrutinize her soul. She's expectant of what I'm going to say next. Rogelio squints his eyes, then nods and smiles as he takes his hands to his hips. "Would you?"

"What is it that you do?" She asks. I look at Rogelio and then back at Amy.

"We create universes." I start. "Universes that capture the essences of being. Universes that express the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and nature of humanity through characters that make us connect with them. Universes that inspire and bring us closer together to ourselves and those around us. Universes that find peace in the midst of chaos. Universes that love because they once knew hate." I stop for dramatic effect. Her eyes widen. Her lips part.

"Oh my god," her lips quiver for a second, "you are--" I nod with pleasure.

"Want to hear about it?" I ask.