Leah Browning

Anesthesia

Sascha took the bus to the Reid Park Zoo to see the polar bears. It was wintertime, but there was no snow in Tucson. He watched the water of the bears’ pool through a large pane of glass.

He had discovered that the big white bears, who lumbered so gracelessly on land, could dive and swim with the agility of dancers. But since he’d last visited, one of the polar bears had died. Her heart had stopped in the midst of a routine X-ray: a bad reaction to the anesthesia. The remaining bear did not emerge from the night house.

Sascha had a silver flask in the pocket of his coat, and he lifted it to his lips. Standing next to him was a little girl with black patent leather shoes and a yellow balloon, and the child was pulled hastily away by her mother.

Three years later, Sascha read in the newspaper that the surviving polar bear’s sister was being replaced by a new female, a potential mate. Sascha had been sober almost two years by this point, and had been remarried for two months. He could scarcely remember the yellow balloon bobbing away against a blue sky, the stillness of the bears’ night house, the click of the lock as Elaine left him for the last time, the feel of schnapps on his tongue.

Leah Browning has authored two nonfiction books for teens and pre-teens. Her fiction, poetry, essays and articles have appeared in various publications, including: The Saint Ann’s Review, Literary Mama, Lily, Blood Orange Review, Salome Magazine, Autumn Sky Poetry, and a number of anthologies. She also serves as editor of the Apple Valley Review. Her personal website can be found here.