A Little Character
Hubert the Giraffe

There are at least 10 hearts hidden randomly over the Giraffe, amongst his regular giraffe fur pattern!

If you want to see Hubert's true love, Kokoro, go here:

Some of the pics show Hubert with his true love Kokoro, obviously true love is sold separately...

The sigh drifted down from above, a moist hot wind. Not your average weather phenomenon for sure, there was no wind patterns I knew of that carried the dreamy sighs of the lovelorn.

"Siggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhh"

There it was again, the wind fluttering my hair, the hint of sadness carried with it. I looked about for the source, shopping bags in hand, trunk of my car still open. The parking lot was full, sunshine glinting off the chrome and glass and shiny paint. I saw no wind making sighers about.

"I said, sigggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhh." The voice, nearby and closer than I expected sounded a little put out that apparently I had yet to respond to his obvious distress.

I turned in a full circle, trying not to get dizzy, but still I was met with bumpers and trunks and abandoned shopping carts. Typical parking lot. In the V of plantings, the bit of obligatory nature jammed in the middle of the concrete garden like a crown jewel was a small parcel of dirt. Rosemary shrubs, lavender a bit over grown, a few trees. Their branches providing shade to the waiting cars, their trunks gleaming gold in the sunlight.....gold?

"A ha!" I exclaimed, whirling, pointing up...up....further up than I expected, and met the eyes of the sigher.

We stared at each other, a sheepish grin slowly stealing over his face, teeth bared in a slightly embarrassed grin, long ears flicking and fluttering. "Um, hi." He said, the giraffe.

"You are a giraffe!" I accused, all thoughts of lovelorn sighs dissipating from my brain as this new and exciting bit of information took hold.

"Well...yes." He admitted, ducking his head down for a moment as if embarrassed.

"But...you're a giraffe." I said again, slower, as if he hadn't quite understood. He nodded, his long golden tinted neck lowering and raising, the universal sign of agreement. For a moment I was mesmerized by the patterns on his fur, I'd have sworn I saw more than random shapes, more than pretty blotches of chocolate brown...

I shook my head, no, I would not be distracted. I tried again, using my most reasonable tone I could drum up. "Look, buddy, you're a giraffe...WAIT, let me finish, you're a giraffe, in a grocery store parking lot."

"Ahhhhh, yessssss." He said, almost sighing the words. "Though I'm not on the parking lot am I? I'm in this bit of woods here in the middle." He nodded to the sparse plantings about him, pausing to nibble a leaf off of the one real tree, lips pursed as he seemed to reflect on the flavor. I had the strongest urge to jump up and grab a leaf for myself.

"I can see that, but what I want to know is why? How? I mean..." I glanced around as if needing the visual reminder that no zoos were nearby, no traveling circus, no pet shops or for that matter African plains. "How did you get here? WHY are you here?" I stared up into shining dark eyes that I swear began to glisten with tears.

Finally, in a hushed whisper, reverent tones, he whispered, "I, Hubert Giraffe, am in lovvvvvvvvvvvvvve." And with those words he once again launched into the sigh of all sighs. I swear I saw the tree he stood next to bend under the force of his breathy wind.

"Love." I repeated. Well, that actually explained a lot. Love can inspire and create a lot of crazy things, apparently including a lovelorn giraffe hiding out in the island of nature in a busy grocery store parking lot.

"So Hubert, nice name by the way, who are you in love with?" Hearing my own words aloud I realized their implications. Was there another giraffe just under my nose? I spun, surveying the lot, paying careful attention to trees, lest they be giraffes in disguise, but I saw no one.

"Siggggggggggggghhhhh, why only the most beautiful, gorgeous creature that's ever hopped upon this magnificent earth." Hubert's voice, dreamy and filled with love floated through the air around me. I swear if he were any love sicker I wouldn't be surprised to see little hearts emanating from his head.

"Wait. Did you say hopped?"

Hubert grinned again, that same sheepish smile. "I know it's taboo but it's love. She's wonderful, she's perfect her ears wiggle so prettily, I just adore the way her nose twitches. If only these blasted cars would go home so she'd come out from under the bushes. Sigggggggggggh."

I processed the information but no matter how many ways I added it up the answer was always the same. "You're in love with some bunny?"

"Not just some bunny! MY bunny, my sweetheart, my soul mate. Oh the conversations we have under the glittering stars above. Moonlight washing over her silky dark fur. I pluck her leaves from the highest trees and she shares her earthbound greens with me."

As Hubert continued, describing his one true love in such glowing terms I was sure his love could light up the entire parking lot, I found it was now myself sighing. The sweetness of it all playing at my heartstrings.

Hubert's long tail swished happily, his ears twitched, he shifted his weight on the ground, obviously impatient for night to fall so he could see his true love bunny once again.

Would their relationship last? In a world where I can stumble across giraffes lurking in parking lots waiting for their rabbit soul mate to reappear...oh I think it'll work out just fine.

I was pleased to learn of Hubert's love story, he wasn't a lost giraffe after all but one who knew exactly where he belonged. In the loving company of his bunny.

$180.00 - Buy at my Etsy Store

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