LEAVING HER BE

When Kaiju was younger, I would scrub her shell clear of algae. It caused her to be spastic and she become overly aggressive, so I now allow a lush layer of algae layer on her shell. Probably because she is now a teenage turtle curious of the world around her, she often comes out of her pond to explore her surroundings. A loud thud is all I need to know that she is out of her pond and walking around again, out to bulldoze the potted plants which I have moved out of her reach. Twice, I could not open the door going to her pond, only to see this big lump of armored brute blocking the door. One time, I left the door open and she entered the house silently, until I noticed one of the cats arching his back in distress. So, I tapped Kaiju’s back with a snake hook and showed the door, and she hissed and lumbered back to her pond, wondering why she wasn’t allowed to watch television.

But that was when I lived alone. Nowadays, the door leading to her pond is always closed; she has no choice but to watch the birds and the dragonflies hovering above, instead of the TV. Demeanor-wise, she can get very defensive when picked up, and even mere taps on her shell cause her to arch her back and make a few attempts at snapping back. One American friend who paid a visit and picked her up for the first time commented that I probably wasn’t handling her as often as I should, which could explain the ornery temperament. But I was not a hands-on person, and somehow I could not imagine petting this primordial-looking chelonian even when she was little. So yes, I had no problem with her temperament. She only wanted to be left alone.