#hiddlesween

"We're so glad you could make it!" the man said with a grin. Tom nodded and shook the man's hand with a wide smile.

"I'm uncontrollably excited for this; been looking forward to this for months," Tom replied. The man laughed.

"What do you say we head inside?" the man suggested. Tom nodded and followed him inside the large building.

"This is our largest enclosure, and it attracts the most people. The seals are the most playful animals we have, and they seem to love interacting with the crowds. It's fantastic to watch," the man explained. "You're very lucky, actually; most people don't get to see the babies for months, and you're getting to see the newborns before anyone else."

Tom grinned. "That's just...incredible. This is such a privilege," he replied excitedly.

The two walked for a while through hallways until they reached their destination.

"Well, here we are! Just a quick word of warning: don't be discouraged if you don't see them at first. They're typically shy, and their mothers are pretty protective. Patience is definitely key."

Tom nodded, and the man unlocked the door into the enclosure. It was completely white: it was made to look like an arctic habitat. Tom rubbed his hands together. It was clearly meant to be just as cold as the arctic, he thought to himself.

He looked around and found a false boulder to sit on; he rested his elbows on his knees and looked around. There were no seals in sight; he sighed, but his optimism kept him hopeful. 

Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. He began to whistle to himself when he heard a strangle shuffling noise. He stopped whistling, and the shuffling stopped. He furrowed his brow, and began to whistle again. The shuffling started once again, and Tom looked around. For a few seemingly long minutes couldn't see where the shuffling was coming from. He slowly turned around and his eyes landed on a fluffy white mass wiggling its way toward him. Tom's whistling was interrupted by a wide grin that spread from ear to ear. The baby seal stopped and looked at him; he cocked his head to the side in confusion. Tom realized the seal wanted to hear the whistling; he began again, and the seal almost seemed to smile.

The baby waddled over until it was almost two feet from him. Tom slowly stood up and lowered himself to the ground in front of the baby seal. The seal eyed him suspiciously, but decided after a few moments that it was safe to approach him. Tom did everything he could not to reach out and touch the seal pup. He didn't have to wait long, though: the seal shuffled over to him and nudged his knee. Tom hesitantly reached a hand out, and when the baby seal didn't move, he touched its soft head. He smiled, and the seal seemed to smile in return.