watching, she, door, wondering, ready, outside at last, oops, what it was like
- Ivan spends a few days observing his fellow gorillas as part of the plan to slowly reintegrate him back into the community of gorillas.
- Being born a silverback, Ivan's alpha status should be second nature, but since Ivan has learned most of what he knows from humans throughout his life, he needs to hone his gorilla mingling skills.
- Kinyani, a female gorilla, awaits his attention. Ivan finds her a bit intimidating from afar, and reluctant to socialize with her or the group, Ivan won't leave his cage.
- He thinks about Ruby, how her new life is going, and wonders if she, like him, finds this whole zoo thing a little overwhelming.
- Memories of Ruby give Ivan the chutzpah he needs to finally leave his cage and walk outside.
- For the first time in decades, Ivan steps out onto grass, feels the wind on his face, climbs a tree. He is finally outside. Yay.
- Kinyani chases Ivan and throws sticks at him. As it turns out, Ivan is not as fierce as he would like to be.
- Back in his cage now, Ivan is trying to remember what being a real gorilla was like, but it was so long ago that he can't.
- Imagining what he might have been isn't fruitful either.