A Day at the Zoo
The zoo is the last place on earth I ever wanted to be. But here I am, squished in between the masses of my two closest friends, their chaotic squeals of delight ringing in my eardrums. One more movement from either of them and I feel like I will pop like the red balloon the screaming calf behind me has tied around his left hoof.
I was brought here against my will due to one thing: myself. It wasn't hard to see the uncanny similarity I had with one of the zoo's must popular animals, which made me quite the laughingstock among my peers, leading to many "Happy Feet" jokes and "waddle over here" comments throughout the span of my childhood, and up until this very moment. It just so happened that today, I would be face-to-face with the one animal I could say I disliked, no,
hated, among any other species I that have seen. Penguins. How I cringe at the word, and the thought of them waddling around and doing to stupid things to only make me more embarrassed for even looking like one of them clowns.
"Aerie, look, it's YOU! My friends snort, nodding towards a large Emperor penguin sliding into the water. Rolling my eyes, I wriggle out from in-between them, making my way to the exit of the penguin exhibit and catching the confused looks of those who pass by.
As I go to head out the door, my eye catches a small hallway to my left, where several others are making their way down. Taking a few glances to my left and right, I start to head down the hall, which quickly opens up into a low lighted room. Behind the glass on the far wall, stood a male Emperor, an egg nestled between his feet, and a little beak slowly chipping it's way through. I watch in wonder as the small bird slowly breaks free, tumbling from it's confines and into the snow. It was like looking in a mirror, seeing the helpless little thing pick itself up and nestled into it's parent's warmth.
I had never related to anything more. I wanted to badly to just ball up in the warm confines of my stall, safe and secure, away from the many eyes that seemed to look at me as if I was a walking circus act. But as the small chick finally warms up, it begins to waddle around as if untouchable, so regal and proud and uncaring of the stares it was given. I smile softly, and I feel my heart begin to warm in my chest. Maybe looking like one of these guys isn't so bad after all.
