Ember Grove (and Other Scary Stories)

Paulita's Petting Zoo

As the car rolled to a halt, my mother clasped her hands together and gasped. My father puffed out a delighted chuckle, and Fabio's forehead and nose smudged the car window. I twisted closer and elbowed Fabio aside to gape at the view.

Beyond a field of flowers, a host of brightly-colored animals painted a sprawling wall. The morning light animated an orange lion in yellow grasses, a silver seal balancing a red ball, and a lumbering giraffe plucking green leaves. In the center of the wall, letters above an arched entryway glittered in a dizzying kaleidoscope of jewel tones. 

Though we were just an hour's drive from home, I felt we had entered a magical alternate universe where anything was possible.

Paulita's Petting Zoo.

"The Chipper Chimps!" Fabio screeched beside me, jabbing the car window with a pudgy finger. I followed his gaze to the painted monkeys with whimsically long arms stretching between branches.

"The Dancing Dozen," my mother breathed, and I spotted the group of burly bears twirling partners on their hind legs.

A head of wavy black hair obstructed my vision, and I shoved it aside.

"Fabio, move."

"You're hurting me!"

"I can't see!"

My father craned around in his seat to fix us with a stern gaze. "Karla, Fabio, you better behave. Do you know what it took to get this special behind-the-scenes access at the most famous zoo in our nation?"

Fabio scrunched his nose. "A crap ton of mula?"

Despite my intention to stay angry, I giggled.

My father sighed. "More than that. An application process, an interview, a three-month waiting period, a non-disclosure agreement in case those chimpanzees eat up naughty children..."

My father's hand shot toward Fabio, fingers and thumb snapping together to bite, and Fabio squirmed and squealed.

"And a crap ton of mula," my mother added as she killed the engine and slipped the car key into her pocket. "Hope neither of you were planning on going to college."

My father rolled his eyes. "Your mother's favorite joke."

She reached over to tweak his cheek. "Think any of those bears can dance bachata as well as we can, honey?"

"Well, it's a quarter to seven already," said my father. "Let's go find out!"

We jerked open the four car doors. As we approached the arched entrance, Fabio sprinted up ahead and jogged back like a puppy on a leash.

Inside the entrance, lights sprinkled the high ceiling and reflected off the shiny floors and walls. At the center, a woman strolled toward us. An oversized mint-green suit coat swathed her petite frame, brushing mid-thigh on her lavender trousers. A crimson top hat perched upon a great mop of hair dyed every color of the rainbow. She stood a few inches shorter than my mother, just barely taller than me, but her presence devoured the entryway. 

She flung her arms wide and beamed. "You must be the Moreno family. Welcome to a zoo unlike any you have ever seen before. At your service today, I am none other than..." — she swept the hat off her head and folded into a low bow — "Paulita!"

My mother strode forward and grasped her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Paulita! I'm Juana, and this is my husband, Diego, and our children, Karla and Fabio."

My mother gestured to each of us as she said our names. Paulita's head ticked three times to blast each of us with her dazzling white teeth.

"Dancing Dozen for the parents and Cheerful Chimps for the kids, correct? Just like the family who won our behind-the-scenes tour last weekend! The parents loved to waltz, and their daughter couldn't wait to play with monkeys."