A Life Of Surprises

"Are you sure you don't want to repaint the room, Lily?"

"Oh, Ray! Don't be ridiculous. Girls like blue too!" laughed Lily.

"I know, but I just wanted everything to be perfect. Our Minnie deserves the best."

"Yes she does, and she will have it! I can't wait to see the wonderful little person she grows into - I have a feeling that she has a good many more surprises waiting for us." said Lily.

Ray laughed happily. "Well she sure chose a doozy to start with, making Doc Merris think she was a boy."

"That she did, despite the pain, I almost laughed at his reaction when he delivered her." Lily said, smiling.

---

---

Six Years Later:

---

---

"Be careful Minnie, and listen to your teachers. Stay with the group." said Lily, nervously.

"I will, Mom. I promise." the child replied sweetly, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"She'll be fine, Dear. It's the zoo, not an African Safari." Ray said, trying to keep the mood light. But both mother and daughter were observant enough to notice the creases in his brows.

"I won't get in any trouble." Minnie reassured him, as he scooped her up, making her giggle.

"You never do, but it has a way of finding you!" he exclaimed, laughing.

---

---

Two hours later:

---

---

"Let's sneak off. I bet we could slip through the bars, and ride one of the elephants." Ricky said to his best friend Jimmy.

"Okay, but let's do it later. Mrs. Carols is staring right at us." said Jimmy, as he averted his eyes from the alert teacher.

"It's almost lunchtime, class! We will make a quick trip to the Monkey House, then stroll along to the dining hall."

"Ooooh, the little babies are so cute!" Minnie whispered to Anna, as they stood in front of the chimpanzee habitat. Soon the whole class stood, fascinated.

After several minutes, Minnie began to fidget. "Mrs. Carols, is there a bathroom here?" she asked, somewhat desperately.

"It's right over there, on the far side. By the gorillas. See the sign? I can see the door from here, you can go if you wish." said the kind teacher.

Minnie went in, and sighed with relief. "I'm glad they thought to put bathrooms way out here." she thought gratefully. After she washed her hands, taking her time as she had been taught, she went back out into the Monkey House.

"They're not with the chimpanzees any more. It would have been nice to watch them longer." she thought, regretfully.

Glancing around, she saw that she was alone. "Hello? Mrs. Carols? Anna? Where are you?" she called, suddenly afraid. A quick search of the entire building revealed that her class had indeed abandoned her.

"She said it was almost lunchtime. Maybe they forgot I was gone, and left me behind. I'll go check the dining hall." Minnie thought to herself.

"Where are the signs?" she wondered, looking at the many paths.

"I guess one is as good as another. Eventually I'll find my class, or one of the zoo people." she reassured herself.

"Oooh, the big cats!" I've always wanted to see them, now is my chance. They're so far from the entrance that I've never been to visit them..." she thought, excitedly.

"They're soooo big!" she marveled, as the tiger moved gracefully in front of the glass, and the huge lion lounged on a sun-splashed rock.

"What's your name, little guy?" she asked a smaller lion, in one of the older exhibits. It was a simple cage, with bars.

"Leonard: African Lion, hand raised since birth, will be reintroduced to the pride in August."

"Awww, you're all alone too." she said, slipping under the rail. The half grown cat purred, and it sounded almost like a rumble. At first she was scared, but he rubbed on the bars invitingly.

Soon Minnie and Leonard were best friends. He laid down for an ear rubbing, and she sat with her back against the edge of the enclosure. Soon she fell asleep in the warm sun, her hand resting lightly on the young lion's head.

"What's going on?!?!" she panicked, finding herself in the arms of a strange man in a dark blue uniform. As soon as he noticed that she was awake, he set her down.

"I'm Mr. Rimms, I work here at the zoo. We've been looking for you for some time, young lady." Your teacher had to attend to an emergency. And I think she sort of forgot you weren't with the class." he explained.

"An emergency? Was someone hurt?" Minnie asked, concerned.

"No, but they could have been. Two of your classmates got in with the elephants. And you shouldn't be petting or sleeping with lions either." he said, trying to sound stern.

"I'm sorry, but he was so friendly." she said, ashamed.

"He's still a lion. Just don't do it again?"

"I won't..." she said, disappointed that she wouldn't be allowed another visit with her new friend.

---

---

Later that night:

---

---

"So what was your favorite part of the zoo?" asked Dad.

"Leonard the lion!" she said instantly.

"What made you choose him?" asked Mom, curiously.

"He was really friendly, and let me rub his ears." she said, smiling at the memory.

The smiles on her parents' faces vanished as they looked at each other, and silently Lily took out her phone.

---

---

Describe what you see:
I see a room which appears to have been prepared for a little boy. But the pink bunny, and the pictures on the wall are probably for a little girl.

Describe what you feel:
I feel like the child was loved, despite things not being exactly as expected :) ...

Image source and participation link