I’m scared. Was the only thing I could quietly mutter in the icy cold night of the suffocatingly chilly December breeze. The bright colorful hues of the red, green, white, and blue lights in the tall palm trees blinded me through my salted teary eyes. It was if I had been unexpectedly flashed with a stun grenade. My breathing was quick and sporadic; taking multiple short breaths as I walked. I was confused and fumbling blindly through the large crowds of families, strangers, and couples who looked as if they were inseparable. The only sound I could hear was the magnified squeaking of my pink rain boots that I insisted my mom buy me the week before.

          I was in a cold sweat. I clinged onto my bright yellow puffy jacket as a sort of comfort. I looked desperately for my mom as I could not find her through the endless sea of puffy black snow jackets and dark blue jeans. It was as if I had sunk to the bottom of the deep blue sea, unaware of where I was or where I was going. There were hints of familiar smells like cool peppermint caramel kettle corn, sugary sweet raspberry and blueberry cotton candy, and blasts of warm homemade hot cocoa in the air. I wasn’t sure where I was as I couldn’t see what was on the dimly lit signs; it was a crimson black night. As I trudged along I began to calm my rapid breathing and wipe away any remaining tears. I tried to figure out where I was. I focused my attention on the noise of the crowds of people walking by. I couldn’t read the maps ,at the time I didn’t know how to read, but I could map out my location from all the brightly colored and patterned moving lights that pictured animals on them. My favorite one was always the one with the bright shining lights of the red fire ants who one by one carried a small bright neon lime green leaf to their small brown ant hill. I always told my mom that that one was my favorite only because I thought their small brown ant hole looked like a miniature volcano that could gastuously erupt at any time. I always stood there, waiting for it to erupt, but it never came. Just thinking about it made tears swell in my eyes, I really missed my mommy. I quickly carried on.

          Throughout me wandering about I came across many other brightly illuminated decorations depicting animals; There were courageous lions and lionesses standing tall and proud, mischievous monkeys who were swinging from the blinding brightly colored trees, and the most elegant of them all was the bright sophisticated sapphire blue and yellowish lime green colored studious peacock who stood as a tall and proud centerpiece in a now silenced sleeping garden. I stopped for a few minutes to wondrously admire the gentlemanly sophisticated peacock, as if I were paying my respects to my elders like my mom taught me to. I followed the major flow of the crowds and past the slightly different colored stands of the cloud like fluffy cotton candy and the ginormous bags of five dollar sugary caramel and enriched chocolate drizzled kettle corn, after a while I found myself walking on a thinner sidewalk next to a small man made lake. In the middle of the lake I could make out only a dark outline of a round ball sitting atop a circular platform. There was a sort of humidity in the air with a slightly salty taste to it, somewhat like the ocean, but not quite. It was very dimly lit around this part except for a few wise palm trees covered in icy blue and crimson red lights that towered over the guests like ants. I grabbed a hold of the fence railing that kept me separated from the lake and noticed that just about near the waters shore were little dark oak brown and midnight forest green ducks scattered about who lay slumbering next to the water's edge, a few ducks were sheepishly awake unbothered by the monstrous crowds and loud noises of the people were keeping loose watch and ruffling up their soft delicate feathers. I really wanted to pet one but I resisted as my mom told me it was dangerous to pet wild animals. While watching these small creatures you could hear soft muffled quacking noises through the rustle and bustle of the constant passing of the crowds. At some point, without me noticing, a crowd began to form next to the rusty iron railing and not too long after that the palm trees behind me began to dim. People around me began to hush their conversations. I was quite shocked and scared as I was confused and did not know what was happening.

          It was almost pitched black and I could barely make out any shapes. As the lights were out the crowd also seemed to come at a halt and the once loud roars of children were shushed, as they were anticipating something to happen. Not too long soft music chimes started to play of Christmas carols. In the center of the lake the once dark outline of a ball slowly illuminated a dim ivory white light. The wise old trees began to do the same. As the music's beat started to rise the ball began to get brighter, and soon began to slowly shift though the bright colors of the rainbow. I was amazed by how many bright hues of neon colorful lights it could make. The trees however were very limited in the colors as they only illuminated patterns of ivory whites, icy blues, and deep reds. The trees and ball began to synchronize with the ever so quickening pace of the Christmas song. Every time the song would hit a high note or a beat the trees would flash and the ball would rapidly change colors. There was a mix of a never ending cycle of a rainbow. I could hardly keep up with what was happening, I was stunned into amazement. I was too focused on the bright lights to think of anything. As the music hit its climax the lights began to flash more and more aggressively, and by this time the ball in the center began to flash bright images and colorful patterns of zig zags and scattered polka dots. As the song began to come to an end the lights began to get dimmer and dimmer, until the song came to a halt and it became pitch dark again. 

          Everything was dark except for the great ball in the middle flashing the words “Public Zoo”. The wise old palm trees in the back began to illuminate once again with their bright red and saturated blue tints while the crowds were cheering and clapping. By this time my mom had found me by the railing while I was awestruck and gave me a great big hug. She asked if I was alright and I couldn’t stop grinning ear to ear. She escorted me out to the exit and as I walked past the gift shop and looked at the great big entrance sign, I will never forget my time at zoo lights.