“Don’t be nervous. This is a job that you are qualified for. Act like it.”

The self pep talk doesn’t make her feel better, but she opens the door anyway.

The interior surprises her. There is a huge open space with absolutely no one. The floors are covered in grass (maybe it’s fake?). The walls look like the roughness of tree bark.

“Hello?”

As she walks more into the room, there are tall windows on both sides of the space. Peering into the enclosure to the left, a burst of colors startles her. She almost falls over her own feet as she backs away.

The colors plaster to the glass until it just fades. It doesn’t drip and make a mess. It’s just gone.

Once it disappears, a majestic white horse is in her view. A sparkling silver horn sits on its head like a regal crown.

A thump from above has her craning her head upwards. She hadn’t even noticed the glass on the ceiling.

A dragon with stunning green scales plops onto the window, so she can see its soft yellow underbelly.

She slowly turns to her right and it is filled with water. Not the murky aquarium water but crystal blue ocean.

A ginormous octopus/squid swims by, its tenacles extending and narrowing. Her breath hitches as the sheer size of this creature is astonishing.

Where the hell was she? Did she die on the way to her zoo job?

“You didn’t die, Posie.”

A woman (at least she thinks is a woman, who knows anymore) is strutting towards her like there aren’t magical myths all around.

“You have the gift of the Sight.” Posie wonders if anything will ever make sense again.

“The Sight?”

“You can see beyond the possibles of this world. You can see magic.” She begins to walk, and Posie sprints to catch up.

“So what does eveyone else see?” She questions, genuinely curious how this all works. With a slight pause, Posie thinks the woman isn’t going to answer.

“A normal zoo. The protectors, that’s us, are the ones that can see past that. You have been chosen to be an Overseer,” she finally replies.

“Why me?”

“Because you are special. You have a spark in you that allows you to see the magic in the world.” The woman kneels down and picks up a bunny with antlers shooting out from its head.

“What does an Overseer do?”

“Take care of the animals of course. Work with them. They will accept you if you accept them, so do you accept this?” The woman holds intense eye contact with Posie, never even blinking.

Looking around at the mythical creatures, the wings, fire, and magic lit something within her.

“When do I start?”