How do I tell a well structured story when life is absolute chaos?

Two weeks ago, an envelope showed up at my door, with only five words gracing the front in looping cursive.

To Kiandra, my warrior.

Inside was a will, signing a mysterious zoo to my name. The Menagerie of Unlikely Creatures. In Ireland.

Yesterday, my son, Wyatt and I flew out to Ireland. We stayed at a small tavern called The Rusty Bucket about twenty minutes away from the zoo. We were welcomed in by a lovely couple, Jakob and Renae McFaddon, who the previous owners of the zoo had given the key to. Nobody knew who they were, only that the man had a scar in his chin and the woman had a tattoo of a Chimera on her arm.

The next morning, or today, we took a bus to The Menagerie. Wyatt was beyond excited, acting like a little kid again. It made me smile to see him happy agan. High school has been rough on him.

We walked through the gates, and I gasp, my eyebrows shooting up in shock. What we found could only be explained by magic.

The gate was an entrance to a whole other world. The entire landscape had changed once we had stepped through. The sky was clear and a beautiful ocean blue, and trees stretching towards the heavens. But, the thing that shocked me the most was the animals. In large beautiful enclosures, were mythical creatures only found in fairytales.

Minataurs, Griffins, Dragons, Kelpies, Unicorns, Chimeras, Manticores, Basilisks, Phoenixs. They were all there.

Amazed I stood, and watched as a man approached me. He was tall, with dark brown hair, and kind light gray eyes. He stopped in front of me, and then smiled, holding out a giant notebook, a fountain pen, and a small indescribable object. He handed me the notebook and pen first.

“I take it you are Kiandra Jarvik? Can you please sign here?”

His voice was deep, but smooth, a slight accent hinted throughout his words.

I signed the form he had in the notebook, and suddenly the landscape changed again. Now the man, Wyatt and I were sitting in a small living room, the walls painted a faded blueish-gray. I stared at the man incredulously.

“What just happened?”

He chuckled.

“Just a simple transportation trick.”

I smile and nod, internally freaking out. He winks at Wyatt and then turns back towards me.

“I can tell you haven’t been briefed. My name is Walter Chesterton and I am the Head Animal Caretaker here at the Menagerie of Unlikely Creatures. You have been named owner of this place and it seems as if you didnt even know that this place even existed. Did your parents ever tell you of this place?”

I look at him, taken aback.

“My parents? Ha. No. They never told me about this place. I didnt even know them. The last I heared was that they have been dead for the last 32 years.”

He scratches his chin in thought.

“Hmm. Well, thats where you’re wrong. They didn’t die 32 years ago. They died three weeks ago. They built this place from the ground up. I was with them when they died, and they told me to deliver the envelope in your bag to an undisclosed address in North Carolina, USA. So I did. And here you are.”

I laughed, panic clawing up my chest.

“Huh. Ok, Walter Chesterton, of the Menagerie of Scary Animals I Only Read About In Books, there has to be a mistake. I can’t be the one you’ve been looking for.”

Wyatt looks at me like I’ve gone crazy. Hehe. Maybe I have?

“Mom! This is our chance at a new life! A chance to break away from the restricting grip of Raleigh! Please mom!!!”

I sighed at my son.

“Fine.”

Walter’s face lit up and so did Wyatt’s.

With that, he handed me a small object. It was a key, with my last name embossed into it’s handle.

“Well then ma’am, welcome to the Menagerie.”