Your POV:
Growing up the daughter of a vet...wasn't always easy.
Long hours spent waiting around for your mother at the zoo, dying in the hot sun, life could get pretty boring. Especially for a five year old.
"Just a moment sweetie, stay here okay? Mommy will be right back."
You sighed and nodded. You knew what that meant. At least another three hours before she suddenly remembered she had a daughter and she would rush back in to provide you with food and drink.
You nodded silently and watched as her figure disappeared around the corner. It's not that she didn't love you, it was just that she was really dedicated to her job, and it was hard to work in such a demanding career and have to take care of a little girl all alone as well.
You decided it was time to explore.
You wandered out of the reptile house she had left you in, walking aimlessly about the zoo.
Eventually, you found yourself burning with the heat, and started looking for shade.
A walkway of leafy greens caught your eye, and you immediately beelined towards them, the only thing in your young mind being finding a relief from the heat.
Once there, you climbed up into the leaves, reveling in how it felt like a tropical forest of sorts. You giggled and skipped through them, running to and fro, pretending you were the Queen of the Jungle.
As you were running, you suddenly tripped over something. You looked down, rubbing your knees in indignation. What was that?
You looked down to find a small white trapdoor. And where there's a door, there's another side. You immediately grew excited. You didn't have exciting things happen to you at the zoo very often, and now this was like your very own adventure.
You reached down, slowly wrapping your tiny hand around it and cautiously testing it.
It moved.
Your heart beat sped up, a silly grin taking over your face.
You cautiously pulled it all the way open, and peered down.
There was a room, and it looked like there was a ladder built into the side of the wall, leading down into it.
You couldn't see what was in the room, but you were determined to find out, and so immediately turned and put your first foot on the first rung.
You then proceeded onwards, one foot after the other, hand after hand, finally dropping to the ground after about five minutes of the descent.
You looked around, only seeing a blank wall, before deciding to fully turn around and examine the room.
Immediately, a tuft of orange and black fur caught your eye. And your eyes widened as you realized what was standing directly in front of you.
A tiger.