Rachael Padilla

"Wild". Another short film.

Added 2020-07-23 18:54:15 +0000 UTC

I was about eight years old at a zoo nestled on and throughout the side of a mountain. It was a beautiful place. But I recall clearly how at the time, the big cats were kept in cages. Real cages, with bars. Not habitats as they now have at the same zoo. I watched the cats with some amount of anxiety as they prowled, back and forth. Watching from inside just as intently as I watched them. When closing time rolled around, I still marveled at them. But it was time to go, so I made my way toward the exit with my parents. Before we made it to the gates, I heard it. One of the cats began to growl. Perhaps it was the reverberation off of the side of the mountains that made it so memorable. It grew louder and more intense, a full on roar and the cat had not stopped even as we got in the car and drove away.

Perhaps that's when I realized that a wild nature cannot be caged.