I drive an '05 Escape with automatic transmission. Something is definitely different with my gear shift, but I'm not a car person so I'm not sure what's going on here. I suspect it's a missing plastic piece that somehow fell in. Is that right?

When the lever is in park position, I can see the innards:


I'm pretty sure that used to be covered up, like it is when I have it in "1" position:


Also, when I have it in parking position and turn the headlights on, every unselected gear has a bright amber light. I don't remember them being so brightly lit before, and I'm not even sure if they were amber (can't remember). The light for the selected gear looks normal.


So, what do you think is going here? Just a piece of plastic cover, or something more urgent? Do I need to visit the mechanic? The car seems to run fine, and the stick isn't any more difficult to move.

Sorry about the poor quality. I had to use my crappy cameraphone and it was night. I did what I could to improve the lighting and these were the 3 best shots.

 

I am pretty sure there is a plastic 'slide' that moves forward and backward as you select your gear position. It 'uncovers' the spot you have selected, and has a more transparent area that lets the light shine. It would seem that the piece broke into pieces, and no longer follows the gearshift lever.
It is not of any mechanical significance to the operation of the vehicle. It is cosmetic. You can likely find a replacement piece at a boneyard, and the dealer for sure. Check for dealer cost, it may be something that is reasonable or it may be high. Either way, you likely have to disassemble some of the linkage to gain access.
tom