Alphabet Allie's Arc

Chapter 10 of 14

Allie left the frozen inlet behind and followed the path until the ground turned warm again. A small den sat at the bend, shaped like a soft pastel L. A young lion stood beside it, panting hard, as if he had run a long way. His shirt was rumpled and his sneakers were caked with dust. In one paw he clutched a folded envelope with a red wax seal. He held the letter out to Allie before she could speak. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I had to bring this. It explains everything, kind of." Allie took the envelope and broke the seal. The note inside was short and neat. It said the lion had been kept after school to learn how to tie his shoes, and that he was a good student, and please not to be cross with him. Allie looked down. His laces were a disaster. Two colors, blue and orange, wound through each other in fat lumpy knots. The ends frayed where he had yanked too hard. "Oh man," the lion said. "I tried. I really did. My friend helped me at recess but then I undid them on the way here." He scratched his mane. "I can roar pretty loud, though. That part I'm good at." Allie knelt in the dirt. She thought about the kangaroo and the kite, and the hippo and the hat. Small adjustments. She tugged the worst knot loose with her fingernails, then smoothed the laces flat. "Watch," she said. "The letter L stands for loop. One loop, then another loop, then you pull them tight like they're holding hands." She made a slow bunny ear, then a second, and crossed them. The lion crouched beside her, eyes wide. "Loop, loop, pull," he repeated. He tried the other shoe himself. His paws fumbled. The first try slipped. The second held. He stared at the small, neat bow on his foot and grinned. "I did it," he said. "Loop, loop, pull. That's easy." He stood and tested his weight. The laces stayed. Allie folded the letter and handed it back to him. "You won't need this anymore," she said. The lion tucked it into his pocket anyway. He thanked her, then took off down the path at a full run, no tripping, no stumbles. Allie watched him go. One letter had done the work. L for loop, L for lion, L for the lesson that finally stuck. She smiled and walked on.