Alphabet Allie's Arc

Chapter 19 of 20

Allie left the tree behind and followed a stone path away from the shore. The path widened. The sand gave way to bricks. Ahead, a tall building rose above the rooftops, four stories of orange and white stone with big windows and white pillars at the front. Bold letters spelled UNIVERSITY across the top. Allie stopped at the foot of the steps. She had never stood in front of a real school like this one. She thought of her old teacher, the one who called letters just tools. Her stomach tightened. Universities were where grown-ups went to learn. Grown-ups were the hardest. A small unicorn stood under the pillars. She was white with a pink and purple mane, and a shining horn on her forehead. She held the curved handle of a bright umbrella over her head. The umbrella had the word UMBRELLA printed across its canopy in white letters. There was no rain. Allie climbed two steps. "Why do you have an umbrella? The sky is clear." The unicorn turned. Her purple eyes were wide and shy. "I always carry it. I like the word on it." "What's your name?" "Unique Unicorn." She said it like she was checking each syllable. "Everything here starts with U. The university. The umbrella. Me." Allie's shoulders dropped. She pulled out her crayon and her notebook. "University. Umbrella. Unicorn. Unique." She wrote each one. "That's four already." Unique stepped closer. She tilted the umbrella so Allie could see the letters better. "There's more inside. But I never go in." "Why not?" "It's for smart people. They study. I just stand under my umbrella." Allie looked at the big doors. She thought of the teacher again. Then she thought of Ophelia, who had listened. Of the queen, who had gifted her quartz. Of the mouse, the nurse, the monkey. Adults had listened before. "You start with U," Allie said. "Same as the building. That means you belong in there. That's how it works here." Unique blinked. "Does it?" "Yes. Come on." Allie took the umbrella handle in one hand and Unique's hoof in the other. They climbed the steps together. The doors were heavy, but they swung open. Inside, the hall was cool and bright. Rows of desks stretched under tall windows. Grown-ups in long coats sat reading. They looked up when Allie and Unique walked in. Allie waited for the frown. The dismissal. The waiting-for-her-to-stop-talking face. One of them smiled instead. "A unicorn," the reader said. "We were missing one." Unique's ears lifted. She stepped forward on her own. Allie let go of the hoof. Allie set the umbrella against a pillar and wrote one more word in her notebook. Understood. She underlined it twice. Then she stepped back into the sunlight, ready for the next letter.