Turning Points.

Chapter 1

       The lion's roar echoed throughout the whole zoo.

       The heat of a summer day was intense, but not intense enough to keep 4 year-old-Keith and his father from seeing the hippos, tigers, and crocodiles. 

       But the animal that really stood out to Keith was the lion. It kept roaring. Almost like it was calling for something. Someone.

"Pop, what's that noise?" Keith questioned.

"You mean the lion?"

Keith frowned. "Lay-own?"

"No," his father corrected him: "Lion."

"Lay-own," Keith tried again. After some more failed attempts of pronouncing lion correctly, Keith finally asked if they could see a lion. His father said yes, and the two made their way to the lion exhibit.

"Pop, why do lay-owns scream?"

Keith's father smiled and spoke, "Lions roar to let other lions know where they are."

"How many lay-owns are here in this zoo?"

Keith's father's expression changes to a puzzled one as he answered: "As far as I know, just one."

"Do lions always... roar?" Keith spoke, announcing roar correctly.

"Not really, no."

Keith kept asking questions about lions, and still could not pronounce "lion" correctly.

As the two finished up their conversation, they had arrive at the lion exhibit.

There were a few people watching the lion, but they were standing father back from the lion's exhibit.

"Woah," Keith was in awe as he saw his first lion.

Not only was Keith in awe when he saw the lion, the lion was in awe when it saw Keith. 

Keith walked towards the glass, and he did not even hear his father call his name. Keith only wanted to be with the lion.

And the lion only wanted to be with him.

The lion also walked towards the glass, until it and Keith were standing right across each other, the glass barrier acting as the only thing separating them. And the lion was not roaring anymore.

The lion had found who it had been calling.

Keith and the lion seemed to be in a staring match, refusing to break eye contact with one another. They felt bonded.

Keith only snapped out of his trance because his father put his hand on his shoulder.

Keith looked directly into his dad's eyes: "Pop?"

Keith's dad was in shock with how Keith and the lion just... bonded. "Yes, Keith?"

"I think I like lions."

—————————————————-

Keith's eyes were groggy as his father gently awoke him.

"Happy birthday, Keith," Keith's dad said. He sat down on Keith's bed as he handed Keith a book.

"It's a lion!" Squealed Keith as he pointed to the cover of the book and sat up. Even though it was a few months after Keith saw a lion, he never stopped thinking about one.

"That's right! And I'm gonna read this book to you every night before bed. That way, we can both learn about lions before bed time!"

"Yay!" Keith was filled with excitement: "You're the best pop ever!" If keith wasn't awake before, he was awake now. Keith literally jumped his father and attempted to crush him in a hug, but as a five-year-old, Keith could not do much.