The Secret Lion

This is the Secret Lion. The lion once belonged to Sailor's friend Mary Zeta. He was an open ear, confidant and shoulder to cry on. Her parents would hear her cooing, babbling and looking at him always feeling she was pouring out her heart and telling the lion things she could never tell her parents.

As she got older, the lion was called on less and less and fewer and fewer secrets were shared. Sailor was younger and had fresh new secrets, so he came to live with us. He hangs down above her from the handle on her car seat. As we drive we can hear Sailor whispering, rambling and sometimes even laughing with him in the back seat. As close as we are to our children, as much as we know and as badly as we desire more, there are some things we will never know. Some things will escape us, get past us or are simply not meant for us. Some of these will stay guarded forever, between the heart of a little girl and the stuffing of the Secret Lion.