P Svcl Fvb -

p (16th letter) → o (15th) s (19th) → r (18th) v (22nd) → u (21st) c (3rd) → b (2nd) l (12th) → k (11th) f (6th) → e (5th) v (22nd) → u (21st) b (2nd) → a (1st)

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z p svcl fvb

She looked again at . She whispered each letter’s predecessor in the alphabet: p (16th letter) → o (15th) s (19th)

“Wait,” Mr. Elian said. “Try shifting back one, but keep the spaces and read it as a whole phrase — not individual letters only. Let me show you.” “Try shifting back one, but keep the spaces

Mira’s eyes lit up. She reversed the letters of first: bvf lcvs p — then shifted each back one: