Dark Eyes and A Hoot.

Madeline knew it was late to be outside, even if she was only sitting on her grandpa’s old rocking chair that he liked to keep out on the porch. She was well aware that it was almost three in the morning and she couldn’t sleep and if her mother saw her this late doing nothing but staring ahead toward the forest past the fence, she would go on a rant about doing nothing productive during the day. Madeline rolled her eyes as she could just hear her mother huff and puff about Madeline’s inability to sleep these days.

She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh before blindly reaching for a book she had brought with her. Her cold fingertips touched the old pages of the very old book. It had been the only book her grandpa would read more than the Bible he used to keep next to him. With her eyes still closed, she let her fingers trace the book; it had no cover anymore as it had fallen sometime before she was even born, the tip of the pages were curled in due to the constant flipping of them, and some bumps were felt where water, if not drool, had fallen on the fragile paper. She brought it up to her nose and she took in the strong scent of dust and that smell of old paper, but Madeline was able to pick up more than that. There was the faint smell of bird food. She smiled sadly as she remembered her grandpa’s unofficial best friend.

A small hoot made Madeline drop the book on her lap and yelp as she quickly opened her eyes to see that ahead of her two bright eyes were looking at her from one of the trees on the other side of the fence. She looked at the owl as well and she couldn’t help the shivers that coursed through her body as she tried not to get creeped out at the animal’s creepy timing. Her dear grandfather had a beautiful barn owl as his trusty friend and not only seconds before was she remembering it. Letting the creeps not get the best of her, she let herself remember the owl as she looked at the one far from her reach.

Her grandpa wasn’t a man that liked animals much, he had always said that making a connection with an animal was just one way to break one’s heart one day. Madeline knew her grandpa hated losing those he loved so wasn’t the one to have a pet for one day to lose it. But much to his dismay, a month after grandma’s passing, a beautiful barn owl had made itself at home by her old rocking chair. Madeline had been only six when she ran toward her grandpa to tell him an owl was in the house. He had tried everything to make the bird leave the house, even screaming at it. But it remained unmoving from its chosen spot. Her grandpa had been angry for the rest of the day, and it did not help that the owl wouldn’t stop looking at him. Madeline, after her fear of the bird had gone, she wanted to pet it. So, when she had been left alone for a little too long, she had cautiously approached the barn owl and poked it. She had expected it to do something but it had only turned its head toward her and hooted softly. It had creeped her out, funnily enough, and she told her grandpa just that. He hadn’t been pleased to know that Madeline had touched the owl but warned her not to do so again unless she wanted to get hurt. By the next morning, the owl was still there, but this time it was near grandpa. Madeline didn’t get to spend time with the owl again until she went back to visit her grandpa two weeks later. She found out the barn owl hadn’t left his side at all, practically moving in with him. To her surprise, it seemed that her grandpa didn’t mind much anymore. And that was the only time Madeline knew her grandpa to accept an animal as a friend. Every time she would visit, the beautiful, soft, brown barn owl was there to receive her, and she would notice that every time her grandpa seemed fonder of the creature.

When Madeline turned ten she had grown anxious as she had found out that barn owls didn’t live long; only four years. And her grandpa’s trusty friend was reaching her time. But to everyone’s surprise, the years passed by and the owl never looked older. Everyone but her grandpa found it weird. Madeline thought her grandpa was just glad he didn’t have to lose a friend just yet. And as Madeline stared at the unknown owl, she remembered how her grandpa seemed lost in his friend’s black eyes every time he fed it the bird food he had gotten it. He didn’t enjoy the sight of bloody rats in the morning. And it was something he would say every morning whenever she stayed with him during the summers.

The creepy owl let out another hoot and Madeline yelped once again. She cursed under her breath and grabbed the book on her lap and opened it on a random page. She read to herself one line: “…and as the wind blew harshly on Derek’s face, he looked ahead, closed his eyes, and with all his heart bid a last goodbye to his best friend.” Madeline sighed and closed go book and she was met with those creepy owl eyes again. The morning when her mother had found grandpa dead on his bed was the same morning that no one could hear nor find his trusty barn owl. Her father had made a stupid joke about how after fourteen years it had finally left, to then hear his wife shout for an ambulance. Grandpa was dead and his owl was gone.

Madeline closed her and as she did, she left a warm tear rolled down her cold cheek. She hadn’t intended to cry when she had rolled out of bed when she hadn’t been able to sleep, but she hasn’t expected to be reminded of how much she missed her grandpa even after two years. She cried for a while, it didn’t matter if she woke up anyone inside. But when a cold rush of wind made her shiver, she sniffed and cleaned her face with her sleeves and opened her eyes. When her eyes adjusted, her blood went to her feet as she let out a scream when she saw the unknown owl right in front of her. To her surprise, no one had come rushing to see if she was okay, but she wished someone had because that way she wouldn’t have had the time to look at the owl longer than she wanted because she soon realized that it was her grandpa’s old friend. But this time, as she looked at the barn owl in the eyes, she didn’t see deep black eyes. Like her grandpa once before, Madeline was lost in its eyes and she swore she could see her grandpa staring right at her.