The Attic

The room was dark, apart from a small amount of moonlight peeping through a tiny open space in the curtains. It lit up the back wall. The shadows of the branches from the trees outside danced a little. Ben couldn’t sleep. It was his birthday in a few days and the excitement was all too much. Being six is very important business. It also meant that he was going to be the oldest in his class, and that carried a lot of responsibility.

Ben was watching the tree’s shadow on the wall, when he heard this scratching noise. It was subtle, and he put it down to the branches of the tree scratching against the window when the win was too harsh. He felt his eyes getting heavy. He kissed Mr Fluffy, then snuggled into him and closed his eyes. Just as he was dropping off, he heard the scratching again, only this time, it was louder. Ben jumped and nearly fell off the bed. He pulled the duvet right over him, to shield him from what was out there. It couldn’t have been a monster under the bed! His dad had already checked that night, and his dad was a special monster catching agent!

He slowly, but bravely poked his head out of the duvet. He looked around his room. The dancing shadows now seemed a little scary. But Ben was brave. He creeped out of bed and got his rocket torch from the desk.

“Come on, Mr Fluffy! We need to investigate.”

Ben picked up his teddy and headed for the front door. He could hear more strange noises coming from the attic above his room. He took a deep breath, and headed out the door.

He tiptoed down the corridor, using his torch to guide the way.

“I can’t hear it anymore, Mr Fluffy.” Ben whispered.

He opened the door to the attic and made his way up the stairs. The scratching got louder again. As Ben approached the top stair, he shone the torch around. As he did, two big, bright, yellow eyes were fixed on him.

“Aaahh!”

Ben screamed and lost his footing. He slipped and fell down the stairs. His parents ran to help him.

“Mummy! Daddy! There’s a monster upstairs! It scratches and has scary yellow eyes.”

“How hard did you hit your head there, Benny Boy? There’s no monsters. I made sure myself, didn’t I?”

Ben pouted, “you missed one, daddy.”

Ben’s dad tucked him in and turned off the light. “Get some sleep, son.”

The next day, Ben couldn’t hear anything coming from upstairs. He sat on his bed, his desk and his chest of drawers, but nothing.

“We definitely saw those yellow eyes last night, Mr Fluffy! Hmmm, maybe we scared him away!”

But they hadn’t. That night, the scratching started again. But this time, there was another noise. Much like the sound wind makes, when it’s trying to push through the window. It sounded ghostly. Ben tried to ignore the noises and sleep, but it was no good. He just couldn’t sleep.

So, once again, Ben grabbed Mr Fluffy and his torch, and crept to the attic stairs. He went up them slowly, being more careful this time. He made it to the top, and crawled into the centre of the room. He could hear the ghostly sound again, but it wasn’t as ghostly now. He shone the light around the attic. Then suddenly… he saw the yellow eyes again. He gasped, and curled up into a ball, covering his face for protection.

There was a scratching noise, followed by flapping, then silence. Ben held on tightly to Mr Fluffy, and slowly looked up. As he did. He saw it. The thing that had been keeping Ben awake. The owner of the scary eyes. It was an Owl!

“A baby Owl! It’s sooooo cute!” Ben cried.

The Owl stumbled towards him. Ben carefully stroked him. His eyes were not so scary now, up close. He was soft and fluffy and snuggly. “You’re the bestest Owl ever!” Ben exclaimed.

“Buddy? What are you doing up here again? I thought mummy and I told you not to come up here on your own?”

Ben sighed, but then showed his dad the Owl, who was not sitting on Ben’s hand.

“I thought the scary monster was back, but it was this little owl. Maybe he’s hungry. Can we keep him daddy? Please? Please!”

But Barn Owls aren’t pets, and they don’t belong in the family home. Specialist animal rescuers came the next morning and took the owl somewhere safe, because they couldn’t find his mummy, and he’d fallen from the nest. Ben never forgot the cute, little Owl he found that night.

There were no more noises from the attic anymore. No scratching, no ghostly, wind-like noises. Nothing.

The Owl, however, wasn’t the only creature in the attic with yellow eyes…