A Shared Omen

Jacob finally got around to asking Gina out. They were coworkers for a few months now and it was about time for him to see where her feelings were.

She said yes!

They met at the restaurant down the street right after work, they were both pretty excited. As the night went on, they both realized how much they had in common and they weren't any gaps in the conversations. Jacob couldn't help but have a strange feeling though. Like someone was watching him. When he went to the bathroom, his feeling got even worse. As he faced the urinal to do his business he felt someone breathing behind him. He was too scared to turn around which was strange for him. He usually wasn't afraid of anything. He turned around as soon as he was done and saw a black barn owl with large eyes, almost coming out of its face. It had a blank stare and seemed wet all over. As soon as Jacob blinked, the owl was gone. He tried to carry on with his night knowing what he saw felt extremely real, but he didn't want to mess up his chances with Gina. She would've thought he was crazy if he told her.

As the night carried on Jacob’s feeling never left. The worry would show on his face and Gina would ask if he was okay and he’d respond "of course." They went to a movie after they ate and this is where Jacob would have to make the decision to make his move on Gina or just watched the movie. He didn't want her to feel unwanted nor did he want to push something that wasn't there.

It was 30 minutes into the movie and he decided to place his hand on her thigh. But he got that feeling again. He felt someone or, thing, was staring a hole into the back of his neck. He turned to see if Gina was okay or if she saw something behind Jacob but she was too in the movie to look over. Jacob was on his own. He waited till the end of the movie to turn to his left and see if anyone was there. And of course, there wasn't. The entire time Jacob was thinking about that owl he had seen in the bathroom, he missed his chance to kiss Gina for the first time. But the feeling never left Jacob. As they walked to the car, he held Gina's hand tight and she noticed the worry in his face again. Gina pressed harder to figure out what was constantly on Jacob’s mind. They got to the car and he stumbled over trying to explain what was going on. Before he could manage to make sense, he saw the owl in the back seat. He just stared at it. Gina tried talking to him but he stared at the owl until he couldn’t anymore. He blinked and this time it stayed. So he turned Gina around and together, Jacob and Gina stared into the barn owl’s eyes.

Time passed and neither of them knew what to make of it. The owl never harmed them but was always around, even in the most intimate moments.

At this point it became more of a nuisance than anything. Every time Jacob would try to have a moment with Gina, the owl would appear. If Jacob were to seek privacy, the owl would seek company with only Jacob. If Gina wanted to get her nails done, the owl would follow. They tried their hardest to get use to the menacing owl but every time they looked away from it, they would feel the owl’s blink-less, emotionless gaze. This carried on for weeks as their relationship grew. During sex, the owl would perch somewhere near and watch them. It began to affect Jacob to the point where even his thoughts weren't private. The owl wouldn't say anything, but something felt judgmental and shameful in the owl’s eyes.

A year went by until Gina finally broke. He sought help from therapist and psychiatrist but they were all speechless after the description she would give. She even explained how going to the bathroom was an issue. It would just watch her and not do anything.

After realizing no one can help them with their problem, they figured it was up to them to save their own souls.

They’ve tried shooting it, strangling it, kicking and punching it, but each attempt failed as the owl would stand sturdy no matter how much force they put behind their attacks. They’ve tried taking pictures of it but it doesn’t show up. But, they could throw something over its eyes for a brief moment before just for a bit of privacy. This would only work briefly, the owl would usually snatch off whatever blinded it. With this knowledge, Jacob and Gina began doing this often and quickly whispered ways to get rid of the owl but they never had enough time to completely discuss a plan at length; They had to quickly show pictures they'd prepared throughout the day or phrases they would come up with. Though they felt the owl was reading their minds, they knew it was impossible. After the 127th time they threw a blanket over the owl, they finally had a plan completed and were ready to try it.

The plan was, what they felt to be, silly and could harm the future of their relationship but they both understood the circumstances and it was worth a try. Friday morning, they got up at their regular times and walked through they’re day as they usually would. Brush teeth, eat breakfast, head to work. But, the plan was to unfold at the exact same time. They usually saw the owl during the most private moments or whenever they forgot about him. So Gina and Jacob planned their day to be the exact same: same time they would go to the bathroom, same time they would take their break, and they arranged to talk to one coworker who they thought liked them in an intimate way. But, the plan didn’t stop there. They would both go on dates with their employees the same night in hopes the owl would follow them around. They figured the owl couldn’t be watching them both every second and by the end of the night, they would meet in the same place with their dates to hopefully exhaust the owl or even a shift in it’s own paradigm. They didn’t know if they’re plan would work but it was worth the try.

Gina and her date arrived at the same hotel Jacob and his date were and they arranged the same room. Though neither dates knew of the plan in progress, they enjoyed themselves and thought the night was to end in their favor. Pushing open the hotel door with the owl following close behind, Gina and her date opened their eyes, Jacob laying in a pool of blood.

Gina was stuck.

Her date sprinted down the hall, getting as far away from the crime scene as possible. Gina finally fixed her mouth to say something.

“What...happened,” Gina said in disbelief. Jacob’s date was in the corner of the room, shivering and covered in Jacob’s blood. She said Jacob kept talking about the eyes he felt in the back of his neck. She said Jacob felt a searing pain all day and he knew it wasn’t going to end. The next thing she knew, Jacob was clawing at the back of his neck with his nails. At a certain point, Jacob grabbed a pen from the desk in the hotel room and tried getting out whatever he felt was burning the back of his neck. Jacob didn’t realize he was losing too much blood until he passed out and didn’t wake back up. This is not the plan they had discussed. This is not how they’re night was supposed to end. Gina turned away from the mess and headed back down the hallway, towards her car. She hadn’t thought about the owl since the hotel and it hadn’t appeared again.

Until Jacob’s funeral.

She didn’t understand its meaning, or what it wanted. But something inside of her felt the release. A freedom she hadn’t experienced in years. A freedom from awkwardness and shame. Free from judgment and stares. If she were to celebrate this freedom infront of all these people at this funeral, she’d surely be considered psychotic. But, she did anyway. And, it was loud and gleeful. She dragged out and eventually put in a psych ward.

Every day spent in the ward was far from dreadful for Gina. She was so happy to be allowed privacy at last, every room the guards put her in was a cashmere cage for Gina to live in peacefully.