Nightfall

Barn Owl Challenge Short story

1/24/2022

By: Audrey Ciccone

Nightfall

Clear. That was the sky the night that I was trembling as I knew the end might be near. I could see every star just illuminating the night above me as everything below it seemed to fade into a blurred vision. I remember the smell of some trees being burned and it left a scent on my clothes as I walked away from where it all happened. I never would have even noticed the sky being so brilliantly bright, had I not caught a random witness nearby as I heard the air above me move. There he was. Just staring at me dead in the face like he knew what just went down but would never speak a word of it, at least not to me. Where did he come from? When did he arrive? As soon as he turned his head, it was like he vanished and was never even there. Only, my brain won’t let me forget about the trauma. I could not unsee what most consider “murder.” As I stood in a foot of snow in what felt like the darkest hour of my life, I was covered in heavy ashes and dumbfounded from lack of understanding what just occurred. It was then that I felt the air move around my head and as I turned this elegant creature engaged with me for the first time ever. It was a white barn owl appearing concerned yet kind. His yellow eyes struck me like lightning on a metal pole, they were so stunning. His claws gripped the side of a branch frozen solid from the snow fall early that day. He didn’t budge for a whole ten minutes. Just STARED me down as if he was trying to communicate with me a message about what I just witnessed. All I remember was how bright the sky became, and I woke up covered in ash. My friend, Amy, was gone.

The /Night of The Event:

We were having our Friday night bon fire ritual and singing to the spirits in the sky as we danced and joked about how we were going to buy a fancy boat one day and teach yoga to all our clientele we would snatch while working as slaves aka registered nurses in the REAL world we know today, A.K.A the Covid burdened planet. We had our sight set on victory. We figured if we could hand out some funny business cards with a picture of a yogi in what’s called child’s pose with some catchy slogan like, “We bend for your needs, “and then list our services with benefits, we would find a miraculous and innovative way to blow the minds of your average American mindset and make a killing!

This was the “idea” we had anyway of making it BIG one day. Only then, could we stroll into our jobs one day and make an announcement about our, “RESIGNATION PARTY for all to be invited and walk the fuck out literally right after making this announcement. Heads would turn, minds would explode, and necks would break at the thought that two nurses working side by side would do such a thing at maybe, possibly, the worst time in our lifetime-during a pandemic.

So, …there we were…frolicking, …dancing,….having a glass of wine or beer, and when we would get tired, we would sit. So, we sat down at one point, and I was peering over yonder through the dark shadows of all the robust pine trees that you can smell a mile away when it rains and there’s dew on the ground. I saw a shadow of something BIG and hovering over the trees. It wasn’t a plane. It wasn’t a helicopter. It was most definitely a U.F.O. It was circular and appeared dark, but I couldn’t make out the color since it was after dusk when we started the fire. At that time, when I saw the unidentified flying object, I was curious but still cautious obviously because we had never seen anything like this before.

Before we knew it, this thing popped up, hovering right over us, outside and vulnerable as ever! I kept thinking, “Is this it? Are we leaving this planet for good now? Have they come to save us or is this an abduction?” I had so many questions and fears simultaneously while trying to act quick and just when I looked at Amy to say anything, and we… just …stopped. Everything just stopped. A beam of light shot down out of this U.F.O, and that’s all that I remember clearly. After that, I have visions and sometimes nightmares based on that night. But how could I ever cover up what actually happened on that ship? How would anyone believe me-that I’m not the one who murdered Amy. When you have nightmares about visions of some “other alien beings” doing experiments on you, it’s a way of remembering what happened even when you think you’re asleep. Just because someone sedates you into a dreamlike state, doesn’t justify someone disappearing from your house the night after having a bonfire. Something REAL as the shit that comes out of your ASS was HAPPENING that night. Now, all I can do is try to remember and write down all the events and the order in which they happened for that night recap. It never ceases to amaze me that I not only have to face the fact that I got abducted but now my best friend was taken and possibly burned in my backyard by these “beings.”

The Next Day:

You know when you sometimes think you’re asleep but you just lay there all night and your mind doesn’t stop wandering about crazy stuff that just ruined your life like a fucking U.F.O?! How could this outsider make me the prisoner for speaking on what has been going on for decades in this country? This is so morally and ethically wrong in so many ways. It is saying lying is ok and I’m not okay with that. But still to this day, I refuse to take blame for someone else dying that I did not kill. Amy was that beautiful person that meant the world to me. I would do anything for her, I’d fight for her, I’d even kill for her….

They didn’t understand the depths of Amy and my relationship. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter anyway. First it was the COPS. Then, it was FBI, CIA, you name it. I was in the torture chair. The entire time, all could think about was that dang OWL! His face was something foreign and somehow comforting . His feathers looked so light, fluffy, and he appeared cozy ironically in that frozen night of the event. What was his memo?

Did I miss something? First, nurses get mandated to get vaccinated for Covid without choice and now this?! My best friend gets sucked away and possibly burned in my backyard meanwhile I am being convicted of killing someone I consider family to me and would do anything for.

The one impending detail that they still don’t know about is… still a secret that was left behind. The extra visits. And, if time is on my side, they should be back any minute now, possibly followed by a visit from the owl.

What will they think of the owl and its course played in this event? Will they even take me serious?! Will I even stand a chance in court to not sound like I’m crazy? I know I am not the only person in the universe who has witnessed the disappearance of a person out of nowhere with no details and no idea as to if, and when they will return. Here’s a big thank you for all of you who still have not given up on finding your loved ones.