The Lady and the Night Barn Owl

The sky was pitch black. There was light mist in the air. There were only a few lampposts alongside the distant road that allowed for some visibility. It wasn’t long until she was being dragged by her hair, across the dirt into the barn. The barn was old, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a few trees, just a little distant from the road leading into the city ahead. The barn had not been maintained well. The red paint on the walls from the outside had already started to peel off. As the man dragged her weak body inside, the smell of death, and decay overpowered the remaining life in her. She was bruised up and wounded. The white walls were dirty, covered in residue of dirt, and stains of blood. The roof was hanging low, with mold in the corners of the rooftop. She saw a bracelet lying in the hay scattered across the ground. She understood that she was not the first one. The man stopped in his tracks and let go of her hair. Her weak body fell flat onto the ground. He walked over to the left. There were instruments for the barn lined up against the wall. A shovel, a whip, a bridle, a saddle, and other things, but she couldn’t tell what they were. She heard clattering. The man was frustrated because he couldn’t find what he was looking for. He walked out of the door to go look for it. The huge door of the barn was left open. She had no strength to get up, or to even lift a finger. She knew there was no chance of escaping. A few moments later, an owl flew into the barn. It was white, with a heart-shaped face, and brown specks on its white fur. It was a Barn owl. She was looking at it, very weakly, and it at her. She remembered learning about Barn owls in her Environmental Science class. They were predators. And they liked to hunt at night. And they don’t live more than 8 years. The man returned, wearing a hazmat suit, with a chainsaw in his hand. The lady knew this was it.

As the man walked towards her, the owl hissed, and spread out its wings.

“Any last words?” the man asked as he turned on the chainsaw. The owl heard her silent whisper, I want my mom. The man bent down.

“Out of all of them, you will always be my special one”, he said as he caressed her cheeks, and moved his hands down her arms, her breasts, and her hips. She felt repulsed but was too powerless to express it. She turned her head away. A tear formed, and slowly crawled its way out of her eye. It was slowly running down her cheek. He grinned. An evil smile formed and his yellow teeth were exposed. He saw the lonesome tear on her cheek and wiped it away. He got up. “I promise, this will be quick”, he said and yanked her necklace off her neck, and threw it on to the hay scattered on the ground. As she saw the chainsaw come closer, she started to relive her whole life all over again. The owl’s eyes were still fixed on her. It saw her first day of school, family trip to the zoo, playing in the sandbox, trip to Disneyland, honey, look here, and say cheese! what is wrong with you? Are you drunk again? The children are sleeping! Those girls are jerks. My name’s Lisa, what’s your name? Hey I think you’re kinda cute, do you wanna go out with me? Um, your dad and I decided to get a divorce. Hey, what did I say, no boys in the house! Dear Ms. Lisa, we are happy to inform you that you have been accepted to Harvard Law School. Hey, what’s a beautiful girl like you doing all by herself in a bar? I can give you a ride if you want.

Her last thoughts were 'mom, where are you?'

The man slowly wedged the chainsaw into her body and moved it slowly back and forth as if slicing a piece of steak. The blood started to splatter everywhere, as he wedged the chainsaw deeper into the body. He spilt her in half, then into smaller pieces. The dried stains on the walls were covered with a fresh coat of blood. So did the barn instruments on the side, and the earth upon which her motionless, chopped up body parts rested.

“Here, J.J., have a piece”. The man took a piece and tossed one in front of the owl. The Barn owl screeched and hissed.

“What’s wrong, you don’t want one? Ok, then I’ll just have all of them for myself”. He gathered all the chopped of pieces, and put them in his pocket, and left the barn to store them in the freezer.

The Barn owl sat firmly in his place, looking at the mess the man had created once again. He looked over to the side and saw the girl standing.

“Can you see me? ” The girl asked. “Can you hear me?” The owl screeched. “You heard what I said, didn’t you? You saw what I saw. You saw my whole life with me”.

“ Do me a favour, would you? My mom doesn’t where I am, what has happened to me. Take the necklace, and let her know that I won’t be coming back. Ever.”

The owl screeched, and took the necklace in his beak. The necklace was partially covered in blood. The Barn owl spread its wings, and flew its way out of the barn, into the mist.

The End