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The trustworthy owl

A short story outside the universe of the rest of my stories

By L.D. Malachite Published 3 years ago 3 min read
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The trustworthy owl
Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

She found herself sequestered in a barn as if it had always been her home. She was running from her brother, who had once been the most important person in her life. Her brother had since changed, he had become someone she only recognized as his father, a cruel and unintelligent man. She hoped not to see either of them again, hoped to simply move to another town and hide away the rest of her life.

Now was a notably bad time to be hiding anywhere near her town as wild fire encircled the town at the moment, causing her to regularly cough and hack in the smoky air. Once she was decently prepared to accept that she had outrun them, she climbed the tall wood ladder up to the hay lofts above, halting as she went. She fell onto the top floor with a huff as she raised an albuterol inhaler to her lips, inhaling sharply.

There was a small window with which she could see all the way to the road, a fact that set her much more at ease, allowing her to sleep. She woke in a sweat while coughing and wheezing, something that was beginning to concern her, she only hade 50 puffs left, something she could die without. She raised the inhaler to her lips again, before biting her lip painfully. They had found her. Her brother and his dad knew she was on this farm, and she knew she would not be able to avoid them and the fire at this point.

In that moment, she could hear a large flapping of an owl followed by the echo of a voice. "You have to make a choice" it spoke as if directly into her consciousness, sending a shot of shock down her spine.

"Wh-What? Who is that?" She was whispering in a hoarse puff as the owl settled at her knees while she sat.

"You need not speak, my friend, I will hear your thoughts. You must choose, there is fire closing in on you like the dark of a night...But your 'family' is out there. You will certainly die in here, but you could survive yet in the grasp of them." The owl seemed oddly trustworthy, but otherwise normal in every respect.

"Well, I don't intend on going back to them, so I suppose I will...stay here." Her eyes began to well over as she began looking for a rope. She would not allow herself to burn to death, a truly brutal death, she would find something quicker.

"An interesting choice indeed" the owl cocked his head

"Well, honestly, I just don't want to give them the satisfaction. I'd rather die than give them that..." there was a quiet sadness about her as she moved.

"And so it will be." The owl had taken flight, flying across her hands while depositing a nuce into her hands as he settled onto a beam in the ceiling. "I can help you, you must hurry" these would be the last words she heard as she threw the end of rope to him and he tied it securely.

"Well, goodbye, mom" were her last words as she jumped off the top floor, he would never know. As she took her last breathe, the warmth of the fire began to dissipate, as with the smoke. Her brother and his father glimmered away mid stride. The owl let out a soft hooo as he grew in size as hands sprouted from the tip of each feather on his wing. His face became that of a bat with a beak as he rolled his shoulders and tried each joint.

"Well that one was easy, she just..believed it entirely. Hah! Oh well, maybe the next one will be more fun. I prefer it when they fight me."

fiction
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About the Creator

L.D. Malachite

L.D.Malachite is an author from California who specializes in Horror, and psychological explorations on trauma.

All stories published here are first drafts which will be later published as books.

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