When the Night Falls

Darkness roams the air. Two headlights slice through the night sky as they make their way toward a small town in the distance. Suddenly the car’s engine starts to flutter. “Just great”, says the boy, as he looks toward the Low Fuel light in the dashboard. Taking his dad’s car without permission was one thing, but having to call him for rescue would really be the cherry on top of an already lousy night. The car’s hiccups slowly wind down as the last fumes of gas are extinguished. He is officially out of gas. As he pulls over to the side of the road, he can’t help but feel a sense of dread. The boy (a 16-year-old if that counts), having barely learned to parallel park, now must now figure out how to get himself out of this predicament.

With no signs of life besides the long Oak trees that tower over him, he gets out of the car and looks around. The darkness is strong tonight. In hopes of saving what battery is left, the boy turns off the headlights and quickly gets devoured by the darkness. As he makes his way through the winding road, his fears intensify as strange unutterable sounds surround him from every angle. Screeches, yells, branches moving……. He cannot make any sense of it, for the darkness knows how to keep a secret. Moving his feet faster and faster, he searches for a payphone or any form of connection to the human world. His steps intensify as the screams emanating from the trees start to sound more menacing. “It will all be over soon” he says as he tries his hardest to stay calm. Thoughts of him in his room under the safety of his blanket race through his mind. He quickly snaps out of it. “This is no time for daydreaming! Don’t be weak, focus!” he says. He can get out of this mess, at least that is what he keeps telling himself. As he sprints toward what seems to be an endless road of darkness, he stumbles on a pothole and lands flat on his face. Feeling dizzy and nauseated, he struggles to make sense of his surroundings. Maybe his dad was right, maybe he is weak. As more and more thoughts race his mind, his tear level begins to rise. “I can do it” he thinks to himself. Suddenly he hears a hoot in the distance. As he wipes down the tears, he looks up and sees a beautiful barn owl in the distance. This owls’ face is so white and pure it almost seems to be floating in the darkness. The animals that were previously screaming and hollering quickly become silent. This owl commands respect and all animals seem to oblige. As the boy looks toward the bird, he cannot help but feel a sense of honor to be in his presence. What a truly magnificent creature. As the boy stands, he quickly composes himself like one would when they are in the presence of royalty. The owl almost seems to bow to him as a sign of acknowledgement, he hoots a few more times then slowly flies to a nearby branch in the woods. The boy is captivated and feels as if the bird is telepathically telling him to follow.

Making his way toward the owl, the boy begins to feel safer and his fears diminish. The owl then makes his way toward another tree and the boy follows. “What is your name?” the boy says. “How did you find me?” Although no one answers he knows that the bird can hear him. The owl hoots and slowly glides into the next tree, so on and so forth until they are deep in the forest. Almost like a game of tag, the boy is starting to have fun trying to keep up with his new friend. “I’m Jared, I was supposed to have gone out on a date tonight, but she never showed up.” The owl just stares at him, he says nothing, but the boy knows he is listening. “I got in an argument with my dad to let me borrow his car. He says I can’t be trusted and that I have a lot more growing up to do… I guess he was right.” The owl hoots again. “I was so busy feeling sorry for myself that I forgot to put gas in the car. He never lets me go anywhere and always says I have an overactive Imagination.” The owl just looks at him, his snowy white face almost floating in the darkness. “I’m 16 I am pretty much an adult. You believe me right?” The owl turns and continues his trek from branch to branch, periodically checking back to make sure the boy is keeping up. “I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t trust me because I’m always in my head, or maybe I just don’t trust myself.” Just as he realizes this, he looks over and sees a few specs of light spilling through the branches. As he adjusts his eyes to the light, he realizes it is a gas station! He makes his way though the brush and reaches the end of the forest. The bird saved his life, this is nothing short of a miracle! As he turns to thank him, the barn owl is nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? As the boy looks around, he tries his best to find the white ghostly face but to his avail nothing is there. Surely he would have heard the owl’s wings flapping, or the sound of his hoot as he flew away. Nothing. The owl was there…. he saw him, at least this is what he tells himself, but who knows, maybe his dad was right, he does have an overactive imagination.