The once in a lifetime sighting

It was mid-January when I decided to pack my close belongings and spend a weekend away to destress. I was heading out alone to a small, quaint cabin to be surrounded by peace that only nature could bring me.

All week long it had been snowing causing thy sky to be blanketed by clouds. I was blessed to find out that the coming weekend was forecasted to be clear.

I arrived at my secluded rental to find myself taken back by the pure beauty that stood all around me. It was so much more than I had pictured it be and the way it was posted online did not give it the justice it deserved. This cabin had character that could not be captured on film. Its true rustic elegance could only be seen with your own eyes. It was bigger than I expected but was still the perfect size for one person. A little way behind the cabin tucked into the trees was this small, kept-up barn that added to the surrealism that was my view. After being caught in such an aw, I grabbed my belongings and made my way inside to unpack and become familiar with my temporary home.

As the night fell, I decided to finally step outside and find my true peace. As I looked around, I realized I was standing in a masterpiece of art that nature had created for me. The sky was covered in stars and strips of colorful light moving in such a way above me. The moon shaped as a crescent kept itself from being an overpowering light to the show casted within our atmospheres. The freshly settled snow aided in reflecting the lights above which brightened my views of the untouched nature that surrounded my being. I was truly standing in a winter wonderland.

I stood for hours in the cold. The show stayed playing up until the early morning hours as the colorful lights dimmed, and the stars faded with the rising sun. After so long of being in a daze of tranquility and only hearing the slight movement of wind through the trees and my own breath, that I surprisingly heard a faint hoot in the distance. I could not see where it came from, but it joined the sounds of my night into a melody. I heard it again as I made my way back inside the cabin. When I entered, the view of the barn was right in front of me through the window next to the wood stove and there, I saw it. The song writer of my new favorite melody was perched on the trim of the barn doors, an owl. I starred at it for quite some time being jealous of its existence here at the most picturesque location away from cities and people. I spent the remainder of my weekend daydreaming of that beautiful creature, as if I had just seen the truth of life. It reminded me that my time here on Earth is temporary and what I had seen the night prior was a rare experience that I might not get to live through for a second time.

My heart broke as the weekend came to an end. I loaded my car up with the items I brought and starred at the cabin one last time; in a way, I was saying goodbye to my newfound peace. I buckled up and drove back to my life before. I never did see that owl again and as more days passed, I realized I would never feel such a beautiful sense of existence again.