Owl You Need is Hope

By; Kerry Krzenski

The wind howled through the pine trees, blowing the snow all around. The flames of the fire danced with the wind creeping from the top of the chimney. Hoping the fire would not blow out completely, ten-year-old Emery Willow and her toddler sister Fern were sitting as close to it as possible, eating the porridge Emery had just warmed up for them. Coughs in the background reminded them it was time to check on mother, who had contracted an illness so terrible, she had been unable to leave her bed in days.

It all started the week before. Mother had ridden to town for necessities soon after Emery had returned home from school. Emery was to work on her chores and help Fern with her reading book until mother returned. Mother had not returned for a long time. Emery took it upon herself to feed Fern, braid her hair, and tuck her into bed. She waited up for mother.

Along the road on mother’s way to town, she heard cries. These cries were coming from a shack just passed the bridge over the dried-up creek, about 10 miles from town. They were children’s cries. She pulled over and walked up the hill and knocked on the door. A small child came to the door. The child was pale skinned, face soaking wet, no shirt, and as lean as a child that age could be. She asked where the child’s mother was. An older male child came to the door, a spitting image of the toddler, lean and all. The child was trying not to cough in mother’s face, and mother could tell they were both struggling to stand. “Our mother has passed; I am in charge of the house now” The older child said.

Mother got back in the buggy and continued into town, heartbroken for the children on their own. While obtaining groceries for her and her own children, she purchased some for the children in the shack. On her way back from town, she stopped and delivered the groceries to the children, went inside the shack, started a fire in their fireplace for them, and even started a pot of soup for them, giving the older child instruction on how to know when it was ready to serve himself and his little brother. When she walked out the door from the shack to head home, she heard movement and felt a little snow fall from a tree branch above her. When she looked up, she was surprised to see the most beautiful white barn owl looking down at her. He didn’t make a sound, but his eyes so intense, stared her down as if peering into her soul. His gentle yet wild face gave her hope for the boys. She whispered through the breeze to the owl asking him to watch over them.

Mother left the shack and went home. Mother ate the dinner Emery had left out for her, and Emery went on up joining Fern in their small bed. Mother finished up cleaning the kitchen, kept the fire going, and went on to bed herself. Throughout the night, her fever rose, and by morning her strength began to diminish, and her skin began to perspire.

When Emery arose along with the dim rays of sunlight bleeding through the trees, and piercing the snowy fog, she noticed there were no noises coming from under the loft. The house was completely silent. She climbed down the loft stairs, to find the house still dark, and the fire was out. She tipped toed through the house to mother’s room to find her still in bed. Mother’s bed covers were soaked, and her face was warm and damp, her hair clinging wetly to her skin. She shook her mother to wake, but she could barely open her eyes. Mother whispered to Emery “I am not well; you must take care of your sister.” Mother slowly explained to Emery why she had been late coming home the night before, and told her of the boys in the shack, who had just lost their mother to an illness. She told Emery she needed to be strong for her and Fern. She also told her of the owl she saw in the trees above the shack. She said the owl had given her hope and told Emery she needed to remain hopeful as well.

Emery felt her heart start to race as if in panic, and tears fogged her eyes, but she knew there was no time for sadness. She quickly got a fire going, took mother’s wet blankets from her bed and replaced them with a dry set. She got a cold cloth and laid it over mother’s forehead. She then went up to the loft to wake her sister. She knew she had to watch that Fern would not get too close to mother, for she feared whatever sickness ailed her, Fern could catch too. She told Fern to stay in the loft and that she would bring her breakfast and books to read. Emery started all the chores her mother usually did through out the day which included going to the barn and milking their cow Fern had named Lucy. Lucy provided a full pail of fresh milk and after Emery filled her feed tray with fresh hay, gave her a pat on the head, and headed back towards the house.

Throughout the day, Emery hustled with the chores, checked on mother often getting her to eat porridge little by little, and worked on her studies as well. Fern complained about being cooped up in the loft, but Emery remained firm that she must not go near mother. Emery tried to keep her mind busy. She kept thinking about those boys in the shack who had lost their mother. She was fearful her and Fern would endure the same fate and began to wonder what life would be like without mother. It was a scary thought. They had lost their father due to famine in the war. Were they to lose their mother too? Emery had to shake away the fears flooding her mind and went to read her studies.

The next day is when the wind blew relentlessly though the land. The snow fell sideways as the wind roared. Emery had not slept the night prior, she kept checking on her mother and had to keep the fire going to keep them all warm. She also quietly went upstairs several times to check on Fern. Fern had a bad habit of kicking through the night, making the covers fall to the floor. Emery had to keep picking them up and covering Fern up so she wouldn’t get cold. The night had seemed so long as the wind grew harder. Emery had almost dozed off a few times, but she was afraid she would have a nightmare or she would sleep and not hear mother calling out for help. When the sun started to sneak through just enough to let her know it was morning, she started again with the chores, changing mother’s covers, getting Fern going with her reading books and getting the pot of porridge going.

After she got Fern fed, Emery tried to get mother to eat. Mother couldn’t even lift her head to try. She could barely talk either. Her lips barely moved, but there was no sound. Emery lovingly whispered to her mother she would be back to check on her and try to get her to eat again and told her to rest and to know she was taking care of her sister and the house. She replaced the cool rag on mother’s forehead with a fresh one and made sure she was tucked in comfortably. She then climbed up to her and Fern’s loft to find Fern drawing a picture of mother. Fern sat up with tears in her eyes “Is Mother going to be alright” Emery sat on a chair from across the room, she didn’t want to get too close in fear she would transfer mother’s illness to her little sister. “Mother is fighting the illness. She is fighting hard. We need to have faith in her, and we need to have hope.” Fern nodded in understanding and went back to her drawing. Emery went downstairs and continued with the housework. In the afternoon had to go to the barn and chop some firewood mother had collected a week prior. The axe was heavy, and she had to use both hands to heave it into the air and back down. It took a couple of swings to cut each piece, but she got the job done, and brought it all into the house. When she was done, her arms were sore, but she went about starting the evening chores, and prepared dinner.

Another long night passed with the wind. Emery kept the fire alive. She wouldn’t allow herself to sleep again. She knew it was unhealthy to be awake so long, but she felt the need to stay awake, especially with this storm and with mother still sick in bed. She read her book and started to re-read another book that she had already read a few years back. Again, she waited till the Sun peaked through the trees, and got up starting another day with the same routine as the days before. The wind had finally died down, the snow had stopped. Emery went out to the barn again to milk and feed Lucy. Lucy graciously provided them with another entire pail of milk. Emery placed more hay in the feeder tray, and thanked Lucy for her contribution. After she left the barn she headed back towards the house. Before she got to the front of the house, what was waiting for her at the front door, made her almost drop the pail.

At the front door outside, were two boys. The oldest looked to be about Emery’s age, and the younger one about Fern’s age. The oldest boy turned to see Emery and could tell the she was a little frightened. He assured her there was nothing for her to fear and told her himself and his little brother would bring them no troubles. “I am Malik, and this is my brother Andre, we are here in search of a kind woman who visited us a couple of weeks ago at our little shack up the road. We were ill and had just lost our mother. She was very kind to us and brought us food. We wanted to thank her.” Emery walked closer to where the boys stood and put her pail down. “Mother has fallen ill and has not left her bed for three days” She said the words as tears filled her eyes. Malik could see her pain. His eyes watered too, and his brother remained quiet. Emery went on to explain she was caring for her mother and little sister with all the chores and cooking. Malik walked towards where Emery stood and picked up the pail of milk from the ground next to her. “I would like to help, please. Your mother was so kind to us I would like to repay her kindness. I insist.” Emery was hesitant to let them in, as they were strangers. She looked at Malik’s face and saw kindness and honesty. Before she could say a word, there was a sound that came from a tree branch above them. All three of them looked up and saw a white barn owl peering back down at them. She could hear Malik whisper “Look at that”, and Andre drew a breath full of surprise. Emery thought to herself about Mother’s story of the owl at the shack, and how it had given her hope. She remembered that mother had told her she had whispered to the owl to keep the boys safe, and then thought to herself of how the boys had obviously survived the illness their mother had died from. She decided for herself the owl must have heard mother’s wishes, and really was a sign of hope after all. She looked into the owl’s eyes just as her mother had and felt a warmth in her heart as he stared back at her. She looked back to Malik who was still holding the pail of milk. “Come on in, I’ve got a fire going” She gestured towards the door, Malik opened if for her to go in first and he and his brother followed inside.

Malik set the pail on the counter and went to find mother’s bed where she lay. He held her hand and Emery could her him whisper prayers to not take her from us. Emery went with Andre upstairs to introduce him to Fern. She told Fern that her and Andre they may go play quietly outside but only in front of the house and the barn. Fern wanted to go introduce Andre to Lucy. As they went back downstairs, Malik was tending to the fire. Fern shook his hand and thanked him for helping them and then took Andre to the barn. Emery and Malik than sat at the table and Malik and they talked as the day passed by, getting to know one another.

Emery had learned that Malik and his family had moved into the shack after his father had passed away in a tragic accident at the mill in town. Mother had taken up a job cleaning cabins for folks in town, but it didn’t pay very well. The shack was all they could afford, and they had to sell a lot of their belongings in order to pay for the shack and the land it sat on. Malik had to quit school and took a job mucking stalls for a farmer on the other side of the town and walked far every day to make a few extra dollars for the family to get groceries. When his mother had contracted the illness, Malik had to quit going to work to watch over his little brother and care for his mother. With neither of them being able to bring in any income, they ran out of food. He told her how once his mother died, he and his brother had fell ill as well, and he was fearing the worst. He feared they would not make it much longer themselves, and let his brother have what was left of their food and tried to make him as comfortable as possible. He said he had just about lost all hope, when his mother had shown up and discovered their situation. He said when she came back with food for them, he had never known such kindness from a stranger.

Night came, and the woods grew dark. Both Malik and Emery cooked dinner together that night as the younger children drew pictures and shared them each other. Emery was surprised that Fern was getting alone so well with Andre, and Malik thought the same thing about Andre. The four of them had dinner, and then Malik helped Emery clean up after. Malik told Emery that they could be back tomorrow to help again, but Emery insisted they stay the night in their warm cabin and not walk so far to their shack in the dark. Emery gathered lots of blankets and made beds for the boys up in the loft. The boys and Fern laid down to sleep, but once again, Emery could not sleep. She still wanted to remain awake in case mother needed help. Malik noticed that she was not coming up and getting into bed with Fern. He went downstairs to find her by the fire with a book. “Why are you not sleeping?” he asked her. She replied, “I want to be awake in case mother needs me.” Malik asked her when the last time she slept was, and she told him she had not slept since mother had fell ill. Malik insisted Emery go on up to sleep. He told her he would keep a watch out for mother and told her not to worry. Emery trusted him and went on up to bed. She slept comfortably and safe all night long beside her sister.

Emery woke up to find the fire still going, and mother’s covers changed with fresh ones. Andre was still asleep upstairs, but Malik was nowhere in the house. She started to worry he had left, but then the front door open, and in he came with a load of firewood he had just chopped himself. Emery could not have been more grateful for him. While he washed up, Emery woke the younger children up. When she, Fern and Andre came downstairs they found Malik making them breakfast. They had breakfast together and then the younger children went out to play. The sun was shining, and it was a perfect day to be outside. Emery and Malik cleaned the kitchen up together again, and then joined Fern and Andre outside to soak up some sunshine. Later in the afternoon, Emery went in and made sandwiches and brought them outside for them to have a picnic lunch by the barn.

All four kids remained outside for most of the day, playing hide and seek, tag, and kickball. Emery kept thinking about mother though and wondered what was to come. Emery went inside to check on her, and to her surprise, mother was sitting up straight in bed and looked at Emery with a smile on her face. Emery ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. Mother’s fever had broken, she was no longer sweating, and there was color in her face again. Emery ran outside to tell the others the great news. They all went back in and by that time mother had raised from her bed and walked into the kitchen to greet them. Mother was surprised to see Malik and Andre, but once Emery explained how much help they had been while she was ill, she could not have been happier to see them. She was thrilled to know they had survived their illness. She thanked Malik repeatedly.

The day continued into night and mother’s strength came back little by little. The boys stayed the night again on their bed of blankets in the loft. Everyone was able to sleep well through the night. The next morning Mother made everyone breakfast. After breakfast, Emery went to go milk and feed Lucy. Mother went with her. They talked about Malik and Andre, and Emery told her she really enjoyed Malik’s company. As they walked back to the house, they were just about to the front door and heard a noise above them. They looked up to find the barn owl, sitting in the tree above them, looking down at them. Emery quietly told mother how the owl had been there the same day Malik and Andre had first come to the house. She told mother how the owl had reminded her to be as hopeful as she had been when mother had seen the owl at the boy’s shack. Mother took Emery’s hand and squeezed it tight. They both looked back up at the owl with grateful hearts. The owl then took off from the branch it had been perched upon, and away if flew, gracefully and beautiful. Mother and Emery stood their hand in hand and watched as the owl flew across the clearing and into the woods. Again, it gave them both a sense of hope for the future. Good things were to come.

A few days went by and mother insisted the boys stay with her and the girls. She didn’t want them to be all alone, and she saw how great everyone got along. Plus, it was handy to have Malik around. He chopped the firewood for them and helped with other chores. Eventually, mother found out from Malik there were no other known relatives whom would take in Malik and Andre since their mother had passed. She did not feel right about taking them to an orphanage, especially since they all got along with them so well. She did not want to separate them. So, she decided to ask Emery and Fern how they felt about the boys living with them. There was no objection. She then asked the boys if they would like to live with her and the girls. There was no objection.

The five of them became a happy family. Mother got a job as a teacher in the town’s schoolhouse. Malik went to school with Emery for half a day and continued to muck stalls in the afternoons to help pay for groceries. After school, Emery had found a job as an office assistant at their local postal office to help pay the bills too. Just as Malik would be done at the stalls, Emery would be getting done with her duties at the postal office at the same time. Each night the two of them would walk home together. They would talk about their days, and each day they grew closer to one another as they got older. Every now and then on their walk home, Emery would look up to the skies and to her surprise, she’d catch a glimpse of the white barn owl flying over head and away through the trees. Each time, she’d remind herself to always have faith and hope, and to always be grateful for all the good things in life.