Alone in the Barn

“As a farmer, I had not many friends, except for the ones that visited from their ranches once in a blue moon. The land we owned and raised had been acres apart, making any visits hard. Some of us had children, though they tended to stay in the village or on a farther acre of land from us. Most of us had rarely seen any visitors, for very few stayed for long. Except for one..”He recalled. His old hand tufted his fuzzy white beard, and he leaned closer to the warm fire to tell his story.

The storm had grown stronger, with some of the loudest thunder one had heard in a long time. The power had long been out, not that anyone would dare brave the storm and go out to fix it. The raindrops slowly trickled down the old wood barn, as the chicken clucked and shivered to sleep. Such storms so big had been rare for this part of town. However, many had anticipated today’s storm, hoping it would change the immense drought we had found ourselves in. That is the one thing most of us had been thankful for when we saw the thick thunderclouds heading our way. though, He hadn’t anticipated this much rain and thunder. The fear now had been that the lightning would strike the crop fields, and worst of all, our barns.

Though many thought it to be dangerous, cattle had been far too scarce and precious lately to not check on. That had been the one source of income for most of us, ever since the markets locked down in each city. the drought had claimed the lives of many, and for us farmers, we had barely survived on the wheat and corn we had saved from the year before. As I approached the cattle barn, as a musk scent of old hay and damp wood filled the air. My flashlight had limited visibility due to the pounding rain surrounding. The huge door slowly crept open with a light push, to reveal the glowing pairs of eyes in the dark. 1,2,3,4,5,6… each pair of eyes had been another cow, making it easier to count than guessing through the body masses. The count had come up to 22, which had been very unusual. During the count this morning for food portions, there had only been 21. Had I miscounted? my eyes swept across the room again, and though old, they had been able to count the glowing eyes easily in the last storm. This time, my eyes flowed from each pair of glowing orbs, all the way up to the roof. 22… that was where the last pair was. The thunder clapped as loud as it could behind my back, and the door swung shut from the violent winds. Clunk. The lock to the door had swung down with the wind as well. Now, it was just me, the cattle, and some unknown creature trapped together. Searching for my flashlight I had dropped a moment ago, I rose back up to slowly wave the light over the last pair to find it gone. what had been in the corner up there?

Fear had finally began to set in, but I knew if I didn’t investigate I would never sleep peacefully in any of my barns or my home on this land. I shown my light all around the beams of the roof, to find a small, furry entity by itself in the corner. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be shivering. the fact it had not attacked me yet seemed to be a reassuring sign, as I lifted my ladder from the corner and brought it closer. “Hello?” I called out. in this situation, the worst that happens is it echos back to me. I waited with bated breath, only to hear a small coo back. The small mass, now directly in front of me, slowly turned its head full circle to meet with my eyes.

The golden fur of the owl shined with wet mist it had been encased in from the outer storm. 2 dark beady eyes gleamed back into mine, As it gently ruffled it’s feathers below it’s heart shaped face. Since the storm had locked us in, I figured I had no choice but to wait until morning when my son came back from town. He had rarely visited, so I was rather lucky he would be coming back with supplies I had asked for tomorrow. I gently raised my arm closer to the owl sitting and shaking by itself on the wood beam. Slowly, it reached out one foot, then the next. “You’ll be ok. I won’t hurt you.” I softened my voice, and lowered my gaze. The owl had cooed as it sat on my arm, resting closer to the thick flannel jacket i had on. I slowly descended from the ladder and went to the corner of the room the cows had not been in. In each barn, I had left a little stove for firewood and some necessities. many times cattle would fall ill from the harsh conditions of our drought, so it seemed better to have the medication and water on hand.

The owl that rested on my arm huddled closer to my jacket, as we sat near the warm fire. It’s dark eyes stared deep into mine, before turning to the other direction. I didn’t sense fear, or uneasiness from the fellow. Rather I felt close to the small animal. For the first time, I felt I had met an animal not out of necessity, but rather, a friend. Though I knew it may be gone by tomorrow morning, I enjoyed our bond we shared through the intense storm that night. The howling thunder and leaks in the roof joined us closer that night. I’ll never forget my little friend.

Grandpa’s eyes glowed with the orange tint of the flames. He squinted up at a small feather that hung above the shelf of family photos. He closed his eyes, leaned a little closer to the fire, and hummed a sad tune, sounding much like the chirps of small owls setting out at night. He held his hand out, as if to caress a small critter, and after a moment of hesitation, thrusted his arm as if to let it fly off. I believe they found each other similar, two creatures looking for a friend to help them through the lonely drought that had spread across the land so long. And I’m glad they found each other.

Hello! Thanks for reading this far! I wrote this story when there had only been a day left for submissions, so it’s nowhere near perfect! However I’m very excited to join for future contests! Thanks for taking the time to read, and once again, I apologize for any typos or mistakes. But hey! That’s what makes a story unique, dontcha think??

- Byul