Into Silence...

11:31 PM 1/8/2022 by Gina drew hamlet

If I were a better artist, I would paint the picture that I see in my head. I can still remember her smile, her face lighting up from the doorway as we pulled up to the house. My nana. So, kind, so gentle and the best cook in the world, or at least in mine. Every summer my mom and dad would pack up my brother and sister and I, and we would make the long drive to the country to stay the summer with grandma and grandpa. They had this big old house and a barn with horses, cows, pigs and every farm animal you could think of. I often thought I could hear them talking, especially to grandpa. He had a kind heart and would always have a stray or injured one hanging around. If grandma would let him, I'll bet he would have brought his bed out there and slept in the barn with them. They loved living out there in the county. The days were long, and the nights were cold and dark. Although there were plenty of spare rooms in the house, the three of us kids would always sleep in the room upstairs. It had a big picture window, and, in the daylight, you could see for miles. At night I tried not to be afraid but the sounds out in the country are not at all like the ones from home. I pretended to be tough, but some of the animal's make sounds like babies crying and it scared me, a lot. One night, I could hear something outside the window. At first, I thought it was the tree branches, but when I looked up, this huge pair of golden eyes stared back at me. I screamed and ran downstairs shaking. When I told them about the monster in the tree, grandpa laughed and said that it was no monster, just an old barn owl that had been coming around. He said he felt like it wanted to tell him something. The next day my grandpa went to heaven, and I didn't see the owl anymore. It was as if the old barn owl came to fly grandpa up to heaven. The summer ended and we went back home to the city. I'll never forget the eyes that i saw that night in the tree. It wasn't scary to me now, but I saw it in my dreams often, and grandpa would be there too. The next summer was the same as always, just a little quieter and I could tell that grandma wasn't quite the same. She missed grandpa something awful. I think she had a broken heart. Summer ended and it was time to go home. Mom sent us to bed early to rest up for the long drive. I had a hard time falling asleep that night. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but I woke up from a noise outside just like before when grandpa died. I looked out the window and there it was. It came back. Oh no! It came back for grandma! It's going to take her to heaven just like grandpa. I couldn't stop sobbing. I ran to my mom and dad and told them that my grandma was going to heaven tonight with the barn owl. They told me I was being silly, and grandma was just fine. But ...she wasn't. When I awoke the next morning, everyone was crying, and grandma was gone. I was crying too, but I kept thinking about the return of the night owl and why did it come to me the night before my grandma and grandpa passed away. Was I next? Was it there to warn me of some unforeseen danger? I never saw the owl again after that. Now I bring my kids to the farmhouse every summer to visit my mom and dad who moved in shortly after grandma died. I still see them in my dreams. Grandma, grandpa and the old night owl with the big yellow eyes. I think he may return again one day when it's time for mom and dad to go. But I hope it's not for a very, very long time.