Micah and Barry

A city boy named Micah takes a break from his busy life as a building engineer. He has lived in the city of Dallas his whole life, so he decided to go ghost by going to an old cabin in the woods for a weekend in the small town of Sidney. It was April before he was finally able to get away from all the deadlines and be able to breathe again. When he arrived, he noticed a barn owl sleeping in the porch cover. With his feathers that mirrored the pattern of the fallow deer, he had never seen such a beautiful creature. Micah then went inside to not disturb the slumber of his new friend. As he’s exploring the house, he realized that this cabin doesn’t have an indoor bathroom. He thought to himself how he should have read more about the cabin before spontaneously putting down a payment. He then walked around the grounds until he found the outhouse. It was about a minute walk from the cabin and located behind some trees. He entered and pulled the light string as if it was a closet in the early 1900s. He was always used to the newest technology, so the string as the controls seemed outdated to him. It caused his mind to wander about the ability of the bathroom to work. He then relieved himself, glad the bathroom worked, before finding his way back, once again admiring his friend as he passed. A few hours passed with him drawing sketches and reading the newest published works when he looked out and saw that the sun had gone to sleep providing room in the sky for the moon to proudly show his face. After looking at the time he decided it was time to get tuckered into bed. After a few minutes of mind racing scenarios of arguments, he should have won if he had only had the right comebacks in the moment, Micah began the fall into a fantasy only the mind could create. He began to dream about marrying Selena Gomez and having Ryan Reynolds as a best man, like I said only stuff a fantasy in his mind could create. Deeper and deeper he fell when all the sudden waterfalls began flowing in his mind causing him to wake. Grumpy that the waterfall ruined his perfect life, he grabbed a flashlight, waved to his newly awakened friend, and headed towards the outhouse. He turned the flashlight off after he found the cord to the light. Once done, he tried to turn his flashlight back on, but he was trapped in the void of night with the moon even covered with the clouds of spring. Frustrated and acting like a child, Micah began to wander around looking for his temporary shelter, also known as the cabin, but the minute walk turned into hours. He had no one to call and even if he did, he would be too stubborn to admit that he had gotten lost in the woods because he had to pee. He debated if the woods would become his bed for the night. "It would be a step up from my ex-girlfriend's house” he said with a snicker as he began to lay beneath a tree. Then a thought of what might call the woods their home, seeing him as an easy meal trampled his mind causing him to jump up and begin walking again. More hours passed, when he started to give up on himself. He thought if a cougar did come that maybe he could fight it off or at least play dead because “Maybe they like the kill more than the feast". Out of the pitch of night, his friend began to call out to him. It was faint, but that identity confused bird was indeed leading him back. As the boy walked closer and closer, the call became louder. Right before his legs began to shake, he found it. It only took the owl 18 “whos” for Micah to find his way back. The cabin was in sight and there his friend was, perched on the porch. He had made it back all because of a beautiful barn owl. He was so thankful to his friend he left him treats every night for the rest of his stay. From chicken salad to meat lovers pizza, the bird ate like a king. At least, Micah thought it was the bird eating the food. Before he left, he drew a picture of his golden eyed friend and left it for the owner when he returned. On the back, it reads, “Meet Barry, the best flashlight a guy could have.” While driving his 2 hour and 45-minute drive back to Dallas, Micah couldn’t help but think about Barry. Barry the beautiful bird who saved the life of a spoiled city boy by calling out to him in the dead of night. When even the moon and the stars gave up on him, that bird never let him be taken by a cougar. Once he got back to reality, he we, no one seemed to care. Some called him dramatic and paranoid. That same day he went to the bar with his friends from college. He told them all about his drawings, the book he read, and of course, Barry. He told them how he got lost, thought a cougar would get him, and how a beautiful bird helped him find his way. It’s been 10 years since that weekend, and he still goes to that cabin every April to visit his friend. Maybe one day, Barry will also come back.