Never Stop Loving

Billy is sitting on his front porch playing with a toy truck. He moves it side to side. In the distant inside the house you hear Billy’s parents arguing. Billy being only 9 years old doesn’t understand why they are fighting. The yelling stops and Billy hears footsteps coming towards the front porch. Billy’s dad stands at the front door with only the screen door between them. Billy looks up at his dad with a look of curiosity about what is happening. He pushes the truck down to the other side of the porch and stands up. Billy’s dad face looks empty and tears are forming in his eyes.

A car drives up the long dirt driveway. It is a man in the driver seat. He honks the horn as he stops the car in front of the steps. Billy’s dad leaves the doorway into the darkness of the home. Billy’s mother appears in the doorway with a suitcase. She looks at Billy standing in front of her. With her free hand she places it on Billy’s cheek and leans in for a kiss on his forehead. Billy stands there wondering why she is leaving. She says, “I’ll always love you.” She walks towards the car as Billy stands there speechless.

Billy runs inside the house. He sees his father sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of whiskey, and an envelope. His dad looks at him with tears in his eyes, then says, “She isn’t coming back, I’m sorry son…”. Before his dad could finish speaking Billy runs towards the front door with tears running down his face. Once outside he runs towards the old barn.

He opens the barn door roughly. A barn owl flies from one corner of the barn to the other. Billy is startled by the owl, and trips as he walks inside the barn. He lays on the ground crying. He shuts his eyes.

Hours later Billy wakes up still on the ground of the barn with dirt and hay all over him. He stands up and wipes the hay off. He looks around the barn and sees the owl staring back at him. He waves to the owl. The owl surprising mimics the motion with its wing. Billy giggles to himself and has a slight smile appearing across his face. He waves again and the owl mimics him again. Billy smiles wide with a look of wonder across his face. Billy walks towards the owl that is sitting at the edge of the loft. The owl steps back slowly. Billy stops. He turns around and runs towards the house.

Inside the house Billy opens the cold box door and grabs some food he thinks the owl may eat. He runs back to the barn with food in each hand. He goes half way towards the owl and sets the food down on the floor then backs away. The owl’s head leans towards the food then flies down from the loft to the food. It begins to eat small pieces of the food. Billy smiles as he sits down on the ground watching the owl. The owl finishes the food then looks at Billy. It comes towards Billy. Billy puts his hand out in front of him. The owl rubs its head on Billy’s hand. The owl walks away and Billy’s smile fades. He thinks the owl is done with him. He gets ready to stand but the owl picks up a stick with its beak. The owl drops it in front of Billy. Billy grabs it and throws it. The owl flies over to the stick and brings it back to Billy. Billy is astonished that an owl could play fetch. They play for hours. Once Billy’s arm gets tired he rubs his shoulder. The owl sees this and flies over to Billy and lands on his shoulder. Billy stands completely still unable to believe what is happening. He moves a step and the owl settles down on his shoulder. He walks out of the barn towards the field.

Billy is taking in the night air feeling at peace. The owl lifts its wings and flies into the air off Billy’s shoulder. Billy walks around the field watching the owl fly above him. The owl swoops down to Billy. The owl lands on his shoulder. Billy is use to this now but the owl gripped his shirt with its claws and flapped it wings in the opposite direction that Billy was walking. Billy is confused by this action. He continues to walk forward. The owl keeps flapping but Billy ignores it. As he is walking Billy hears a wolf howl. Billy’s heart begins to pound as the howl sounds close by. Billy realizes why the owl was flapping on his shoulder. It was a warning. Billy turns around and begins to run. The owl flies off his shoulder. Billy looks behind him and sees the wolf at the tree line. He begins to cry but doesn’t stop running. Billy’s feet hits a rock causing him to fall. He sits up and sees the wolf running towards him. The owl swoops down at the wolf’s face. Billy smiles seeing the owl trying to protect him. He gets off the ground and runs toward the barn. The wolf still trailing behind. The owl swoops down again at the wolf’s face. The wolf makes a noise as if it was hurt from that strike. Billy stops thinking the wolf isn’t chasing him now. As he turns around the wolf is only a few feet away. Billy’s heart is racing. He is frozen in fear. The wolf lunges at Billy. The owl swoops down and claws at the wolf’s eyes. The wolf falls to the ground pawing at its right eye. Billy is stunned by the site. The owl flies in front of Billy’s face. Billy smiles at the owl thinking they were safe. The wolf lunges at the owl ripping some feathers from the owl’s backside. Billy’s smile fades and a cold shiver is pulsating through his body. Billy kicks at the wolf’s head making contact. The wolf falls to the ground. Billy picks up the owl and runs towards the barn. He makes it to the barn and slams the door shut as the wolf was coming around the corner. Billy climbs up into the loft with the owl in one arm. Once on the loft Billy sets the owl down. He sees blood on his arm. The wolf didn’t just rip out some feathers like Billy was thinking. The owl wasn’t moving. Billy starts to cry uncontrollably as he wipes the blood off his arm. Billy grabs a rag from the window seal. He ties it around the injury on the owl. Billy lays down next to the owl. He shuts his eyes still crying as he holds the owl close to his chest. Billy passes out from exhaustion.

Billy is woken up by the sound of his father’s voice, “Billy! Billy! Where are you?” Billy opens his eyes wishing for good news. He sees the owl still laying next to him. The owl isn’t moving. Billy begins to cry loudly. His father hears him and rushes into the barn. He yells, “Billy! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” His father sees him on the loft crying. He rushes up the ladder. Billy softy sets the owl down on some hay. He lunges into his father arms crying. His father understands what has happened and holds him tightly. They stay quiet for a while just holding onto one another. Billy’s tears begin to lessen. His father breaks their embrace. They look into each others eyes and Billy’s father says, “Never stop loving. I know your hurting now but all we have in life is love. You may think it is easier to wall yourself off so you never feel like this again but that is what I did. When I lost my parents I stopped letting myself feel. Which caused your mother to feel unloved, and that is why she left me. But she didn’t leave you. She wants you to visit her.” His father hands Billy a letter from his mother. Billy puts the letter in his pocket and hugs his father. Billy says, “I’ll always love you dad.”