The Beneficiary

Ethan Denison awoke early, tossed the faded quilt off of him, and gazed out of the window. His room was small and cozy, with walls of knotty pine and an antique chest of drawers. It was his favorite room to stay in when he visited Grandpa’s rustic house on Bear Lake. He watched the sunrise, as he had done many times before. The light reflected on the water, illuminating the sky. In the past, it would fill him with excitement over the prospect of another day of fishing or hiking with his grandfather. This time it filled him with sadness, serving as a reminder that his Grandpa had passed away in his sleep one week previously. Even though Grandpa’s death was as peaceful as anyone could have hoped, it didn’t soothe the grief that Ethan felt in the pit of his chest. Memories of Grandpa flashed through his mind as he watched the water lap on the shore. He would come up here as much as his parents would allow it, which was at least twice a month. Ethan smiled, thinking of the many times that he had knocked on the thick mahogany front door, anxiously waiting for Grandpa to let him in. "Hello, my boy!", he'd always say, coupled with an enveloping hug. Grandpa's greeting echoed in Ethan's mind as he wiped away tears swelling in his eyes.

He overheard his parents discussing how to organize Grandpa's belongings as that was the reason for their visit. Ethan felt that sorting through Grandpa's belongings was insulting and reduced him to odds and ends that would be sold at an estate sale. However, there was one item that Ethan was anxious to find and keep for himself. Upon arriving to the cabin late the previous night, Ethan immediately went to his Grandpa's bedroom and opened the bedside drawer. He picked up the drawer's only content, a brass compass. Grandpa had it ever since he was a Boy Scout over fifty years ago. Ethan reflected upon how Grandpa must have been his same age, twelve, when the compass came into his possession. Grandpa had used it countless times while hiking with Ethan, and he taught him how to use it to orient himself in the woods should he get lost.

“The key is to never lose your cool even when things go wrong,” Ethan remembered his grandfather telling him. "Always remember that you’re going to be alright and that there is a way out of most situations if you stay calm and persistent,” he had said. These were words that he had recalled several times in his life when he was in a difficult situation and unsure of what to do.

The morning was bright and cheerful. It seemed almost impossible to Ethan that it could look that way in his grandfather’s absence. He decided to take one of his favorite hikes to try and make himself feel better. His mother called out to him as he came down the stairs. She was still in her pajamas and was holding a cup of coffee.

“Morning sweetie. How are you holding up?” she asked, ruffling his short, brown hair with her hand.

“I’m ok, mom. I just miss Grandpa,” Ethan answered, feeling himself getting close to tears again. He sighed and took a deep breath so as not to let his emotions overwhelm him.

“Me too, sweetie, me too. Just know that he loved you more than anything.”

“I know. I think I’m going to go hiking around the lake,” Ethan stated, anxious to get away from the situation. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from erupting into tears if he stayed there with his mom.

“Ok, but please be careful and be back in a couple of hours. We have a lot of work to do, and we need your help,” she insisted.

“Will do,” Ethan said, immediately heading for the back door. Once outside, he made for the trailhead on that was near the house.

The sun was climbing higher, glistening on the lake like a sea of golden coins. Ethan could feel his mood lifting as he made his way past his Grandfather's old wooden barn. It was a traditional a-frame made of criss-crossed pine logs. The back portion was collapsed due to the the roof caving in many years ago. The cabin seemed one with the forest, vines and branches had sewn themselves into its decaying walls. Grandpa had been advised to have it torn down when it began to fall into disrepair, but he would have none of it. He told Ethan that it was special to him because even though it was unusable for him, the barn owls had made their home there. They would nest high up in the loft where they could have privacy. Grandpa had mentioned to Ethan that barn owls were rare because many people were tearing down their preferred habitat, old wooden barns. Ethan had never seen one, but at night he would hear their high-pitched screeches that would make the hairs on his arm stand up. Grandpa would talk endlessly about their lovely, lacy plumage and their strange, unearthly calls.

Ethan made his way past the barn and headed into the deep woods. The birds filled the morning with their song as the trail climbed upwards over several hills and hollows. The sun pierced through the canopy, dappling the ground with light and shadow. After an hour or so, Ethan reached a place where the trail came close to the lake, and he remembered the time he and his grandfather had went off trail here once and found a hidden waterfall. Ethan used the compass to find their way, asking Grandpa for help when necessary.

Just then, Ethan was distracted by something large flapping its wings in the treetops above him. He looked up and saw a beautiful barn owl staring down at him, bobbing its head back and forth. Its white face was large and heart-shaped, and its body was covered with various shades of brown plumage. Its eyes were opaque and mysterious, yet familiar somehow. It was a magnificent sight.

“Hello there!” Ethan called out to it as it flew off into the woods on silent wings. A blur of brown and white faded into the canopy like embers dissipate as they rise from a fire.

Ethan set off into the woods trying to remember as best he could which direction to go in to find the waterfall. He took out his grandfather’s trusty compass and aligned the needle to north.

I think it was directly east of here

He followed the eastern direction as indicated by the compass for some time, not seeing anything familiar at all. The woods just continued their steep descent up the hillside with no end in sight and no indication of the waterfall or the small stream it came from.

I should have come to it by now. Ethan began to feel worried, panicked even that he was now lost and had chosen the wrong direction. His breathing became more frequent, sweat began to pool in his armpits, and he could feel his heartbeat increasing, filling his ears with its relentless drone.

Always remember that you’re going to be alright and that there is a way out of most situations if you can keep calm and persistent.

As Ethan recalled Grandpa’s words, his eyes were drawn to the treetops again. The barn owl was there once more, staring down at him. It flew suddenly off towards the south. As Ethan’s eyes followed it, he recalled the direction that would lead to the waterfall.

It’s towards the south he told himself, feeling that his memory was now serving him well.

Sure enough, after another fifteen minutes, the creek came into view and the small waterfall was about a hundred yards further up. Ethan stopped to take in the view. The creek was swollen with rain, running much swifter and wider than normal. The waterfall fell over a cascade of large boulders and tumbled twenty feet into a small, blue hole. Its waters danced over the rocks with a fairy-like spray that cast a net over the hillside. Ethan climbed up to the waterfall and allowed the water to fall over him and drench his clothes. It was a hot day and the cold water brought him some welcome relief.

As Ethan looked up at the sun, he guessed that it was getting pretty close to the time his mother told him to be back. He remembered that he and his grandfather had taken a short cut back to the house when they set off towards the southwest from the stream, a route that saved them about thirty minutes once when it was getting close to nightfall. Ethan took out the compass and went in the direction it indicated. Everything was going along fine until he came to the stream again, remembering that he and his grandfather had had to cross it on their way back.

Only this time, the stream was a raging torrent, much wider than Ethan had ever seen it before due to recent storms. He stopped and looked at the water as lines of worry formed on his face. There didn’t appear to be a safe way across. Then, he remembered his grandfather’s words again:

Always remember that you’re going to be alright and that there is a way out of most situations if you can keep calm and persistent.

Something was moving in the treetops, just a few yards away from Ethan. He looked over and was amazed to see the barn owl again looking down at him. As he walked towards it, it flew a short distance as if it wanted Ethan to follow it. He followed it until he was directly under the tree it sat in, realizing that right under where the owl was sitting was a large, fallen tree that spanned the waters. He slowly and carefully crossed the creek on the log, keeping his center of gravity as low as he could and made it to the other side. He could feel his heart beating in his chest the whole time.

Was that owl trying to show me where to go? Ethan asked himself as he checked the compass and headed off towards the house. The owl looked at Ethan one last time with a long pensive gaze that reminded him of Grandpa before taking flight and disappearing into the forest.

Ethan made it back to the house only about ten minutes past the time that his mother told him to be back. He went upstairs and changed clothes, thinking about his grandfather and the owl the whole time.

“Are you ready yet?” his mom asked as she opened the door of the room.

“Yes, mom,” he answered. She came in and looked him up and down.

“Well, you seem much better,” she remarked.

“Yeah, I went and checked out the waterfall grandpa once showed me, and I was thinking…”

“Yes dear?”

“I was thinking that there will always be part of him that is with me. I will always remember all the advice he shared me, and he will always be there to help me when I need it in that way."

“That’s wonderful, honey. I feel the same way,” she said, embracing him.

As the years went by, Ethan never forgot about the owl or his grandfather’s words. He always wondered if the owl he saw was somehow his grandfather, trying to guide him. Either way, he knew it didn’t matter as long as he remembered his grandfather’s wisdom and let it guide him the rest of his days.