The Great Oak

With a sharp unnatural turn of its neck, the owl looked down upon the child. The little girl stood at its feet, barley the height of its legs. In wonder, the little girl reached out to touch the stomach, believing that what she saw was unreal.

"Who are you?" The owl ask, although its voice seemed to erupt like wind forcing her to fall onto her back.

She stared up at him, amazed, propping up onto her elbows. "I am Olive," she responded wide-eyed, "who are you?"

The enormous barn owl ruffles its feathers and looks beyond the open doors in front of them, the storm outside raging on, dramatically, "I am the Great Oak." His feathers still ruffled the little girl lets out a small giggle she could not contain, "You are no tree, your a bird!"

Oak lowered his head down to Olive, her reflection showing clearly through his mirror-like eyes, "I am no tree indeed, I am oak." Quickly the little girl pet his head, scratching around his beak amusingly. He was quick to succumb to the scratching, happily letting her continue when the large barn doors creaked open more and a shadow enveloped them.

"Olive, what are you doing?" her father's angry voice made her nearly jump back to her feet as she turned. He stood in the door, the pouring rain coming down faster than before. "I was playing when the storm hit, and I lost sight of the house," Olive looked down at the floor in front of her, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"The barn is no place for a little girl to play," her father continued, "I was worried sick when you didn't return home!"

The little girl looked up at him happily, "But I am safe!" she said, "So there was no need to fear, papa, plus I made a new friend!"

The father looked at her concerningly, "Who? Who is this new friend?"

"He's right here. His name is-," as the little girl turns to Oak, he is gone. As though he was never there to begin with. She looks around confusingly, calling out his name, trying to find him. "He couldn't have gone far," she said, "he is enormous!"

Shaking his head, her father picks her up in his arms and carries her out. His jacket pulled over their heads. "Enormous?" he asks, "Exactly how enormous?"

She stretches out her arms as far as they would go, almost falling out of his own, "As big as an oak tree!"

He laughs, the rain pouring down hard on them, "As big as an oak tree you say? Perhaps he could shield us from this rain then, be awfully nice of him." Olive nodded in agreement, her eyes fixed on her surroundings, her eyes doing their best to pierce the cover of the rain.

"Or better yet," her father continued jokingly, "he could take us high above the clouds where the sun is, so that we may be warm and dry!" He gestured above them, the rain bouncing against his hand.

Olive giggled, "I don't think you would fit on him, papa!"

Her father pressed his hand to his chest dramatically, "Are you calling me fat?" Shaking her head no, she continued to giggle.

Then the rain around them ceased.

Far off they could see it pour, but around them it was no more. The father looked up, and his reflection stared down. With a startle he nearly dropped Olive. "Oak!" cried the little girl, "Where did you go?"

"I am everywhere," he said, "and everything. I come and go as I please."

"Silly bird," she said. Olive looked to her baffled father, who could not avert his eyes, and a thought struck her. "Oak, can we ride on your back?" she asked excitedly.

This question brought her father back to reality, "What?" he stared at her confusingly, "if you want to ride on my back sweetie that's fine."

Olive looked at her father, "No, papa, Oak's back." But when she looked at Oak he was gone once more, and the rain had continued.

Her father laughed, "How bizarre, the rain stopped then started again." As they continue onward to the house, Olive stared back in the direction they came from sadly.

Once inside, she bathed, fed, and brushed her teeth. Her father tucked her in and before leaving read her a chapter of one of her many books. "Will Oak return?" she asked sadly. Kissing her forehead he replied, "As long as you believe in him, he will."

Turning off lamp beside her bed, "Goodnight sweetie," and left.

Olive waited a few moments before turning the lamp back on and pulling out another book. She started to read it when a click-clack came from the window. Brushing it off, she return to her book till the click-clack started again, only repeating.

She hopped out of bed and threw open the window, the storm still coming down outside blew strong winds into her room, and standing outside was none other than the large barn owl.

"Oak!" she exclaimed happily, and hugged his beak. He shook his feathers, and when she let go he lowered his head, "You wished to ride on the back of the Great Oak, little one?" he asked.

Grabbing hold of the window frame, she slowly made her way from her window to the top of his head. As soon as she was on top, she slid down to his neck and held on tightly. His wings extended outward as he walked a few steps away from the house, "Hold on tightly," he said, "we will only go as high as you like."

Pointing to the sky, Olive says happily, "Above the clouds!" He nodded his head and off they went, Olive let out a scream of joy as they erupted from the ground and into the sky like a rocket. From down below, she could hear her father calling her name, and she tried to call back but the force of the flight pressed her to Oak so tightly her mouth refused to open. Her eyes shut, she felt as though the flight took an eternity as the rain hit her face and the winds tried to force her off. At one point she felt herself begin to slip.

But then all was still.

Still clinging on, she opened her eyes. A loud gasp escaping her lips as the light of the moon embraces her. Never had she seen so many stars before, it was as though a new world had been unveiled to her. Amazed she reached out, in hopes of getting one of the many stars, to no avail.

"It's beautiful Oak," she said in awe.

"Yes, it is," Oak responded.

"I want to stay up here forever!" Olive yelled giggling.

"I wish for you to stay as well," Oak said, "but you must returned to your father soon." Olive hugged Oak's neck, nodding her head gently. She let out a yawn, "Can we do this again?" Oak began to fly down, the clouds now clearing as the storm passes, "Of course little one."

When Olive next woke, she was in her bed. The morning sun shone through her open window embracing her. In her sleep she smiled, a drop of last nights rain gently falling from her nose.