The Magic Barn

The Owl flew into the old barn and perched on the rafter. He sat there majestically, the King of the Night, waiting for her to come. They would meet at this appointed place every night. This was their only time together, for they could never coexist in reality. In a previous time they had been in love, but an evil witch had cursed them. She had taken them from their human forms and transformed them into their animal shapes. The love of his life had taken on the figure of his prey. A small white mouse would sneak into the barn. She would hide among the scattered ruins. She was careful to remain unseen until the hour came each night that would free them momentarily from their spell. This was no ordinary barn for it had been blessed with magic. It was the magic of Love capable of bringing together the impossible.

In this barn, for one hour every night there was utter coexistence. As the stars aligned the magic dust would descend down upon the barn. It would no longer be a rickety building facing it's demise, but a glistening castle made of pine cones, leaves, flowers, sugar crystals, and decorated with all of natures most beautiful bounty.

Brodwin the owl would return to his rightful place on the throne. The little white mouse , Saffron would sit beside him as his Queen. Each of them wore a crown of butterflies. One by one the other animals would enter the barn. They would be morphed by the barn's magic into their human form. Mortal enemies in the wild would become loving dancing companions waltzing the hour away to music blowing in the wind. All of these creatures dressed gloriously according to the refinement of their souls. Hoofs became golden slippers that glided along the sparkling floor which had only moments ago been covered in layers of dirt. Paws remolded into jewelled fingers with hands upon the backs of their arch enemies in the wild. The sounds of nature transcended from cautious warning screetches and howls to beautiful melodic voices filling the air with joy and wisdom.

One day a week they would make use of the hour as a meeting time to discuss ways to overcome the witches curse upon them and the possibilities of a remedy. The wiser might hear a whisper from the magic barn alerting them to look within. The answer to dispelling the witches hex was not on the outside. The mystery lies within each and every one of you. You must seek to unlock the spells chain that binds you by looking into your own heart. The problem was unique to each animal being. It was not a universal cure. For this reason the magic and love the barn held could not unlock the padlock which bound each of our furry friends. It could not erase the pain the malediction had created in each of their existences.

Brodwin loved Saffron and sought the grail of berries containing the nectar which he had heard would solve their plight. He had heard the tale of such a grail and he made it his "night's quest" to find it. In his fixation of his love that he had for Saffron he had failed to hear the message of the magic barn. He had not sought the answer within himself. Saffron too, pined for her Brodwin but she also lacked the insight into the resolution locked inside of her.

One night on the way to the barn Brodwin stopped to rest in a tree above a pond. The moonlight shone bright this night. Brodwin looked down and could clearly see his reflection in the mirror of the pond. Brodwin stared at his image but did not recognize himself. He could only recognize himself as the man he had once been. He had not seen himself as the owl he had become. An owl's eyes are wise and the longer he stared the more he seemed to gain confidence and his mind began to glean the answer. He was not defined by the man he had once been. If he was to be an owl then he would soar mightily into the sky. He saw beyond this facade and knew he had the same heart as he always had beating within. In his essence he was no different as an owl than as a man. He flew onward toward the magic barn.

In the meantime Saffron was sleeping inside a huge leaf. She looked up into the sky and saw a shooting star. Saffron made her wish, to know how to break the curse. As the particles of the star fell to the ground she understood. Although, she was a tiny mouse and an easy prey for dinner her heart was as big as the moon shining upon her. It was a heart full of love. She had plenty of love to give away but she also knew that she must Love herself as much as she loved Brodwin. One must remain true to oneself to be able to truly love others. Saffron scurried of to meet Brodwin at the magic barn.

At the magic hour she redezvoused with Brodwin, each revealing their discovered secret to the other. They reminded their guests to go on a quest to seek their own answers. The dust of the magic barn drifted down and all could hear the barn speak. I am to no longer be a shabby barn. I too was under the delusions of the witches curse. Now you have discovered truth and spoken it's words I will remain a castle and each of you here will resume your human roles.