The Owl Guardian

Chapter 1

This was the third night in a row that Henry had noticed it watching him. He could see the barn owl, as white as snow, perched on the tree not far from his bedroom window. Its eyes were jet black like the night sky, and bright like the glowing stars. Henry closed his window and drew his curtains. The owl was starting to freak him out.

As Henry tried to get some sleep that night, tossing and turning in his bed, he racked and scoured his brain for answers. Why was the owl watching him, night after night? What could it possibly want with him? As Henry contemplated what felt like a never-ending stream of possible explanations, he felt himself eventually, somehow, drift off into a deep slumber.

“Henry!” his mum shouted up the stairs. “Hurry up, you’ll be late for school!”.

Henry glanced at his clock with one eye, keeping the other clenched shut. The clock face read 8.05. A ripple of panic gripped his body. Henry couldn’t be late. Not today. In record time, Henry threw on his slightly scruffy-looking school uniform; hurriedly, yet carefully, packed up his school project, ran down the stairs to grab an on-the-go breakfast, and shoved his shoes onto his feet as he was closing the front door.

Whilst buttoning up his coat, Henry noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The owl was still there, on the very same branch, watching him intently. Shaking his head in disbelief, Henry tried to ignore the snowy white figure, and started to head off towards his school. As he was walking, Henry could feel the owl’s black-as-night eyes piercing through him; a feeling which, the reason why unknown to Henry, sent a shiver down his spine.

Determined to ignore this unsettling feeling, Henry carried on walking, keeping a close eye on the time as he strolled. It quickly dawned on him that he needed to pick up the pace if he was going to make it there on time; a quick glance at his watch told Henry he only had fifteen minutes left to get to school.

Wrapped up in his own distracting thoughts, as well as his determination to be on time, Henry had completely failed to notice that his good friend and classmate, Billy, had caught up to Henry somewhere along the way.

“Hey, Henry” huffed Billy, slightly out of breath from walking so fast. “What’s up?”.

The two boys were approaching the school’s main gate.

“Hmm?” Henry responded, slightly dazed. “Nothing, really. Except…”

Henry’s sentence trailed off before he could answer Billy. The owl had, without Henry noticing, followed him to school, and was now settled on the archway of its main entrance.

“Wow!” exclaimed Billy. “What a beautiful owl! It’s as white as snow!”.

“Yeah… I think it followed me to school”.

“What?” Billy turned his head to gawp at Henry in disbelief.

“I’m serious” Henry retorted. “It’s been on the tree outside my house for the past three nights, watching me. It’s trying to tell me something”.

Billy burst into a fit of laughter. Other people in the courtyard had noticed Billy’s outburst and had stopped their conversations to listen to this peculiar exchange between the two boys.

“But Henry”, Billy began, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, “Owls can’t talk! Besides, this town is like Owl Central! Maybe it just really likes the tree outside your house”.

“I dunno”, shrugged Henry. “This owl just seems…different. Like it’s… like it knows me”.

Before Billy could rebuff Henry once more, the resonating ring of the school bell sounded.

Chapter 2

Despite Henry’s best efforts, he’d not been able to stop thinking about the owl that day. He’d spent his entire time at school wondering what it wanted and why it was watching him. Even the school project, which Henry had spent so long preparing for and had been so excited for, wasn’t enough to take his mind off of everything.

Billy had offered to walk home with Henry, but Henry wasn’t interested, due to Billy’s earlier humiliation of him, as well as his refusal to believe Henry about the owl. Besides, Henry needed time to himself to try and figure out what was going on.

As soon as the end-of-day bell rang, Henry had rushed out of class, and started hurrying home. The air was crisp and fresh, the sky blue and bright. If I hadn’t of been in school today, Henry thought to himself as he left the main gates, this would have been the perfect day for a walk down the beach with Dad.

As Henry crossed over the rickety wooden bridge situated roughly halfway between the school and his house, the snowy white owl suddenly swooped in over Henry’s head and landed on the tree in front of him. This time, Henry stopped. It was time to find out what the owl wanted from him.

“What are you doing here?” Henry demanded, in what he hoped was an assertive-sounding voice.

The owl shot him a profound stare in return.

After what felt like an eternity of silence and staring, the ivory owl hooted at Henry, and flew off with incredible velocity towards the woods.

Henry was determined not to let it get away this time.

“Hey!” Henry yelled as he started running after his new feathered friend.

As the owl began to pick up speed in its flight, Henry began running faster and faster, so as to not lose sight of it. The owl effortlessly manoeuvred its way through an infinite bounty of gloomy trees, as Henry lagged behind, fighting to keep up.

Eventually, the owl ceased gliding and perched itself on a low-hanging branch of an ancient, gargantuan tree, a tree that boasted gleaming, glistening leaves.

Henry halted to a stop, not far from where the owl had landed, struggling to catch his breath.

When he looked down at where the owl was staring, Henry saw a man, lying flat and seemingly passed out, on a patchy pile of green, muddy grass.

Chapter 3

Henry was in a complete state of shock. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Could it be?

“Dad?”

The man on the floor didn’t stir.

Henry diverted his attention towards the barn owl, who was still resting on the branch of the glimmering tree.

“Wh-what is he doing here? How long has he been here? How did you find him?” Henry demanded frantically, a hint of distress and panic in his voice.

The owl didn’t respond. This was, after all, an ordinary barn owl, despite its ethereal aura and enchanting personality. Instead, it flew off the branch and gently landed next to the man’s restful body.

The owl then let out an insistent hoot and swivelled its head back around to look Henry square in the eyes. Henry could sense that the owl was trying to tell him something or get him to do something; he just didn’t know what.

Henry knelt on the grass beside his dad. He desperately wanted to reach out to him, to embrace him again, but Henry couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Henry turned towards the owl with tear-filled eyes. “What do I do?” he wept. “How do I wake him up?”

With its telling gaze, the owl gestured towards a crumpled-up, somewhat trodden, piece of paper next to Henry’s dad. Henry hastily grabbed the paper and attempted to smooth it out on the soft grass.

This man lies in a deep slumber; he lies here in sun, rain, and thunder.

To wake him up, to set him free, reminding him of the thing he loves most is the key.

If you cannot seek what you find, the mystical potion may buy you time.

Henry was even more puzzled than before. A million thoughts were racing around in his head. This riddle, or spell, or whatever it was, made absolutely no sense to him. Henry buried his head in his hands in despair, for he felt completely helpless.

Chapter 4

“Mum! Dad!” Henry yelled excitedly down the stairs. “I’m ready to go!”.

Henry’s parents had planned a day out with Henry and their extended family, starting with a trip to the beach about an hour’s drive away, then to a picnic in the forest, closer to their home. Henry’s family were then driving back to his parents’ house, to stay the night.

With his canvas bag packed and a smile on his face, Henry couldn’t wait to get the day started. It had been ages since he and his family had spent the day together. It was made all the more special by the fact that Henry hadn’t seen his cousins, uncle, and auntie since last Christmas.

After a long but relaxing drive, they had finally arrived at the beach. It was a sight to behold; a bed of soft, golden sand stretching out for miles, running alongside a sea of crystal-clear, turquoise water. The sky was clear, with hardly a single cloud in sight.

As soon as his parents pulled up in one of the nearby parking bays, Henry flung himself out of the car, inflatable ring in tow, and happily raced towards the inviting water. His cousins weren’t far behind, laughing as they ran.

It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the beach was busy and full of people swimming and kayaking in the sea, walking their dogs, and making the most of the lush weather.

Henry and his cousins spent hours in the water splashing and swimming around, splashing each other, and showing off their best underwater dives. Meanwhile, their parents laid comfortably in the sun loungers they had hired for the day and watched with amusement.

Before Henry knew it, it was time to deflate his ring, change back into his regular clothes, and drive over to the forest for the delicious picnic his mother had prepared.

A short while later, Henry and his family were sat around two adjoining picnic benches, chatting, and eating together contentedly. His mum had put together a generous feast of homemade sandwiches, fruit salads, and bitesize brownies and muffins, amongst other sweet and savoury delights.

Once everyone had finished eating, to the point where they could barely move, the adults of the group started packing up the picnic blankets and baskets, into the boot of their cars. The sun was beginning to set in the shadowy sky above.

“Henry?” Henry’s mum turned towards him, as she slammed the boot door shut. “Where’s your dad?”.

Henry spun around, his eyes frantically scanning the surrounding woodland area.

“Um…” Henry was still looking around. “I don’t know… I thought he said he was going to visit the owl sanctuary before we left?”.

“No… I just went to have a look, he’s not there”, replied Henry’s uncle, a worried look on his face. His wife slid her hand into his, gripping it tightly.

Everyone spent the next few hours searching for Henry’s dad, splitting up into small groups, scouring as much of the forest as they possibly could. They had searched the woods rigorously, for what felt like hours on end, until the pitch black of the night sky robbed them of the sun, and they could search no longer.

Little did Henry know, that day at the beach would be the last time he saw his father.

Chapter 5

Henry wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the owl had led him to this place. Henry shifted his gaze away from his dad momentarily, having noticed that the sky was beginning to turn a dusky shade of red. Henry glanced at his watch. It was past 7, which meant that his mum had dinner waiting and was probably very worried about him.

Reluctantly, Henry rose to his feet, looking over his shoulder to give the owl a despairing look. The owl had sat there for hours and watched, watched as Henry tried many different things to get his father to wake up. Much to Henry’s chagrin, nothing had worked as of yet.

Just as Henry began to walk away, the owl hooted loudly. Henry quickly shifted back, suddenly noticing a small vial of potion at the base of the glimmering tree, glowing with bright luminescence.

Henry dove towards the potion and grabbed it. The owl gave another hoot. Without fully understanding why, Henry took this as a sign that what he was about to do was the right thing. Henry then knelt beside his dad, gently lifted his head, and tilted it towards him. With the other hand, Henry popped out the potion’s corkscrew lid, and poured out a few drops of the potion.

After what felt like an eternity (when in actual fact, it had been mere seconds), his dad’s eyes shot open, and he began gasping for breath, a dazed and slightly bewildered look on his face.

“H-Henry?”

“Dad!” Henry yelled, almost a little too excitedly, throwing himself into his dad’s open arms. “Dad! I can’t believe it! It worked, you’re back!”.

Chapter 6

“So, that’s where you’ve been, all this time?”.

“Yes”, Henry’s dad responded, clasping his hand tightly. “One minute, I was at the owl sanctuary, feeding them. The next thing I knew, a mysterious, cloaked figure had knocked me on the head and dragged me back to their creepy little hut at the edge of the forest, going on and on about something to do with all of the owls here living on borrowed time, saying that they needed saving”.

“Saving?” Henry shot his dad a quizzical look.

“Yep”, his dad nodded. “Saving. Turns out, all of the owls in this town have been under a curse for years and years. That is, until I came along and started helping that woman who-”

“Abducted you?” Harry retorted, in a rather accusatory tone. “I don’t get it dad, why you? Why did she have to take you?”.

“I don’t know, Henry. I think it might have something to do with previous generations in our family keeping watch over the owls here; almost being their guardian in a way, and the owls guarding and watching over them in return”.

“Oh!” Henry exclaimed, finally understanding. “So that’s why that snowy barn owl has been practically stalking me lately?”.

Henry’s dad nodded. “Yep, he was trying to lead you to me. He’s one of the owls that was cursed for many years. It took a long time for the magical crone and I to come up with a potion powerful enough to break it. I guess that’s why she decided to allow me to return home, albeit in a very unconventional way”.

Understandably, Henry had a hundred more questions. But there was one question that Henry was particularly curious about.

“Dad?” Henry looked up at him with a beaming grin. He still couldn’t believe that his dad was here, alive, and walking home hand-in-hand with him.

“Hmm?”

“What’s gonna happen to the owl that’s been watching over me?”.

“Well”, his dad began, squeezing Henry’s hand affectionately. “It would be a shame to break the family tradition after all this time, wouldn’t it?”.

His dad smiled knowingly at Henry, nervous to be going home after such a long time away, but happy to be reunited with his family at long last.

Henry smiled back at his dad, never letting go of his hand the entire way home.