Winter's Silent Wings - Chapter 1 "Barn Owl"

Chapter 1 "Barn Owl"

Darkness had surrounded the girls, with only the faintest starlight sifting through the cloudy sky and down between the trees. Cold and tired they stumbled on, the younger girl’s sobs fading into cold exhaustion. Behind them they had briefly heard anguished screams, fading as they plunged farther into the woods. The younger child tripped, sprawling across the stony ground. She cried out.

“Tamies!” her older sister hissed as she covered the little ones mouth with her hand, stifling the scream. The small girl began to weep. “You must not make a sound!” The older child shifted her body and took her sister into her arms.

“Please, don’t cry. I have you. Don’t cry, or I am going to cry, too,” she quietly pleaded, but it was too late as warms tears flowed down her tender cheeks, too. Together they began to weep, rocking together back and forth. The events of the day settled in, the horrible truths, their cold, aching bodies, fatigued, burning lungs, their sorrowful hearts falling coldly to the ground. Without realizing it, they fell asleep there among the stones and broken limbs of the forest. A light snow began to fall.

Tamies woke with a start. The dark woods was silent, the starlight gone. She felt wet flakes of snow fall on her face. She trembled with fright, and began shaking her sister awake, “Danwi! Wake up! I am scared!”

Danwi replied, “Don’t be loud. I am awake.”

“I am scared. And hungry. When is Momma coming back?” Tamies asked quietly.

Danwi hesitated, then spoke carefully “Momma told us to go to the sea. She will meet us there.”

“She will?” Tamies’ voice was hopeful. Then she pouted, “I am still hungry.”

Danwi rummaged around the small bundle her mother had handed her. It held another blanket, a small pouch, and of course the scrap piece of wool and a little rope to hold the bundle together. The bread the bundle had held had been stolen by some resident of the forest while they slept! The lack of food upset her, but she calmed herself down, breathing deeply, as her Poppa had taught her when he was teaching her how to throw a spear and shoot a bow. She looked into the pouch but could not see much in the dark, so felt inside. Ouch! Sewing needle. Some thread, a bit of wax, and a few coins. There was also one heavy bit of metal… her mother’s amulet, the one she said was for protection. Poppa said it was the most silver he had ever seen, and he would look at it for hours.

Poppa. Her breathing became ragged as she held back waves of grief. Tamies hadn’t seen Poppa fall, but she had. She shut her eyes and mind to the burning memory, a memory so intense she could smell the smells and hear the sounds of that terrible moment.

“What’s wrong, Dandy?” Tamies was concerned. The woods were scary at night and she needed her sister.

Dawni wiped her face quickly and took a deep breath “Don’t call me that, I hate that,” she chided. “There is no food, so we will have to find some tomorrow when there is light. But there is another blanket we can share. Lets try to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” agreed Tamies. “Can you sing me a song? Like Momma does?” She snuggled into Dawni.

Dawni pulled the extra blanket over them and tucked the rest of the bundle under her head. “What song do you want?” she asked her little sister.

“Sing the one about the Moon!” Tamies exclaimed.

“Shhhhh,” admonished Danwi. “We need to be quiet so we are not found. Quiet, quiet.” She started a gentle hum of the melody, then began to sing, just loud enough for Tamies to hear. Soon the smaller child’s breathing became a low, gentle rhythm; she was asleep. Danwi thought to herself she should keep watch, but without realizing it, fell asleep quickly.

Two exhausted and afraid little girls laid there, curled up on the ground beneath a bare blanket. The snow continued to fall, silent in the dark. High in a nearby tree, eyes peered through the gloom, fixed upon the sleeping children. The eyes took flight, and without a sound, they became an owl, silently winging its way to an old hollow tree close to the girls. It waited, patiently, fading back into eyes alone, watching.

Danwi was too cold to sleep. The snow has melted through the blanket. She opened her eyes and peeked out from her cloak’s hood to see that there was a faint light. It must be close to morning, she thought. Despite the shivering chill she could not shake, the thought of a coming dawn lifted her spirits some. She looked around. Her eyes fell upon a large. Hollow tree when the snow a top it moved. An owl!

It fluffed and shook, flapped its wings without a sound and settled back down. Its gaze met hers. It flicked its eyes down the tree, then cocked its head down and to the left three times.

Dawni broke her eyes away from this creature for a moment, and looked lower on the tree trunk. There was a woodpecker hole a few feet off the ground. She looked quickly back up to the top of the broken old tree and the owl was gone. She blinked her eyes and shook her head and rapidly looked around, standing up as she did. There was no owl nor any other creature to be seen. She cast about with her eyes, carefully, and saw no track in the fresh snow. She tucked the spare blanket around her sister, and pulled her cloak around herself. She carefully approached the hollow tree and peered into the hole. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but then she saw several old walnuts, and a few dried out old wild apples. With caution, she reached into the hole, hoping it was abandoned! She put the meager find into her apron pocket carefully.

“What are you doing?” Tamies sleepy voice came from behind her. She saw that she had startled Dawni. “I got cold and woke up. What is for breakfast? I am very hungry.” Tamies teeth chattered. Danwi reached out and adjusted her sister’s blanket cloak and bundled the spare around her.

“Wiggle your toes, and stomp your feet a little, that is what Poppa told me to do and it works!” Danwi assured her sister. “Breathe full breaths and try to relax.”

“But I am cold and hungry,” Tamies started to cry. “I want to go home!”

“There is no home!” snapped Danwi, immediately regretting it when Tamies eyes started to well up. She forced herself to calmly say, “I am hungry, too. Momma said to go to the sea, so we will go there.”

“Do you even know where the sea is?” demanded Tamies. She set her face in a defiance that looked out of place on a six year old.

“Yes, I do. Besides, Momma gave us directions, remember?”

“No.” said Tamies sadly. “I was too tired and scared to pay attention.

“Well, I do,” stated Danwi with more confidence than she felt. “First, lets eat a little.”

“But we are out of food!” exclaimed the younger girl.

“I found some,” Danwi said more proudly than she felt. It was really that strange owl, otherwise I would have never looked. For that matter, while she vaguely knew how to get to the sea, she had no real idea where they were. She hoped as the dawn came on, she could at least figure out what direction they should go, and maybe get her bearings. She had never been responsible for her little sister this much, except at home. And she had never been on her own in the woods, she always went with her Poppa and a few times with her Papam and Mamam before they has passed away. She been to the sea before, when Tamies was a baby. Momma’s sister lived there. But she had only vague memories of the journey, and it had been in the summer.

Danwi kicked at the snow and loosened a couple small rocks about half the size of her fist. She took the walnuts from her apron and proceeded to crack them. She used the bundle cloth to collect them, and then Momma’s cloak pin that was holding her wrap blanket on to pick the nut meat from the hulls.

“Walnuts,” Tamies whined. “They taste bad.”

“Well, they are what we have,” said Danwi crossly. Walnuts were not her favorite, either, but they are what was there. She put some of the nut meat in her mouth and smiled while she chewed - and tried not to taste. Reluctantly, Tamies followed suit. They ate quietly, making short work of the scant supply.

“That wasn’t too bad,” said the smaller child. “There were not very many. Is there something else?”

“We will find some late berries, or maybe some tubers on the way. That is all there is for now.” The day had just started, and already she was tired.

A faint ray of sunshine slid through the trees, landing upon the hollow tree. Danwi marked a larger tree in her mind farther beyond, like she had been taught. That is west, she thought. The sea is to the west. And later today or tomorrow, the moon should be in the west at sunset. The sky was partly cloudy, and the snow had let up. As more sunlight struck the ground, the light snow began to thaw. Gathering up and rebundling their few possessions, Danwi prepared for the day’s journey. She looked up to see Tamies eating snow.

“Don’t do that!” Danwi snapped. “There could be bad things in it and it will make you colder inside!” She wished Poppa was here. He was always so patient about things in the forest, always teaching. Momma was firmer, but much more able than she at managing her little sister when they would go to gather firewood or pick berries and wild herbs. She wanted to cry but now was not the time.

“We will find a nice spring or clear stream and get a big drink then, alright?” Danwi tried to sound sure of herself, like Momma.

“Alright,” Tamies agreed. Danwi would have to watch her, she never agreed that easy.

The two girls set out with the rising sun at their backs. The woods were coming to life, and the late season birds were singing their morning songs in the streaming rays of warm light. Squirrels moved frantically over the tree tops, and rabbits hopped along in the brambles. About mid-morning they saw a weasel dart between some rocks, his fur scraggly. He was changing his coat for winter. If not for their tired legs, their cold feet, and an aching sorrow and sense of loss in their hearts, they might have enjoyed themselves. The stiffness from the cold and exertion of the day and night before began to ease as they stretch and warmed from walking. By midday, the hunger pangs were more than they could stand.

“We will stop as soon as we find some water,” said Danwi. “And I have a surprise!” She checked her apron, and yes, the dry wild apples were still there.

“I am really tired, Dandy! Can’t we just rest for awhile?” Tamies whined, her voice was quavering.

“Soon, I promise. Lets keep going,” Danwi said as calmly as she could. She was tired and hungry and thirsty, too. And she was starting to worry about how far the sea might be, and the sky had clouded up again, hiding the sun. She hoped she was still on course.

After a bit more walking, they were working their way down a slope, and - yes! - Danwi heard water flowing. She took Tamies hand firmly, and hurried in that direction. There it was! A marvelous little set of waterfalls flowing from a gap between a set of massive boulders, ending in a little pool. Where it went from there she had no idea, and right now even less interest. Forgetting herself, she knelt to drink deeply, and Tamies quickly joined her. The water was clear, cool, and tasted better than fresh cider!

When they had drank their fill they sat down, resting their back against the rocks, enjoying the reprieve.