The Old Wives Tale Owl

Old wives tales were always a fascination of my hometown. In fact, it seemed almost cult-like how everyone truly believed in them. When I graduated from high school, I left with no intentions of returning. There was nothing for me in Millston, the remarkably small town of about three hundred residents. My soul was burning for something more passionate in life. I was eager to leave it all behind and start an adventurous life doing anything new.

A death brought me back to this dreadful town. My grandmother had unexpectedly passed from sickness that ravaged through her quickly. My grandma’s house was the largest property in the whole town. The, almost Victorian styled, home sat on top of a hill overlooking a patch of woods and a small lake. Slowly, I pulled into the driveway, passing a line of cars that stretched for at least a quarter of a mile. Everyone loved my grandma, as she contributed a large amount of her time, and money, to help keep the town alive.

I pulled into an empty patch of grass near the barn that sat nearby the patch of woods. As I climbed out of the car, I looked up at the overtowering barn that was practically falling apart. The wood was rotting, half the roof was twisted and torn apart due to a tornado that hit the town about six years ago, and the windows were all busted. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash of white. I turned to see a barn owl sitting on the edge of one of the broken windows. My stomach felt uneasy as I had remembered the stories I had heard about them. According to locals, if you saw a barn owl in the area during the day, you were marked for death.

“Norah”, I heard from behind me, I turned to see my mother walking toward me with open arms.

“Hi mom,” I said, as she pulled me into a warm embrace, “How are you doing?”

She said nothing, just holding me closely, her hug becoming more suffocating. I pulled back and she looked at me, eyes full of tears, her mouth twisted down into a large frown and her lips quivered.

“Why did you come back?”, she asked, her voice more angry than sad, “I thought you never wanted to see us again.”

“Mom, let’s not do this right now,” I argued, letting out a sigh of frustration, “I’m here because I loved grandma and I want to say goodbye.”

She didn’t reply. She simply nodded and turned to walk back inside the house. Even though my mother and I did not get along, this was very unusual for her to act so hostile towards me. A loud bang came from inside the barn, followed by noises of shuffling and then I heard a voice. My head snapped back to the barn, where I saw two dark figures of what seemed to be people walking around. I turned back to get my mom’s attention, but she was already entering the house.

As I approached the barn, weary of what was waiting for me inside, I noticed the owl once again. This time though, it was staring directly at me, watching me closely as I came up to the door. The owl let out a horrendous loud screech that made my ears ring in pain, it flew to me and I ducked down and out of the way. It circled back around and sat on the hood of my car. Angrily, I swung open the door and saw the two figures move into the shadows of the backside of the room.

“Who is in here?”, I shouted, as I fumbled for my phone. I pulled the phone out of my pocket, clicking on the buttons. The bright screen illuminated my face, blinding me from my surroundings. Another screech was heard coming from inside the barn, as another owl flew to me, knocking the phone out of my hand.

Then the figures moved out of the darkness and toward me, I stumbled back against the door. Glancing around for anything to protect myself, I noticed a light switch near a window. I reached out to turn it on, hoping for the best. One light flickered on, with a very dull yellowed light. Horrified, I saw three people I had seen my whole life. There before me stood the mayor, Matthew Halsen. Mr. Halsen was a close family friend who had practically taken my fathers place, when he passed. Beside him stood my brother and my grandmother.

My brother and I still spoke regularly, as I would fill him in on what I was doing in life. We shared pictures, snapchat videos, we were even friends on all social media platforms. He was the one person I still kept in touch with after years of being gone. My brain was clouded with confusion and terror.

“Grandma?” I cried, “What is going on?”

“You know what you did”, Mr. Halsen said, in a deep monotone voice.

“I don’t,” I said, my voice shaking with fear, “why are you doing this to me?”

“We warned you not to leave and you did it anyway. Now we’ve brought you back for good. You’re not going anywhere this time,” my grandma said sharply.

Their faces were emotionless as they moved toward me. The last thing I heard was the screeching of what sounded like a group of owls and then there was silence and darkness.

The owls fled from the barn, fluttering away silently, vanishing back into the woods. I should have believed the old wives tales. I should have never returned as now I am stuck here forever.