Owl
Sofia Williams
I slowly approached the owl. “I need your help again,” I said. He twisted his head looking puzzled. “What makes you think I can help you?” he asked, turning away from me.
How could the great owl not be able to solve my problems? “I’m not the same as my friends,” I stated. “They know it too, they don’t look at me the same anymore and my dreams…” I paused. “They don’t make any sense. I’m always floating but I can’t control what I’m doing. Please help, you’re the only one I have left!”. I expected him to just ignore me again and turn his back but instead he just asked a simple question. Well, it should have been simple.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I’m a girl and I’m called Holly?” I replied wearily, not knowing myself what the answer was.
“No, I’m not asking what your name is, your name does not define you. What does define you, Holly?”
“I… I don’t know, nothing really. I’m just the same as everyone else.”
“Then how are you different?”
“I… I don’t know, look at my hair, my eyes. How am I normal?”
“Then you know what you are and you don’t need my help, you should know that, seeing how wise you are”
“I can’t be a human and also be an… an… a “ I huffed. “I’m not going to say it because you know what I’m on about. Anyways, someone might hear.”
“So?”
I was confused, how could I be both? It just didn’t make any sense. No wonder everyone thinks I’m a freak when I spend my spare time asking owls for help.
Am I mad? What if this is all in my head and I’m just imagining all of this. That would just make me even more weird, right?
All these thoughts whizzed through my mind when suddenly it all made sense and I knew what he meant. But I refused to accept it. Instead I hid it in a box in my mind and pretended to stuff that box under my bed or in the back of my wardrobe, never to be seen again.
I ran. I ran without any direction. I ran until I came upon a tree.
Then I climbed. I climbed until I reached as far as I could go and the wind was gushing in my face.
My hair flowed in the wind as I took it out of my tight pony tail. I felt like a princess who had finally been freed from a tower by her prince charming.
But I had no prince charming, instead I had myself which was good enough.
Being up there made me feel free and like I was finally home. Finally, where I was meant to be.
In the distance, I could see the bustling city that was once my home. When I was little, I used to think that it was the best place in the world and that I would stay there forever. I was hypnotised by the big buildings and the busy high streets filled with unique stores full to the brim with everything you could imagine.
In the forest, I could be myself but I knew that in the end I would have to return to the one place I hated the most. The one place where I couldn’t be me. A place where I would have to put on a mask every day. I couldn’t take it any longer. I had to prove to myself that this was real and not one of my crazy dreams.
So I did it. Slowly my fingers let go of the tree.
I opened up my arms and closed my eyes. I didn’t realise how high up I was. As I felt I could feel my arms and hands tingling. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t the girl everyone expected me to be. I was me, the real me. I soared through the sky until the sky was a beautiful shade of pink, red and orange all merged together to make this shade that was almost perfection. It was then I knew I had to go back.