Midnight Owl

MIDNIGHT OWL

From the tower window she looked up at the clear night sky, then down at the deserted stone grounds of the courtyard.

"Be careful. A fall like that would be talked about for generations." warned her companion, hidden in the shadows. 

"I rather like the idea of being remembered." She replied, still gazing at the glistening stone far beneath her.  "I certainly prefer it to being trapped." 

"Who put you up here? Was it not your own self?" 

"That's a rather cruel perspective to entertain." 

"Cruel but not dishonest." 

"I suppose..." She stared into the shadows of her quarters, straight into judging, glowing yellow eyes. "Everything I have done has been to make myself miserable. Which explains why I allow you to be here every night." 

"If I were to disappear, you would too." The girl's companion flapped her wings defiantly. 

The girl, sat at the window sill, stretched her legs over the edge, wiggling them freely in the cold breeze of the night. This earned a startled flutter from her friend, the owl, who hopped over to her side. 

"My Lady-" 

"I do not wish to die. In fact, I simply want to live."  She smiled at the owl perched beside her, then at the moon who watched her silently. "I envy you. You can leave this place." 

"You could too if you just made a choi-" 

"I will not make a decision that harms those closest to me." 

"Getting hurt is part of life. Mistakes are part of life. Healing and learning is also part of life." The owl twitched in annoyance as her feathers were stroked. "This is why I stopped sitting next to you" she mumbled. 

"I want to live...but..." 

"You will be happy again.  I cannot tell a lie." 

"The hope of a sunny day is not enough to make me go out into the rain, owl." 

"The feeling of rain on your skin does not triumph over the feelings of apathy and loneliness?"

The girl remained quiet. 

"This war..." 

"Will end. I cannot tell a lie." declared the owl. "It will end with you, my lady." 

"It's almost time....The moon is almost beyond the mountain." 

"I have to go for now, then." The owl stood and shook her recently rearranged feathers. 

"Once my decision is made, will I ever see you again?" 

"I am part of you... you won't miss me. But you will keep missing those you love if you do not wake up." 

"I do miss them... very much." 

The owl took off. "Make a choice, girl. And face it proudly. Help those you can and remember those you could not.  That's what those with power do." 

"I didn't ask for any power..." 

The owl was already soaring away below the stars. She did not respond. 

idk what this was, I couldn't sleep so I tried writing myself to bed.

I think it worked, actually. 

Goodnight.