The first time Sarah saw the owl, she blinked. The tawny, wide-eyed creature was perched on a branch just outside her bedroom window, and she could see its small talons tucked partway under its body as it balanced in the tree. Sarah swore the bird was staring straight at her.
She remembered seeing a light-colored owl, that day in the park. Among the trees and under the open sky, it was easy to believe that anything could happen, so when she noticed the small form open its wings in daylight she had followed its path with her eyes. A small kind of magic, Sarah thought then. Afterwards she had shaken her head and returned her attention to the small, red leather-bound book in her hand. With Merlin as her only audience, Sarah had continued acting the heroine in a fairy story, oblivious to how close she was to real magic.
Now, blinking at the owl outside her window, Sarah didn't know what to do.
"Is it Jareth?" she wondered.
The owl's impenetrable, uneven eyes had already given her the answer.
Sarah stood from her desk chair, where she had been doing her homework, and made her way slowly toward the window. She was determined to know why the Goblin King was there. A small bit of fear danced in Sarah's stomach, while underneath ran a tiny jolt of excitement.
"What do you want, Goblin King?" she whispered, half to herself.
"It couldn't be Toby… could it? I won him back! No, if it was that he would've made an entrance…"
Yet Sarah couldn't be sure. She didn't know anything about the Goblin King – Jareth – not truly.
Sarah hoped she was doing the right thing as she reached for the window latch. Secretly, she hoped they could put the past aside. When she told Hoggle she needed all of her friends from the Underground, Sarah felt she might just mean Jareth, too.
"I have to know for sure."
The moment Sarah's hand touched the window the owl launched itself out of the tree. Seconds later, Sarah was left staring at a cream-colored feather and six shallow gouges in a swaying branch.