Chapter 2/10
Hawk and Owl
Eric and Sarah had met in a class about medieval literature. They immediately were
friends. He was always there for her, no matter what problem came into her life. When Toby was
in the hospital with appendicitis, Eric sat with Sarah until her little brother was out of the
emergency room. Sarah would help him as well. He was always having trouble with his guardian,
whom Sarah had never met. Whenever Eric would call her and tell her that he and his guardian
had an argument she'd take him out to cheer him up. Mina was always telling Sarah that Eric
liked her as more than a friend, but Sarah never believed her.
The apartment was empty when Sarah walked through the door. It wasn't very big,
even for a two bedroom. Her room was tiny and still she had managed to fit her toys,
costumes, and books in it. She hid Mina's present under a pile of stuffed animals, then went to
check the messages on the answering machine.
Sarah pressed the flashing red button and heard the familiar voice of her boyfriend. "Hi
Sarah, this is Kermit. Um...Sarah, you know that we have been growing apart and I, well, I
just thought it was time to break it off completely. Maybe if you had paid more attention to us
and less attention to your stories it could have worked out. I hope we can still be friends.
Goodbye Sarah."
Sarah felt tears running down her cheeks. She and Kermit did fight a lot in the six
months they had dated, but they didn't stay angry at one another for long. The disagreement was
usually thought of as creative differences involving the play they were working on. She just
couldn't believe that he had broken up with her over her daydreaming. She used to joke about it
by saying, "I was much worse when I was in high school!" He obviously never thought that was
funny.
Her head was still processing the information when Mina came home. At seeing Sarah, she
was at her side. "Sarah, hon, what's wrong?"
With a numb hand, Sarah pressed the machine button once more so her friend could hear the
message. Mina's face crinkled in disgust. "I told you that you shouldn't have dated a guy
named after a singing frog. Are you okay?"
"This has been a long day," she muttered in reply, "I think that I'll go for a walk."
With gloomy steps she walked out of the apartment.
Sarah was so deep in thought that she almost didn't see the hawk staring at her from the
tree overhead. It sat, cocking its head to the side as she watched it. A moment later, a snowy
white owl landed on the branch next to the hawk. The two birds began to skwak at one another
as if they were arguing about something. Sarah looked on with curiousity until she realized that
she knew that owl.
Gasping, she dashed back into her home and bolted the door. Mina was on the phone in the
kitchen and didn't notice her friend's panicked face. Sarah went to her room and buried her
head under a pillow as though it could keep out the rest of the world.
Sarah awoke when she heard the knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she said sleepily.
Eric came in and gently shut the door behind him. He walked to her bedside and said,
"Mina told me about Kermit. Do you need a shoulder to cry on?"
She sat up and offered him a place on the bed to sit. "No thanks. It's just...this
started off as such a normal day and it has turned into...I'm not even sure what. All I know is
that I can't wait for it to be over."
His arm came around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. He didn't say anything,
the two of them just sat there for a while in a comforatable silence. They both felt comfortable
and safe. They didn't even hear the phone ring.
The door swung open. Mina came in with the cordless phone in one hand and all the color
drained from her face. "Sarah, that was your stepmom. Toby's missing."
Hawk and Owl
Eric and Sarah had met in a class about medieval literature. They immediately were
friends. He was always there for her, no matter what problem came into her life. When Toby was
in the hospital with appendicitis, Eric sat with Sarah until her little brother was out of the
emergency room. Sarah would help him as well. He was always having trouble with his guardian,
whom Sarah had never met. Whenever Eric would call her and tell her that he and his guardian
had an argument she'd take him out to cheer him up. Mina was always telling Sarah that Eric
liked her as more than a friend, but Sarah never believed her.
The apartment was empty when Sarah walked through the door. It wasn't very big,
even for a two bedroom. Her room was tiny and still she had managed to fit her toys,
costumes, and books in it. She hid Mina's present under a pile of stuffed animals, then went to
check the messages on the answering machine.
Sarah pressed the flashing red button and heard the familiar voice of her boyfriend. "Hi
Sarah, this is Kermit. Um...Sarah, you know that we have been growing apart and I, well, I
just thought it was time to break it off completely. Maybe if you had paid more attention to us
and less attention to your stories it could have worked out. I hope we can still be friends.
Goodbye Sarah."
Sarah felt tears running down her cheeks. She and Kermit did fight a lot in the six
months they had dated, but they didn't stay angry at one another for long. The disagreement was
usually thought of as creative differences involving the play they were working on. She just
couldn't believe that he had broken up with her over her daydreaming. She used to joke about it
by saying, "I was much worse when I was in high school!" He obviously never thought that was
funny.
Her head was still processing the information when Mina came home. At seeing Sarah, she
was at her side. "Sarah, hon, what's wrong?"
With a numb hand, Sarah pressed the machine button once more so her friend could hear the
message. Mina's face crinkled in disgust. "I told you that you shouldn't have dated a guy
named after a singing frog. Are you okay?"
"This has been a long day," she muttered in reply, "I think that I'll go for a walk."
With gloomy steps she walked out of the apartment.
Sarah was so deep in thought that she almost didn't see the hawk staring at her from the
tree overhead. It sat, cocking its head to the side as she watched it. A moment later, a snowy
white owl landed on the branch next to the hawk. The two birds began to skwak at one another
as if they were arguing about something. Sarah looked on with curiousity until she realized that
she knew that owl.
Gasping, she dashed back into her home and bolted the door. Mina was on the phone in the
kitchen and didn't notice her friend's panicked face. Sarah went to her room and buried her
head under a pillow as though it could keep out the rest of the world.
Sarah awoke when she heard the knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she said sleepily.
Eric came in and gently shut the door behind him. He walked to her bedside and said,
"Mina told me about Kermit. Do you need a shoulder to cry on?"
She sat up and offered him a place on the bed to sit. "No thanks. It's just...this
started off as such a normal day and it has turned into...I'm not even sure what. All I know is
that I can't wait for it to be over."
His arm came around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. He didn't say anything,
the two of them just sat there for a while in a comforatable silence. They both felt comfortable
and safe. They didn't even hear the phone ring.
The door swung open. Mina came in with the cordless phone in one hand and all the color
drained from her face. "Sarah, that was your stepmom. Toby's missing."
