To my surprise, the tiny owl lifted its wings and effortlessly flew off the ground. I stared in awe as the owl started flying away and into the looming swamp. I managed to shake myself out of my reverie and get up to chase after the owl. Is he trying to tell me something? I thought. It was the only logical answer I could think of at the moment. The darkness of the swamp swallowed me again as I kept up my pursuit of the owl.
As I approached a shallow bend, I felt my legs falter from under me and I fell to the ground. My face hit the wood hard. The sound of the owl's wings was rapidly disappearing. A rush of adrenaline coursed through me and I quickly got up. That bird knew something I didn't and I wanted to know. Run! I yelled at myself in my mind. I staggered a few steps before I regained my pace. The owl can't be too far behind. I thought as the sound of my bare feet thudding on the wood rang in my ears. The pain in my leg was agonizing, but the owl was more important to me. My mouth tasted like salt. I spat the saliva out and into the murky water. After a few minutes, I saw a fork in the path just ahead of me. I could have sworn this was the same path I had taken towards the house. I couldn't remember a fork in the path being here. I caught a glimpse of the owl just as it disappeared somewhere on the left path. I turned left, still running to catch up.
My breathing became labored. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Fortunately, I saw a change in direction I was taking. Just a bit away, the path turned to gravel and went sharply uphill. I stopped right where the slope started and looked up. The swamp stopped from where I was and the sky wasn't sunny; it was cloudy. The climb wasn't that high, so I figured I could brave it. I got onto my hands and knees as I fixed my eyes at the end ahead. You can do this. I told myself as I crawled upwards. My heart beat so hard that the whole world probably could have heard it. As the end came into view, I saw the same owl perching on the very edge. I caught my breath as I slowly approached. The owl took off again and dived straight down. I gasped and crawled even faster. I peered over the edge and my stomach flip-flopped. A huge drop went all the way down. Water splashed up against the rocks at the bottom. My eyes moved up to look at the horizon. What I saw was unexpected.
A vast ocean went out for miles as far as I could see. Everything confused me. The owl was gone, the weather suddenly changed again, and when did swamps ends at cliffs? "Where are you!?" I yelled, half hoping the owl would come back. I sighed and examined my surroundings a little more. Off to my right, was a sandy shore not the far down from the cliff. Sitting in the sand, was a small rowboat. It was brown and looked pretty new. I had a feeling that there was no where else to go, so I sat up and scooted to the edge facing the shoreline.
I slowly made my way down. Each boulder was fairly easy to grasp to. Finally, I reached the bottom. My feet landed on the warm sand. I wiggled my toes and felt the sand in between them. I looked back out at the blue ocean. It beckoned me to go forward. I looked back at the rowboat. This was going to be my vessel through the ocean. I climbed into the boat and pushed it out into the water. I kept pushing until the boat freely rocked back and forth, unrestrained from the sandy bottom. I had no idea where I was going and what I was going to do after that. I fixed the oars into placed and rowed.
I rowed for a very long time. I stopped when the cliff was only a hazy dot behind me. I was completely exhausted. My arms ached and I felt so lonely. The owl was no where to be seen. I sighed heavily as I laid down in the boat. I was so tired. Maybe I could sleep for just a minute. Just a minute… I thought sleepily. I yawned and closed my eyes.
I opened my eyes to see a blue ceiling. "What?" I said out loud. I sat up and looked around. It was my room. Why was I in my room? Wasn't I in the boat? I couldn't understand what had just happened. Was everything I saw a dream? It had to be. I stayed silent as I stared out the window. The sidewalk was there, no swamp. I smiled a little. The dream seemed almost too real. The voice called me for this journey, I saw the house with death, I met the silent owl, rowed out into an ocean, and I wake up back in my house. None of it made sense to me. More questions arose in my head about the journey. I felt that my eyes have been opened more to the world around me. I still wished the owl would have said something to me.
Then I noticed something. A stuffed animal was sitting on top of my TV along with the others that crowded it. The stuffed animal looked exactly like the owl I had saw in my "dream." It stared back at me with the same, intense eyes. I had to be hallucinating. I pulled up my warm blankets and hid under them. Maybe I should sleep for just a few more minutes.
I love the last sentence. It really goes with something else earlier in the chapter.
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