Chapter 1
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a little girl named Ajana.
Her biggest dream was to have a friend and not just any friend, an owl companion. She spent her days daydreaming about her owl and what kind of friendship that would be.
Ajana was a good girl; she listened to her mother and was kind to others, although deep down in her heart, she was sad, sad for the friend she hadn’t yet gotten to know.
She was a sweet little girl with long black hair and big brown eyes, living her life with that secret wish she didn’t want to share.
As time went on, she started believing her dreams would stay only a wish in her heart, and nothing more. She went on with her everyday life with a noticeable obsession with owls, which wasn’t so strange, having in mind how some people were fascinated by unicorns, angels, and similar.
Ajana thought that she would spend her whole life being ordinary, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Yet, one day, which looked like any other day, her whole life changed in a flash. How, you might wonder? Well, that is quite an intriguing tale.
One day, as she was hurrying back from school, she heard a strange sound on the branch of a tree right above her head. It was very dark, so she couldn’t see what it was.
It was one of those winter days in her country, the ones where the nights came too fast, at about five o’clock or earlier. As a result, she couldn’t see anything at first, but as she kept on searching the area, she spotted something moving on the nearby tree.
At first, Ajana was scared, thinking that it was a bat. She didn’t like them at all, but as her eyes adjusted, she realized it was something she loved so much, a beautiful barn owl.
Ajana knew that the moment she saw it, since she had been learning about them for a long time. She was amazed, but realized something was wrong; those owls were known for silent hunting.
Ajana approached the owl carefully so as not to scare it, and that was when she finally could inspect it.
It was the most beautiful owl she had ever seen; it was also the only owl she had ever seen, although she tried very hard.
It had a heart-shaped face, which was as white as snow. Its forehead was orange with tiny diamond-shaped spots. The bird’s white stomach showed small snowflake-shaped dots sporadically through its tiny feathers.
The wings had different shades of orange and white. That made them look like a rainbow of only two colors and their various shades, and there were diamond-shaped spots decorating the wings as well.
The owl’s eyes were deep and wise, the darkest shade of black there was. As for its beak, it was long and sharp. Its legs were small, with pointed, deadly looking talons.
It was a magnificent and graceful sight, except for one thing. One wing had a strange shape, and small drops of blood spotted it. The bird’s injury soon became apparent. Ajana realized that she had to hurry to its rescue since it was stuck on a lower branch of the tree, unable to fly away. She was grateful at that moment that she had excellent climbing skills, as she quickly scampered up the tree.
Soon, she was face to face with her favorite animal in the world, the magnificent owl.
She reached her arms towards the bird carefully so as not to frighten it. The owl remained calm, as if it trusted the little girl implicitly.
Ajana took the owl gently in her hands and carefully carried it down the tree. It was a lot harder to climb down using just one hand, but Ajana managed.
When they were on the ground, Ajana began inspecting the owl’s wing and realized it was broken. It was an open break injury, as her limited knowledge of injuries informed her.
Since Ajana was marginally familiar with the procedure of caring for an injured owl, she went to work immediately.
Putting the owl in the box that she took from the shop for the food drive earlier in the day. Then, she poked a few holes in the box so that the owl could breathe when she put it in. Remembering that she should support the owl’s body weight if its wing was broken, she used a rolled-up napkin to do so.
After that, she hurried to the nearby vet, since even though Ajana was young, she knew that was the right thing to do, that she couldn’t provide any more help to her little friend. Therefore, Ajana hurried down the street. She was unaware of how dark and scary that road was, only worrying about her little friend in the big box.
Ajana arrived at the vet’s breathless and right before the closing time. However, since the vet was a nice man, dedicated to his job, he immediately started checking the owl’s injuries.
The first thing he did was sedate the bird to relieve its pain and prevent further injury by masking it down with gas anesthesia.
Ajana insisted on staying with her bird friend during the whole procedure, which Bob, who was the vet, reluctantly agreed to. He did so only when he realized how much pain she would be in if he denied her the plea.
Although she was a strong-looking twelve-year-old, he knew, deep down in his heart, that he would break her little heart if he denied her.
Then, Bob started examining the bird while Ajana observed his actions with worried eyes. Her gaze occasionally wandered to the surrounding equipment, which, to her inexperienced eye, looked intimidating.
After the physical examination, Bob confirmed Ajana was right about the broken wing, so he used a splint to support the bird’s wing. It had a similar effect a cast would have had for a human, and he told Ajana they had two choices. He could take the bird to a raptor rehabilitation center, or she could take care of the owl.
Since Ajana was eager to help, Bob started explaining to her that the splint should stay for 2-3 weeks, and then she should try to take the bird back into the wild if the wing heals well.
Finally, she could take the box with the sleeping bird home and take care of it until it was ready to fly back to the wild, to its home.
Ajana’s mother wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but she allowed it grudgingly, knowing her daughter’s secret love for this particular kind of bird.
