The Thief, Time

Owl rested on this old pine branch beneath his feet for three days without moving his wings a single time. Stag’s Hollow was lively as ever with fauna and flora dancing in the winter air and flurries dancing here and there. Babies crawled out of dens with their parents, and others foraged for a few berries that remained. Birds of other varieties could be heard in the distance bickering back and forth, but Owl had his own thoughts to debate. Why does time constantly insist on being in the way?

Owl’s dear friend, Sparrow, arrived not a moment later and landed beside him. They both gave their routine nods to one another, and Sparrow immediately went back to pluming his feathers. “Cold one today, isn’t it?” The comment his little friend always made upon each arrival.

“Oh, yes,” Owl said droning, “the coldest one yet, I’m afraid.”

Sparrow noticed the bite of his sarcasm. “You feeling warm and fuzzy over there then, I take it?”

“You know something,” Owl said with an unnerving aura, “I’ve sat on this same branch for three days now. I haven’t eaten. I haven’t drunk. There were moments where I even had to remind myself to breathe. Never in my lifetime would I have guessed that I had to tell myself to take a deep breath because I forgot the last time I took one. I’ve watched the sun canvass the sky in purples, oranges, and other handsome shades. I’ve watched the moon in slightly different forms cast what little light it's gifted across the pines and fill in the footprints of our neighbors in a shadowy hue. I sat on this branch because I asked myself, ‘What am I to do? What is it that I’m supposed to do now that I’ve reached a dead end?’ But then, I thought those questions over and asked myself further, ‘How can I be at a dead end when I have an unlimited world around me?’ I mean, damn it, I have wings! I could fly anywhere I want! I have a voice that hoots and sings, and I can scream at the top of my lungs, and there isn’t a single creature to tell me otherwise. Why would I sit here and ask myself those questions?”

Sparrow chimed in, “You have every right to do so.”

“Well, of course,” Owl replied brashly, “don’t tell me something that I actually know. I have every right to think. I have every right to question as much as I have every right to decide what it is that I’m going to do next. But who am I to waste time?” Sparrow stared ahead, pondering the question, and had no answer to give. The silence between them was filled with cricket chirps and another owl in the distance living their truth. “Who am I,” Owl asked slowly, “to waste time?” Owl chuckled, “The more time I spend taking time to myself, the more of it I waste. If I decided two days ago to take flight from here and continue to ride the air until I grew too tired, do you know the kind of creatures I could have met? What if there was another tree that has been beckoning me to call my new home? And, Sparrow, I’ll never get the answers to those questions: not sitting here! The new friend I could have made, whether it be another owl or another Sparrow, hell, maybe even a deer. We could have shared tales of our livelihoods and learned from each other's mistakes. The tree that I could have found solace in could have overlooked a landscape even more beautiful than where I currently call home.”

“The grass isn’t always greener, Owl.”

“Yes, of course. But how is one supposed to know what shade the grass is on the other side when they don’t even care to look?”

“Aside from your riddles,” Sparrow began growing impatient, “what’s the meaning of all of this?”

“The meaning in all of this is that I grew an arch nemesis over these last three days and nights: time. Time is something I no longer want to manage, but I want to despise it. I want to loathe the idea that my life, whether it be short or long, is contradicted by the time I’m forcing myself to sit under as I waste away, questioning, ‘When is the right time to do this?’ or ‘When is the right time to do that?’ I hate that time takes away from adventure. I hate that time takes away from the love we’re supposed to find within ourselves, other people, and what lies around us.”

“So,” Sparrow began asking being roped back into the philosophy, “is it safe to say that time and fear are the same?”

Owl, now increasingly intrigued, “How do you mean?”

Sparrow was nervous being under the spotlight. He was keener on listening to sermons than delivering them. “Well, from what you’re saying, time is the culprit of life’s thievery. Joy, love, adventure, bravery, and all the good things we deny ourselves are often hindered by the idea of wasting time and wondering if the good things are truly good. When we’re experiencing a blessing, time is the reason why we rest in a branch for three days and saturate our positivity with time's greatest debates. Questions that lead to further questions because we can’t find answers to the first questions. However, we then convince ourselves that to discover those initial answers, we must dive deeper by asking more questions. What happens when we don’t find the answers to the second set now? Do we dare ask a third?”

Owl was impressed with the logic. He thought for the longest time that by continuing to ask questions, he acquired a profound nature that separated him from the rest. During that self-reflection, he noticed a herd of deer running around below them, chasing one another, and laughing so diligently he wondered if they would ever stop. Yet, another question he asked himself that day.

“Don’t blame time for your fears, Owl,” Sparrow continued, “because that is truly when time will become your greatest enemy. However, you have the ability to make time your greatest ally.”

“How so?” Owl asked softly, staring at his talons.

“If it is love you are after, go be in love. Not tomorrow or the day after, but go and do it today. Fearlessly, ferociously, undeniably crazy about someone that you had no idea that love was that powerful to begin with. Tell that other person how much you love them and offer everything your heart and soul have to give to that special someone who deserves it, but most importantly, to whom you also deserve. Just be in love! If it is a new friend you are after, greet every single face you stumble upon, even if you have to land every minute or every second. The more faces you pass by, the more opportunities you are wasting away from finding someone you can adventure with. If you're looking for a new home, keep searching until you find one. The perfect tree, the most spectacular nook on the side of The Mountain. Wherever it may be! Keep searching until you find the place that is calling you and asking you to go home. For all you know, you’d find that in the person you fall in love with, too. Owl, you have all the time in the world. Your greatest enemy at this moment is your brain, not your heart, convincing you otherwise.”

Sparrow begins to stretch his wings before taking flight, before continuing, “Respectfully, I hope that I don’t see you here tomorrow, old friend. This branch being empty will be a good reminder that not only did you face fear, but that I was right all along.” Sparrow winked at Owl with a large grin before taking off to his nest on the other side of the forest.

What a beautiful bird, that Sparrow. Always hesitant in debate and scuffles for the longest time, but what? He just woke up this morning out of the blue and decided to be a poet?