Owl House

What does the odd house's sudden appearance mean?

Created on Midjourney

The odd house appeared out of nowhere on the empty lot on the corner of Whimsy and Dale streets. When the residents of the quiet neighborhood went to bed, the lot contained nothing but grass and wildflowers. When they awoke the next morning, the house sat there, fully constructed, with a paving stone walkway lined with lanterns.

The oddest thing about the house was the magnificent owl that graced the front of the strangely shaped upper level. As the residents gathered to marvel at the new building, they began to speculate as to how it had come to be there.

Lynette thought its arrival was a brilliant way to start her last summer holidays before high school. She loved new and strange things. Maybe she’d even get to meet the people who lived there. At least, she assumed someone would live there.

She joyfully took in every inch of the building. The owl truly was spectacular. In fact, she thought she had seen one just like it somewhere, though she couldn’t quite remember where.

“It must be a prefab,” Davey said. “Only way they could get it up so fast.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Roman scoffed. “That’s no prefab. And anyway, I live next door. I’d have heard something, even if they put up a prefab.”

Lynette stared at the owl, jumping as it blinked. “I think it’s alive,” she said. “Did you all see that?”

“Nope,” came a chorus of nervous answers, proof that she hadn’t imagined the blink but that her neighbors didn’t want to admit they’d seen it too.

“Maybe it’s one of those hologram things,” Lawrence said with the air of someone who knew about these things.

Everyone but Lynette, who was certain this was no hologram, started nodding in agreement. That building was as solid as she was. She was sure of it. And she was curious, though a little awed and afraid at the same time.

Still, at only fourteen, she was braver and smarter than most of the adults she knew. As she saw it, there was only one way to sort this out. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and marched up to the owl house.

She didn’t see a doorbell, so she raised her hand to knock. Just before her knuckles would have made contact with the wooden door, it swung open.

“Ah, there you are,” said the wizened little man standing before her. He looked remarkably like an owl himself, with his bushy grey eyebrows and tufts of hair that stood up like ears above his large, round glasses.

“Well, don’t just stand there gawking, girl. Come in.”

Lynette continued to stand and to gawk as well, completely confused. “Excuse me?”

The owl-like man let out a long-suffering sigh. “You are Lynette Rogers, yes?”

“Yes.” Lynette’s heart began to skitter in her chest and she clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking. “How do you know…”

“Didn’t you receive the letter?”

Lynette’s mouth fell open. Closed. Then opened again. She knew exactly which letter the little man referred to. “You mean that wasn’t a joke?”

“Do I look like I’m joking, young lady?”

Lynette suddenly remembered where she had seen the owl before. It had been on the letter she had received saying she had been admitted to the Owl Academy for Magical Peoples. She’d laughed when she’d read it. But her mom hadn’t. She’d just smiled and said, “Interesting.”

There’d always been something a little different about Mom, though no one ever talked about it. “No sir,” Lynette finally answered, unclenching her fists and smoothing an imaginary wrinkle in her skirt.

“Then come in. If you’re going to join the first training class of your generation, we’ve no time to waste. You’re already behind, so I’m here to tutor you so you’ll be ready for classes in the fall.”

Lynette took one look back at her stunned neighbors, then followed the warlock into the owl house. As she turned to close the door behind her, she caught a glimpse of Mom looking out the front window. Mom smiled with pride as she made a shooing motion. This was definitely going to be an interesting summer. And Lynette couldn’t wait for high school to start!

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I created the image that appears with this story several months prior to its writing. I don’t remember what led me to make an owl house, but I loved the image and set it aside, not sure what to do with it.

One thing was certain—an odd house needed an odd sort of story to match it. When I decided to pull the image and write the story, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with it. The tale came together over numerous drafts over the course of a day.

Like so many short pieces of fiction, this one raises as many questions as it answers and could be expanded into a first chapter for a much longer story. I guess I’ll add it to the very long list I would have to live a hundred years more to write.

What do you think of Lynette’s fascination with the house from the outset? Was she drawn to it because she is also magical? Why didn’t her mother tell her what she was. It’s pretty obvious her mother has some magic too. Why has she hidden it?

Where do these questions take your imagination? What kind of story would you write based on this? Drop a comment and let me know.