The Silver Owl

34

A/N: If I remember correctly. 555 is the number for a fake phone number so I'm rolling with it.

I remember James.

I remember he took me out to the forest once.

"Hey, Liz, wanna come on a special hike with me?" James asked.

"Yeah!" I shot my fist up with delight.

We walked down the side walk until we came to a little alley, James took my hand and lead me down, we walked down several streets, hand in hand.

James released my hand and I frowned. He rummaged thought his pocket and took out several white sheets of paper folded twice.

"What are those?" I asked, my little blue eyes wide with wonder.

James opened them up, "They're missing pet posters," He smiled at the posters.

"Why would you keep those? Why are you smiling? That's not very nice to smile when someone loses their pet," I scolded James, and I fold my arms like I had seen my parents do before.

"Oh, no. Liz, I'm smiling because on our special hike we're going to look for these pets. Then once we find them we'll take them back to their families," James unfolded the first poster. It was of a small Yorkshire Terrier. The name below it was Kelly.

We looked at several posters, some of cats, mostly dogs, but the occasional hamster or bird or rabbit showed up too.

We walked down the sidewalk, I dodged all the cracks, making sure not to break my mother's back by stepping on one.

James guided me trough the streets, showing me all the good places to look for lost family members. We walked for about an hour without finding a single other living creature besides other humans. I began to get frustrated, but James said he had one last place to check.

We must have walked a mile or so the whole day, and I was so tired, James walked up to one last alley, and looked inside. We heard rustling near the dumpster, and James told me to wait a few feet behind him.

James made kissing sounds with his mouth, as I waited anxiously. When he came out he had a very large orange cat in his arms. The cat was very friendly. Which was a great first experience for me.

He handed me the cat, who began to purr in my arms. I giggled with delight, at the purring creature. James looked through the papers.

"Dewy," He read aloud, "Please return to the McCarmely residence if found, or call (340) 555-1875."

We walked to the house, James ended up carrying the large orange cat most of the way, considering I was skipping with joy half the time, and the cat was half my weight.

When we got to the house, James asked me if I wanted to give the cat back, and of course I excitedly said yes.

We walked up to the porch, and James rang the doorbell for me, I was unable with the large orange cat in my arms.

The door opened, and a lady with olive skin and brown eyes greeted us.

"Oh my goodness," She gasped, and clasped her hands over her mouth, I could see her eyes brim with tears.

"Zoe! Kyle! Come look! Come look!" The lady cried. A young girl with olive skin, and green eyes rushed to the door, followed by a man looking very similar to the girl.

"DEWY!" The girl screamed excitedly, I passed the easygoing cat over to the excited girl, who held the cat by its arms. Dewy let its legs dangle beneath it. Seemingly not caring, and was used to the way it was being held.

The girl cuddled the cat, and the women at the door was almost in tears, the man beamed, "Thank you so much for finding Dewy," The women said, "We've only just moved here not too long ago, and I've had Dewy for so many years. He means the world to us."

The women paused, "Oh! Let me get your reward," and she began to turn around.

"Wait- ma'am! Please," James began, and the lady turned around, "We don't need a reward. We are just happy you and Dewy are back together."

"Oh my goodness," The women began again, "If you won't except the reward, then can I at least have your names?"

James smiled, he had the kind of smile that could make anyone happy, "My name is James Scott, and this is Elizabeth Scott. We don't live too far away, and you are welcome to come over anytime."

The family thanked us many more times, and we began on our way. Later that year, the girl came to my school, and we became best friends. That's how I met Zoe.

I think about other things James did. Like on weekends when Dad was at work, James would take me out to lunch.

Once we went to a restaurant, and a couple were kissing.

James looked at me," Now Liz," He began with a goofy smile.

"All I ask is that before you date any boys, you aquatint me with him first."

"Ew!" I retorted, "Boys are gross! Also, what does 'aquant' mean?"

"Aquatint?" James pronounced the word correctly, "It means to meet someone."

"Oh," I breathed, "But boys are gross!"

James put his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended, "I'm a boy."

"Uh," I panicked, I worried I had offended him, "But you're my brother. So your not gross."

"Oh," James breathed a sigh of fake relief, "You had me goin' there for a second, Liz."

Our food arrived, and I ate my chicken tenders with a smile on my face. His blue eyes sparkled, and it was that moment when I noticed that our eyes looked the same. My smile grew wider as I thought about it.

"What are you smilin' about?" James laughed and ruffled my caramel brown hair, and I looked at his hair which looked just like mine. We looked very similar, and yet we looked nothing alike.

He always let me have dessert, which I remember vividly that it was amazing. He paid for the food, and always gave the waiter a nice tip.

Reluctantly, I'm pulled back into reality, I look at the time, 8:42. Zac is up and moving around, he walks towards the door.

"You coming?" He asked, I nod and jump, as I quickly close the book and set it on the coffee table.

I gracefully snag my jacket off the table, or Zac's jacket, more or less, and follow him out into the cool night air.