Two

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There he was again. I was under the elder tree, smoking a cigarette, when he passed me. He walked down the dirt path which the old tree sat beside. Today was the day, I had to ask him.

"Hey kid." He stopped walking, standing still. He didn't turn around, he didn't say anything, just stood still. I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked my question. "Who- Who are you?"

An odd, sudden sensation of dread pooled in my gut. The boy took slow steps as he turned around. When he turned and craned his neck up to face me, I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of the devil himself. His eyes were dead black; not brown or dark blue, they were black. He had his hood up, but I could see locks of curly, black hair falling over his forehead and almost covering his eyes. Despite being a larger man, 6'1" and weighing about 200 lbs, I felt intimidated standing in front of this child, who only came up to my chest.

"What-" I had to pause as I had forgotten my question while staring into his eyes, "What's your name? I see you here every day, and I have to know. Who are you?"

My question remained unanswered. He said nothing. Dead silence surrounded us like a thick blanket.

Out of nowhere, the boy's eyes widened, like he had just been struck with a realization. A bird flew by—no, not by, directly toward us. I ducked and covered my head, expecting it to fly over us but instead it flew down to the boy. The bird, a crow, stuck its claws out and gripped the boy's shoulder, perching itself there. It let out a squawk, and the boy nodded. I was given one final, emotionless glance then the boy smirked and disappeared in a puff of fire which quickly faded and became but a thin cloud of smoke and left no scorch marks on the ground. I received no answer to my question, so until I do, this boy will be referred to as Grim.

Grim showed up the next day, though this way was different from others. When I walked my usual way toward my usual smoking spot, I saw Grim sitting underneath the tree. His head was tilted back and he was looking up into the old tree. He didn't flinch when I sat beside him on the ground, lit a cigarette, and took a drag before I looked up at where he was staring. An owl. One with dark colors on its back which turned into white like a pixelated fade. The owl locked eyes with me, then suddenly launched itself down from the branch, flying so close to my face, I could feel the wind its wings created. It flew past me and stretched out its talons in front of it to grip the fence which surrounded the cemetery. It spun itself around and locked eyes with me.

So there I was, having the most intense staredown I had ever had in my life with an elf owl. Neither of us broke eye contact. I felt frozen in place. The beautiful bird's eyes bore holes into my soul, but it wasn't threatening nor uncomfortable, more like sharing a special moment with an old friend. The bird once again flew away from where it was perched, this time flying away. I watched it as its body became smaller and smaller until I could no longer see it.

A strong vibrating sound roared from my pocket. I slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone, seeing the contact "Doris and Ed" show up on my phone as it buzzed in my hand.

Ed was an elderly black man who lived a few blocks from my house. He and I met when we both reached for the same loaf of bread at the supermarket and quickly became friends. After telling me about his children and grandchildren who didn't visit anymore, he invited me to his house for a few drinks, so I walked home with him where his wife, Doris, treated me to some homemade lemon bars while Ed and I drank beer and chatted about our lives.

"Go fish, Ed," I said with a smirk. Ed scrunched his face up in playful anger as his quivering arm reached out to pick up a card from the pile. His frustrated frown became a cocky smile. He placed a pair of threes down on the table with his collection of five other pairs of cards.

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