The Owl is a Wise Animal

When I was fifteen, I was living with my mom and her boyfriend out of a car and things were pretty miserable.

One day we stopped at a gas station and had to wait hours for his connect to meet him there. I was sitting on a piece of curb in the parking lot, feeling despondent, wondering how my life had turned out this way.

Then, out of nowhere, this elderly Native woman came up to me with a feather. She tied it to my hair with a little cord and said something about the owl being a wise animal, and walked off.

I never saw her again, but never in my life had I felt such utter peace, especially on a day that I felt most terrible.

I felt…protected, somehow. Like something benevolent was watching over me.

Only time I’ve ever felt like that.

~ by Truepsuedonym