Most vivid amongst the memories of his home town was that of the night the owl visited

his
bedroom window. On many a night, Chris would lie awake, awaiting a sleep that would seldom come.
No amount of reading, music or hot milk could bring that sweet slumber. His bunk amidst the grimy
cobwebs and abandoned nicknacks of his families attic was not among his preferred places to stay, but it
wouldn't have mattered if he layed upon the fluffiest of feather beds and most silken of pillows, the
sleep would allude him nonetheless. He would spend many a sleepless night telling stories to the rodent
that lived in the wall above his headboard. He doubted that the creature cared of his tales, but telling
them felt good, even if they simply fell upon the ears of a mindless deer mouse.

One night, his tales were interrupted by a tapping on the glass of the attic window. There, sitting
on the sill was the imposing figure of a great horned owl. Unsure as to why such a majestic being would
come to visit and desperately hoping it would not leave, Chris sat as still as he could. The owl begun to
tap. Chris, staring intently at the beast, kept as quiet as a rock (because mice aren't as quiet as you'd
thing as the mouse in the wall can attest).

Eventually, Chris' muscles began to ache with fatigue as he continued his attempts to not spook
the bird. He slowly scooted his nearly numb legs out into a sitting position, leaning against the wall.
Sensing this movement, the owl ceased its tapping. Chris' heart dropped, believing he had scared the
creature away. To his delight, after a brief pause, the bird continued tapping.

And then chris found himself waking up. The sun was rising and its rays were spewing forth
through the attic window into Chris' bleary eyes. The bird was gone. Chris had been so preoccupied with
watching the bird and keeping still that he had somehow slipped to sleep without even realizing it. To
Chris' dismay, the owl never returned, but every night, he would pretend it had, and that he needed to
stay very still to watch it. It always put him to sleep.