Charmed Chaos
Musings on Life, Love, and Linguine-Poetry & Writing
A Brush of Wings
As a child, Rhea gravitated towards uncommon objects. She wasn’t sure why but it may have been the result of her father giving her a dead owl to play with. When her mother saw, her dad caught hell for giving a toddler a dead bird.
Now older, she never outgrew her fascination with the peculiar. One evening as she was walking to her favorite pub The Lamb and Flag, she spied a shop never seen before. A placard above the door read ‘Oddities’. But, what stopped her cold was a small wing shaped sign -‘If You are a Dreamer, Come In.’
She stepped into the candlelit shop. As she closed the door, soft feathered wings brushed against her face as an owl landed on her shoulder. Staring into her eyes, Rhea knew this was the place she had been searching for all her life.
©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg
dVerse Poets Pub: Prosery Meet Me Where The Sidewalk Ends
Author’s Note: Although most of this is fiction, my dad really did give me a dead owl to play with when I was just a toddler. My mother was furious.
Linda Lee Lyberg is a wife, mother, artist, published poet and author. She resides in Mesa, AZ with her husband Pete (aka The Big Viking) of 24 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page
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23 Comments on “A Brush of Wings”
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Charmed Chaos 
Oh my! I think she found her special place.
Were I your mom, I would have reacted the same way!
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Yes, me too! Thank you.
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My pleasure 🙂
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Yes, I can imagine your mom was furious. Diseases and germs and stuff. Not to mention, DEATH. Very strange thing to do, actually. What were you to make of that? Did you think it was a stuffed animal or did you realize it was dead? How old were you? Still, the shop sounded great. I love the idea of the dreamer entering.
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Thank you. I was about a year and a half. My mom left my dad when I was two- lol.
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Hm, well possibly for good reason! Though very sad thing for you all around. At least you were so young, you probably, at the time, didn’t associate the “dead” thing. Though it would come back later in a weird way.
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Yes.
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I really see similarities between your story and mine: both small children searching for refuge with strange creatures 😊
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Yes, true! Thank you Ingrid.
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Great surprise ending. Eye to eye with an owl, a destiny a calling. It’s just the beginning, I can tell that most definitely.
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Thank you!
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I love the closure in this for Rhea. So beautifully done.
The title is so soft, so comforting, magical….and then to see why in the story: wonderful.
I especially like the idea that the words are written on a wing shaped sign…..as if to say, step inside and let your dreams take flight.
I really enjoyed this response to the prompt!
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Thank you Lillian.
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What a weird gift to get… and now I remember you had an owl that came and died in your yard… maybe you need to find that shop.
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Yes! Thank you Bjorn.
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I like the way the story circles back to the owl….but the owl she deserved, alive, thriving and perhaps there to inspire her.
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Thank you so much Mish.
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Mesmerizing mysticism. I love the moment she realizes that she’s exactly where she needs to be.
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Thank you Lisa!
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You’re welcome.
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Gorgeous tale
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Thank you!
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My pleasure.
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