When Opal was 17, she got a white owl for her birthday.
Opal stared out her window at the pitch-black sky, adorned with sparkling stars. Her parents were gone again and she was as usual, at home by herself.
She was sighing with loneliness when suddenly a glimpse of white light flashed out her window. Startled, She carefully opened her window and called out, "Hello?" But all she heard was her voice, echoing back over and over again.
Her instinct told her to run away, but she shrugged and continued looking out the window, stroking Peridot.
All of a sudden, she heard a faint sound. Someone was knocking hard on the door. She peered through the window and caught sight of a man. The man was hefty and tall, but his face was hidden behind a cloak that revealed nothing but a pair of pitch-black eyes. Opal was mortified but she held her breath in as the man glanced around. After a minute or two, the man strode off the driveway but that was when Opal knew that her dad had an unfortunate car accident and didn't make it alive.
