Whisper's Silent Flight

Whisper was moonlight with feathers. A barn owl with a heart-shaped face of pure white and dark, depthless eyes, she came to us from a wildlife rehab center, her wing injury permanent. She moved with silent purpose in her large flight mew, her feathers making no sound. Her daytime roost was a high shelf where she'd sleep, one foot tucked up, looking like a feathered statue. The aviary is just a structure now, missing the soft *krick-krick* call at dusk, the rustle of preening, the awe-inspiring sight of her gliding silently from perch to perch in the moonlight we provided.