One evenin out there comin up the drive I saw somethin flash. Not like it was movin or alive. Just a flash in the headlights. Caught my eye. I stopped the truck near the stables and backed up and put the truck in neutral and pushed in the brake. I got the flashlight out and shined it into the woods. I’ve never been afraid of the woods in the dark, but for some reason that night I was. Felt like a child who’s afraid of the dark. But I walked into the woods anyway and what had caught my eye was a single wing of an owl. I lifted it and spread the feathers out. Yeh ever see an owl feather? Odd lookin, but very pretty. Very different from other birds. The trailin edge is soft so it doesn’t cut the air and make a sound. Silent. But that’s what got me. Somethin out there got that owl. Somethin quieter than silence. I held that wing there in the dark woods with the flashlight in my mouth and those feathers spread and I couldn’t help but feel helpless. Nothin is above an owl at night. Or so I thought. But there it was, just the wing. Somethin out there got it. Somethin in the dark. Left a single wing as a warnin. Left it there for the rain to fall on. For me to find it.