Untouchable by Marii Solaria

Chapter 22 – The Owl

“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.“– Vera Nazarian

Halima

Tonight was the night of Anthony and Alesia’s ceremony. Dwayne and Jackie were to be Co–Betas and a man named Ali was to be Gamma. I met him quite a few times, and he was a proper gentleman. And cute, too. I set out the outfit I’ve decided to wear on my bed, admiring how the color and accessories work well with each other.

Per Lyria’s advice, I went with amethyst purple, which was slowly becoming my favorite color. The dress was sleeveless with a turtle neckline guaranteed to cover my back. The scar from the Mark of the Betrayer still gives me a deep sense of shame, so I wanted it covered. The dress was flowy and loose, starting at my waist, reaching down to my knees. My golden flats with ankle straps rest on the floor near the dress.

Walking in heels was a disaster waiting to happen. And by disaster, it involves me kissing the floor.

A pair of gold bracelets and a single charm necklace rest on top of my vanity, glittering under the pale amber light of my room. I don’t understand how to style my hair, so I wore my curls down. Thanks to the love and care from Jackie and Violet, my hair had grown significantly after some trims, now with the ends brushing my shoulders. All I need to do was apply some product to make the curls pop and I’ll be fine!

Tapping my cheek as I stared at the colorful makeup palettes, I debate whether to apply makeup. I keep it simple to avoid the risk of looking like a clown with warm neutrals and lip–gloss.

Stripping down for my shower, I wash the day’s stresses from my body, falling in love with the rich lather of my floral–scented body wash. I learn to appreciate the hot water showers, not realizing how much they did me good. I’ve grown accustomed to cold, pleasureless showers that the joy of a decent warm one was fleeting. Today, I was happy to experience that simple pleasure. After completing my business, I work on my hair in front of the vanity in my towel. I was so deep into moisturizing my hair that the taps on my window startled

1. me.

“Whoa!” I yelped, jerking my head towards the window covered with curtains. Tightening the towel around my body, I sauntered towards it. The tapping continued and persisted, doing nothing to quell the anxiety pooling in my stomach. Who or what was demanding my attention? Sucking in my breath, I threw my covers open to see the culprit.

It is…an owl?

The white owl sat on the outside window ledge, peering at me with its large golden eyes. I cock my head to the side, arching a confused eyebrow. Weren’t wolves” natural predators to the owl? What is it doing here? Once I opened my window, the white owl flew in, settling on top of my vanity, eyes still glued on me.

a good enough distance from it.

in silence.

know I could eat

It still stared.

1/3

The

didn’t. It just sat there, watching

I about to change into my dress with an owl staring me down?

Yep.

hear excited

don’t need this

slip on my flats before slipping on my dress. The top part hugged me at every curve. No matter how small they are.

bottom, I turned to face my

“What the…”

1

on the bed right

Yipping in fear, I fell on the ground, flat on my ass. It hooted as if it was laughing. This damn bird liked to joke, huh? Rolling my eyes, I hop on my feet once more, rubbing my sore

sarcastically. I take the jewelry from my vanity, placing each in their respective places. I place clip–on rose earrings on my earlobes. “It’s not nice to surprise people like that. I could have squished you

now closer than ever, less than a foot away from me. Oddly enough, the longer I look at it, the less scared I am. My overall deductions of this weird bird were that…it was cute.

know what it’s trying to say, I don’t speak

into my palms. Breaking out into a smile, I run my fingers through its feathers.

whisper to it, relishing in its soft

sound like a disapproving grunt. “Um, female?” She gave

bird a small smirk. “I have