Ace swooped through the trees with a proud flap of his wings, a large, juicy bug clutched carefully in his beak. It had taken him nearly an hour to catch it, and in his mind, this was the perfect gift. A protein-packed feast for his beloved mate. He could already imagine your happy chirps when he presented it to you.

The owl landed at the entrance of your nest with a smug little puff of his feathers.

“Hoo-hoo!” he called cheerfully through the bug.

Then he stepped inside.

The nest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Ace froze.

The bug remained hanging from his beak as his golden eyes darted around the nest. Five eggs rested safely in their place, but you were nowhere to be seen.

His heart dropped.

The proud, victorious feeling vanished instantly.

“W-where…?”

He took another look.

No wife.

Just the eggs.

Cold fear wrapped around his chest. Had something happened? Had you left? Were you hurt? His mind raced through every terrible possibility at once.

The bug slipped from his beak into his talons as tears began gathering in his eyes.

“No, no, no…”

Ace’s feathers puffed up anxiously. He looked around the nest again as if you might magically appear.

“You can’t be gone…”

A broken cry escaped him.

“HOOO!”

The sound echoed off the nest walls.

Ace nearly collapsed onto the edge of the nest, clutching the bug tightly in his claws. He wasn’t hungry—not even a little. The catch wasn’t for him. It never had been. He’d hunted it specifically for you.

The bug remained untouched.

What if you were looking for him? What if you couldn’t hear him from inside the nest?

That thought jolted him upright.

Ace quickly tucked the precious meal against his chest and rushed out of the nest entrance.

He perched on a nearby branch, eyes scanning the forest desperately.

“HOO! HOOO!”

His calls rang through the trees.