Maryam Khalil strolled into her office at Forman Christian College one morning and saw one of the most stunning things she’d ever seen.
Khalil told The Dodo, “I saw a lovely owl near my desk.” “One of my coworkers had him in his hands. It was the most lovely thing we’d ever seen in an office.”
The newborn owl had a downy coat of gray and brown feathers and large, bright eyes. Khalil had seen a lot of birds on her daily and nightly walks around campus, but she’d never gotten so close to one.
During a strong downpour, the small owl had fallen from his nearby nest, and Khalil’s colleague grabbed him up and took him inside to dry out. Because it was summer and the air conditioning in the workplace was blasting, they covered the young bird in a nice towel to keep him warm.
The small owl quickly became the buzz of the workplace, and everyone forgot about work. Despite the commotion, the owl appeared to be absolutely calm.
“When he started looking about with his beautiful eyes, I put him in a box in my lap,” Khalil explained. “He went to sleep for a time, and we fed him during the day.”
After the workday was done, Khalil and her coworkers discovered the owl’s nest and returned him to his mother.
Khalil hadn’t seen another wild animal in her office in two years, until an adult owl surprised everyone by swooping into a lecture hall during an evening seminar. Something about this owl reminded her of someone she knew.
“This wasn’t a baby owl, but he was adorable while winking at us,” Khalil explained.
