Well, this story is dedicated to those who have stuck around for a long enough of time. For the first time, I felt like I was part of a community. I guess this story is the least I can do to show my appreciation. Enjoy you guys, long live Rio.

Let's begin shall we?

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You Raise Me Up

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Birds chirped in the sky as they flew by the poor slums of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was such a big contrast, actually. The macaws and the other elegant birds flew overhead in the clear, blue, limitless sky while the other living beings down below lived in poverty and hardship. It was another typical day, more or less, for a Welsh Corgi in this poor slum. The small dog's left ear twitched as his brown eyes slowly panned around the backyard of the fence he called his home. He knew nothing more than the high, metal walls and his owner's home, but his old and small figure couldn't do anything about it.

The dog was on his side, watching the birds fly by. However, with a sudden noise of a dull thud and a sharp cry, the Corgi craned his neck to see what caused the noise. On the grass of his territory was a blue bird that was on its side. The dog slowly got up and approached the crying bird, who was grasping her wing. With wide eyes, she saw the Corgi approach her, and she immediately started to bawl.

"Please senhor, don't eat me!" The Corgi was puzzled, why would one eat such a beautiful creature like this?

"I'm not here to eat you, little one. Why would I harm such a guest?" the blue bird let her bawls turn into whimpers.

"So… you're not going to eat me?"

"Of course not," the dog lolled his tongue out and let out a small chuckle, "are you alright?"

The cerulean bird sniffled and winced as she held her wing. She managed to get into a sitting position, and she faced the smiling dog.

"I think so, my wing hurts."

"It'll be alright, little one. Where did you come from?" At this, the cerulean bird almost broke down and cried again. She looked down with her sapphire eyes down at the grass with a sigh. Her eyes looked down a little as she wiped her eyes. Mother always told her that crying wouldn't get her anywhere.

"I was flying around with my siblings. I wanted to fly just like them! But I was too weak, and my siblings didn't notice me falling from a large wind. I tried to call out to them, but I fell too fast for them. And then, I fell down here. I miss my mommy, senhor," The bird sniffled and started to cry again. The dog sat down next to her and compassionately nudged her with his nose.

"Don't be sad, little one. I'm sure that you can learn to fly and see your family again! You do remember where you live, don't you?"

"Yes, but I never want to fly again!" The bird, suddenly angry, said. The dog only chuckled and laid down next to the bird so that he would get down to her level.

"But all birds fly, little one."

"Yeah? Well, my dad said that ostriches don't fly," the bird countered. She couldn't resist the dog's signs of compassion and let her anger go.

"I'm sorry, little one; I don't know what an ostrich is."

"An ostrich is a bird with funny looking legs that can't fly. Mommy said that Daddy thought he was an ostrich once," she giggled. The dog let out a hum, nodding with acknowledgement. "Haven't you been to a library, senhor?"

"I'm afraid not, little one. I can't read either." The cerulean bird seemed appalled at this, and her beak dropped open.

"Well, that's no good! Have you been around the city, then?" At this question, the dog's friendly face slightly fell.

"I have never been outside of this fence. Can you tell me how it is like outside?"

"Oh! Definitely senhor!" the bird smiled and stood, "and pardon me, but, do you have a name?"

"I never got a name. My owner just calls me Velho." At this, the bird noticed a sign of disappointment and sadness.

"That's no good either! Can I call you Senhor Velho?" the dog was pleased, and his mouth seemed to curve upward at the bird.

"Why, of course you can, little one. May I ask for your name?"

"Mom and Dad call me Cantabile. It means 'song-like.'"

"What's a song?" the dog asked with a raised eyebrow. The bird dropped her beak at once. This dog has definitely spent more time than her in Rio, and he doesn't know what a song is? She brushed the dirt off of her body and cleared her throat.

"Let me show you, Senhor Velho." The dog was curious, and he watched as Cantabile hopped a couple of feet away from him. She opened her beak and the dog widened his old eyes at the sound of her voice.

"When I am down and oh my soul so weary

When troubles come, and my heart burdened be

Then I am still and wait here in the silence

Until you come and sit awhile with me."

Cantabile closed her eyes. The song that her mother wanted her to learn came out, and she closed her eyes as her good wing covered her body. She put as much as her soul into the next part, just as mother told her to.

"You raise me up so I can stand on mountains

You raise me up to walk on stormy seas

I am strong when I am on your shoulders

You raise me up to be more than I can be."

Cantabile abruptly stopped. Her eyes shot open at the sound of whimpers and the sound of sniffling coming from the Corgi. She watched with concern as his tears plopped down onto the grass as his whimpers grew in size.

"Senhor Velho, should I stop?" the bird asked with worry. It wasn't normal for her to cry at the sound of music.

"I'm sorry little one," the Corgi wiped the tears from his eyes and gave the bird a smile, "I have never heard of something so beautiful." Cantabile widened her eyes. Every morning, she woke up to the song of the jungle, with all of the birds singing in the background. To have never been able to listen to music before was downright preposterous.

"Can you please sing another one?" Cantabile smiled, happily agreeing to as she closed her eyes and began to sing again. From the words of You Raise Me Up, a new, strong relationship was born.

Days went by, and soon enough, the dog and the bird have become close friends. She told him all about the outside world, how the jungle was full of life and danger, and how the city was so full of life. The Corgi wasn't bitter at all from missing this experience; he actually quite enjoyed listening to her stories. The Corgi's owner gave both of them enough to eat, and eventually took a picture of the two while they were together. When the two looked at the camera, the Corgi had his tongue out and his mouth curved upwards in a smile. Cantabile was on top of his head, smiling as well. Much to their dismay, the two didn't get to see the photograph. All of a sudden, one day, when Cantabile was telling her stories, the Corgi decided on something to tell his friend.

"Little one, I think that it's time that you fly back to your family. You miss them, right?" The bird frowned and looked down upon the ground as she laid against the side of the old dog.

"I wish. I don't think I can fly anymore. Look at me, Senhor Velho, I'm a horrible flier. Father told me to be careful because my body is weaker than my other siblings."

"You have to try, little one. I have a feeling that your family is looking for you. I bet that they're worried about you." Senhor Velho yawned, basking in the sun in the hot summer day.

"Do you really think so?" Cantabile asked.

"I know so, little one."

"But how am I going to fly again? I don't mean to be rude, but you're a dog. How can you help me?" The dog smiled as he got up, much to Cantabile's dismay of losing a pillow.

"I have an idea little one." At that, he told her his plan. He was to have the bird stand on top of his head while they were to run around. Hopefully, her flapping and his speed would be able to get her to lift herself off of the ground.

"Are you ready, little one?" The dog asked as he felt the claws of the bird dig in. Cantabile nodded, her wings spreading out as she flapped a couple times to get the hang of the flying motion.

"Yes, Senhor!"

"Alright! Then hold on and flap your wings!" From there on, the dog ran from one side of the fence to the other. Cantabile rapidly flapped her wings, trying her best to lift off.

"Hurry, little one! You can do it!" At the very same time his encouragements met her ears, she let go of the Corgi and flapped over the metal fence that they were just about to hit. With that, she flapped again, raising altitude. Cantabile smiled and let out a happy shout,

"I'm flying! I'm flying!" The feeling was utter and complete bliss. She felt the air under her feathers, the wind across her face, and she didn't feel as weak as she did before. In fact, she couldn't help but do a little loop and laugh as she felt the freedom of flight. She flapped and held her wings out, turning her wings to loop around and come back to the same backyard as the Corgi was. She looked down at the area where she used to be, realizing how small of an area it really was. However, the sight of her friend lying on the ground at a strange angle caused her to gasp. She slowly fluttered down, landing roughly, yet safely on the grass next to her friend.

"You did it… little one… Now… go… back to your… family…" The Corgi was heavily breathing, his smile creeping up to see the bird. He was lying on his side, his body heaving from the exertion of his body. Cantabile realized in horror of what was going on. That dull look in his eyes, the breathing, and his awkward position were pieces of the puzzle that Cantabile put together. She felt tears run down her face as he slowly caressed the dog's face with her feathered wing.

"But… you… I… I can't…" Cantabile stammered, fighting back her urge to start bawling.

"But you must!" The Corgi barked at Cantabile. She jumped back a little out of shock of his bark, "You must go out into the world, and you must go back to your family. See the world that I've failed to see. You've brought me so much happiness, Cantabile, but I don't want to hold you back. It would have been selfish of me if I kept you here, away from the rest of the world. I want you to go out and see the world through your eyes. See the world for the both of us."

Cantabile started to bawl, and she buried herself onto the dog's face. In response, Senhor Velho licked the Spix Macaw.

"I'm so sorry… Little one…" The dog smiled, nudging the bird off of him. Cantabile gave the dog one last look and wiped her tears as she took off. New tears replaced the old ones, and they almost seemed to glitter as they fell down towards the Corgi. Senhor Velho's vision slowly faded to black, the last thing that he saw was his beautiful friend take off to her family.

"Thank you, Cantabile. You have brought me happiness. So much more than you can ever imagine…"

The following day, Cantabile came back, except with her entire family. In her beak was a bright red rose, along with one of her feathers in her claws. When they went back to the fenced area where Senhor Velho was, they didn't find a dog. Instead, they found a mound with a wooden cross along with a crown of thorns placed on the top section of the cross. Cantabile and her family touched down on the grass, and stood a respectable distance as Cantabile slowly walked over to the wooden cross. Cantabile left the delicate rose next to the base of the wooden cross and put her head down in sadness. Her siblings went up to her, hugging her and comforting her.

Soon enough, it was time for them to leave. She would follow them closely behind after they took off. However, when she raised her head to get a bearing of where to take off, she caught a glimpse of a small photo. Cantabile slowly walked over to this photo and delicately caressed it as she wiped a tear from her eye.

The Spix whispered something under her breath as she took off to the family that was patiently waiting for her. As Cantabile flew up, one of her feathers slowly fluttered down before it landed next to the photograph; a photograph that contained a thousand words of a friendship between a bird and a dog under a clear, blue sky.

"Thank you, Senhor Velho. I will never forget you."

Fin

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And there you have it, guys. You guys have really given me a lot of inspiration for my upcoming stories, and your works still motivate me to work harder in the future. Thanks for all of your hard work that you've put into this community. I know that you shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for Rio. Sadly, it's not as active as it used to be, but your legacy will live on through the words of your stories. Thank you.

Anyway, this bird of mine is an OC with the name of Cantabile. She was featured in the Ensemble Contest that nobody really participated in, to my dismay. However, this explains why Canta is so fond of dogs. With that said, I wish you all a good day. I hope that you found this story enjoyable!

Your friend, CJFang.

Oh, and if you would so kindly just press that button down there to review this piece that I made? Words of encouragement and criticism are highly encouraged!