Leaves rustled as brightly colored macaws leapt from the branches into the sky. A single red feather gently dropped into the river below. A small hand grabbed a hold of it and brought it up to the toddler's mouth. Her gill fins fluttered curiously. A twig snapped and her head whipped around towards the trees. Her mother knelt down next to her.

"What's that Lilly?" Elisa signed. Lilly looked back at the fluffy thing she was holding and squealed as her father lifted her off the ground. He shifted her to his left arm and started signing something. The child looked back and forth between her parents and chirped trying to focus their attention back on her.

Elisa smiled and took the feather. "What's this?" No response. "Feather." Still no response. Elisa signed again and pointed to the feather. Lilly cocked her head clearly trying to understand. Elisa sighed and looked up at her mate. "She's still young. She'll learn." He nodded.

They were both a little disappointed. They'd been trying to teach her to sign for months but none of it ever sank in. These movements. These gestures. They had meaning. Elisa remembered how frustrating it had been trying to teach Lilly's father to sign. He picked up the simple works fast. The words relating to tangible things. But it took her years to get the more abstract words across.

One more try. "Lilly." She gently cradled her daughter's head in her hand making sure she was paying attention. She placed the feather in the toddler's hand and closed her fingers around it. "Feather." Lilly opened her hand and stared at the feather for a few moments, then lifted her arm and clumsily repeated the gesture. Her parents looked at each other in shock. That shock quickly shifted into excitement. Her father kissed her on the top of the head, both of their markings started to light up. "Yes! Feather!" Lilly copied the gesture again. It was clumsy. But she was learning. And that was enough for now.