The book store in Rio was still open, and I managed to fly out with a bunch on the behalf of "I was a cute bird", it took a day to reach the Amazon and when I reached my hollow I (as expected) find no Blue macaw in the area.
I had something to do now and a smile formed on my face. Heaven, all I wanted to do was to just sit down read and live my life and I could now do just that.
The blood red moon hung low in the sky and was bigger than I remember it. There were stars surrounding the moon all in the sky. It was like something out of a movie.
I didn't dare venture outside my hollow for the rest of the night, despite my stomach growling from hunger. Who knew what evil creature lurked on the Amazon floor.
The sky was a dark blue color, and I closed my eyes thinking about how great it was to have all this time to myself.
That's when I heard it.
It made a sound of a rock grinding against wood.
Something was scratching at the wall of my hollow.
I jumped to my feet to find the source, but as I opened my eyes the sound went away.
Probably a bug of some kind. I thought.
My eyelids closed once more and not even five minutes later the sound started again. This time it was closer.
I rose to my feet, in fear because unlike the first time the sound didn't go away. The sound instead kept trailing on and it came closer and closer. And grew louder and louder and more definitive.
My heart raced and my feathers stood on end as this creature neared me, I saw one paw stick out of the side of the hollow, then another. Its claws were mangled and extremely unkempt.
I was about to be devoured by some unheard of creature.
The animal revealed the rest of its body, it had a small white stripe from its snout to it tail and other white markings in its fast in contrast to it black fur. Its teeth edged out of its mouth, razor sharp like fangs.
It looked at me dead on, my brain went numb, and my wings went cold.
"I could've sworn I saw a mouse run into here. Its only a stupid bird!" the Badger said.
I hated being called stupid but I knew better than to pick a fight with a badger in matter how much my ego screamed at me.
The badger left and I practically melted in relief.
The rest of the night was horrible, I woke up every time I heard the smallest noise. I even ever heard the sound of a bullet being fired from a gun, and laughter of a hunter.
By the time I woke up it was noon and the rest of the Amazon woke up before me.
From my hollow I saw a pack of squirrels playing with each other and two skunks having a romantic dinner of some berries.
Everyone was in their tribe except for me. Dangit.
I looked up at the sky, the sun had warmed the entire region and there were storm clouds approaching. They were dark and menacing and they were moving toward my direction.
A small downdrafts of cool air plowed on the region, and tiny drops of water blew in the air.
Usually me Jewel and the kids would have spent the day together inside the hollow and would have cuddled together or play a game, usually the game involved throwing a stock which would eventually get lodged in someone's eye (usually mine) but we had fun as a family.
The animals scattered away from the region and went to their homes. The wind blew harder now and the mist turned to drizzle, then it began to rain.
And rain it did.
For 2 days in fact, I had to fly out in the rain to get food for myself, and I would come back to a empty hollow wet and miserable.
The rain formed a small river on a pathway me and the kids made on the forest floor.
We cleared stones leaves and sticks from a route that went from the pit of doom to our nest, in case one of us couldn't fly back home we could walk.
The entire path was no covered in water forming a little stream to the pit of doom.
Reptiles went to drink from the water and mosquitoes polluted it.
I thought of my kids, and for the first time in the first 4 days I felt alone and lonely.
The rain let up and the sky was revealed, and it was hot. The water evaporated off the floor and leaves of the trees and formed a lot of mist that hung low in the Amazon. The mist was thick, almost suffocating and the water vapor went into the lungs making them heavy. The last crack of thunder I heard for that week sounded miles from where I was.
I walked on the mud, the mud sucking at my feet. I couldn't fly simple because I didn't feel like it.
The trail to the Scarlet Macaw village was long, it happened to end at a pond at the main village of the Macaws.
The sky was red and the mist became denser and turned to fog, the forest surrounding me became darker and a little more twisted as I kept walking. But while I was walking I didn't seem to notice.
Blue Macaws rarely traverse this trail and we only used it to navigate in the air, or to carry big things over lands to the Scarlet Macaws.
The trail bonded and turned, holes in the trail filled with water or very thin mud. My leg got caught in them a few times, and once in a hole so deep the water reached to my waist.
The dirt trailer ended and markers replaced the trail, red feathers on tall sticks. That's when I realized where I was, the forest was now black. The tree line formed a wall of dark brown and black and I couldn't see past a couple of yards into the forest.
"The Algonquin trail" This is what Roberto told the trail was called, we traversed the trail together. Walking to and from the Red Macaw village. He would tell me how to survive in the forest, while I found ways to clear the trail and keep it neat. In fact before I came to the village the entire trail was dominated by either Red or Blue flags (the feathers on a stick I mentioned earlier). I cleared most of the trail so I knew the place by heart, but never have I been here at twilight.
There was no moon or stars in the night and if I got lost off the trail I would have no way to get back.
I camped out in the stars for the night, forming a shelter out of sticks and leaves. It was like a basket flipped upside down.
I put a firefly in a jar illuminating the sides of the shelter. And I fell asleep.
I woke up in the middle of the night to a wolf howling, scaring me.
I looked outside the darkness of night signified no sign of any creature.
But something told me that there was something lurking in the forest. But my eyes told me otherwise, and they had a more agreeable case and in a matter of minutes fell back asleep.
I woke again the to sound of shuffling, I looked outside a hole in between the sticks of the shelter and saw a wild dog sniffing the ground.
The firefly had escaped a long time before which was a good thing, since the dog couldn't find me. I kept still and made no attempt to even move my eyes away from the dog in fear it would sense that movement.
I slowed my breathing to keep quiet.
The dog looked really perplexed but eventually gave up and went away. I fell on my back in relief and went to sleep land.
I reached a clearing in the forest and saw the pond, named Hydra by the Scarlet Macaws .
There were hundreds of macaws going and running and flying about. Some in clusters, others dining on food, and some others caring for the children. All in the tribes largest village surrounding the lake.
The guards of the village saw and approached me.
"Who are you?" they asked.
"Blu, im from the Spix Macaw tribe!"
They exchanged words among themselves and nodded.
"You are our friends, come inside!" they stepped aside and I waltzed in.
The shores of the pond were like a beach and the pond was in all honesty a small lake. The water wasnt murky in fact it was really clear, and it ran in the center of the village. In the middle of the lake stood a rock island. Some moss was growing on the rocks, but a flock of Red Macaws were nesting there.
I walked towards the shore of the lake. There were large groups of a hundred or so Macaws gathering water into well knit leaves and carrying it to their nest. Others dipped their heads in the water completely to satisfy a quick thirst.
I myself was exhausted and collapsed on my wings and knees and submerged my head inside completely. I practically inhaled the cool water.
Of course a got a couple of strange looks from the passing Macaws but just the look from a person who can tell you are a foreigner. A quick look and as if they didn't care they went on.
I got up on my feet, and realized my talons were killing me.
A uninhabited hole in a tree drew my attention. I went inside and collapsed on the floor. I lay on my back and tuned my head to face the lake and I began to think.
I don't know why I came here, maybe because I didn't want to be alone, at least there were other macaws around. Despite the fact they aren't the same exact species as me it was the closest thing I had.
The hollow wasn't high above the ground and was just 3 feet away from the floor. Maybe it's the reason none lived there. It was also at the end of the tree line so all I saw was the transition from grass to sand and then to water a few meters away from me.
It was a good view too, and I felt as though this should be my home for now. So I didn't leave that hollow for the rest of the day.
But when night fell I didn't dare make an attempt to go outside. Not a so gee macaw flew or walked or drank at this time, and it was only twilight.
The pond was moving and waves crashed at the shore.
The last few nights had been horrible and I hated the night. They were just too scary, and I tried to fall asleep as fast as I could I did and eventually the night passed.