Theme song: Carbon Based Lifeforms-Flytta Dig
Chapter 2: Alone...And Loving It.
Down in the glowing green jungles surrounding Rio, on a stout branch protruding from a stately star fruit tree, sat two macaws. Their feathers were nearly identical in hue, and they were carrying on a casual conversation. The chilled air trapped beneath the thick mass of griseous clouds above rendered this early afternoon chat less than ideal.
The male macaw shivered and asked, "So, Jewel, how has your morning been going, aside from the weather?"
"Pretty well, Francisco. What about yours?"
"Just the same. I didn't expect to wake up to this, but hey, we live in a rain forest..."
"Indeed we do. How's your family? Have you visited them lately?"
"They're doing great! I went and visited them yesterday, and to my surprise, there were two eggs in their nest! My mother said she'd laid them three days ago. I'm so happy that I'll finally have some siblings. Being an only child is...lonely, you know. Now, I'll have someone, or rather two someones, to watch over and love..."
"That's nice. I am an only child right now, but I kind of enjoy it."
Jewel then leaned down to preen the underside of her wing, and being as she was distracted, Francisco edged closer to her along the branch.
"Really? Why?"
Jewel lifted her head back and stared at the male, noticing that he appeared closer than before.
"Well...I...it's not that I don't want brothers and sisters, I just like being out by myself, being free."
A discouraged light flashed in his eyes, causing Jewel to blink.
"Oh, I see. Well, nothing wrong with that! Compared to you, Jewel, I have a more...outgoing nature."
"Is something wrong, Francisco? You seem...upset."
He straightened his posture and replied, "What? Me, upset? No, I'm fine!"
"If you say so..."
A soft silence descended around the two macaws, and they were both preening their feathers at the same time. They caught each others movement, and as they slowly raised their heads, their eyes locked.
"Were we preening at the same time?"
"I think so, Jewel!"
"Well, um, that was kind of...funny!"
"I agree!"
Short bursts of laughter emanated from Jewel and Francisco as they turned away from each other. After pausing to breathe, they settled back down, the branch below still quivering.
Francisco stared out into the jungle, not really looking at anything, and said, "What are you going to do today, Jewel?"
"Hmmm. I don't really know! Not many creatures are out and about because of the weather. I guess all I really feel like doing is sleeping!"
"Maybe we can just stay and chat, being as there isn't much else to do. I do enjoy your company, you know."
Jewel blushed internally at the sweet comment.
"That's nice of you!"
"Thanks!"
Francisco gazed at Jewel, taking in her sleek form, along with the delicious scent rolling off of her.
He mused, She's a very beautiful bird! I wouldn't mind sticking around with her for awhile. I think today's the day I will make my move! First, I need to get her a gift...
"Jewel?"
"Yeah?"
"Wait right here. I have to go get something from the jungle..."
He leaped from the branch, bouncing Jewel up and down several times.
"Uh, okay! Just be careful!"
As she watched him pierce the foliage and vanish, she realized that he was quite handsome. She hadn't seen very many Spix's Macaws around anymore, and she wondered where they had all gone. As far as she knew, he was the only male in the jungle, and a very decent one at that.
Maybe he likes me. I have to admit, he certainly isn't shy around girls. He seems just about as confident as I am! But, do I really need to start getting into relationships right now? I'm only ten years old. I don't want to break his heart, but, I just don't feel ready at the moment...
A nervous look had grown on Jewel's face, and the less-than-inviting air seemed to make her even more jittery.
The increasing flutter of wing-beats caught her attention, and she watched as Francisco landed on the branch with a thump. A dainty tangerine orchid was cradled in his beak, and a caring look was evident on his face. He reached up and transferred the orchid to his foot, allowing him to speak.
"I brought this for you, Jewel! I think it suits you. After all, you are the loveliest bird I've seen for some time."
His endearing words touched her heart, but they also caused a silent pain as well.
"R-really? How sweet...of you!"
"Anytime, Jewel. Now, may I present this orchid to you?"
"Y-you m-may."
He crept along the branch and stopped right in front of her, their chests touching briefly. He returned the orchid to his beak and moved his head to the side of hers. He snuggled the flower amongst her head feathers, marveling at how the orchid complimented them. He drew back and studied her for a few moments.
"Now you look beautiful! That orchid really does suit you, Jewel. For the past few days that we've met, I knew there was something special about you. Granted, you are pretty, but that's only the outside. Even though you say you prefer being alone, I think we'd be happy together. I want to get to know you better..."
He leaned forward and stuck a gentle kiss on her cheek, a determined fire burning in his eyes.
"Você vai ser minha namorada?" {Would you be my girlfriend?}
His question buzzed in her head, bringing along a wave of adoration, but also a wave of shame.
She hung her head and whispered, "Eu sou...só não está pronto para um relacionamento sério agora. Por favor, entenda... " {I'm...just not ready for a serious relationship right now. Please understand...}
Craning her neck to look at him, she saw him slump visibly, bewildered by her reply. The once confident macaw was reduced to a shocked, stuttering mess.
"B-b-but, Jewel! You're the only other f-female around! I don't know what happened to the rest, but they're gone! Who else am I going to p-protect? Why can't we just be together? I thought you l-liked me..."
"I do, Fransisco! It's just that...I would rather fly solo. I'm so sorry. Can we still be friends?"
"But I want to be more than just friends! I don't want to live alone..."
"You won't be truly alone, buddy. You have my word that we can still be friends!"
A flicker of hope glowed in his eyes, and although he was still depressed by her refusal, he hugged her gently.
"I understand, Jewel. If that's truly how you feel, I won't push the issue. Thank you for being...my friend!"
"No problem. I think I can say I enjoy your company too!"
A graceful smile lit up his face in response.
After several more reflective minutes of silence, Jewel declared, "Hey Francisco?"
"Yes?"
"I'm going to go now. I have a feeling that the rain is about to come down, and I don't want to be caught out in it!"
"I think I feel it too! Well, can we meet up again tomorrow?"
"Sure!"
"Oh wait, I was going to go visit my parents' house tomorrow. Meet me here after your breakfast and I'll take you there."
"Sounds like a plan, my friend! See you around!"
"Bye, lovely Jewel..."
Jewel took off from the branch and cut into the jungle, a warm tingle in her mind. She adored Francisco about as much as he adored her, but their friendship was platonic, and that's how she wanted to keep it.
She knew little about liking and loving someone, besides her own parents, but that was okay with her. She valued her solitude, her freedom, and if that meant she would be spending her life away from other males, then that's just how it would have to be.
Her previous talk had absorbed the energy she had obtained from breakfast, and she felt that some nice food would help ease her internal shame.
As she flew on towards one of her favorite fruit gathering spots, fat drops of rain began pelting her entire body.
"Oh great. Just what I needed to help lift my mood..."
She wound her way through the trees, growing more and more soaked by the minute. Eventually, she found what she was looking for: a small grove filled with various species of fruit trees. She landed in the crown of a stubby mango tree, since the strongly-hued shapes at her feet had long established themselves as her favorite.
The rain blurred her vision, preventing her from getting a good look at the fruit. In her early years, she discovered that eating unripe or overripe fruit did not go over well with her digestive system. Picking mature fruit was a task she took seriously, for she did not want to relive the days and nights she had spent in random hollows, her stomach cramping and burning for hours on end.
"I can't even see what I'm doing! Uh...I'll take this one!"
She grabbed it with her right foot and pulled, but try as she might, the mango was stubborn and would not separate from its parent tree. Her foot was proving ineffective, so she leaned down and tried to use her beak to snip the stalk.
So distracted was she that she took no notice of the emerald form crawling up behind her. She heard a rustling sound behind her, causing her to freeze and turn around.
A rain-gilded boa sprouted from the tree, a poisonous look in its eyes.
"Merda!" she yelled. {Shit!}
The snake's tongue flicked in and out as it hissed, "You look tasssty! I need a sssnack to help warm me up. It'sss very cold outssside..."
I'm not leaving without that mango! I came here for one, and I'm leaving with one, snake or no snake.
She tensed her muscles, knowing what was to come next. The snake lashed out at her, but it had been rendered clumsy by the chilled weather and she easily dodged, but the slippery leaves caused her to lose her footing.
She landed on the muddy ground below, and to her surprise, the mango plopped down just next to her face.
Today must be my lucky day...
Without hesitation, she picked her muddy body up and snatched the mango with her left foot.
"Come back, little bird. The fun isss jussst beginning!"
She faced the snake, who was oozing down the side of the tree in her direction.
"Hah! The only one getting a meal today is ME!"
She sprang into flight, leaving the snake's second strike to cut only into thin air.
By now, she was weary, not to mention soaked, and she knew that she had to find some shelter. Thankfully, the steady downpour had rinsed her feathers clean of the gooey mud, a fact she took a small amount of joy in.
She left the grove and danced through the jungle, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of a hollow that she could use.
An odd deformity graced the trunk of a towering cannonball tree off to her right, and she immediately turned and flew towards it. A good-sized hole appeared, and with a triumphant smile on her face, she drifted in and alighted down just inside.
However, odd sounds entered her ears, causing her to look up. Towards the other end of the hollow were two Military Macaws, and Jewel flinched as she realized that what she was seeing was definitely not safe for chicks. The two olive-tinted birds were apparently involved in a round of love-making, and Jewel had barged in on them.
There goes my good luck...
She noticed that the bird underneath the other had caught sight of her, and its once-dreamy eyes flew wide open.
The bird shouted, "Who...are you! What are...you DOING here?"
The bird, a female, jumped to her feet, throwing the male off in the process.
The male picked himself up and joined the female, and both were now advancing on Jewel, their previous pleasure shadowed by anger and confusion.
"What kind of...sick bird are you? Do you have no respect for me and Yarah's PRIVACY!" queried the male.
"I-I'm sorry. I was just t-trying to get out of the r-rain! I didn't k-know a-anyone lived here!"
"Well, now you do. So GET OUT!" they both yelled.
"Okay! I'm out!"
Mango in talon, she turned and fled the fuming macaws, ending up back in the unforgiving rain. The flurry of emotions she had experienced over the past hour had drained her mind and body, and she wanted to simply find a hollow and sleep.
After fifteen more exhausting minutes of flying, she finally found another hollow, high up in a tree at the base of a cliff. A gentle waterfall streamed down a few feet away.
After landing in the quiet space, she dried herself as much as possible and reached up to feel her head. Somehow, the flower had stayed rooted amongst her head feathers, but as she pulled it out, she saw that the rain had deformed it severely.
Oh well. I still have his gift, and it's still as pretty as ever. I think I'll start putting flowers in my head feathers from now on! It'll be my little tradition...
She sighed andwalked to the far wall, placing the mango and the limp flower neatly up against it. She then threw her damp body against the soft wood. She sighed and shut her eyes, content that she could finally relax. She fell into a pleasant nap, hoping to recharge and wait out the storm in the process.
Many hours later, she awoke, feeling much better than earlier, but now deathly hungry.
Man, my stomach is like a cave! That mango should keep me satisfied until tomorrow.
She heartily ate the firm fruit, savoring the feeling of the sour insides sliding down her throat and into her stomach.
After finishing her meal, she trotted over to the lip of the hollow and peered out. The rain had indeed stopped, but the cloud cover, now invisible in the darkness, had prevented the atmosphere from warming.
She fluffed up her semi-dry feathers and listened to the sound of the waterfall, now louder due to the previous rainfall augmenting the flow.
"I think today tops the list of my craziest days ever! I let a potential lover down, dodged a hungry boa, got caught in the rain, and walked in on two Military Macaws getting intimate! Pelo menos agora eu posso finalmente ter um pouco de paz..." (At least now I can finally have some peace...}
For the third time, Jewel preened her feathers, spending a third of an hour doing so. She was not fond of looking messy, and she felt like she had a certain "obligation" to live up to her name.
Well, she thought, my parents named me Jewel for a reason! When was the last time I visited them? Oh yeah, four days ago. I think I'll head over to their nest tomorrow. Wait, I'll be with Francisco tomorrow! I'll have to postpone the visit. Hmmm, I wonder how they're coming along? Mama said they were looking forward to more eggs this year. Maybe I'll get a surprise, just like Francisco! Oh, Francisco...
Her heart ached as she recalled her dismissal of his advances. In the wake of their meetings, she did feel something between them, but it wasn't as strong as she thought. Besides, her want of a relationship was shadowed by her need to live free, unbound to others.
If you're out there, wherever you are, I apologize for splitting us apart. Even if you can't find a macaw of our species to love, I'm sure you'll find someone else...
As she stared out at the water-stained jungle, cold and quiet, Jewel realized the true feeling of loneliness. There was no one to talk to, no one to hug, no one to relax with.
However, the initial sting of the feeling was converted to something more positive.
On the other end, there was no one to break her heart, no one to fight, and no one to annoy her.
Feeling ready for a true journey into sleep, she returned to the far wall and nestled up against it, resting her head and right wing against the damp wood.
Whether she would meet another like Francisco, or spend her life out on her own, was mostly up to her. Even if she did carry a deep desire for a mate and children, she felt that the second option was how she wanted to live.
Who knows, that all may change, she cautioned herself. But for now, I am alone, and I am loving it...
As her body wound down and she shut her eyes, she found deep peace in her last thought.
As the night whirled by outside, she found herself in a dream, a strange dream. Amidst a hazy expanse of white, on a small crooked fence, a misty figure perched. No matter how hard she tried to fly closer, the figure receded in response.
She could not make out any features beside the fact the shape was a bird, dressed in electric blue feathers. Her efforts futile, she landed on the white surface, causing the cold grains to shuffle and shift around her feet.
She had never felt such a strange sensation before, and on top of that, she had no clue as to what the substance was called.
The grains pricked and chilled her feet, but so mystified was she by the creature ahead, she pushed it to the back of her mind.
She stared at the semi-distant shape and called out, "Who are you?"
The shape did not move, but she heard a voice echo out across the land.
"My identity is a secret. For now, you are alone, but one day we will meet. Together, you and I will be complete. Sleep well, Jewel. In five years, an adventure awaits us..."
The blue figure fragmented into thousands of snowflakes and drifted away in the breeze.
Had one been in the hollow with Jewel, that entity would have noticed she would twitch and mutter every few seconds, and it was quite an amusing display.
In the entrance to the space, a winged figure sat. He walked across the floor, ran a spectral wing over the sleeping female, and whispered, "Five years, my angel..."
After his words dwindled back to silence, the figure smiled and was then exiled from reality.
In the midst of her direction-less wandering in the land of white, Jewel was awoken by a ghostly touch. As she jumped to her feet and threw open her eyes, she realized that she was the only presence around.
"That was...odd. Now what could he mean by 'My identity is a secret'? And what kind of adventure will we go on? Did he actually say we would meet, and be complete? Hah! I'd love to see that happen..."
Shaking away the implausibility of the dream and the cryptic words she had heard, she nuzzled back against the wall and drifted off to sleep once more.
This time, she did not dream, only smiling intently as she dozed under the stars.
