Ch. 3: Trying to remember
Blu returned to the hollow with a mango, Jewels favorite, and a rather fancy looking passion fruit that he wouldn't return home without. He flew in and saw that Raphael and Eva had decided to stop by for a visit. "if I knew we'd have company I would've gotten more fruit" he said teasingly, smiling warmly toward his friends. Raphael was the first bird Blu and Jewel had met while chained together and assisted them by taking them to Luis, his bulldog friend, to get them free. He saw from the first moment that the macaws were meant for each other and helped whenever he could during the trip to get them closer together. "Oh it's ok Blu, we ate before we left" said Eva "we just decided to drop by and say hello", "Well your company is always appreciated" said Jewel. "Well" said Raph, "we'd better head home, the kids should be getting up by now, we'll leave you lovebirds to yourselves now" he said, winking at Blu and exiting the hollow with Eva in pursuit. Blu turned to Jewel and asked "How long were they visiting?" "Oh not long" she said moving closer to her mate and pulling him close "but Raphael brought up the subject of your dreams and thinks he knows what it might mean". Blu let this sink into his head, knowing the reason for his dreams would be a relief. He turned and smiled at Jewel "Well we can talk about it later, right now, let's enjoy each other's company over a nice breakfast. Jewel looked and her eyes widened as she saw the passion fruit. "Wow" she said, "how in the world did you find that?" "Surprise" chimed Blu as he sat next to his mate to enjoy breakfast. They both ate till their fill, reminiscing on how delicious the passion fruit was. Blu disposed of the leftovers and Jewel began to preen. "So", said Blu, "what all did Raph say about my nightmares?". Jewel paused her preening for a moment to answer "Well, he believes that your dreams could be more like old memories trying to resurface. A lot of times an event of the past can be so bad or emotionally scarring that you just lock it away and forget about it completely, but memories can't just disappear so over time you may experience things much like your nightmares as your brain unconsciously makes you remember". This explanation made Blu's jaw drop, why hadn't he thought of that before? He'd read plenty of books on psychology and how the brain works while he still lived with Linda in Minnesota. He honestly felt a little disappointed he didn't come up with that conclusion first, but he shook it away and looked back to Jewel. "I never thought of it that way, but how can nightmares help me remember, all they do is scare the hell out of me" he said looking down to the ground. Jewel sensed his sadness and pressed herself next to him, feeling the warmth of his body. She then leaned up and gently kissed Blu, and as she did, the tension Blu felt released and he looked into her loving sapphire eyes. "Well, perhaps the dreams are saying something, you just have to listen harder". Blu thought this over, and knew she was right. "Well I think I know how to get some answers as to what I'm trying to remember" he said, "I have to find where my old home is. Perhaps I can find a few answers about what happened to me all those years ago". Jewel smiled at her mates sudden confidence and said "And you wont be alone cause I'm coming with you" "I wouldn't want it any other way" said Blu smiling. At that they both left the hollow, not knowing what they would face, but ready for anything.