AUTHOR NOTE: Hello again to everyone, welcome to my fourth chapter, you have no idea how many times I had to cut parts of the story because I was reaching even the 17k of words for this chapter. At the end, it turned out to be a chapter of 11549 of word... the longest I ever wrote... (Fun Fact: since chapter 1, the chapter have become longer and longer...) I would like to thank all my readers because we have reached 5 favorites, 5 follows and finally the 300 views to the story, of course I am aware that many views come from the same people, but I'm happy anyway, I never expected to achieve these goals with my first story.
I have decided to personally thank all the people who have reviewed most of my chapters, I don't like not being able to reply to each one of you, so I decided that I will do it in this author's note, I want to let you know that I always read your reviews and that I always enjoy seeing you reviews on my new chapter.
RIO2lover100: Thank you very much, you were the first person to review my story and the first to put fav / follow, moreover you're one of the few who always comment, I always saw your reviews on this archive, you're literally everywhere xD, thank you very much the work you do, despite your reviews aren't very long, but they are always review, you're doing the dirty work that others don't do, if there are people who still writes for this archive, I think it's also thanks to you, thank you very much and I hope to keep you entertained for a long time.
ReaderC137: Although you have only reviewed once my story, I really appreciated your review, you were one of the main reasons why I immediately resumed translating the second chapter, I'm looking forward for your next review :), thanks for the fav / follow and for adding me among your favorite authors... thank you very much.
Mucnicky: Thank you very much, you did the work that readerC137 had left, receiving such compliments from you're review... wow... let's say you were able to flatter me and make me embarrassed with your review and that's not an easy task! I hope one day to see you with an account, so you can follow my stories and receive an email every time I publish a new chapter, thank you very much for taking your time to give me a review, I appreciate it a lot.
Palander: You were the surprise of my Sunday, I had resigned to my usual 4 people who review my story, you don't know how much I enjoyed reading your review for my story... just like Mucnicky, you really managed to make me happy with your praises and even more you added me among the favorite authors... thank you so much and I hope to keep the high expectations and to not disappoint you.
Dovahkiin1412: Well what to say about you... I consider you as a mentor, I took the inspiration for my story mainly from you, with your story 'Chapter Of Life', you literally managed to chain me in your story, you have no idea how much I suffered every time you had test at schools and I had to wait 2 weeks before I could know what was going on in your story. You were one of the first people who I left a review, the day after I wrote my first chapter, I literally almost had a heart attack xD I wasn't expecting your review and even more you have also added me among your favorite authors... I thank you very much, I hope to not disappoint you with my story.
AgentAcee198: Don't think that I forgot about you, although you have never reviewed my story, you have added my story to your favorites, I thank you very much and I hope that my 2 comments that i had made to your story have in some kind of way motivated you, if you still have any problem don't hesitate to write me in pm, this applies to everyone, if you have doubts or want someone to talk to, don't hesitate to write me :).
PS: You will not believe it... but now I'm obsessed with Avicii's song (RIP) Waiting For Love, I wrote at least half a chapter just listening to that song... So, I'll recommend you to listen this song while reading this chapter.
PPS: I know that my English sucks... I hope that you still managed to understand everything that I wrote down.
I am well aware that this AUTHOR NOTE is lasting as a whole chapter, but don't worry because it is approaching the part that I liked the most when I was writing this story, everyone on the hype train! And now enough talk, I leave you to your fourth chapter of A Reason To Live.
-Chapter 4 Will To Change
Jewel POV
Yesterday I really struggled to sleep, I kept reliving that memory... the memory in which Blu confessed his love for me... he was special and I knew it, I had to apologize as soon as possible... In these 2 days I was really worried... I couldn't find the courage to get close to him... what was happening to me? I never had any problem talking to other birds... Roberto and my friends had helped reassure me and stay calm... but that was useless... I couldn't take his face off my head... during my dreams I dreamed of him... his voice gave me a feeling of happiness... 'Why? Why I can't confess my love to him?' I thought to myself as I stared out the window of my room.
Today was a very windy day... I saw the trees outside my window moving without rest... it was as if they had come to life I thought while staring at them, I decided to open the window to understand how strong the wind was... that was a very stupid idea... for those few seconds that I opened the window, a strong gust of wind had literally blasted my room, I saw sheets flying everywhere, the pencil holder falling from my desk, books flying down from my bookshelf... everything was going terribly wrong... I lost no more time and immediately closed the window to avoid causing further damage.
Flashback 1 Day ago...
'What I am doing... why I haven't gone to him to apologize?' I was thinking while I was following Professor Edwards's lesson... I wasn't myself anymore... I am increasingly absent as if my body were physically present but my head was somewhere else. While I was immersed in my thoughts, I didn't realize that Professor Edwards was making all my classmate read in turns.
"Jewel? Can you read the next page?" Professor Edwards asked as he turned to me.
At that moment I panicked... it wasn't from me to be in the clouds during a lesson... especially if it was a lesson from Professor Edwards... I remained silent not knowing what excuse to use or how to justify myself for my distraction.
"Jewel, you weren't paying attention to the lesson?" The professor asked as he was approaching me.
"Excuse me so much professor... it won't happen again..." I said, lowering my head.
"During the break come to the professor's room, because we need to have a talk." The professor said as he turned around to resume his lesson.
'What he was going to tell me? Was he offended by my behavior?' These were the thoughts I had at that moment inside my head... the lesson went on without any problems, except of course when I was distracted, when I finished the lesson I saw the professor put his teaching material and tools in his bag while he was heading for the professor's room. I took a long sigh and began to follow him, as I walked the corridors of the school, I heard someone call me, I turned my head and saw Roberto with Mary and Sofia.
"Jewel? Where are you going?" Roberto asked me as he was approaching to me.
"Jewel, why you didn't wait for us in your classroom?" Mary asked me.
"Guys... I have to go to the professor's room to talk to Professor Edwards..." I replied as I kept walking.
"Why do you have to go and talk to the professor? What have you done, Jewel?" Sofia asked me as she tried to stop me.
"Not now please... let me go to the professor's room and then after school we can talk about it..." I said while looking at my three friends in the face.
"All right, we'll wait you outside school then!" Roberto said as he turned to go to the schoolyard.
I heard Mary and Sofia saying goodbye to me and then waving their wing, I didn't lose too much time, I knew very well that the professor preferred punctuality, I tried to hurry up and once reached the professor's room, I knocked on the door waiting for an answer. After a few seconds I saw the professor come out of the door.
"Ah, you've finally come Jewel, please come in" Professor Edwards said while opening the door and showing me where I should sit down.
"You're wondering why I called you here, right?" The professor asked me as he was tidying up his desk.
"Yes Professor ... I know that I should be more careful during the lesson and I will never be distracted ever again..." I replied as I looked around the professor's room.
"I didn't call you here to talk about that, I called you for your behavior in the last two days, are you still traumatized by the Military Macaw episode?" The professor asked me as he pulled a notebook out of his bag with a pen attached to its side.
"Um... no professor, it's not for that reason..." I answered as I thought between myself whether to tell the truth or to lie to him.
"Well, I'm glad that the episode didn't leave any trauma, if you don't mind, could you tell me what's upsetting you in these last few days? I don't want you to lose yourself right now in your last school's year, you're a very bright student, to be honest the brightest girl in school, it would be a real shame if we lose you in this last year. " The professor said, opening his notebook and looking at me.
"Thank you very much Professor for his compliments... I am well aware that this is my last year and every wrong step can only damage my hard work that I managed to build in these four years... but..." I said while I tried to finish my sentence while looking at the professor.
"But? If you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine, I'm just offering you a hand (wing), you're free to accept my help or not, Jewel" The professor said as he was writing something in his notebook that I couldn't read.
"Professor Edwards... in these last days I met a boy... and let's say I haven't been the same after meeting him... unfortunately I'm having a hard time staying attentive to his lesson..." I said, looking out the window.
"Let me guess... this boy's name is Blu? Right?" The professor said as he read some old notes in his notebook.
"WHAT? How do you know?" I asked, turning immediately to the professor with a truly amazed face.
"Love... don't think that you're alone in the clouds, I had just talked to Blu the day before, he also was distracted during my lessons, I only had to do 1+1" The professor said laughing.
"He is... distracted just like me?" I shyly asked the professor.
"Well yes, I caught him in the clouds just like you, so today, when I saw you in that state, I immediately realized that there was something between you two, it's incredible that two of my brightest students are in love with each other..." The professor answered looking at me straight in my eyes.
"But how do you know we're in love? Is it so obvious?" I said, amazed by the professor's response and intuition.
"Many times, you teenagers forget that we adults have passed through your same period of time, if I learned something from my various crush during my youth... it's definitely to never give up, especially if it's true love, I know it's extremely strange to receive such explanations from your professor and I realize it myself, but I want to remind you of my motivation, I don't want to risk losing my two best students at the beginning of the Christmas holidays." The professor said, smiling at me.
"I didn't know that you, professor had any crush... you always seemed like an independent and authoritarian bird..." I replied, surprised by the words of my professor.
"I know... my appearance tricks everyone, I don't know about you but I have two daughters, one who is already married and one who is a year older than you, what I am telling you is all from years of experience as a father, you're free to follow my advice or not, but I'll tell you one last thing, do what you think is right but then the important thing is to not regret your choices, think well Jewel and next time I want you without any worries because it will be a tough lesson, now you can go, thank you for listening to this now middle-aged Macaw" The professor said laughing and opening the door to me.
"Thank you so much professor... I will try to reflect well on what to choose..." I said as I left the room.
"The important thing is to not regret your choices or decisions, remember it!" The professor said as he closed the door.
'Who imagined that Professor Edwards had two daughters...' I thought to myself as I headed to class... 'The important thing is to not regret your choices...' These words ... better think about it later, now I have a lesson to follow, I thought as I hurried to join the class.
At the end of the lesson, after putting all my stuff back in my backpack, I got ready to leave the institute, once I arrived at the school gate, I was looking for my friends... when I saw him... Blu was about 20 meters away from me... between us there was a crowd of students who was coming out of school and so it was difficult to reach him...
At that moment I was reminded of the professor's words... 'If I don't confess my love for Blu... I would surely have regretted such a decision...' I thought, I took courage as I was walking towards him.
Once I almost reached him, I was stopped by someone, I turned and saw Roberto with Mary and Sofia, it was definitely not the best time to talk to me, I tried to give a very quick explanation to them so i can reach Blu.
"Guys, not now please, just leave me 5 minutes and I'll join you right away" I said with a determined face, my friends were stunned, they had never seen me more determined than that and decided to leave me alone for the moment.
I turned to see Blu and when I was about 10 meters from him, I heard someone call him, I turned my head and I saw Rebecca... she ran to him immediately hugging him and they started talking happily as they came out of the school gate... I didn't know what to say... again, this feeling... jealousy was having the better of me at that time... I just stood there like a fool watching them as they came out of the school gate laughing... although I knew very well that they were just friends... I just couldn't be jealous of their friendship...
"Jewel? Are you okay?" Roberto said as he approached me, and soon Mary and Sofia joined me.
"I think I understand what's going on," Sofia said, giggling as she looked at Blu and Rebecca.
"I see, I think I get it too Sofia, and I agree with you, I never thought that one day I would see you in this state, Jewel" Mary said, smiling at me.
"Girls but I didn't understand anything, one of you would explain to me what's going on?" Roberto asked ingenuously as he looked around searching for clues.
"It seems clear to me that Jewel is in love with that Blue Macaw we've just seen, I have to admit that he is very charming..." Mary said giggling.
"Hey! Don't you dare!" I said with an intimidating look, 'What was I doing? jealousy was driving me mad...' I thought to myself.
"Wow, you've already reached at this stage, I see that you really care about that Blue Macaw" Roberto said as he tried to calm me down.
"Jewel, would you tell us what happened today in the professor's room?" Sofia asked me, surprised by my sudden explosion of jealousy.
"Well... it's a long story... but now that you've witnessed this scene... I think it's the right time to confess what's going on inside my head, why we don't go to that bar so we're more comfortable?" I said as we headed to a bar near our school. Once I entered and once ordered something to eat, I started with my version of the story, of course I left out the part where Blu had confessed to me that he was T. Gunderson for obvious reasons.
After a half hour of conversation, I saw some very surprised expression in the face of my friends, 'Surely my story must have impress them' I thought as I continued to eat a cheesecake that I had ordered before.
"So this Blue Macaw called Blu, he has confessed his love to you and you share he's same feelings?" Roberto asked me as he finished drinking an orange juice.
"Exactly, I was going to go and confess my love to him, but by chance you came at the right time to interrupt me" I said annoyed.
"We didn't know Jewel... we didn't do it with the intention of hindering your love story with that Blue Macaw" Mary said while sharing some ice cream with Sofia.
"Yes I know it very well... but I still feel I've missed an opportunity..." I said as I lowered my head.
"Don't be sad Jewel, you'll see that everything will be fine, however I agree with Professor Edwards and I will give you another advice, follow what your heart tells you and make the right choice" Roberto said putting a wing on the my shoulder.
"Wow, I would never thought that Roberto could be so wise" said Sofia bursting out laughing with Mary, they were laughing so much that they had dropped their plate, fortunately Roberto had quick reflexes and took their plate before they hit the floor.
"Ok, after what I've just done, now you owe me a favor," Roberto said, smiling mischievously.
"NO! I prefer to pay for you than owe you a favor Roberto!" Mary and Sofia screamed together.
While the three of them were quarreling, in the meantime I was immersed in my thoughts ... 'Follow what your heart tells you, huh? What my heart tells me... I think the only way to put my heart in peace is to talk again with Blu... I'm sure' I thought as I saw flying objects thrown between my friends... 'they will never grow up...' I thought as I was watching them, making sure that none gets hurt.
Flashback end
I heard someone knocking on the door, I hurried down the stairs, I opened the door and saw my aunt Mimi in front of me, it was so long since I saw her, as soon as our eyes crossed, I had received a truly lethal hug from her part... fortunately, my father and mother immediately reached me and helped me to free myself from that deadly grip.
"Here you are my big sister, what do you think until now about Moose Lake?" My father said, hugging my Aunt Mimi.
"Hello little brother! You haven't changed at all, how are you Sarah and you too Jewel?" Mimi said, looking at my mother and me.
"We're fine Mimi, I'm happy to see you again, are you excited for your new job who is waiting for you today?" My mother asked as she looked at my aunt.
"Wait a minute, I missed something? Why are you here Aunt Mimi?" I asked as I looked at my family with a puzzled look.
"Jewel, your Aunt Mimi just moved here to Moose Lake, and from today she'll give us a hand at our restaurant" my father said smiling at me.
"But it's fantastic, but I don't understand why you kept me in the dark about everything" I said as I closed the door of the house.
"We didn't tell you anything because we wanted to surprise you..." My father said smiling at me.
"Well, it was your father's idea, I told him it was a bad idea, but he, as a stubborn bird, didn't listen to me " My mother said, giggling.
"I thought i would surprise you Jewel and make you happy... after all, you haven't seen your aunt for a long time, next time I'll think better before you giving you a surprise" My father said while he was making some coffee for my aunt.
"No, no, you misunderstood me, I'm not angry because you have hidden my aunt's arrival, I'm happy to see my aunt more often than twice a year" I said, sitting next to my aunt.
"I am happy to see you too, 'My little wild flower', you have grown up so much... you are exactly identical to your mother!" My aunt said, squeezing my cheeks.
Blu POV
Two days had passed since my confession to Jewel, today was Saturday, and this means, day in the library to help my parents, even though I had a book to complete as soon as possible, I like to stay in the library and look for new inspiration, in these last days I had a very hard time sleeping, I kept reliving my discussion with Jewel... after being awake almost all night, I finally managed to have at least 4-5 hours of sleep.
It wasn't much and I knew it too, but it was better than nothing, last night after dinner, it had started again to rain, I didn't mind at all, in fact if I could sleep, it was also thanks to the sound of the rain, under to my blankets I felt the drops of water tolling out of my window giving me a sense of security because I was inside my room protected from what surrounding me... that's exactly what I needed at that time...
Strangely I had a very weird dream, in my dream I was tormented by something that now I couldn't remember, it was certainly something very important but unfortunately nothing came to my mind at the time, 'Strange' I thought to myself... I decided that by now I was already awake and so it was useless to try to go back to sleep.
As every day I got up from my bed stretching my wings, once I got out of my bed, but this time I touched something wet with my talon, once I rubbed my eyes, I looked out to see what I had trampled... in front of my eyes, almost all of my room's floor was wet... that's what I had forgotten... I had left the window open and since it was raining... now I find myself with the floor of my room all wet... 'If my mother knew this... after all the warning she gave me the night before... I'm dead...' I thought as I hurried to find a solution.
Flashback Night before...
Once I had finished dinner, I got up from the table and headed to the living room, I was immediately joined by my father while my mother hurried to clear the dinner table and wash all the dishes, I turned on the TV to spend some time, since tomorrow was Saturday I could sleep a little later, and maybe, while I was watching some TV, I could find some inspiration for my book.
"Blu, I know what you're thinking right now... you did something that I never expected from you and I'll be honest with you, I'm glad you managed to disprove me and show that when you want, you're able to get what you want, but now you must show me that you're also patient. " My father said while with his wing he changed the TV channel.
"Well, what to say... I'm happy to have impressed you, not even I thought I was able to say such words... but in the end I'm happy that everything went well or almost... anyway... I just have to be patient "I said as I looked out the window.
"Don't worry son, it's useless for you to get upset, the only rational choice you have now is to wait for her, you've already done your job." My father said putting his wing on my shoulder.
"Thanks for your support dad, you're right, now I just have to wait..." I said watching the news on TV. After a while, the usual weather forecast has started at the end of the news transmission.
"Wow, it will rain for a long time..." My father said as he watched the weather forecast on the TV.
"Well I don't mind but I have to admit that there will certainly be fewer people in our library if it rained every day as it did the day before." I said as I stretched my legs.
At that moment I heard a rumble of thunder not far from our house, immediately after a flash that for a few seconds had managed to illuminate the entire neighborhood, 'Incredible' I thought as I looked out of the living room window.
"Mmh... I don't like that thunder, I think that is going to rain even this evening" My father said approaching the same window where I was facing.
"Oh yes... but the rain is important, if it stops raining, then that would be a big problem." I said looking at my father.
At that precise moment it began to rain again, the sound of the rain echoed the entire neighborhood, I heard a couple of birds running desperately in the middle of the road looking for a shelter, 'A storm' I thought while staring at the drops of water covering very quickly the window of the living room, now we are in November and very soon the snow will return... 'I can't wait' I thought as I admired the view outside the window.
"Your right son, if it stopped raining, there won't be enough water for fields and to drink, in fact I never said that I don't like rain, the only thing that bothers me is the strong wind, especially when it damages something of my property, like our mailbox... last time the wind was almost able to take it away..." My father said, thinking back about what had happened a month ago.
"Ah yes, I still remember it, I remember you threw the newspaper off your wings and you slung out of the house in a desperate attempt to recover our mailbox." I said giggling, thinking back to the misfortune that had happened to my father.
"Keep laughing, when you'll have a family of your own, you will understand that you will have new responsibilities, such as having to take care of your wife, having to repair the fence, having to bear the complaints of your wife..." My father said, unable to finish his list.
"What are you saying honey?" A voice said behind him.
At that moment, my father and I turned our head and before our eyes there was my mother, she didn't have a happy face at that moment, although my father had a very impressive and strong body, he wasn't the boss of our house, my father he might look like a serious person but he has a heart of gold, he would never be able to hurt anyone.
"Um... Honey, I was just joking with our son... you don't need to take it so personally." My father said, nervously rubbing the feathers of his neck.
"Instead of wasting your time in front of the TV, why don't you hurry up and pick up your laundry that's still out in our backyard? You know very well that another storm has arrived and if you don't hurry up tomorrow you'll have nothing left to wear." My mother said, looking at my father straight in his eye.
"WHAT?! My clothes are still outside? Why Camilla... why you didn't tell me right away!" My father said, leaping from the back door as he ran under the storm. I could see him from the backdoor window while he was jumping around and picking up everything that was still hanging, once he had come back inside, he had all his clothes in his wings, they were unfortunately all wet, 'But he could leave them on the radiator to dry them' I thought to myself as I saw my father trying to dry himself with a towel.
"Dad, you can leave your clothes on the radiator to dry them by tomorrow morning." I said, pointing to the living room radiator with a wing.
"Great idea son" My father said going to the radiator.
"Blu, remember to close the windows when you go to sleep, I don't want to scold you like the last time, have we understood each other?" My mother said with an intimidating look.
"Yes mom ..." I said, nodding, not wanting to make her angry.
Flashback end
I hurried to close the window but now the damage was done... the floor near the window was all wet including some school books, 'Fortunately they were books from last school's year...' I thought while trying to save what I could save.
'My mother will certainly get angry as soon as she sees all this mess in my room' I thought while trying to find a solution to my problem, I decided to go to the bathroom to get a rag to clean the floor, once I left my room making as little noise as possible and crossed the long corridor to reach the bathroom, but as soon as I arrived in front of the bathroom I found it locked. 'Strange' I thought while I wondered who could be inside, it was early enough and I should be the only one awake at this time... so I decided to find out who was inside the bathroom.
"Who's in the bathroom?" I asked outside the bathroom door.
"Me" Said a male voice in the bathroom... it was my father... 'But what the hell of answers is me? I don't understand it... even at the intercom, when birds answer 'Me' it makes me mad, it's too much to add their name to their answer?' I thought outside the bathroom door.
"Dad, for how long does you intend to stay in the bathroom?" I asked impatiently.
"Just a little bit, why did you wake up so early?" My father asked from inside the bathroom, he was surprised to hear that I was already awake at this hour of the morning. I had to find an excuse immediately as not to create any suspicions, I thought, I had only to find an excuse and say it convincingly, 'He couldn't see through the bathroom door, so I don't need to try hard to make a convincing face' I thought to myself.
"There's been a very noisy motorbike outside of my window and that woke me up." I said my first excuse that had gone through my mind, 'Not bad' I thought to myself as I said, 'Simple but effective excuse'.
"Ah, I'm sorry that this happened to you, can you go and see if your mother has already woken up or not?" My father asked.
"All right, dad, I'm going to check." I said, turning my body 180 degrees toward my parents' room. Once I reached my parents' room, I opened the door, once I entered, I saw my mother still on the bed... I approached to wake her up but what my eyes saw made me stay where I was... my mother was in the bed with her beak open and some saliva coming out of it...
I had always thought that my mother was a lady, that she didn't have any faults, etc ... it was the first time I was in front of a scene like that... usually it was always my father and I who were the rude of the house but she... this scene beats them all. It was stronger than me, I pulled my smartphone out of my pajama pocket to take a picture, once I took the picture, I immediately got an idea, I could share the photo with my father just to laugh and keep the photo for a possible revenge against my mother, I immediately sent the photo to my father and put the phone back in my pocket. Once I had sent the photo, I tried to wake up my mother.
"Mom, wake up, it's already morning." I said as I shook her lightly from the bed, I knew very well that I shouldn't exaggerate with my shook because my mother could be very touchy in the morning.
"Mmh w-why are you already awake Blu?" My mother said, still half asleep, trying to open her eyes and getting out of bed. Now I understand why other bird say that I took my mother's eyes, her eyes were lighter than mine but apart from the tonality, they were identical.
"There was a very noisy motorbike that woke me up mom." I said using the same excuse I had used with my father.
"OK, I understand." My mother said, getting out of bed and immediately turning around to look for my father.
"Where is your father?" My mother asked, confused because she couldn't find my father.
"He's in the bathroom and I'm waiting to use it too." I said irritably because my father hadn't left the bathroom yet. Suddenly there was some laughter coming from the corridor, my mother and I were very confused, once we had left the room to understand what was happening and when we reached the source of laughter we both understood that they came from the bathroom.
"Honey are you all right? Do you need anything? "My mother said a little worried as she knocked on the bathroom door to find out if my father was doing well.
"Camilla, I found a new wallpaper for my smartphone!" My father said, laughing even louder... I would even be willing to pay to see his expression and his 'This famous new cellphone background' I thought while I was next to my mother outside the bathroom door.
"And you need to make all this noise? If you keep laughing, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood." My mother said, irritated by my father's childish behavior.
"You don't understand... wait for me and I'll show you." My father said pulling the toilet flush.
In those few seconds, I finally understood what my father was talking about ... Once I realized I could get into big trouble, I slowly started to run away to my room while my mother wasn't looking at me, she was too curious to know what wallpaper my father was talking about. Once in was my room, I had seen that the puddle of water was still here and that my room was the worst place to hide in that moment...
"BLUUUU!" My mother said screaming full of anger from the corridor outside my room.
'Well... checkmate... I'm dead' I thought at that moment, I heard footsteps closer and closer to my door, it was undoubtedly my mother who surely was now in a bad mood because of the picture I had taken... 'How could one resist such temptation?' I thought trying to justify my action.
At that precise moment, the door was opened with unprecedented strength and the architect of this was none other than my mother... my mother was typically a sunny bird, kind and caring but when she got angry she seemed a completely different bird... even my own father didn't dare to challenge her when she was in this state...
"Blu! how you dare to take a such picture of your mother!" My mother screamed as she stared at me with a very intimidating look... her hazelnut eyes were literally on fire...
That day I learned a new lesson, never trust dad... especially in the early morning... one of his main flaws was that sometimes he was also too 'Lively...' definitely a very unpredictable bird...
"Delete immediately that picture, you understand? If I find out that you've sent it to other bird, I'll teach you a lesson that you'll never forget!" My mother said, looking me straight in my eyes, I felt the sweat coming down from my forehead and falling on the wet floor of my room.
"Excuse me mom it won't happen ever again..." I said as I lowered my head so as not to have to look at my mother's face.
"Wait a minute, why your room's floor is wet? Don't tell me that you left the window open during the night!" My mother said, looking around my room.
Needless to say, that morning I received a punishment from my mother... let's say that I deserved it in a kind of way... I forgot to close my window and I trusted to leave a picture like that to my father... Once I got off for breakfast, my mother was still angry, how can I blame her and my father, to my surprise, he has small bruises scattered around his body, I didn't think about him receiving a punishment from my mother but it was because of him and he's childish act in front of that picture that caused all this mess...
Jewel POV
After explaining in detail the role of my aunt Mimi in our restaurant, since the restaurant was closed in the morning and was only open for lunch and dinner, I decided that it was the right moment... because my mother knew where was the library run by the family of Blu... I had to ask her a favor.
"Mom... can I ask you a favor?" I asked while I was arranging some restaurant's chairs.
"Sure Jewel, what kind of favor do you need?" My mother answered as she turned on the restaurant lights.
"Mom... can you tell me where the library was where you met Blu?" I shyly asked, unable to look into her eyes.
"Are you going to apologize to him?" My mother said, smiling at me.
"Yes... it's like when he confessed his feelings to me, he took something away from me... and without that thing I cannot be myself anymore." I said with a thoughtful face.
"I understand, I'll take you to him, about the thing you feel you've lost or miss... you'll soon find out what it is as soon as you talk to him." My mother said, putting a wing over my shoulder.
"Thanks mom... I really hope to be able to solve the situation between me and Blu..." I said while I began to set tables.
"Everything will be fine, don't think about it too much" My mother said.
"What are you two talking about?" My father said as he left the kitchen with my aunt Mimi.
"I'm going to accompany our daughter from that boy who works in the library." My mother said as she put on a heavy jacket, ready to take me to Blu. My father, after hearing this, turned in my direction.
"Are you really in love with that boy?" My father asked me with a thoughtful face.
"Yes dad... it's as if from that day on, there was something... something that chained us... I can't help but think about of him..." I said while looking at my father in the face.
"What do you feel when you're near him or when you see him on the street or at school?" My father immediately asked to test me.
"When I'm close to him?... when I'm near him I feel safe... whenever I'm close to him my heart beats very fast and I can't be myself anymore... and the last time I seen him together with a friend of her, I felt jealousy... these days I do nothing but think about him... in short, if this isn't love... then I don't know what love really is..." I said looking at my family.
"Well, I expected less details but that's okay, do what you think is right but remember, this guy must have my approval before he can get together with you, understand?" My father said firmly.
"Honey... I see that you'll never change... just try to not be too strict with our daughter's boyfriend" My mother said, patting my father's shoulder.
"But mom... we're not in a relationship yet..." I said shyly, feeling my cheeks grow redder.
"Fine Jewel, think of it as you wish, but hurry up because if you don't, we'll be late in going back to the restaurant." My mother said opening the door to the restaurant.
"Since you're already there, can you ask him to come and see us here at the restaurant? I'm curious to know this guy who was able to steal my daughter's heart." My father said sarcastically.
'This guy who was able to steal my daughter's heart...' That's it... that's why I felt I had lost something… I thought as I listened to my father speech.
"Eduardo, I'll tell you one more time, try to be nice to him, remember what I told you about him, he's a pretty shy boy, promise me that you'll treat him well!" My mother said in an exasperated tone.
"All right, I'll try to treat him as if he were my dear customer." My father said defeatedly. Having said that my mother and I left our restaurant, heading to the library managed by the family of Blu.
Eduardo POV
After seeing my daughter and wife leave the restaurant, I couldn't stop thinking about how many things were going to change in our lives... my daughter really grew up... I will miss her... especially when she is ready to leave our home and start a new family all of her own...
"My little brother, did I hear that right? did Jewel really found a boyfriend?" Mimi asked me, looking at me with a excited face.
"Exactly, my daughter is in love with a young Blue Macaw who attends her own school." I said as I resumed my reconnaissance tour in the kitchen.
"Wow, my little wild flower has a boyfriend... I still remember her first crush..." Mimi said chuckling
"Don't remind me of that memory... she was just a child... she didn't know what she was doing..." I said with a tone of annoyance.
"It was so funny when she wanted to be the girlfriend at all costs with a famous bird on TV, I still remember how many speeches and sleepless nights to explain that they had 20 years of difference, that they lived on two different continents and so on... you are really changed my little brother" My sister said smiling at me.
"What do you mean? I've always been like that!" I said, turning to my sister with a confused face.
"You weren't at all like that, you were a stubborn boy... who didn't give a damn about anyone, you spent your days running away from school and so on... in short, a rebel boy... look at you now... a responsible father and a model for your daughter" My sister said hugging me.
"I made mistakes when I was young... but the important thing is to understand what you are doing wrong and correct yourself accordingly." I said, returning the hug.
"You've changed for the better since you met Sarah, it's amazing how much a single person can completely change you ..." Mimi said as she left the kitchen.
"You're right... many times one forgets how much effort and sacrifice have made the birds around you... Sarah hated me initially... just because she thought I was a good for nothing... but for her I sacrificed everything and I was willing to change... just for her... I never imagined 20 years ago to find me here now... with a wonderful family..." I said letting tears fall from my eyes.
"Come on, don't break down, I didn't think to see you crying again... you've always claimed to be a strong boy and that crying was for little girls" My sister said as she handed me a packet of tissues.
"Yes... I remember saying that sentence... but sometimes it's useless... you have to accept that crying is a natural thing, it shows that we males have feelings too... unfortunately the society has accustomed us since we are kids to be strong... sometimes I envy you girls... for you it is so easy to express your feelings, we males many times we are forced to repress our feelings and look strong even when we really aren't... but I am still firmly convinced to never cry in front of my family... i must stay strong for them" I said while I dried my tears.
"Wow, my little brother... you really changed, I'm glad you finally managed to open your eyes..." My sister said with a surprised face.
"I cannot wait to meet this boy that Jewel talks about... he looks like a really special bird from her description..." My sister said looking out the window of the restaurant...
"I can't wait too, I sincerely hope that he is a good boy and that he can make my daughter happy, otherwise he will have deal with me" I said, sure of my words.
Blu POV
Once I got to the library, my mother took the car to visit some friends of her, so it was only me and my father who ran the entire library. Since it was still morning, there were only few customers and so I decided to go on writing for my new book, I was at that moment on the second floor of the library, in the relax area, I was sitting at a table where I had my laptop, a glass of orange soda, some sheets and a pen. At the time I was alone upstairs and this did nothing but please me.
By now the test were approaching for the end of the first part of the year, while I had modestly very high grades so I don't have to worry, my friends weren't doing so well, yesterday I went to Rebecca's house to do some math repetitions, today just to change, I offered to do the repetitions via Skype.
"Blu what result do you get for exercise 4?" Rebecca asked through the computer.
"Exercise 4? Wait a minute I take out my math notebook ..." I said while I rummaged in my backpack looking for the notebook, once I found it, I flipped through the pages very quickly.
"I got 14 as the result of exercise 4" I said looking in the webcam of my computer.
"WHAT? But how did you get 14 as result of that exercise..." Rebecca said, while violently waving her notebook in front of the webcam.
"What result did you get then?" I asked as I continued to write a new chapter of my book, since I was getting thirsty, so I grabbed my glass of orange soda that I had next to me to quench my thirst.
"I got 4312..." Rebecca said showing me her notebook, needless to say that once I heard the result, I spit out what I was drinking and started laughing like crazy.
"But how did you get a 4-digit number ?!" I answered as I hurried to clean up what I had unintentionally soiled with my drink.
"Blu, is everything all right up there? Do you need help or what?" My father asked from the lower floor.
"Don't worry dad, everything is under control" I said, looking out of the balcony on the second floor.
"I don't really understand math... sometimes I really envy your intelligence, Blu..." Rebecca said with a visibly sad face.
"Rebecca, everyone is smart in his own way, if one is good at school that doesn't mean that he is better than one that isn't, the world is beautiful because it is varied, each of us has fields where you do better and others where you do worse, with this, I want to tell you to don't be sad, come on, now I'll explain what you are doing wrong "I said while I returned to my laptop.
"I'm sorry Blu... I'm wasting you precious time for your book..." Rebecca said, lowering her head.
"Rebecca don't talk nonsense, you're much more important than my book, I can write a book whenever I want but finding a friend like you... it's much harder if not impossible" I said smiling at her via webcam.
"Blu... I hate you, why you always have to make me move..." Rebecca said wiping a tear.
"We are brother and sister have you already forgotten? And to think that you were the one who told me this... dry those tears so we can resume where we left off" I said opening the textbook ready to begin my explanation.
Jewel POV
"Here we are Jewel, we have finally arrived." My mother said, pointing to the library.
'Wow' I thought, to be a historical library, it has a certain charm... and that name... 'The Blue Macaw Library' is very unique... 'you don't often see library with such names' I thought.
Once we passed through the door, we were immediately greeted by an adult Blue Macaw, 'This was definitely Blu's father' I thought, he looked very similar to him, both of them had the characteristic of the feather ruffle on the back of their neck.
"Hello, how can I help you?" Said the adult Blue Macaw smiling at us.
"Hello, I suppose you are Blu's father, right?" My mother asked, exchanging a handshake (wing) with him.
"Yes, you can call me John, are you looking for my son?" Blu's father asked us.
"Well to be honest, it's my daughter who is looking for your son" My mother said pointing at me with her wing. After hearing that phrase, the father of Blu turned to me showing some bruises on his side, and he told me.
"I suppose you're Jewel, my son told me a lot about you." Blu's father said, smiling at me.
"Yes, I'm Jewel and I came to talk to your son... can I ask you sir why you had those bruises on your side? It doesn't seem to have happened because of an accident." I asked, intrigued by his strange bruises.
"Well... it's a long story, maybe my son will tell you about it, now he is on the second floor, in the relax area, he should be doing some repetitions to a friend via webcam." Blu's father said pointing to the stairs to reach the upper floor.
'What a fool I was ... yesterday he went away with her because he was helping her with some repetition... after all, Blu is very good at school and that's why she asked him for help...' I thought to myself ashamed as I climbed the stairs that would have brought me upstairs. As I headed for Blu, downstairs, my mother and Blu's father were alone and they had the opportunity to get to know each other better, just to pass the time.
"Where is your wife? I wanted to thank her for the help she gave me when I came to pick up the cooking book" My mother asked, looking around looking for Blu's mother.
"At the moment Camilla is out with some of her friends, I suppose she should be back in about ten minutes." Blu's father answered looking out the window to see if his wife had returned or not.
While the two parents kept talking to get to know each other better, I had finally arrived upstairs, I found myself faced with a dozen tables, armchairs and chairs. In the middle of all this, I saw him... Blu was in front of my eyes intent on showing his notebook to the webcam.
'Surely he's explaining to Rebecca how to do that math problem' I thought as I approached him.
Blu POV
"Rebecca, by following this method you can get to the result, do you understand?" I said as I lowered the book to see her expression.
"So and so... now I will try to do it again and then I'll tell you how it goes." Rebecca said as she lowered her head and began to redo the exercise. Once I had finished explaining every single passage to Rebecca, I took my sheets and my pen between my wings, ready to continue writing my story, when suddenly...
"Blu? Can I talk to you for a moment or you are busy?" A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned my head immediately in the direction of the voice and saw her... Jewel was in front of my eyes... 'I wasn't dreaming...' I thought to myself rubbing my eyes.
"Jewel? What are you doing here? How did you know where I was working?" I asked as I got up from my chair and tried to recover from the shock.
"I asked my mother to come with me here because I have to tell you something..." She said timidly as she turned away from me. At that moment, I took a quick look downstairs, looking at her mother with my father while they were talking.
"I think I know why today you came here looking for me..." I said, smiling as sincerely as possible.
"First of all, I have to apologize to you for what I did the last time we met... and then..." Jewel said, however, she was unable to finish the sentence.
"You don't have to apologize, Jewel, the one who had to apologize is only me, I knew about your relationship with Roberto and yet..." I said without managing to finish my sentence.
"Blu, between me and Roberto there has never been anything, Roberto is only my best friend and I know him since we were little, he is more a big brother than a boyfriend to me..." She said timidly and blushing in her face.
"Really?! And I thought for two years that you two were together... "I said surprised to hear these words from her...
"That's why you stopped writing, right? Why didn't asked me if I was in a relationship with Roberto?" She said as she sat next to me.
"Yes... I was a fool, I should've ask directly to you before assuming everything..." I said, turning the other side ashamed of myself.
"As I imagined... Blu about that thing I wanted to tell you..." She said trying to look at me straight in my eye.
"Jewel, whatever is your answer, know that I will never regret what I told you that day, my feelings toward you will remain the same even if you don't love me..." I said trying to help her express herself in that difficult moment.
Jewel, once she heard those words, she remembered the conversation with Professor Edwards, 'The important thing is not to regret your choices or decisions... he doesn't regret his choice and I?' Jewel thought as she tried to formulate her next sentence.
"Blu... why do you love me? I don't understand... you did so much for me and I couldn't repay you in any way..." Jewel said in tears.
At the sight of Jewel in tears, I rushed to her side and stretched my wing to comfort her, she didn't waste any time and leaned her whole body on my shoulder, crying out loud... 'I couldn't endure seeing such a scene' I thought between of myself watching her crying on my shoulder.
"You can't ask a bird why he loves you, there isn't a real definition of why you love a bird... love is something that goes beyond words... don't think with your head, Jewel... follow what your hearth tells you, when I confessed my feelings to you, I just followed what my heart told me." I said as I tried to wipe away her tears.
Jewel POV
Where did I hear these words? I knew the first part of his speech is from one of his books... the last part... I had heard it from Roberto... 'Follow what your heart tells you and make the right choice' I thought trying to stop crying... it was stronger than me... when I was close to him I could no longer be myself...
"Love is a combination of feelings and emotions that you feel when you are together with someone... this leads you to create a sense of affection and bond to that bird, I read this from your book Blu..." I said, trying to form a smile through the tears that are still flowing down from my cheeks.
"I'm glad that my book has taught you something Jewel" He said as he continued to hold me in his wings giving me a sense of security that I was missing at that time...
"Blu... I wanted to tell you that... I also feel the same feelings towards you... i love you Blu..." I finally said overtaking the block I had at that moment. I saw his eyes shine with an intensity that I didn't think was possible, some tears came down from his face but he immediately wiped them off, at that moment I was still between his wings... I didn't mind that feeling at all... he is so warm and I wasn't going to let him go... I could clearly feel his heart beat at my same pace...
Finally I managed to tell him, but I wouldn't have imagined that he would be able to show such confidence... maybe he is not as shy as he seems. While I was between his wings, I couldn't hold back... my beak was getting closer to his... I couldn't stop... I saw that he was getting closer and closer to me too... our beaks were about to touch when...
"Sorry if I interrupt both of you, but I and Jewel must go back to the restaurant, because it's almost lunchtime." My mother said as she was already upstairs smiling at us, along with my mother there was the father of Blu, he was smiling with a satisfied and proud expression of his son.
"Yes, mom, I'm coming..." I said as I walked away from Blu and headed towards my mother. While I was going to my mother side, I turned one last time towards Blu, whispering to him.
"See you at school Blu" I said giving him a kiss on his cheek.
I saw Blu's face, he was completely red all over his face and he couldn't pronounce a single word but he simply nodded, 'How cute he was when he behaved like that' I thought while I smiled mischievously and waved my wing.
Blu POV
Once Jewel and her mother left we alone, my father and I were the only ones left inside the library.
"Nice job son, I heard your speech, you remember me and your mother when you were at your age." My father said patting me on the shoulder.
"Thank you, dad, I don't think I was so happy in all of my life, especially after her kiss on my cheek..." I said still very embarrassed about what had happened and the fact that my father witnessed the whole scene...
While I was talking to my father, we were both unaware that my mother Camilla had just returned from her chat with her friends, as soon as she entered the library, she hurriedly looked around looking for me and my father, she checked cash desk, she did a quick check between the book shelves but nothing even there... she gave a quick glance at the warehouse but still nothing... 'Where are those two hiding?' My mother thought while she was looking frantically throughout the library but in that precise moment, she had heard some voices coming from upstairs, 'There's no doubt, they're upstairs' she thought as she went upstairs.
"I must admit that she is a really beautiful girl, good job son, excellent choice." My father said, nudging me on the hips.
"Dad please, it's enough..." I said while I was suffering all these provocations from my father, 'He is in his childish mode' I thought to myself.
"Alright son, but don't tell your mother that because she's very jealous." My father said, giggling as he looked at me.
"John?!" A voice said from behind us. As soon as my father and I heard that voice, all his feathers rose up and he turned to the source of that voice.
"C-Camilla... how long have you been listening to us?" My father said, trembling, fearing the worst.
"I've been listening enough to hear you talk about a really beautiful girl dear." My mother said staring at my father.
"Um Camilla it's all a misunderstanding, our son can you explain everything, right?" My father said turning to me looking for help.
"Sorry dad, but I have to take revenge for what happened to me in the morning, have fun with mom because I'm going back to write my book." I said as I returned to the table where I had left my computer and papers.
"NO, please son come back! Tell your mother what happened!" My father cried in vain as he was dragged downstairs to the warehouse. While he screaming, he tried to escape from the secondary exit of the library but was immediately grabbed by a wing with a truly admirable power. My father saw my mother with an evil look... worse than this morning's, it never happened that she got so angry for two times in a row in the same day...
"Dear, we need to talk." My mother said as she approached my father and more and more, tightened her grip on my father's wing.
"Honey, it's all a misunderstanding! Really... listen to me please!" My father asked in vain.
In the meantime, I was upstairs, once I sat in my place I saw Rebecca's face all red, and it was then that I realized that she had heard everything... how could I forget something like that... 'At least now I don't have to waste my time to explain everything that happened to her' I thought to myself.
"Rebecca... did you hear everything, right?" I asked shyly while I stared at the webcam.
"Of course Blu, that confession was so moving... I didn't think you could be so romantic Blu" Rebecca said while she was wiping some fake tears.
"... Every time the same story... you'll never grow up... and to think that you read all my books... I wonder how much you understood about my books?" I said with annoyed tone.
"Hey, i can hear you! Anyway, I'm happy for you Blu, now I have to go, see you on Monday at school" Rebecca said while waving her wing and closing the call.
I took a long sigh, finally everything was resolved, 'I can finally put my heart in peace knowing that Jewel loves me...' I thought to myself as I grabbed my pen between my wings to continue my book. Everything was fine... until I heard a loud cry coming from the warehouse... 'It's my father' I thought as I heard that unmistakable voice... I felt extremely guilty for what I was doing... I decided to go and clarify everything, my father had sacrificed a lot for me, this was the least I could do for him, I thought as I ran to the warehouse.
Once I entered the warehouse, I was shocked... I saw my mother doing one of those moves that were only seen during wrestling, one of those moves that only served to make your opponent suffer when he was already on the ground... I immediately ran between my father and mother, separating them and explaining what really happened. Needless to say, that both my father and I, that night we had been fasting for lying to my mother, my father in addition to being fasting had a severe pain in his wing and shoulder but was immediately helped and treated by my mother, I, other than been punished with fasting... I must do housework for a week... which was literally my worst nightmare...
Here we are at the end of the chapter, as anticipated at the beginning, the part where I liked the most to write is approaching, it should be chapter 5 but most likely will be shifted to chapter 6 because I have a bad habit of starting to write and couldn't stop myself anymore...
I must admit that I liked this romantic scene much more than that the one of the last chapter, finally I can be satisfied even if it was maybe too cliché? Regarding to the next chapter, the drama finally ended, or maybe not? (evil laugh), I don't know if I will be able to publish the following chapter in time, as I said in the previous chapter, I will very soon start to work, but you can always check the biography on my profile where I will update you with the progress of the next chapter.
Many times, I regret having discovered this archive so late and the world of Fanfiction... but on the other side I'm happy to have discovered it now because now I have a good knowledge of English... who knows what horror would come out if the same me, 4 years younger than now, had written a story, at the thought I can only shudder... but I would really have enjoyed to know some of the veteran of this archive... I would have really enjoyed it...
As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to receive other reviews from other people (Not that I dislike to receive it from the 5 people who already reviews my chapters every time), I decided to reviews the stories of those who reviews mine, that may seem strange and even stupid, but I want to return the favor, I will try to review your stories the best I can, maybe by giving you some tips? Even if I'm newbie too.
Obviously, this doesn't mean that if you don't review me, I don't review you, I am no longer a child now (sadly lol), I will continue to review the stories that I like. Now enough talk and I hope to see you all at my next chapter of A Reason To Live.
~Fenix139
