Hi Everyone! How's everyone's Thanksgiving Day so far? I hope you're all doing great. Now, about the delay of chapter 6, I'm taking a little while because I want it to be as perfect as my writing abilities can allow, and because school is stressing me out(What teenager doesn't? Right?) But I promise you guys that I am working on it and not just lying about my work. Now, for this Thanksgiving Special, I thought it was weird to do a special where in the the holiday you eat a bird and the universe I write about is about birds with human-ish intelligence. But I didn't give up and Here's the result.
Enjoy(:
Third Person POV
"Well, this is the first Thanksgiving we celebrate with you at our table," Linda's mom, Stacy, said with a warm smile as she set down two plates in front of Linda and Tulio, who sat next to each other on the table. On the plates there were warm mash-potatoes, steamed carrots and peas, beans, and white rice. Despite that Tulio wished that he at least had a chicken leg to munch on during his meal, he was still hungry for the delicious vegetable that were set on his plate.
"It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for inviting us over for Thanksgiving." Tulio said as he took a look outside the window from his chair and saw the beautiful snowy scenery that takes place in Minnesota. He may not be made for this kind of weather, but he sure did love it.
Linda's Mom is very kind and is the literal spinning image of her mother, with the exception that her mom didn't wear glasses and a few wrinkles spread around her face. But other than that, exactly like Linda. And one other thing, she's a vegetarian. That explains the lack of meat on their plates. Vegetables weren't Tulio's most enjoyable food in the world, but what was he going to do? Act picky in front of his girlfriend's Mom? That's a good way to make a bad impression of yourself, Tulio wanted to make the best impression of himself so that they could have his mother-in-law's approval. Besides, the vegetables weren't gonna kill him, and he should be thankful for at least having food when there are many unlucky people without a loaf of bread or a drop to drink. Many people don't know that.
"Oh, it's no biggie. Honestly. I'm just glad to meet the 'bird-man of Brazil', who is also my little girl's boyfriend." the last part she said with a grin as she knew that 'my little girl' was Linda's embarrassing nickname.
Linda blushed a deep red and rolled her eyes playfully, "Mom, please. I'm not little anymore."she complained. Stacy just giggled. She loves teasing her daughter, and she loves Linda even more.
"So Mrs. Gunderson, I heard-"
"Oh, please. Just call me mom."
"Okay...so mom, how were things over here when Linda was over in Rio?"
"It was pretty quiet. Then when I heard the news about Blu and Jewel's abduction and rescue I was both frantic and surprised. I thought something bad happened to Linda, but then she called me and said everything was okay, I finally managed to breathe. The papers said that Blu flew while carrying Jewel all the way back to the airport. At first, I didn't buy it, but when I saw him do it with my own eyes, I realized it." she said.
"Well, Linda. What's your opinion about Brazil for those few days?" Tulio asked.
"Well, I prefer to stay in my comfort zone. But now I realize that you don't know what life is until you live it. I have to admit, those first two days I had the biggest adventure in all my life. It was awesome!" Linda chuckled.
"Really? But what is it like?" asked a curious Stacy.
Tulio took care of this question, "It's very beautiful. There are beaches everywhere, the smell of nature and fruits that people are selling just surround you, the noise you hear is Samba. That's the rhythm of your heart, and once you hear it, you fall in love with it. Oh, and every year there is a carnival that's bigger and more festive than anything I've ever seen. And Rio is prettier during New Years' Eve." he stopped and looked directly at Linda. A grin sneaked up on his face as an idea popped into his brain. "But you're prettier than all of that." he added.
Linda covered her mouth with her hands and giggled as she blushed yet again. Stacy looked at both of them, this scene warmed her heart.
"Aww," she awed.
"It's very funny." Linda said after she stopped giggling and bushing.
"What is?" Tulio asked.
"That I traveled to Rio so that we could pair up Blu and Jewel and the owners of them also ended up paired up. It's a coincidence."
"Oh yeah, I never really thought of that." Tulio smiled as all three of them continued to discuss their lives with each other.
On the second floor of the house, two blue Macaws were talking to each other sitting on a sofa.
"So what's this holiday about again?" Jewel asked for the seventeenth time today. Blu just chuckled. It's funny to see the people who think too much of themselves act dumbly, not that he would say this to her because he loves her, of course.
"Think of it this way, it's a day when everyone shows their gratitude about the things they have or the people who care about them."
"Oh...what is gratitude?"
"Gratitude is just a fancy word for grateful. Do you have any other questions for me, Mi Lady?" Blu asked teasingly.
"Yes, in fact I do, Mr Know-It-All. What are you thankful for? Hmm?" Jewel asked with a raised brow and a grin.
"Me? Well, I'm thankful for having Linda in my life to take care of me, for the the shelter that protects me from the force of the weather, the food and water that nourishes my body, my ability to read and write, my ability to fly, Tulio for helping me and Linda discover the magical land that is Rio." He stops for a moment to catch his breath and looks at Jewel. He prepared mentally for what he wanted Jewel to hear, about what his heart had to say about her, he continued on, "And lastly, I'm thankful for you, the love of my life, who from the time I saw you, have always been by my side. And if it wasn't for you, I would have died in the Jungle without you protecting me and teaching me that I can't always depend on Linda to save me and protect me. That I need to be independent. For giving me the ability to fly, for changing my life for the better. And for loving me." Blu stops and takes a look at his wife. She's just staring at him with a shocked expression, her beak hanging wide open and her eyes wide as plates.
"You...you really mean all of what you said about me?" She asked in a voice filled with disbelief.
"I meant every word with all my heart." Blu confirmed with a smile.
Jewel takes a step forward towards him, then quickly jumps to him and uses her wings to pull him into a passionate kiss. Blu's eyes widen with surprise about the kiss, but he slowly lets himself be taken away by the kiss. After 27 seconds, they separate their beaks to inhale oxygen. They locked eyes with each other, warm smiles crawled up on to their beaks.
"Jewel?"
"Yeah?" Jewel whispered.
"What are you thankful for?"
Jewel is taken by surprise by the question, but she knows the answer.
"I'm thankful for the little time I had with my family, for the survival lessons that got me through the hard time in the wild,for the humans that had intentions of helping me, even though I ended up rebelling, and for you. You helped cure my painful loneliness, you helped me see the world in a new way, you've saved me from Nigel, you've save me from my fall to my death, you protected me and never left my side when I was recovering from my broken wing, and you gave me the love that I never felt. Thank you."
Blu was surprised to hear such words coming from a bird. He was used to only hearing insults, but those words that were said by Jewel really touched his heart. He smiled as he gave her a warm hug. She didn't hesitate to respond to the hug as she hugged him back. After a minute or two they broke the hug.
"C'mon, I bet they're waiting for us to eat with them." Blu suggested as he took off from the couch, "Last one there is a roasted chicken!" Blu challenged as he flew out of the room.
"Oh! Game on!" Jewel shouted happily as she flew out of the room like a blue lightning bolt. Jewel somehow managed to beat Blu even though he had a head start. "First!" Jewel declared victory as she landed on a stool that was big enough to reach the table. Blu wasn't very far behind as he landed on a stool next to where Jewel was.
"You got lucky." Blu said as he looked at the food in front of him.
"This looks tasty."
"I know."
"I'm starving. Let's dig in!' Before Jewel could take a bite, Blu stopped her.
"Wait Jewel, we have to give our thanks before we eat."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry." Jewel said, slightly embarrassed.
"Everyone, hold each other's hands and wings." Stacy asked. Linda and Tulio locked hands, Linda then used her spare hand to hold her mom's warm wrinkled hand, Blu and Jewel held each other's hands, or wings, then Jewel let Tulio hold her wing carefully, and Blu held Stacy's free wing. All of them closed their eyes and bowed their heads. "Dear lord, we are thankful for the food you have placed on our table, we are also thankful for all the things you have given us. Be it clothes or food or shelter, we give thanks. I'm especially grateful for having my daughter here with me with her boyfriend by her side. We're also thankful for our feathered friends who are here with us on this day. Help them on their journey to save their species from going extinct. Thanks again for everything that you have given us. Amen."
"Amen." Everyone said.
"Alright everyone, enjoy the food!" Stacy said as everyone began to eat their food.
The End.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! See you in the next chapter of my other story.
Sincerely, J