Hello again…
I really wanted to publish this chapter last week but as I was busy and uncomfortable I couldn't do it. I wanted to share it with you because this is probably another sentimental chapter because for me it was when I started writing it. I hope you like chapter 23 because we are very close to finishing this story.
I was waiting for you
The Moose Lake Zoo hadn't become as popular after its third remodel until people started arriving due to the abduction and recovery of two endangered birds. They were also curious to know who the employee was who was arrested by law. Children and adults alike waited anxiously for the doors to open without counting on the presence of two Canadian geese and a spotted owl leaning against one of the pine trees that surrounded the cargo area.
"This is where the human with golden hair took Michelle and took her to her lair" Chloe spoke, remembering how they brought Michelle when Monroy left her injured.
"It must have been Giselle, she's also an ornithologist," Joshua replied.
"Are you sure about this boy?" Alice asked looking at the little boy, who was still staring at the door that led to the emergency room.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Joshua replied, calming the long-necked females, "this will be the first time I enter the clinic without fear of being watched ...
"Easy little one, we understand you completely" Chloe replied, calming the boy down because he still remembered what happened at the lake "maybe he took care of you but he didn't do it correctly"
"I know" Josh replied wiping some tears from his eyes as he remembered what happened "thanks for taking care of me during the night"
"You are a great boy Joshua." Alice pats the baby owl on the back.
"Are you sure you don't want to go in?" the owl asked one more time before leaving
"We are not ready to face the humans but we trust you" Chloe repeated showing the owl a smile.
"Ok, see you in a few minutes and thanks again girls" were his last words and he left the handstand to approach the door
Victor worked all night checking Raúl's golden eagle on Blu, Jewel, with the support of Giselle, Tulio and Linda. In addition to checking two more birds that were still in the process of recovery and Mily who unfortunately had lost an eye thanks to the claw that Monroy gave her on the dock, she lost part of her sight.
(Wounded dog howl)
"I know little girl, I know it hurts a lot but you'll be fine" Victor gently cleaned Milagro's recently closed wound, which with his howls showed that it hurt too much
"How does this dog manage to survive this risky operation?" Giselle wondered looking at the handsome Bernardo that he could barely move due to the anesthesia.
"I don't know, but even if she has lost an eye, Mily will always be a beautiful miracle," replied Victor, stroking his dog's head and at the same time holding back tears because he could not tolerate seeing his pet in a bad state "ready, you're out of danger"
"Yes, I know ... I know ... I know we should have called you son, but don't worry, Tulio is fine, he just has a little cold, you know from being away from home for several hours" Alejandra spoke in a phone call with Tulio's father and she entered the infirmary where her husband was with Mily and Giselle "don't worry I already called Vianney and she calmed down when she heard Tulio's voice"
"I think your son didn't take the kidnapping of his grandson in stride," Giselle whispered in her boss's ear.
"I don't blame him, I almost lost Tulio and Linda," Victor replied quietly, "Mily too, and those two birds are suffering because of me."
"Do you want me to go find them?" Giselle asked looking for Linda and Tulio
"Yes, I think we made them wait a long time" with nothing more to say Giselle left the place to look for Linda and Tulio
"Don't worry Jorge, your dad is fine, he is still operating, and Tulio even offered to help him since there were more than two injured birds." She approaches her husband.
"Hello" Victor greeted his son's call
While Víctor answered the call Alejandra looked through the glass of the door at a little owl flapping and touching the glass with one of its legs, being curious about the action of the chick, she opened the door and landed on one of the furniture
"Wow ... you must be one of the birds they rescued here" Ale was amazed that the chick will approach the table where Mily was lying
"Mily, you are alive!" Josh spoke happy to see his friend but she was not in good condition "but how come ...
"Easy little I'm fine" answered Mily smiling a little opening her only eye "I'm also happy to see you"
"You shouldn't be," Joshua interrupted, approaching the female's face to hug her, "thanks to me you lost your eye."
"Don't blame yourself for everything that happened, little friend" Mily tried to calm the child's crying "you said it yourself, they forced you to lie"
"I still didn't want things to end like this" Joshua continued to blame himself, shedding a few tears that curled up close to his cheek.
"I think someone made a new friend" Victor had seen the beautiful scene of the owl with his dog after cutting off the call remembering that that spotted owl was one of the birds that Raúl had rescued.
"It seems that they know each other" confessed Alejandra when she saw the gesture of the owl "this girl must feel lonely"
"And it will be even more so when he finds out what happened to his friend" she whispered in his wife's ear so that Josh wouldn't listen to them without taking into account that the owl knew the truth.
"Is everything in order grandfather?" Asked Tulio entering the infirmary with Linda and Cristina
"Your father is furious and scared by what happened" was the first thing Victor said when he saw his grandson and his student
"Josh?" Linda was amazed when she looked at the only bird that reminded her of her best friend. Curled up on the head of the female bernardo "It's good to see you again, little one" caresses the chick's head
"I know, no matter how much I tell him that nothing happened to me, he insists that I return to Rio," Tulio replied with a bit of sadness.
"Take it easy, so I managed to convince your parents that you would return to Brazil after Christmas," Alejandra responds with a small smile.
"Seriously, because I can't go like this," said the young ornithologist, "Spix's female is not yet in good condition to travel."
"You will have a good night with us and the next day you will return to Brazil" informed the old woman calming her grandson "they will both have time to recover"
"Doctor Victor, how is Blu, didn't he have any injuries or blows to his skull?" Linda changed the conversation
"He didn't have as many blows as Jewel but we did some studies on him because he had a little seizure before arriving at the Zoo" answered Victor showing the studies they did on Blu during the night.
"But everything worked out, right?" Linda asked, going through the studies with a bit of desperation.
"Not at all" confessed the ornithologist with a weak voice since it was something he could not say "Linda ... (Small pause) Blu suffers from epilepsy"
"E-epilepsy ...
"Apparently he had more than one seizure and that is not normal both in a human being and in animals", Victor clarified with a painful voice, looking at Linda's reaction when he read the studies of his bird "this can be a bit serious and much more if it is an endangered species"
"But ... because ... because of him" the redhead claimed with great sadness shedding tears since she did not believe in what she had read on the paper "why did my Blu get that disease?"
"Epilepsy can be caused by brain damage or trauma," Victor explained, "this disease can come and go at any time. We will continue to do more studies to see if your heart rate is normal or if something in your nervous system has changed due to attack"
Linda had heard of some animals that suffered epileptic seizures the main cause was because they were mistreated by the same owners "he was always in good health and rarely got sick and now he suffers from a disease that could leave him in ... in ...
Cristina did not hesitate to hug and comfort her daughter in this difficult moment, she knew how much Blu meant in her life and it was not easy for her to accept this new symptom in her best friend. Tulio did not hesitate to support her new friend, perhaps he did not know the friendship that Linda had with her macaw, but he knew very well what it feels like to see someone you love due to illness.
Josh and Mily heard the sad news even though they had no idea what epilepsy was, it sounded like it was something serious the little owl remembered how it all started, his father's plans caused pain to several of his friends Michelle received a strong scratch on his chest, Milagro lost his eye and Blu suffers from a disease that could leave him in a coma slowly Josh left the place to walk quietly to the recovery room where possibly his blue friend was safe and sound
"We were lucky with the blue female, she has small wounds on her chest but due to the change of environment the defense lowered her a lot" Victor tried to change the subject so as not to embitter the place since he could not bear to see his sad student "I gave him a vitamin strong enough to regain strength "
"She must be scared," Alejandra commented.
"Everything ready, Victor," interrupted Nahuel, the owner of the Zoo, entering the infirmary, but he realized that everyone was quiet. "Is everything in order?"
"I'll explain later," Giselle replied, moving closer to her brother. "Did you change the cameras?"
"Yes, but I think the blue female broke the cameras" replied Nahuel "they worked perfectly when we installed them"
"Could be," Victor commented.
"I also repaired the window. I think the cold must have frozen it too much until it broke."
"Thanks again Mr. Nahuel" Víctor thanked his boss for the work he did
"No problem Víctor, you have shown a lot of effort in your work that I cannot deny you anything" Nahuel replied, squeezing his hand with his most trusted employee.
"I will go see the owl and Jewel, she will wake up soon and they will be very hungry" Giselle leaves the place to continue with her work "See you later"
"By the way, what happened to Raúl's eagle?" whispers Nahuel in Victor's ear
"It is in a better place where it will be watched and cared for by people who accept all kinds of disabled animals," Victor replied, "but the peregrine falcon you found did not suffer as much damage."
"These days have been full of surprises and attacks" confessed Nahuel with nostalgia "I never imagined that these things would happen in my business."
"When all of this subsides, I will be grateful to Giselle for being very supportive of me since she started working here."
"Sir, do I give the order to open the doors?" interrupted one of the security guards approaching the owner of the zoo "there are too many people desperate to enter the zoo"
"Seriously?" the officer nodded to the question of his boss "then I have to see it myself" he leaves the place without first talking to Victor "if you need anything else tell me"
Linda had managed to calm her pain with the support of her mother, tears still flowed from her eyes in the background, she felt guilty and now with more responsibility she had to take care of Blu. Mily was a little happy to know that Monroy would be in a secluded place and that its owner would pay the consequences.
"Do you want to see Blu?" Victor asked after Linda calmed down "he is asleep in the incubator but if you want you can look at him"
"I think he could use some more rest", replied Linda "he must have lost a lot of energy these days".
"Calm down, we put some serum" Victor hugs his student "he just needs to rest more like us"
"Let's calm down with a cup of coffee" proposed Cristina "we could use something to eat"
"I agree, all these nerves make my head ache a bit" answered Alejandra approaching Mily to caress her before leaving "I will bring you something to regain strength, my little Miracle"
"And how does it feel to celebrate Christmas in the summer?" Cristina asked leaving the infirmary with Victor and the others "the climate in Latin America must be different, right?"
In a small room where there were incubators, stretchers and some other cage to keep the injured and operated animals, Blu was lying down receiving serum to regain strength due to his seizures he lost a lot of energy, he could barely move and open his eyes, because he was sleeping more than 12 hours
"Ohhmm ... Because ... because I feel so ... so ..." said the blue man with a weak voice, opening his eyes little by little but closing them due to the lighting of the place. At the same time he suffers a severe headache "Ohhmm ... my head" rubs his head with his right wing but it was connected to an intravenous bag that prevented him from moving too much "how come ... finish ... Oh God, because my head hurts so much!"
"Mr. Blu?" Josh spoke, silently opening the door drawing the attention of the macaw that could barely get up "Mr. Blu is here?"
"J-Josh ... you're ... you're Blu tried to get up from the stretcher but he was so weak that he stopped trying.
"I'm fine Mr. Blu" replied the owl approaching his friend "Alice and Chloe saved me and Raúl and his henchmen were arrested"
"And where is your fath ...
"She's in a better place; I think we won't see her for a long time" Josh no longer felt sad as he remembered the fate of his stepfather "Mr. Blu?"
"Yes…
"What is epilepsy?"
"Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior or sensations" Blu answered the chick's question
"And is that something serious?" I ask with more curiosity
"Well, there are people who have suffered memory loss from the seizures they receive, there are also people who cannot wake up when they receive a seizure, they can even end in ...
"I don't want you to have epilepsy!" cry of sadness Joshua hugging Blu crying again
"What ..." Blu was confused by his friend's reaction.
"Victor said you have epilepsy" Josh confessed wiping his tears "I really don't know what it is but Linda's reaction showed that it was not a good thing"
The blue man now understood the pains in his body and the reason why he was with the serum on the one hand he was afraid that now he was epileptic but Josh's sobs were more painful than his reaction, with the little strength that it had on its wings. He hugs him to calm his crying "hey, I know you've been through a lot since you were a newborn but you don't have to be sad about this, you're not to blame for anything"
"I caused everyone pain (sobs) I tried to fix things but I think that not everything went well"
"I don't think so" Blu answered with a bit of encouragement "you faced your father knowing that he was not your father and you helped Michelle to get out of her sadness".
"Michelle?"
"Alice told me a bit about her past" Blu commented "Josh relieved Michelle of a pain that she had kept for several years and she did not mind ending up hurt when she defended you from Monroy, you were her second light"
Josh did not believe in the words of his friend, he knew very well the mistakes he had made but alleviating the pain of a bird that he barely knew made him very happy without knowing what activity he did to heal Michelle "By the way, I already remembered my real name "replied Joshua with more encouragement" Joshua is my full name not Josep"
"They both sound almost the same, don't you think?" she interrupted a voice that came from the back of the room it was the Tomada hawk that was slowly getting up from the stretcher with a bandage around his chest and a cast below his waist
"Tomada!" Both birds responded with great enthusiasm when they saw the presence of the peregrine falcon on one of the beds furthest from the room.
"But how is that ...
"You are not the only one who faces the bullies" replied the hawk, remembering the fight he had.
"Well, technically it was Michelle and Jewel who confronted him" Blu corrected "I just accompanied them"
"But not all men dare to defend a woman," Tom recalled Blu's scene with Jewel.
"He hurt you, didn't he?" asked Joshua
"It is not the first time that I face him, boy" confessed Tomada looking at his bandage "you are very brave Joshua"
"How did you end up here?" the blue man asked once more
"Monroy tried to escape, Javier and I tried to stop him but he threatened us until Jewel arrived and…
"Wait, did you say Jewel?" Blu was amazed by what his friend had said.
"He tried to help us but I told him to let you know and he went looking for you"
"Looking for me?"
"Mr. Blu, Chloe told me that Jewel arrived before Monroy dropped him from the sky" the owl clarified his friend's doubt
"Really? Because I remember that Mily, Alice, you and I were on the dock" Blu began to remember what happened but due to his seizure he forgot the part where Monroy raised him to the sky "I saw you fall from the lake and... And...
"You don't remember, do you?" the girl asked with great concern and he denied the question since he did not remember the arrival of Chloe and Jewel as well as the attempted murder of Monroy "don't worry I'll tell you everything but first I want to see Michelle and Jewel to see if they are okay" He walks away from his friend to fly towards the exit
"Is Jewel here?" Blu was shocked again when he heard the unexpected news a second time, but unfortunately if he had forgotten everything "did he really come back here?"
"I don't know what's happening to you, blue friend, but that you don't remember why you ended up here makes me think this is something serious" Tomada confessed.
"I'll be back soon" Josh opens the door "then I'll tell you everything in more detail" he closes the door leaving the two men alone
"But how is it possible that I don't remember anything?" Blu was wondering, lying on his stretcher "I'm really going to have epileptic seizures" he rubs his head because he still hurts a lot like the rest of his body
"You are a friend of humans, don't worry" Tomada calmed her friend "You will have the answer with them for now; let's wait for the girl with the golden fur to come to serve us breakfast. I heard that they serve very well fruits and seeds" he bows on the stretcher and relaxes a bit
"Are you a vegetarian?
Josh left the room and crept into the small man-made habitat without first seeing Milagro sleeping in a small bed of the same size next to a gas heater that kept her warm. Continuing on his way, he reached the door of the small house and managed to open it successfully just as his stepfather had taught him when he started robbing stores.
"Wow, it's hot in here" Josh spoke in a low voice walking to the center of the room finding two pillows with blankets to sleep on. Jewel was sleeping on one of those pillows curled up with one of her blankets, he slowly approached her to wake her up but a small sob distracted him
"(Small frown)" Josh saw which direction the sound was coming from and looked up at the top of the tree with new wooden supports and some ropes (since Thomas had broken the ladder). Being curious, the owl flew to the top of the tree and he found Michelle crying silently showing her back and looking at the little snow that fell on the newly repaired window
"S-ma'am ... Michelle?" Josh spoke slowly approaching her
"J-Josh?" Michelle slowly turned around wiping the tears that fell from her eyes wearing a white bandage on her stomach that coordinated with her feathers
"Because he is crying?" I ask with an innocent voice
"No ... it's nothing" replied the female wiping her eyes
"Is it because of the wound, right?" Josh looks at the bandage his friend had
"Something like that, only this is the strongest wound I have ever had" answered Michelle wiping other tears that fell from her eyes
"Do you want me to call Victor?"
"I don't mean that kind of wound, little one" Michelle assured the chick showing a small smile "it is a wound that does not heal"
"What kind of pain?" I ask with more curiosity
"I don't think you are ready for this kind of thing, you are still too young to understand it"
"I can bear it and I promised to help her as soon as I corrected all my mistakes," he sits next to her, "if I didn't want to help her, I wouldn't have come looking for her." Josh's small smile made Michelle give up; she couldn't deny anything to that sweet innocent and brave boy face.
"When I was younger, my father left, he had two sisters. My mother paid more attention to my older sister and that led us to have differences "Michelle confessed a part of her life" I left my house as soon as I could. I did crazy things that took me to a stage that I never thought I was going to face"
"And what happened next?"
"After several nights away from home I began to feel a strong stomach ache, nausea and a lot of cravings", sighed Michelle when remembering that stage "I soon discovered that I was pregnant with three babies".
"Your children hers, right?" Joshua asked showing a small smile on his beak.
Michelle nodded at her friend's question and continued with her story, "I wasn't ready to be a mother Josh yet. I was only young and had just become independent, but feeling the movements of those three beautiful angels made me understand that my life would be much better with them by my side"
"What were your children like?"
"They were the most beautiful thing that had happened to me in my life, their movements made me feel alive and I felt that everything was possible with them by my side. Those three babies were everything to me, but…. (Small sob) unfortunately two of them were ... they were already ... "Michelle could not resist anymore and she began to cry silently just by remembering the word, her heart broke more.
Josh understood Michelle's message and some small tears fell from his eyes because it was something very painful "that happened to the other baby" he asked with a little shyness since this story touched his heart.
"(Little sobs) It was hunting season, I gathered enough food for the night and at the same time there was a snow storm. Screams were heard and there was a strong smell of smoke I was so curious but I could not get out of my nest knowing that the hunters were there but the flames of fire were approaching my house "the most difficult part of his story was affecting the owl more but I wanted to continue "I was flying as fast as I could but the smoke prevented me from seeing and breathing (sobs) the last I remember is the cry my baby made when I fell into the lake"
The pain affected Michelle again in his mind he still remembered the sweet cry of his only love and Josh witnessed his pain although he did not know what it was to lose someone special but he still felt a lot of sadness for his friend who hugged the female. Michelle's crying showed that she still hadn't gotten over her past, it wasn't easy for her and no one could blame her.
"I don't know what it feels like to lose someone you couldn't get to know very well. All I know is that it's very sad" Joshua confessed hugging Michelle "I'm so sorry Mrs. Michelle"
"That's why I never leave my nest and from that day on I couldn't listen to perfection", confessed Michelle, breaking the hug to wipe away the tears "they will always be in my heart and I know that they take care of the sky".
"I think so," Josh replied, "they must be so proud of you that they look forward to meeting you."
"I also look forward to seeing them. I actually wrote a song for them after agreeing to be a mother at an early age," said Michelle with a small smile.
"Seriously?" the little owl asked "how's the song going?"
(The song is called "I was waiting for you from Alejandra Guzman" this song is Latin so I leave the meaning in English, the voice and the singer is very cute as well as the lyrics)
I was waiting for you
And I watched my body grow
While searching
(Michel looks at his belly and caresses it a little, remembering his children)
The name i gave you
In the mirror
I was the full moon and in profile
With you inside
(Look at the snow falling from the sky and a nice memory comes to mind)
I was never so happy
Dying to feel
(The memory of Michelle singing this song is shown inside her nest looking at the moon while pregnant)
Your fragile paws
Kicking the dark
From my mature belly
(He slowly strokes his belly while singing with a big smile on his beak)
Dreaming does not cost, no
And, with wet eyes
I saw you so high, it's more
On the top of the world
(She looks at her belly with tears of joy)
I was waiting for you!
Blindly imagining color
Of your gaze
And the timbre of your voice
Scared!
(Michelle's three eggs are shown together in a small nest)
I begged heaven to let you
Go far
(Slowly two of the three eggs disappear from the small nest)
Much more than me
(Michelle's singing made Josh remember the only memory he had of his mother while Michelle sang the next part of the song with a few tears while still staring at the snow)
I was waiting for you
And painted on the walls
From your room
Dreams in color
(Josh starts singing the part he remembered from the song)
Subtracting without stopping
Days to calendar
(Michelle was surprised that Josh knew the lyrics)
Only you could heal me
The stage monkey
(Michelle sings the next part of the song)
The world is as it is
And I can't change it for you
(They both start singing and looking at each other)
But I will always follow you
To give you a hand
I was waiting for you
Blindly imagining color
Of your gaze
And the timbre of your voice
Today I have you!
(Michelle looked at Josh's beautiful eyes, her smile and her look made him remember the same smile that she made to her third child)
I ask heaven to let me see you
Go far
Much more than me...
(They both pause briefly showing how amazed they were with each other for remembering the last part of the song)
"It's you ..." was the only thing Josh said looking with great joy at the person he wanted to see so much and Michel did the same by singing the last lyrics of the song.
I was waiting for you
And the mirror looked at us, while...
(Josh sings the last part with more love)
I already loved you
Michelle couldn't help it anymore and hugged her newly discovered son, her heart told her that it was his blood, her gaze showed her that she had the beautiful eyes that her chick had the last time she saw him and the timbre of her voice. It was like the one she had heard when he was born.
Josh couldn't help but hug his mother tighter, after so many years wondering and blindly imagining the color of her eyes, he was finally looking her face to face, the only thing left of her was the sweet timbre of her voice and half of the beautiful song that he sang to him
"My little Joshua" spoke Michelle trying to control her crying without stopping to hug her baby "my Joshi is alive"
"I always believed that Josep was my real name but when I fell from the lake I remembered my real name" Joshua answered, hugging Michelle with more love from her, calling her for the first time "Ma ... mama"
"If I am your mother" Michelle breaks the hug to look at her son with much love "I promise you that I will never leave you alone again and I will do anything to see you happy" they both embrace again feeling once again the bond of mother and child
In honor of all those beautiful little angels who were desired but could never be born for a reason that neither God knows how to explain
In honor of some beautiful angels that both his mother and I awaited their arrival.
For my new love of all life
And we come to the end of the chapter dear readers. You already expected this big surprise, right? This is the first time that I put one of the RIO characters with a disease in this case I wanted to make Blu epileptic since as you know I have been epileptic since I was 8 years old, some words that Linda and Blu mentioned inspired me in my mother when they She found out about my illness and so did I, since a few days before my 12th birthday my mother confessed to me that it was not a fainting that she normally suffered.
Joshua managed to find his mother through a beautiful song by Alejandra Guzman. A renowned singer in Mexico who composed the song "I was waiting for you" for her daughter Frida Sofia in honor of her arrival. It is the first time that I mention these kinds of things that happen for being a rebellious, irresponsible teenager, etc. Both men and women make mistakes, but these mistakes teach us to value what we have and why we have it.
The way Michelle and Josh meet again is inspired by a Barbie movie "island princess" where Rosella (Ro) remembers her real name when she falls into the sea with her friends and the only memory she has after being shipwrecked is a song that his mother sang to him. Years later, he returned to civilization with the help of an explorer and faced new things with his friends (an elephant, a lemur and a peacock) until he was reunited with his mother through the only song that gave him a memory of his old life. Did you like the reunion?
I had thought about putting on the song from that movie but when I heard "I was waiting for you" I felt that the lyrics and the desire to see a person that you couldn't see for a long time made it more special. We are one step away from finishing this story, so don't miss out. Your criticisms and comments will be heard (as long as they are related to the story) until the next publication.
Atte: JAQUI (JMG, RIO)