Chapter 3: An unexpected surprise

Blu was flying through the rainforest, hoping to find breakfast for his family. He yawned a bit, as he was still tired. He tried to think again about the dream he had.

What was that dream all about again? The only thing I can remember was that I was a chick. Blu thought this all to himself, but quickly brushed it off, keeping his thoughts on his surroundings in order to find food.

After about 20 minutes he finally found his bounty. He saw a branch with some blue berry attached to it and there were even some Brazil nuts on it. In the tree next to it, there was some star fruit, Bia's favorite food.

Blu also knew that he was still on the territory of the spix macaw tribe and had nothing to fear from the scarlet macaws, even though hostilities had ended more than a year ago.

As Blu landed on the branch, he smiled. He knew that he would please his family with this amount of food for breakfast and perhaps even for supper and dinner.

As he was about to take a Brazil nut, he heard a rustling between the trees. He looked to his right but saw nothing.

"Mhh, must have mistaken." Blu said to himself.

But then he heard another rustling from the left of him.

"Haha, very funny. You can come out now." Blu said amusingly but also a bit nervous.

He heard another rustling from above him, even with some leaves falling on him.

"Ha, Felipe, I know hostilities have ended, but I am not taking anything from your side, I'm still on the side of my tribe." Blu said, now becoming very nervous.

Then he once again heard a rustling from his right and this time he saw a figure standing next to him. It was a spix macaw, an old female to be exact.

"Oh, hello there." Blu said awkwardly.

"Hello, there." the female replied.

There was a long moment of silence between the two as they stared at each other. Blu even wondered if he had ever seen her before in the tribe. He couldn't remember her face, but something about her seemed very familiar.

At length, the female broke silence.

"Uh, question. You look like a spix macaw, like me, if I am not mistaking." the female said.

"Well, technically I am a spix macaw." Blu replied.

The female looked a bit dumbfounded, before saying: "I thought that Spix macaws are practically extinct in the wild and that I could have been the only one left. Do you survive here somewhere on your own?"

"My own?" Blu asked, "No, no, no, no, no, ma'am, I am here gathering food for my family."

"Family?" the female asked surprised, "Are there more spix macaws in these regions?"

"Well of course, I live with my family in a whole tribe." Blu replied.

The female's eyes widened and asked with a gasp: "A whole tribe?"

"Yeah, been there for little more than a year already." Blu replied.

The female didn't have any words right now, Blu thought to himself that she had been thinking that she was all alone for some time. He couldn't blame her, when he, Jewel and his kids lived in Rio, they all thought that they were also the last ones.

Eventually, Blu broke the silence.

"May I give you a kind of compliment, ma'am?" Blu asked

The female chuckled and said: "Of course you can."

"You honestly look very similar to my wife, except that my wife is… well, how should I say it…" Blu struggled not to say 'younger'.

"Younger?" the female asked with a smile.

"My age, I was gonna say 'my age'." Blu said.

The female gave a chuckle and said: "Sure you were. What's your wife's name if I may ask?"

"Oh, her name's Jewel. She's a real gem of the forest and my angel." Blu said happily.

The female's eyes widened again, this time more than before.

"J-Jewel? Did you say Jewel?"

Blu looked a bit confused and said: "Uh, yes? Why? You know her?"

"What was her father's name?" the female asked.

"Eduardo, the leader of the tribe I am in, why?" Blu asked

The female did not say anything for a minute, before softly saying: "Eddie…"

"Eddie? Wait, do you know Eduardo too?" Blu asked dumbfounded.

"Did Jewel or Eduardo ever teel about their mother or mate, Sapphire?"

Blu thought for a moment and remembered the day Eduardo told him about his former mate, Sapphire.

"Yeah. Eduardo told me she perished in a forest fire that was caused by loggers, but how do you know about all of them?" Blu asked curiously but with frowned eyes.

The female looked at Blu with sorrowful eyes. Blu looked at her face and especially her eyes. It took him about 20 second before it finally hit him. His eyes widened and he let out a small gasp.

"No…" Blu said, "it can't be…"

The female nodded.

"A-are you truly Sapphire?"

The female nodded again.

"B-but, but I thought that you perished in the fires, almost everyone in the tribe thinks that!" Blu exclaimed.

"And yet here I am, sitting on a branch, looking for food, just like you." Sapphire said.

Blu didn't have the words at this point. Jewel's mother, who was thought to be long dead, stood before him.

"I-, I-, I don't have any words at this point…"

"Understandable" Sapphire said with a smile.

"How about I will take the food later and take you to Eduardo instead."

Sapphire looked over happy at that news and said: "Oh, if you could do, that, I would be most pleased."

"Alright, let's go, then." Blu said.

"Wait, before we go, I haven't asked your name yet." Sapphire said.

"Oh, of course, my name is Blu."

"Hahaha! That's a good one, we're all blue spix macaws" Sapphire said laughing.

"Oh, no that is my actual name. B-L-U." Blu said, "Mimi also thought I was joking, though."

Sapphire's eyes widened again with joy, and she exclaimed: "Oh, Mimi! I truly love her. She's so helpful and funny at the same time! I can't believe she's also alive!"

"And that's not all, Sapphire. There are 3 other members in the tribe. They are called Bia, Carla and Tiago". Blu said.

"Oh." Sapphire said a little surprised, "Who are they?"

Blu smiled before saying: "Sapphire, a few years ago, your gem of the forest, Jewel, gave birth to 3 wonderful chicks."

Suddenly Sapphire's mouth dropped, and she fell on her knees.

"Am… Am… Am I… a- a grandma?" Sapphire said in a soft voice, with even a tear rolling down her face.

"Yes, you are Sapphire." Blu said proudly.

Suddenly Sapphire got back on her talons, stormed at Blu and overwhelmed him with a tight hug.

"How, can I ever thank you for all this, Blu?"

Blu stood quiet for a moment, before putting his wings around Sapphire, saying that everything is alright and that he would be honored to present Sapphire to her long-lost husband.

Blu dropped his thoughts to gather food and flew with Sapphire towards Eduardo's hollow. During their flight, Sapphire asked some questions to Blu, to which he could mostly reply.

"Are there also any childhood friends of Jewel present in the tribe?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Yes." Blu said, "Roberto is present."

Sapphire smiled, "Ah, Roberto. I remember when they were just little chicks playing with each other, calling them names like 'Juju' and 'Beto' and I remember fully well how they rode on Amazon River dolphins and their Fancy Flights."

Blu chuckled and said: "Ah, the Fancy Flight. I remember last year how I trained my daughter Bia for making her feel more secure about taking part."

"Was she scared for the flight?" Sapphire asked.

"Well, it had more to do with the fact that she could get tired easy. Her wings are the shortest in the brood. But I assured her that it's not the size of her wings that mattered, but how to use them. And with that she made an amazing performance before the entire tribe." Blu said with some proudness in his voice.

"Hm." Sapphire chuckled, "A father and daughter moment, I see."

"Yeah." Blu smiled.

"How do your chicks actually look and how are their personalities?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Well, Carla is the oldest. She is almost a miniature version of Mimi, with some differences, most notably the feathers on the back of her head that are similar to Jewel's and her eyes, which have a green color. Not the same green ones as Eduardo's, though, hers are brighter. Carla is an energetic and confident girl who loves dancing and music and is extremely creative when it comes to making performances. Although she loves me and Jewel very much, she seems to have a closer bond with Jewel." Blu told Sapphire about his oldest child.

"Wow, I can't wait to meet her!" Sapphire said excitingly, "And who's the second oldest?"

"The second oldest is our daughter Bia. She was born 3 minutes and 2.5 seconds after Carla. Jewel told me that Bia looks almost exactly the same as her when she was a chick, except that her 'hair' doesn't curl like Jewel and Carla's, she has my beak and talons and most importantly, she has my hazel-brown eyes. Bia is an intelligent girl, is resourceful and is even a bit of a know-it-all. She loves to learn new things and is extremely detailed-oriented. I believe she got those characteristics from me. At the same time, she's also very polite and well-mannered like her mother and dreamy." Blu told Sapphire about his second oldest child.

"And is she more close to her mother or you?" Sapphire asked.

"Bia seems to have a more closer relationship with me, especially since we both love to learn and because we share a similar level of intelligence. It's also why I trained her for the fancy flight last year and I remember when she sometimes has nightmares, she would often seek comfort with me." Blu told Sapphire.

"I see." Sapphire said, "She seems like a nice girl to meet. I wonder if I see most of Jewel in her when she was a chick."

Blu chuckled, "I'm sure you would, Sapphire."

"And what about your youngest kid? Santiago, right?" Sapphire asked.

"Got it almost right there, Sapphire, it's Tiago." Blu said "He was born 3 minutes after Bia. He is like a miniature version of me. Same feather color, same eye color, only his feathers stand a bit more up like Jewel's. And although he looks almost exactly like me, he is much skinnier and more flexible compared to when I was a chick."

"Tiago is a real daredevil. He is a happy-go-lucky, brave, freedom-loving, and very agile chick, who loves going on adventures." Blu said.

"Hm, similar to how Jewel was when she was young." Sapphire said happily.

"And still is." Blu added, "Although Tiago can sometimes have little manners compared to her mother and he loves pranking others, sometimes even too much. Like he pranked me once with a living spider to wake me up, even a fake self-made one. He also sometimes takes possessions from others without their permission."

"Nevertheless, he still is a good boy and my only son. He is as close to me as he is to Jewel and he also looks up at Roberto, whom he and his sister, but especially him, refer to as 'Uncle Beto'." Blu said.

"Ucle Beto" Sapphire chuckled "I like that name."

"Anyways, there is Eduardo's hollow." Blu said. Sapphire became really nervous. After years of not seeing her husband, thinking he was long dead, she would finally meet him again.

"Just wait here and when I say 'surprise', you come in, alright?" Blu asked Sapphire softly.

"I'll do." Sapphire replied, still a bit nervous.

Blu entered the hollow, where, aside from Eduardo, there were 3 other familiar faces.

"Dad!" Bia, Carla and Tiago said all at once.

"Hey, kids, what brings you here at the home of your pop-pop?" Blu said, looking at Eduardo, who gave a serious smile for calling him the name that only his grandkids call him.

"Mom told us to ask pop-pop if he had seen you, dad." Bia said.

"Yeah, you have been gone quite a while to get breakfast and also we wanted to make sure where you were." Carla added.

"You didn't accidentally take food again from the scarlet macaw tribe, did you, dad?" Tiago asked jokingly.

"Oh, no, of course not, kids. In fact, I don't even have breakfast at this point."

The 3 kids and their grandpa stood a little confused.

"It usually doesn't take that long for you to get food for your family, Blu." Eduardo said.

"Oh, yes, I know, sir, but the thing is… When I actually found food, within our borders of course, I met someone, someone who I haven't seen here before."

"Oh, and who was that, daddy?" Bia asked curiously.

Blu sighed and said: "Kids, Eduardo, you're never gonna guess who is standing outside of this hollow."

This made the kids and Eduardo even more curious.

"Who is it, Blu?" Eduardo asked.

"Eduardo, SURPRISE!" Blu said as he pointed his wings to the hollow.

And with that, Sapphire entered the hollow's entrance.

Eduardo was a bit confused, she was indeed not part of the tribe, but something told him that he met this bird before.

"Hello, Eddie…" Sapphire said in a soft voice, almost on the brink of tears.

Eduardo suddenly gasped. Was this a wonderful dream he was in?

"It… It can't be…" Eduardo stuttered. "Tiago?"

"Yes, pop-pop?" Tiago replied?

"Can you pitch my wing for a moment to see if I am not dreaming?" Eduardo asked, not letting his sight off Sapphire.

Tiago hesitated at first but did as his pop-pop asked him. Eduardo flinched a bit from the pain, but then said: "Thank, you, Tiago, now I know I am not dreaming."

"No, Eddy, you're not dreaming, and neither am I." Sapphire said softly and with a bit of a crackly voice.

"Eddie? I know only two bird who say that to pop-pop, and that are Aunt Mimi and Felipe." Carla said confused.

Sapphire: "When the loggers came, there was so much fire and smoke and…"

Eduardo: "I had Jewel under my wing, but when I looked back, she was gone…"

Sapphire: "I went back and then…"

Eduardo (saddening): "That flaming branch fell on you and you fell to the ground. I-, I thought that you were gone from this world, just like with our Jewel at that point…"

Sapphire (on the brink of tears): "I am here now."

Sapphire couldn't hold it anymore; tears fell down her face like a waterfall.

"Eddie." she said in a sad tone, while hugging her husband.

Blu looked at the couple with a smile, whilst the kids were still confused.

"All these years, I missed you so much, Eddie." Sapphire said, tears still streaming down her face.

"I missed you too, Sapphire, I missed you too." Eduardo said softly.

They looked at each other with saddened smiles and didn't say anything, before their beaks touched each other into a passionate kiss.

Now Carla, Bia and Tiago were really dumbfounded. Did their grandpa just kiss a complete stranger?

"Uh, dad?" Tiago asked Blu.

"Yes, Ti?" Blu replied.

"What in the world is going on here? Does pop-pop know this madam?"

Sapphire then turned around and looked at her grandchildren with eyes wide open and much awe, which confused the kids even more.

It was then that Bia noticed something.

"Wait a minute… This ma'am looks almost exactly like mom, except that there's an age difference!" Bia exclaimed while not trying to say that Sapphire is older, since that would be bad-mannered.

Carla and Tiago then also noticed it. "Yeah, you're right, sis." Carla said.

"Kids, this is Sapphire. Your pop-pop's mate and your mother's mother." Blu said to his children.

"Our… Our grandmother?" Bia asked.

"Yes, dear. The three of you know for more than a year that you have a grandpa, and now your grandma will also be there for you."

"We have a grandmother! Woohoo!" Tiago exclaimed, while jumping, making his sisters smile.

"It's nice to meet you ma'am." Bia said politely.

"There is no 'ma'am' here for you, young lady. You can call me 'Granny Sapphie'."

"Granny, Sapphie?" Carla said, "Ooh, I like that."

Bia and Tiago nodded their heads that they agreed on it.

"Your father told me all about you." Sapphire said.

She looked at Carla. "You must be Carla, the one who loves dancing and music, am I correct?"

"Daddy spoke the truth, Granny Sapphie." Carla said happily, whilst looking at her father.

"You look almost exactly like your Aunt Mimi." Sapphire said.

Sapphire then looked at Bia and said: "You must be Bia, the smart and intelligent girl, who loves to learn the secrets of the jungles and beyond, correct?"

"Indeed, it is, Granny Sapphie." Bia answered politely.

"When I look at you, Bia, you remind me of your mother when she was just a chick. You look almost exactly like her, except your eyes, of course, they are your father's." Sapphire said whilst looking at Blu. Blu smiled, whilst Bia blushed a bit.

Sapphire then looked at Tiago. "And you must be the brave, daring and free-spirited Tiago, am I right?"

"Totally, Granny Sapphie." Tiago answered smoothly.

"Your father was right; you truly are an almost exact miniature version of him." Sapphire said whilst rubbing his crest with her talons.

Sapphire couldn't hold it anymore and opened her wing. "Come here the three of you." Sapphire said with a tear rolling down her face.

The kids hugged their grandmother, which made Blu and Eduardo smile. Blu then looked outside of the hollow and saw a familiar figure coming in the direction of the hollow. It was Jewel.

Blu gasped and said: "Guys, I see Jewel is coming."

"My daughter?" Sapphire said, looking at Blu with open eyes.

"Yes, get behind Eduardo. I wish to make this also a surprise for her."

Sapphire did as Blu told her to, just in time before Jewel entered the hollow.

"Oh, there you are, honey. I was wondering where you were." Jewel said whilst giving him a short kiss on his beak.

"So, have you found breakfast, or did you had to ask daddy for help?" Jewel asked jokingly.

"No, honey, I don't have breakfast, but I have something more valuable than breakfast for you." Blu replied.

"Oh? and what's that?" Jewel asked curiously.

Blu looked to his kids and Eduardo.

Blu: "Jewel…"

Eduardo: "Jewel…"

Bia, Carla and Tiago: "Mom…"

"Surprise!" they all said at the same time, pointing their wings at Sapphire, who had her head bowed down.

Jewel was a bit dumbstruck; she didn't recognize this female bird. Then, however, Sapphire lifted her head up, tears still in her eyes.

"My gem…" Sapphire said.

Jewel's eyes suddenly widened, and she gasped.

"I-, I can't believe it…" Jewel said with heavy breathing.

"This is not a dream, Jewel." Sapphire said.

Tears then spilled out of Jewel eyes as she ran with her wings open to Sapphire.

"Mommy!" Jewel said as she hugged her mother.

And with that, Jewel had both her parents back.

To be continued…