Captured But Quickly Returned

“Macaw, Macaw, where is everyone?”

I’ve just woken from a nap in my tree hollow and I can’t see where any of my family have gone. It’s a little scary to wake up and find myself alone.

“Anyway let me tell you a little bit about myself and you too would be a little scared of waking up alone.”

“I’m a very young adolescent Scarlet Macaw. So young that I have only, in the last week, come into my adult feathers,” I start proudly preening my red, yellow and blue feathers.

“Oh, I know I’m just devastating gorgeous in my new adult feathers. That’s probably why everyone has disappeared. Jealously is a curse and I can’t help being so devilishly handsome.”

I continue preening and wait for the return of my family. Waiting, waiting as the hours pass by.

“Where could they be? I’ve only been out of the nest for a week, just as long as I’ve had my adult feathers. I was seriously only joking about them being jealous. Where could they be?”

I’m getting very, very concerned and frightened. I don’t like being alone.

“Macaw, Macaw,” I yell.

“You can understand now, from my yelling, why humans have named us as they have. The name Macaw has come about as that’s all their human ears can hear when we call out to each other. Silly humans.”

The day wears on and night begins to cover the rain forest. Still no return of my family.

A couple more days pass and I’m getting frantic. I am all alone and I don’t much care for it.

Day four of being alone and I decide to fly through the rainforest searching for my kind. I can’t be the only Macaw in the forest. I fly high and search the tree tops, I fly low and search the nesting holes, I fly through the branches, but not a single sighting of my family.

I’m alone and I’m lonely. If I can’t have family, then I need to chose some other creature for company, I think to myself.

Thinking aloud now, “what creature would be the best as a companion? A snake? No too dangerous. A rabbit? No too many animals hunt the rabbit. Oh, I know the perfect companion, a human. Yes I will get myself a human companion.”

The next morning, full of excitement, I fly off in search of a human companion. I search the countryside but all the humans are too big. I search the city streets but again they are all the wrong size.

I am getting wing weary so I stop for a rest on an open window sill. I close my eyes to rest a bit, when I hear a gurgle and a tiny laugh. On opening my eyes, there laying across the room is this perfect size little human and she is looking at me and smiling. I fell in love instantly, she is my perfect companion.

She is laying on her back gurgling but she is totally alone. I wonder who just left her there alone? They obviously don’t care for her or want her, she’s too little to leave alone like this. I will save her and take her far away from here. I will look after her and we will be the best of friends. Two creatures abandoned and left alone to find comfort in each other.

A couple of little bird hops and I’m next to this gorgeous little human girl. In my beak I gather up the four corners of the rug she is laying on and holding tight I lift off and fly out the window. I take my new companion back to my comfortable hole in the tree.

As I drop the corners of the rug I hear this little squeal of glee and notice she is smiling and happy. Someone has put some artificial feathers on this baby but I have no idea why. So she’s not old enough to have her feathers yet. I use my beak to remove the artificial pieces. They don’t even feel or look like feathers.

“Macaw, Macaw little one what is your name,” I asked.

Oh no I must have been too loud as she is screwing up her face and making weird noises. She also has water running out of her eyes. How strange. Oh wait, she’s just telling me her name, which seems to be ‘Argh’, as she keeps repeating it over and over again and the water from her eyes continue.

“Okay, okay I know your name now. You can stop repeating it over and over again,” I tell her as I snuggle up close.

I put my wing over her little belly and she quietens down and begins gurgling. We both have a nap for a few hours.

Suddenly I am awake and Argh is yelling out her name again and again. I have no idea why.

Then there is a loud noise that comes from Argh and this terrible smell. No, she has soiled my nesting hole. Didn’t her mother teach her how to perch over the edge and soil the earth below. Never soil the nesting hole.

We will have to find another comfortable hole now and I hope Argh has learnt her lesson.

I leave Argh where she is while I fly out and scout out a new nest. Didn’t take me long to find one. It’s perfect too as the tree is no longer living and the base of the hole is slightly rotten in places. Therefore if Argh forgets to perch over the edge again, everything will run out the rotten holes, leaving the nest clean.

I fly back and collect all four corners of the rug and move little Argh to our new home. She’s busy giggling away at her hands as she moves them in front of her face. Not sure why she finds that funny.

Argh dozes off again so I decide to head out and find us some food. I fly around for about an hour scouting out where the best food is. Interestingly there is a human farm not far from the nest and they grow long curved yellow fruit. I know from experience not to pick the green ones. They don’t taste nice. The yellower the better.

I found a perfect yellow one and managed to pick it and fly back to Argh. She has just woken and from the water coming from her eyes, I know she’s about to start yelling her name again.

To be honest, her constantly yelling her name over and over again is starting to get on my nerves. I’m starting to rethink the idea of having a human companion. Maybe it’s not my best idea. I miss the peaceful silence of the rainforest.

I drop the yellow fruit next to Argh and peel off the leathery coating. Inside is the nice aromatic white flesh of the fruit. I break a large chunk off and place it in Argh’s hand.

Oh dear, I cannot believe what Argh is doing. She is squishing the white flesh through her fingers and it’s turning into mush. She has tried to put some in her mouth but the end result is a huge mess. All over her face, her tummy and her hands.

Why, why would she do that? Doesn’t she like what I worked so hard to bring her?

Oh no, not again. Argh has made a loud sound from her other end and soiled the nest again. The rotten holes didn’t work as well as I thought they would and the nest is ruined. Oh, the smell.

“You’ve no idea the smell Argh has left in her wake. It’s honestly putrid. She must be rotten inside.”

I leave Argh where she is, happily making more mess with the white flesh of the fruit and happily laying in her putrid mess she made. I do not understand how she can be happily gurgling away but she is. I had to leave before the smell knocked me out cold.

As I was looking for a new nesting hole I began to think about the last couple of days.

“Having a human companion is not really working, is it,” I asked myself?

I replied, “no it’s not and it’s too much hard work. Argh doesn’t help me hunt for food. She doesn’t help me keep the nest clean, in fact it’s the opposite, she deliberately makes a mess. Plus she does nothing but lay there all day and night, expecting me to run around for her. That’s a one sided friendship, if I’ve ever seen one.”

No I miss the peace and quiet of the rainforest and the sweet smells that go with the peacefulness.

“No, I think I should cut my losses and return Argh to where I found her!”

My mind made up, I flew back to where I had left Argh, gathered the four corners of her, now very smelly rug, and flew her back through the window to where I originally found her.

“Bye Argh, I’m sorry our friendship didn’t work out as planned. Goodbye little human.”

With that I flew off, found a nice clean, warm nesting hole and laid down to saviour the blissful silence of aloneness.

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