The Scarlet Macaw

The air was hot, thick, as it always was. No breeze, yet the density made the area feel cooler. Overtop the shade of the canopies helped soothe from the intensity the heat would bring. This was living. This was home. Seeing the rich, lush green in every direction created the illusion of cooler weather. A satisfying clean and pure air filled Alessa’s lungs. Home. It was like heaven, each of the animals doing their own thing. Exploring and playing, learning, and growing. The sounds of capybaras playing and sloshing around. The sweet hum of birds in the treetops. The giggle of monkeys as branches snapped from parents leaping from one to the next. Yet, no playful squarks from the macaws. No macaw insight. Something was wrong. Peace vanished and fear was instilled. Alessa searched in every direction. Running and touching the land, communing with the trees to find nests. No macaws. Heaviness fell, as she closed her eyes trying to reach out spiritually. Something felt to be watching her. A giant scarlet macaw bigger than life, towering quietly before her. Its wings rested on the ground. Stunning. Without hesitation, a loud “Rrraaaawwwhhhhk” came from the creature. Alessa woke up.

Remaining still for but a moment, she ran through the room into the canopy, green leaves whipping at her arms and the slush of mud beneath. Spotting a hole, and diving feet first through it. Mud grabbed onto her legs slowing her impact. A loud thump would have alerted anyone in the room of her presence.

“Alessa! This really needs to stop. It's not right for the soon-to-be Shaman to get so dirty.” Grandma said.

“Ha! Surely it means I commune more with nature!” Alessa smartly retorted.

“Something bothering you, dear?” Grandma probed.

“How do you always know? Why can’t I get that gift of wisdom?”

“What else brings you to my quarters, unless you needed reminding about your special interview with The CARE. Which I’m sure you haven’t forgotten about as the whole peacekeeping, advocacy thing is so important to you.”

“What?! IS that today? No way. No. No, I’m going to be late! Catch you later Gran!”

Brushing through the thick, green overhang of leaves and growth provided the chance for a dry shower. It wasn’t far to reach the oversized concrete jungle, spelling out the letters ‘C.A.R.E.’ Underneath it stated: The Conservation of Amazonian Rainforests and Ecosystems. Alessa stood before the building, her skin forming lumps and a brief shiver ran over her. Here goes.

Before she could touch the door handle, someone internally opened it. A smile on their face from ear to ear, greeting and guiding her. The air felt stuffy, windows were closed. An artificial fragrance of jasmine found its way to Alessa’s nose. Intense coolness blew on her skin. Strange this place, cold and without a heart. A plump red chair sat opposite a wooden stump. A projection on the wall of an image proposing to be the Amazon. Why not a glass wall to showcase the actual Amazon. Alessa thought. Her hand ran over the plump red chair before approaching the wooden stump.

“Brian will be with you shortly, please make yourself comfortable.” The guide said before leaving.

An aromatic, nutty smell entered before a man in a navy suit walked in. He was holding two mugs.

“Fresh Brazilian coffee! Doesn’t it excite your tastebuds Alessa? I am Brian, by the way, I do believe we’ve chatted in brief before.” Brian exclaimed as he placed one mug next to Alessa.

“I’ve never tried it.”

“Really? Well now is the golden opportunity. I cannot operate unless I’ve had at least one mug. Now I don’t want this interview to seem too formal. Have you ever been in an interview before? There horrendously boring. No cameras in this interview either, I don't think that would be to your liking. I’m keen to find out more about your tribe, why you live in the Amazon.”

“Where else would I live? The Amazon is my home. I am to become the next Shaman of the tribe.” Alessa defended.

“Shaman! Woah. That’s a lot of responsibility. You seem so young. How can the Tribe be sure of finding the right person to be Shaman?” Brian questioned.

“It is in the heart of a person. Long ago our Tribe and neighboring Tribes resided in the Amazon basin. They were good at depicting the seasons and changes of the rainforest, but this one time, flash flooding came, and the Tribe lost greatly. Since then, we have lived in and near the Highlands.” Alessa explained.

“What about your parents or direct relatives? Could not one of them be the next Shaman?” Brian questioned.

“No. A large portion of the Tribe was eliminated by poachers, gold miners, and colonists. My family was among those Tribal people. All they wanted was peacekeeping tactics, not to be slaughtered and manipulated with guns and resources, just to have our lands harvested and animals kidnapped for the greed of other countries.”

“Quite the sore spot, my condolences. So this Shaman aspect, have you been chosen because of the few numbers left in the Tribe?” Brian pressed on.

“I have no issue being the next Shaman, it is a great honor. I know my heart, and I know this land. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t eat the fish in the rivers. Each life has a place and a purpose. I sense the spirits strongly.”

“And this spirit sense, is that true to all Amazonians?”

“Yes. We believe in the spirit of all living creatures. Flora and fauna alike.”

“I believe we scholars and the Westernised world call that Animisms. How can others who are not of Amazonian decent access the spiritual world? Is your religion open?”

“Sure. Often times tourists believe to see the spiritual planes when they mix certain hallucinogenic plants together.” Alessa stated smugly.

“I see. That would be something to try. Perhaps like your experience of coffee. If you don’t want that mug, I’ll happily have it.” Brian stated before continuing.

“There’s an ancient myth of a scarlet macaw that can be used to govern and rule. Surely you have heard the tale before, or even seen the legendary macaw?”

“I’ve heard the story. It was a folk tale my grandparents would tell. The fact of the matter is when the story originated so many tribes were using many of the hallucinogenic plants and mixing the types, the stories became as you said – a myth. The previous Shaman and I have never experienced seeing a spirit released from the flora or fauna body. It is simply a myth, Mr. Brian.”

“That’s a real shame. Those scarlet macaws are really something aren’t they?”

The oversized scarlet macaw from the dream came pressing back into Alessa’s mind. Odd the timing of the dream and the questions of Mr. Brian.

“Something caught your attention there Alessa, anything you want to share?” Brian probed.

“No. I was thinking about how folly the concept was. Hard to believe anyone who uses mixed plants. Though I’m curious what the C.A.R.E wants to do with the macaws? Why did you mention that animal? Why not the capybaras or the piranhas or monkeys?” Alessa quickly replied.

“Right, yes I’ve forgotten to tell you what the C.A.R.E is all about! You mentioned before about peacekeeping. We want that, we want to work and learn from the Amazonians. The Macaws are such a beautiful bird, and our organization was founded by the Macaw Conservation in Florida, which is in the United States. Ah come to this globe I’ll show you.”

Brian pointed to the distance between the Amazon and Florida.

“Why are the macaws in Florida? How did they get there?” Alessa enquired.

“Well. Sometimes poachers have come to the Amazon to take the birds to other places. Dirty, horrible people I know. But this is something we are hoping to work with you on. To raise awareness about the mistreatment towards macaws and keeping them in their homeland. What are your thoughts?” Brian explained.

“Yes! Absolutely. The macaws are not nesting well in recent years. They used to nest up to hundreds of meters above the land, now they have halved from that. Unfortunately, it makes them easier to capture.” Alessa replied.

“Alright well. I will get to work on a plan and check back with the mainland team, maybe they could see about releasing the birds in Florida back home? Have a think about what contribution you would like to make to this team. And please check into this facility whenever you like. I feel like we are going to be working partners!” Brian closed, as he picked up his mug and a file of paper and left the room.

Alessa pondered about the dream again, as she left the concrete jungle back into familiar grounds.

***

In a private, darkened room Brian made a phone call.

“Hey Emily, great news! I have the next Shaman on board. She bought everything I said, though she seems to think the Scarlet Macaw story is a hoax and nothing more. I think we’ll be able to get past the peacekeeping and more to the bird-napping.”

“Great work bro. I’ve organized a team and we are flying down that way as we speak. When I land, we can get to work just like the good ole days! Over and out.”

***

The air felt thick and heavy even the forest felt downcast. Alessa touched the earth. The mulch, damp in her fingertips yet grainy almost sandy. She placed her palm direct to the earth. A sadness pumped like a dying heartbeat; a tear dropped on her hand.

What is going on? I could go talk to Grandma, but she would encourage me to figure this out myself. What was that dream? The legendary scarlet isn’t real. Why is Brian so interested in it? Could it be real? The bloodline to summon the bird is lost, they don’t need to know that.

A grunting noise sliced Alessa’s thoughts.

“Capy! What brings you here?” Alessa embraced the capybara as it playfully dug around in her hands.

“Oh, this? It’s just mulch, I thought the Amazon was feeling sad. You seem happy. Come let’s wander.”

Twinkling light from the sun shot through branches, creating patterns on the rainforest floor. Water glistened. The rise of the afternoon sun. A jaguar sprinted across a muddy path, scaring, and taking to flight hundreds of green butterflies. The jaguar seemed disjointed in its path, with no real direction yet force and power in her stride. The butterflies did not need to be startled. Capy ducked behind Alessa. The jaguar stopped, hung her head down, slowly approaching. Pressing her body against Alessa suggesting being petted. Alessa lay her hand on the jaguar’s head. A slight groan released, and she dashed off into the shrubs.

A tickling sensation roamed in Alessa’s hand. Negative spiritual energy. She thought. Something is amiss.

Alessa looked at Capy, her hand petted over the short furry animal. The energy leaped into Capy, who frantically jumped and squealed. Snorting as if in pain and running in a disjointed path as the jaguar had prior.

“Capy! I’m sorry! Please come back!” Alessa hurried into the scrubs the same way Capy and the jaguar did.

The long grass made tracking difficult, equaled with the heat intensity from the sun out in the open planes. Getting back into cover a Harpy Eagle watched Alessa go by. Not a flinch. Something wrong with that picture. Alessa thought to herself. I should be dead. Her hand touched the tree with the Harpy Eagle, intense darkness crossed into her, goosebumps ignited across her body as she breathed into the tree, calming her own presence and the tree. The eagle flew away when a net propelled out to catch it.

“Poachers!” Alessa exclaimed.

Keeping low through the thick grass line and twisting through with the branches Alessa kept a low profile. The land rose toward a group of five poachers. Armed with guns and weaponry. Cages and bags on the ground and a nearby camp were quickly being assembled by two or three additional men. The group of five began to approach, their speech became audible and Alessa feared moving.

“Plan is to capture as many of the macaws as possible.”

“No. ONLY the scarlet macaws, I don’t care for the other species it must specifically be the scarlets. Bring them back to base, then Brian or myself will conduct the experiment. One of us is the rightful heir and we will unlock this mystery! Power will be ours!” A female declared.

“Brian.” Alessa whispered in horror.

“For power.” The group chanted as they separated to their own jobs.

The female wore tactical gear with a red scarf around her shoulders. It had the marking from an ancient tribe. Alessa recognized it as the tribe who washed away with the Basin floods. The female did not appear to be any descendant of the ancient Tribe. It was necessary to claim the scarf back to the Amazonians. Following the female carefully through the thick grass, Alessa spotted an overarching tree presumably the female would walk through the area. Reaching the tree branches faster than this girl, Alessa waited for the perfect moment. Gently using the tree branch to snag the scarf, while letting the ants on the branch also trickle into the tactical gear. Helpful swap over.

The female retreated quickly toward her base camp complaining of bites and stings. Alessa jumped and spotted Capy, who snorted and dashed in her direction. Oh no, here goes my element of surprise. Capy's movement swung obviously while crashing through the encampment making it's way toward Alessa.

“That native has my scarf, after her!” The itching female shouted.

Alessa and Capy bolted. Navigating through the Amazon was a daily task, escaping poachers was not easy. Capy disappeared into the bushland crevices, Alessa pushed on to home at least to the Highlands.

The sun hid behind the clouds, the momentary darkness helped Alessa’s footprint be hidden from the poachers. Swinging from vines to branches, over leaves, and onto heavy canopies, sliding down stems and rolling across mud-banks. Home so close. Using hands and feet Alessa scaled the staggering rock wall, ready to slide down the terrain into the Tribal base.

A strange hum hovered in earshot, ever coming closer.

“Stop!” The female had caught up, along with another member of the poaching group. They were connected to ziplines. It became evident they had spent time in the Amazon basin prior, given their equipment of choice. Alessa recognized some of the features of the female that now stood before her. A memory flashed of a girl helping a group of poachers nab macaws from their nests into cages and bags. A sad day for the Amazon, families broken. Macaw partnerships were torn apart. Babies taken, eggs, parents. Macaw poachers. The male poacher wore one of the macaw tail feathers on his belt.

“Return the scarf.” The female demanded.

“No.” Alessa replied.

“Shoot her.” The female coldly stated.

“Given the scarf is so important to you, go get it!” Alessa whipped the scarf with force down the side of the rocky ledge.

The poachers groan as they began to scale the rocky path.

Suddenly the land rumbled and quaked, a ripple cast across the Amazon Basin. Alessa fell to the earth touching it. Peering off the edge she saw the spiritual energy of a rich red macaw. Its wingspan was enormous. Its head was bigger than her whole body. The legendary scarlet macaw. Alessa remembered her dream and she covered her ears.

The gigantic scarlet macaw screeched, the volume was strong and piercing the poachers fell down the rocky ledge disjointedly. The spirit bird circled around then picked up Alessa, she climbed atop into the body space. Her Shamanistic presence is filled with the spiritual connection from the macaw.

The macaw picked up the poachers and flew them back to their camp. Every man-made device the macaw flew over cracked, broke, and fell to pieces. Like a lightning storm crackling over metal.

The camp blew up and the macaw grabbed the people, hoisting them to safety from the explosions.

Any of the previously captured macaws were freed, they squawked and flew with the legendary macaw.

The bird made its way over the ocean to Florida, flapping its large wings to create a storm breaking apart the conservative, freeing the scarlet macaws and other macaws from the premises. The poachers were dropped off and left, as Alessa flew with the flock back home to the Amazon.

The storm cleared, and once again the skies were filled with the large, playful parrots in their home. High in the canopy trees, gliding and playing with other macaws. Their vocalization soothed the heart of the Amazon once more, as the land returned to peace.

The legendary macaw landed allowing Alessa to return to land. The bird dipped its head and held one wing over the other in a seemingly bowing pose. The tribe was there to witness the display as they too were able to see the legendary macaw honoring Alessa for defending the land.

The spiritual energy of the bird sparkled away in the afternoon sunlight, returning the scarf to the ground.

The Amazonian Elders picked up the scarf taking it into the village for safekeeping.

Alessa thought back to her dream and felt reassured, as Capy distracted her hoping for a scratch.

The End.