Rio: Forever Young

Chapter 1 – The Miracle

It felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest and thrown right in front of her. Linda could do nothing but sob at the sight of her precious blue macaw being stolen by smugglers. Tulio, still wearing his ridiculous bright blue carnival outfit, put his arm around her gently as she laid her head on his shoulder. Fernando kept surveying the sunset, looking for anything that could lead to the fact that the two cerulean macaws were still alive. The bright orange skies of Rio were beginning to fade away. Each second that passed by seemed like a millennium, but Linda could only stand by and watch her memories disappear.

"It's all over," she thought. "I'll never see Blu again…why did this have to happen? Why did we have to leave Minnesota?"

Linda's mind was racing so fast she began to tremble under Tulio's arms.

"I'm sorry Linda…for everything," Tulio said with a sharp pain in his voice. "I should have never brought you here. I was selfish, wanting Blu to mate with Jewel just for my own selfish purposes. Please…please don't be upset. I promise I will do everything in my power to stop those smugglers and…"

He was stopped by a sudden rush of anger from Linda as she began cursing Tulio.

"IT IS YOUR FAULT!" she screamed. "YOU'RE A TERRIBLE MAN. YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS AND NOW MY BLU IS GONE! ALL MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES WITH HIM HAVE BEEN WIPPED AWAY BECAUSE OF YOU! HOW CAN YOU JUST STAND HERE AND NOT FEEL ANY TYPE OF LOSS OR PAIN!"

Tulio immediately took his hands off of her and backed away in horror. His self-esteem cracked from underneath him as he fell to the ground. Fernando turned around and his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Linda, please stop!" Fernando pleaded. "I understand what it's like to lose someone close to you. I-I've been living in Rio for the past two years without a family. I made a hut with nothing but scraps and garbage and scavenged the streets for food and drink."

Warm tears began to fall from his eyes and soak into his shirt.

"I miss my family more than anything in the world and I would give up anything just to have them back. Linda, we can get through this together! We need each other!"

Linda calmed down, still glaring at Tulio, who was cowering behind the golden float the couple used to track down the smugglers. He began to slowly creep toward Linda with a sympathetic look on his face. He began to speak, but his voice was still shaky from the verbal beating he was just given.

"L-Look Linda, If I-I knew t-this w-w-would happen, I would've n-never o-o-offered to bring you out here." He began to stand firm. "Fernando is right though. We need each other right now. Sadness isn't going to help us track down those smugglers."

Linda was lost in her thoughts, unable to process what has just happened. However, she was able to find the tiniest amount of light left in her heart and trust Tulio. She knew he meant no harm, but she was too blindsided by Blu's capture to focus.

"I'm sorry for freaking out Tulio," she said apologetically. "It's just that something this chaotic has never happened to me before and I…I didn't know how to react."

"It's okay Linda, I understand." Tulio replied. "I put all the blame on myself for what has taken place, but we must stay strong. We must stay strong for Blu and Jewel."

Linda began to walk toward Tulio and hug him. He put his arms around her and comforted her. Such a feeling of comfort made both of them feel better. They knew they had a near-impossible task ahead of them, but they would never give up. Fernando then began to jog towards the couple when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Something was in the air, but the boy couldn't make out what it was. Then it hit him like a truck. It was odd. For a second he thought his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Can it…can it be? No, that's impossible…there's no way…" He squinted, trying to get a better view of what was in the sky. It was getting closer and the closer it got the faster Fernando's heart began to beat. The boy jumped and pointed his index finger out towards the sky, towards the blue object that was rapidly approaching them.

"Linda, look!" he yelled. Linda and Tulio turned around and looked up at the sky. At first they didn't know where Fernando was looking or what he was pointing at, but then it suddenly clicked.

"It's a miracle!" She screamed in her mind as loud as she possibly could. It was Blu.

Author's Note - I am a first time writer, so I don't expect my work to be perfect. My first few chapters may look short, but please bare with me. Please leave comments, but only positive feedback or constructive criticism accepted (NO FLAMING.)