Prison Break
In the Amazon Rain forest of South America, Larry witnesses his friends get maliciously kidnapped. After the incident, Larry is determined to rescue them and bring his friends back home.
All of Larry’s friends are in jail.
Their sentences? Well, nobody really knows exactly what will happen to them or why they are in jail in the first place. Every single moment of the few months Larry’s been alone, he attempted to track down the boys and the girls that were taken from his neighborhood by the kidnappers. Those friends of his, the ones who were there with him throughout his whole life, are the most important people Larry knows. He took a second to think–remembering all the times they spent playing together in the trees, all the funny conversations they had, and all the times they got into trouble together. If they get hurt, Larry would never be able to live with himself. He was willing to risk his safety, his sanity, and his life, if it meant that he could rescue his friends and make sure they’re safe.
Larry took a long twig in his sharply hooked, black beak and threw it out of his cozy nest. There was no time to waste–he’d have to be efficient if he wanted to save all the other macaws that were taken. Larry took a deep breath. After all, staying calm was the only way to get anything done. If I remember correctly, the kidnappers had long parachute-looking things that my guys got stuck in. But why did it have holes…? You know what, it’s fine. Now, which direction did they go in?
Larry spread his vibrant red wings and glided to the top of his tree. He slowly turned his head around, taking in all the information that he could from the canopy. It was pointless. All he could see was green leaves while the scorching sun hit his body. Maybe I should ask someone. Larry hopped down onto the branch below him and continued going down the staircase of twigs the tree provided. After a minute of searching, Larry saw someone who was a witness to the injustice. A monkey. Hey, I remember this guy! He definitely saw where the big apes took my friends! Larry spread his wings and glided, landing in front of the tall and lanky spider-monkey.
“Hello sir! My name’s Larry and I’m looking for my friends that got kidnapped. Have you seen them…by any chance?”
The monkey stared at Larry, making a puzzled face. “Ooooh oooh ahhh ahhh!”
“What?”, asked a confused (and scared) Larry.
“Purrrrr!,” growled the Monkey.
“Ok then? What’s your name, sir?”, inquired Larry.
The monkey did not respond.
Larry stood still awkwardly, as the wind blew on him, his feathers moving slightly to the right. This was no use. He needed to get some information. He remembered that there were other birds down in the south of the forest, so he flapped his wings, took off, and hovered in the sky, making sure he was going to the right place. As he flew, he could see nothing but green- Rubber trees, Passion Fruit trees, Monkey Brush Vines… oh God, this isn’t helpful at all- how on Earth would he be able to find anyone in this forest? Ten minutes later, he dove down into a lush palm tree, relieved that he could take a rest and get some shade from the scorching sun. He pushed through large leaves and stepped over some rough coconuts. The hairs on the fruit tickled Larry’s feet, but he kept moving forward through the lush vines. Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his back.
As Larry turned around, he saw another macaw. The bird was slightly smaller than him, with bright, lapis blue feathers, and mustard yellow surrounding its eyes and bordering its black beak. It was perched on the same branch as him, not moving a muscle, and both birds stayed silent and stared at each other. The blue macaw turned its head away from him, averting its eyes from the silent encounter.
“May I help you?” asked Larry. He ruffled his rainbow-colored wings, waiting for a response.
“Hi, my name is Rosa,” the blue bird replied softly. “I heard that you were looking for your friends that were taken by the big apes with nets, so I followed you here.”
Larry’s eyes lit up, his heart pounding hard and loud. His quizzical look tensed up, and he became deathly serious. “Yes. I am. Are you saying that you’ve seen them? Do you know where they are?”
Rosa took a deep breath. “I’ve seen them, but I lost track of them. I was hiding in the bushes, but the monsters took them into a cage and loaded them into a truck. They were heading south, but I don’t know where. But, the trucks left behind marks that we can follow. I can show them to you.”
“Fine then. I’ll follow you. Lead the way, Rosa.”
Process
Recently, I have been interested in the workings of nature and wildlife. After having a meeting with my mentor, I decided to set my piece in the Amazon Rain forest because she showed me several readings taking place in nature. I decided to write the introduction to make the reader believe that the writing is from the perspective of a human, and later reveal that the main character is a large bird. While writing the story, I learned that the format of writing is the part that was the most important in immersing the reader into the story, so my mentor and I focused our attention on that aspect the most and made sure to utilize it to make the story an entertaining one.
