Frida loved the wonderfulness nature reflected during every sunset, so she used to contemplate the forest around her from the treetop with astonishment. One day, while admiring the view, she closed her eyes as a memory crossed her mind. She remembered hearing an amazing whistle coming from a man below. It was so magnificent that it made her walked down to reach it hoping to learn how to make that sound she had never heard before. When Frida was about to tell him that he whistled beautifully, the man moved fast and abruptly trying to capture her. Immediately, she opened her eyes, trying to forget the anguish she felt. She was secure now, in her tree. She had promised to never leave her beloved tree because no danger could reach her there. She concentrated on the view, the only thing that made her feel calm again.
Frida was a bird, but not a very common one; her feathers were extremely colorful and shiny like the sunset. She lived in a big and beautiful tree which leaves were in perfect harmony with the wind. Her tree was her most prized possession because it provided her everything she needed: food, warmth and security.
Fos was a daring, strong, blue bird with a long tail. He was independent and loved traveling alone looking for new adventures. His greatest ambition was to discover all the secrets the world had. In one of his travels looking for discovering the unknown he stopped at a tree to eat something. While he was eating, Fos saw a bird that was in a treetop, this bird looked amazed by something. He wanted to know what the bird was admiring that seemed so mesmerizing. Fos looked everywhere but could not find what it was and kept moving.
While night was falling, Frida was trying to grab a fruit from a thin branch, but the fruit fell down. Then, she tried to look for another fruit, but surprisingly she discovered there was no fruit left in the whole tree. It had not happened before, so Frida knew that it definitely was a problem. Her solution was to start crying until someone could come to help her. After minutes of crying, someone heard her; it was Fos that flew to her tree.
“Hi, my name is Fos. Are you ok? Why are you crying?” Fos asked worriedly.
“The only fruit that was left in the tree fell down when I tried to grab it.” Frida answered as she looked at the ground below.
“So what? Can’t you just get it back?” said Fos, calmly because he thought it was not a big deal.
“How am I supposed to do it? Forget it! It is just impossible.” Frida said as betting on a sure thing.
“Of course you can reach it by flying down the tree and getting it back.” Fos assured, staring confused at her.
Immediately, an awkward silence came, and Fos realized what her problem was: She had never learned how to fly; she did not even know that she could do it. Can you imagine having wings but not knowing what they are for? Suddenly, it came to his mind what he had to do: to teach her what he knew so well.
“Don’t worry, everything is going to be all right. What’s your name?” Fos calming Frida.
“Frida”, she answered hanging her head and feeling that Fos could see the biggest fears that lied within her heart.
Fos flew away to look for some fruit and left Frida alone not knowing what to do. Frida felt everything was wrong; all her fears came immediately. What would she do now? Fos came back soon. He brought a bunch of fruits for Frida and himself.
“These are different kinds of fruits. I brought several because I did not know which kind you prefered” Fos told Frida, smiling.
“Mmmm… I do not know… I… I have only tasted my tree’s fruits, and they are delicious” Frida confessed.
Fos could not believe how many things Frida had missed because she could not fly. Fos definitely needed to help this bird because Frida must have been really sad. Fos saw how Frida tried the first bite of the fruit, and was captivated by how happy she seemed with just one bite. If only Frida knew how many different things she could taste out there.
Later that night, they felt a storm coming
“Come Fos! Fast! In here!!” Said Frida pulling Fos wing inside her hole in the tree.
The first thing Fos saw was the nest. It was a comfortable and soft nest made of little, different, and brown tones branches, filled with colorful leaves. Next to the nest there was a platter of water carefully designed to collect rain drops. The sun was reflected in the water and in the stream of rain that fell in the platter, sending bright and magical sparks through the entire house. As a decoration, Frida had put seeds of the tree’s fruits which made everything inside her place colorful and filled with a garden-like smell. Fos was astonished by how nice and peaceful Frida’s home seemed. He could not believe that such a nice place could exist inside a simple tree.
“Do you like it?” Frida asked, noticing Fos’ glance
“Oh yes, Frida! It is marvelous! Did you build it?” Fos said, not even looking at Frida. He did not want to miss a detail from this warm and extraordinary home.
“Yeah”, she confessed, not giving so much importance to the place she had patiently built “When leaves or branches were falling from my tree, I climbed down and grabbed them to build my home. When storms had come, I protected myself from them thanks to my tree. I do not need anything else”, she said, touching the tree bark with so much love.
Fos had never had anything like that. Something as simple as a tree, but that meant so much to him. He was always looking for new adventures, not giving importance to all the special things he already had. Fos definitely had to do something for Frida, who without knowing had taught him to appreciate the little details of life.
“Frida, what are you going to do now?” Fos began, looking directly at her eyes.
“I do not know what am I going to do next, Fos. I’m going to plan something. Don’t worry.” Frida exclaimed not wanting Fos’ pity.
“I can teach you how to fly, if you want. You’re a bird; it’s your nature, and you are capable enough. Your wings are strong, long and beautiful. Let me help you. I am not going to hurt you,” Fos proposed trying to convince Frida.
Frida did not know what to answer. She had not told Fos her fears; however, he knew exactly what to tell her. Did he really mean it? Would he just help her without hurting her? Frida closed her eyes, trying to find a solution. She was big now. She was in her tree, no danger could reach her there; she repeated this on and on in her mind as a mantra. She found the courage and without thinking too much Frida said,
“Ok”, trying to get all the courage she needed.
While the storm was passing, Fos taught what she needed to fly. He showed Frida how to move her wings, how to use the wind in favor, how to breathe, and how to land. Frida paid careful attention to everything Fos told her. Frida did not want to be distracted in such special lesson for her. She did everything Fos asked her to do.
Fos helped Frida in her new task for a couple of days. One complete day was for learning which the steps were, and another day was to prepare Frida’s body. Fos helped Frida releasing and relaxing her wings. The others were to overcome the fear Frida had. This took more than one day, but Fos tried to help Frida as much as he could. Before Fos finished explaining everything, a cold breeze blew for some minutes; however, they helped each other to stay warm, which brought them a true feeling of soul companionship.
When the sun was beginning to rise, Fos woke up. He did not know in which moment they had fallen asleep. Frida was still sleeping next to him. Fos observed her for a few moments, but then remembered that he needed to tell her something.
“Frida, Frida, wake up little bird,” he said as tenderly as he could. Frida opened her eyes realizing she had fallen asleep.
“What happened?” She asked him as soon as she opened her eyes. “Frida, I have helped you as much as I can, but I cannot stay to see the results. I need to do something important. I have faith in you Frida. I wish you the best,” Fos told her, he gave her a sweet smile and flew away. Not even giving Frida time to say anything.
Frida wished him luck, too. She smiled because of the adventure she had just lived in her tree.
That day Frida decided she would try to accomplish her task. She owed it to Fos and herself. She would at least try. “What could be the worst thing that could happen?” Frida thought. Frida gave a last look to her beloved tree and thanked it for all the things it had given to her. Frida was scared, surprised and excited at the same time. Frida turned around and looked to all the things she was leaving behind, closed her eyes and released her wings feeling the wind with every single feather of her body, and courageously following Fos’ teachings took off into the air, nailing her first flight. She was flying! She could not believe it. Fos was right, she really could do it!
