Mystery on Macaw Mountain

1

Nico

Nico Paz-Murcia cursed the day the birds arrived. He awoke to their obnoxious squawking, like he had every day for the last three weeks. He bit down on his lip as more squawks ruined his much-needed summer snooze. The eight loud scarlet macaws were hungry, and the only way to get them to stop screaming was to feed them.

Nico crawled out of bed, slipped on his black Converse, and joined his sister in the kitchen. There he splashed cold water on his freckled face while Tessa's mumbling-and the raucous honking of their avian neighbors-reverberated between his temples.

"Nicolás? Did you hear me?" Tessa said. "The rolls are still warm. Hurry up and eat so we can go!"

His sister was always anxious to get to the birds.

"Sorry. It was a little hard to hear you with the water running and the guaras yapping," Nico grumbled.

"Doña Josefina delivered these this morning," Tessa said between mouthfuls of a fresh pancito from their neighbor, the best baker in the Sacred Valley. Doña Josefina's pan dulce, sweet rolls, and cookies were perfection.

Nico plopped himself on a chair, grabbed a hot bun from the basket, and shoved it into his face. "This is the only good thing about being on this maldita montaña all summer," he mumbled. "At least we get good bread."

"This mountain isn't cursed. Plus, we have the most beautiful winged neighbors," Tessa said. She took a sip of water and looked out the window in the direction of the macaws.

"I should get earplugs, like Felipe did," Nico said. "Smart guy."

"He's smart, but Felipe's the grumpiest guy this side of the mountain," Tessa said.

"He's right to be annoyed by them," Nico said. "They don't let anyone sleep past seven."

"The guy's mother is a baker. I don't think he's ever slept past seven. But you're right. If we don't hurry up and feed the macaws, Felipe will be banging on our door soon to shut them up."

"Did Mamá leave for work, or did she go for a jog?"

Their mother was another early bird. Nico hoped she hadn't left yet, though it felt like all she did lately was work.

"Out on her morning jog," Tessa replied.

"Remember when she and Papá would go together?"

"Of course I remember," Tessa said.

They got quiet. Neither of them liked to talk about how things used to be. Nico missed it terribly. He and Tessa went to school in the city, where their dad lived and worked. Mamá spent most of her time at the archaeological park in Copán, digging tunnels and finding eccentric relics. As soon as school had ended, Papá made the three-hour trek with them to Copán, dropped them off, and went straight back to the city.

Sixth grade had stunk for many reasons, but the biggest one was their parents' separation.

At least his primos, Jackie and Emilio, were coming to visit them from the States for that summer. The last time Nico had seen Jackie, his favorite cousin, they'd both been missing their two front teeth. Now that they were twelve, Nico wondered what she was like. He couldn't quite remember the sound of her voice or the color of her eyes, but he remembered how much fun they'd had. They'd discovered their love of Rubik's Cubes together, and Nico recalled wanting to always be by her side. Were Jackie's eyes as dark as his own? Perhaps her skin tanned easily and became more intensely freckled when exposed to a few minutes of sun, like his did. Though his aunt had sent pictures, it was hard to tell those kinds of things from a photograph. Nico was better at remembering feelings than faces.

Most important, Nico hoped that Jackie would help him figure out a way to get rid of "the birdman" for good. If his parents were ever going to get back together, Frank needed to disappear from the picture. The birdman had brought more than just loud red macaws to their home. Nico was pretty sure Frank had been trying to sweep their mom off her feet, and he wasn't about to let that happen. If the birdman thought he'd succeed at conquering Mamá's heart, he was a few feathers short of being a foolish fowl himself.

"Hellooo?" Tessa said. "Snap out of it, hermano. They're getting hungrier by the minute. We should get moving."

Nico bit his lip. "Sorry." He poured himself some juice, chugged it in one gulp, and sighed.

Outside, fresh dew sparkled on the grass, and the low, misty clouds were rising. The enormous ceiba tree in the middle of their driveway cast morning shadows on their front patio.

Squawk! Squawk! the birds sang from their cages.

"Do you think they'll be this loud after they're released from those stupid enclosures?" Nico asked.

"The forest will muffle them, pero sí. But guaras are always loud." Tessa wiped the corners of her mouth, closed her giant animal encyclopedia, which was a permanent fixture on their kitchen table, and put her cup and dish in the sink.

After a storm flooded Frank's small bird sanctuary six months earlier and winds toppled cages and viewing platforms, Mamá built temporary enclosures on their property for their macaw-reintroduction project. She'd already started building a huge chicken coop to share with their neighbor anyway, so converting the almost-completed structure to hold the macaws had been relatively simple.

Though Frank had rescued other birds too-keel-billed toucans, yellow-naped amazons, a few owls, and even a great green macaw-the eight scarlet macaws on their property were part of a release project that Mamá and her colleagues had dreamed about for years. And the birdman was helping to make it a reality.

In just five days, the birds would be moved from their temporary enclosures down to the Parque Arqueológico Ruinas de Copán, the world-famous archaeological park where Nico and Tessa's mother dug up Mayan relics. There the birds would be ceremoniously released as the sun rose. The scarlet macaw represented sun, light, and fire. Mamá envisioned dozens of mated pairs and their chicks in the canopy overlooking the Mayan city of Copán: red birds soaring above temples, the blue Honduran sky filled with the silhouettes of the national bird overhead.

"At least they're kind of pretty," Nico said.

"That's the understatement of the century," Tessa said, quickly rinsing her hands and extending them like wings. "They're majestic. Beautiful. Exquisite! And they'll be flying up there soon." Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs slightly covering her almond-shaped eyes, which glimmered with excitement. She shook her hands to dry them, patted them on her shorts, and pumped some of their mother's hand lotion onto her dark brown skin. It smelled like coconut and vanilla.

Nico grabbed a second roll and shoved it in his mouth as he made his way to the door. "Hummy ump," he said.

"I am hurrying," Tessa replied, running to catch up with him. "But admit it, you have a soft spot for the birds too. I can see how you look at Oro and Napoc. They have their claws in your heart, but you just won't accept it."

"They're just noisy, dumb birds," Nico said.

Tessa stopped short and shot him a pair of icicles. "Dumb?" she said.

"Fine. Maybe not dumb. Definitely noisy, though."

"Macaws are as smart as a toddler!"

"So, basically, as smart as you," Nico said, opening the front door.

"Ha," his sister replied. She smirked and gave Nico a light shove out into the warm, misty morning air.

His ten-year-old sister was the most animal-obsessed kid in her class. Nico could hardly believe they were related. Not only were her hair and skin several shades darker than his, but she was the most organized fourth grader in the world. Back when she was in second grade, she'd begged to help Nico with his diorama. She'd known more about rainforest ecosystems than Nico's science teacher.

Did you know that scarlet macaws mate for life? Tessa had once asked him. Nico had shrugged and pretended not to care. Inside, though, he'd wondered why their parents couldn't have been like the macaws and stayed together forever too.

As they marched toward the macaw enclosures, their mother jogged up the dirt driveway, her cheeks a glossy red and her brown hair dotted with sweat. Nico noticed that she held a cream-colored envelope. Why would she have mail in her hand on a jog? Before he could puzzle it out, she put the envelope inside her fanny pack. She looked down at her watch, fiddled with some buttons, and caught her breath. "Morning, mis amores!" she said.

"Morning, Mamá," Nico and Tessa said together.

She kissed Tessa on the head and gave Nico a side hug. Her shirt was damp, but she still smelled like peaches.

"Are you excited about today?"

Tessa jumped up and down. "We can't wait!"

"I still wish you'd let me come with you to the airport," Nico said.

He had begged to accompany his mother to pick up the cousins, but she'd refused, saying they couldn't all fit in her truck and knowing that her sister was probably bringing enough suitcases to live in Copán for several months without ever having to do laundry.

"Why does Frank get to go with you?" Nico complained. The injustice of the birdman getting to see Nico's favorite cousin before he did was almost unbearable. But his mother was as unmovable in her decisions as the stones of a Mayan temple.

"He's picking up important flood-insurance documents in the city, and I told him I was happy to let him tag along. Besides, Natalia has to borrow his truck all day, and there's no reason why he can't ride with me if I'm headed there already."

"You seem a bit stressed," Tessa said.

"No, mi amor, just a lot going on. Your cousins' trip happens to coincide with the art-museum people coming here too." She pulled her T-shirt over her face to wipe her sweaty upper lip. "Remember I told you guys about them? They're coming to gather the artifacts for the exhibit up in the US. My mind is juggling ten million things at once."

"It's okay, Mamá." Tessa took her mother's hand. "We remember."

Nico bit down on his lower lip as hard as he could. He let go in time to not draw blood. The birdman would be alone in the truck with Mamá. For three hours. Frank. With his red beard, tie-dyed shirts, and hippie bracelets. Nico forced himself to think of Rubik's Cube algorithms anytime the birdman showed up, just to keep from giving the guy the finger. He was basically a Rubik's Cube pro by now.

"Did you grab the keys to the cages?" Mamá asked, changing the subject.

"They're in my pocket!" Tessa said. "No te preocupes. We got this, Ma."

"Get going, then. I'll see you back at the house. Love you." She turned on her heel and headed toward their house.

Just then, the air got quiet. Nico realized the birds were no longer squawking. The silence was so jarring it was like the birds had vanished.

Tessa tugged on his hand and gave him the look. "Breathe," she said. "Let's go see what's going on with the birds. And stop hating Frank so much. You turn redder than the macaws anytime Mamá mentions him."

"I don't trust him," Nico said.

"He's just her friend," Tessa replied. Her voice echoed down the mountain.

Nico stopped and turned to face his sister. "They say they're not together, but I don't believe a word that guy says. And even if I did, Mamá's too good for him anyway." Nico imagined a giant macaw grabbing Frank in its claws and flying him into the deep jungles of western Honduras. He shoved thoughts of Frank far away.

"Just because our parents are separated doesn't mean Mamá's looking to replace Papá anytime soon. Déjalo, Nico," Tessa said.

"I won't drop it," Nico replied. "You're just too young to see the truth."

Tessa shook her head. "I guess time will tell who's right. But for now can we stop fighting and keep walking? It's weird how quiet it got all of a sudden."

"I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason," Nico said, but he switched to a brisk jog down the hill, just in case.

Tessa hurried after him.

When they arrived at the enclosures, slightly out of breath, a cage door was wide open, and the birdman stepped out from the woods beyond. Much to Nico's surprise, he wasn't alone.

2

Tessa

Testing, testing . . . Okay! I think this is working.

Yay! Mamá was finally able to get me some tapes and new batteries, so here we goooo!

Recording number one. Today's date: June 23, 2007. The time is ten a.m.

Weather: about twenty-five degrees Celsius. The mist has finally risen, and the sun is up.

This is Teresa Paz-Murcia, reporting and recording live from Copán, Honduras!

We're only five days away from the release of the majestic scarlet macaws, and I have a few things to report from our little Macaw Mountain.

First, Nico and I ran into both Frank and Felipe when we arrived to feed the birds. You heard it here: The guy my brother loves to hate and our grumpy neighbor both gifted us with their presence this morning. Two despised dudes for the price of one!

Frank said he was giving the birds treats when we showed up, which explained why they had gotten so quiet. I think it was mango, which they love (though I hate how it smells when it's rotting). Frank looked happy to see us, as always, but Nico scoffed when Frank asked him to put a parcel inside the shed for him. A parcel! It wasn't even that heavy, and Nico acted like he'd been told to carry two ten-pound buckets of water up the mountain.

As for our grumpy neighbor-Felipe-he took off on his motorcycle when we showed up. He was probably complaining to Frank that we were late for the feeding and that the birds were causing a huge ruckus.

On a positive note, the feeding went great. We chopped the melon and banana that Natalia, Frank's assistant and local vet tech, had left in the shed for us, and Nico poured all eight birds a helping of seeds and nuts. The birds' appetites were healthy. No fingers were lost, and even the three chicks ate more than they normally do. The older geezers did great too. It's amazing how much healthier Napoc, Oro, and Mar all look since being brought up here from the archaeological park, where tourists fed them all sorts of junk, like chips and cookies. What kind of a diet is that for the Ara macao?

I'm glad the three of them are getting a new lease on life (and the care they deserve from Frank and Natalia). Especially Napoc. He gets to enjoy his golden years as a free bird.