Qurator's Monday Missions. 'Hello Yellow.'

This is my entry for Qurator's Monday Missions.
Theme: 'Hello Yellow.'

For details, Click Here:

Pete the Parrot and Mac the Macaw were best mates. They grew up in the tropical rainforest areas of North Queensland in Australia and spent much of their youth involved in feather raising adventures.

Parrots belong to the group of birds called Psittacidae, and Macaws are a type of Parrot but they belong to the subfamily, Arinae. And despite their difference in size, Pete and Mac shared the same dare-devil approach to life, much to their parents chagrin.

Pete and Mac's mothers would regularly meet over a meal of mashed mangoes and plump pumpkin seeds trying in vain to work out strategies to reign their recalcitrant offspring in and to keep them from harm. Alas, all their efforts proved fruitless and both of them would end up pulling their feathers out in sheer frustration.

From the moment they learned to fly, Pete and Mac were off exploring, always stretching the boundaries, always flying home way beyond curfew...…..and this was BEFORE they were teenagers.

They lived only two suburbs from each other and had sussed out all the best tree trunks with hidden hollows where they could escape to after chasing and dive bombing young galahs, lorikeets and kookaburras.

They weren't exactly bullies but they were exceedingly mischievous. One day, as they flew above the palm trees they heard a strange sound. It came from far above and when they looked up, they almost dropped out of the sky in fright.

The sound got louder and louder and as it got closer they became very curious. This huge bird was coming straight for them and they couldn't help but notice a pair of eyes as big as a full moon with a partition in the middle, staring right at them.

If that wasn't scary enough! Its wings were the weirdest they'd ever seen. Instead of having a wing on either side of its body, its horizontal wings were attached to a pole on the top of the birds head and these wings spun wildly in one direction making an horrific whirring sound.

"Is it sick," asked Pete?

" I dunno," answered Mac. It must be one of those UFO's our mothers used to warn us about when we were little."

"I'm getting outa here." exclaimed Pete. "I know when I've met my match."

" Are you kidding?" screeched Mac attempting to be heard above the sound of the giant bird heading straight for them.

"This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

Pete didn't argue but he was not happy. Not happy at all.

Mac allowed the bird to come excruciatingly close and just when Pete thought he was going to loose his life long mate, the monster bird veered away and headed towards town.

"Phew! That was a close call,' Mac said. "Let's follow it and see where it goes."
And this is exactly what Mac and Pete did. They watched it descend and were very impressed with its ability to land with considerable skill on a long stretch of flat grey land.

Such Pete and Mac's interest, that they returned day after day to study it's flight path. The routine hardly changed as it flew to the island in the distance and after a while, (and some serious google searching) they learned that this strange bird was not a bird after all, but a 'bird-like- machine for carrying humans.

Humans piled into it daily and every time they returned, they always seemed to be exhilarated by their experience. Pete's original fear eventually evaporated and being the kind of adventurers that they were, and strange as it may seem, Mac and Pete were soon planning their own flight on board.

"Just imagine how much energy we'd save if we hitched a ride in this machine and went exploring on that island? You never know what excitement awaits," Mac exclaimed.

And this is exactly what happened. Relying on their combined cheekiness and wit, the pair charmed their way into booking a flight. On the morning of their much awaited flight they turned up early, hopping from one foot to the other with impatience.

In their unbridled excitement, they'd completely forgotten to have breakfast in their haste to get to the big bird. Their stomachs growled with the absence of their usual fare of ripe oranges and mixed seeds. Fellow passengers were enjoying croissants and orange juice and Pete and Mac's taste buds were stimulated.

One couple left nearly a full glass of orange juice on their table and Pete and Mac looked at each other.

"What's the difference between orange segments and orange juice? Mac asked Pete.
Pete's answer was to gulp greedily from the straw which was quite a fete for Pete ( so poetic) with his curved beak. Mac finished the orange juice with equal gusto.