Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Let me tell you a story…”

The sounds of sanding and the rubbing of a hibiscus stick inside an even bigger hibiscus wood, then came the exhale of a blower’s breath on the smoldering coconut fibers, before the fibers were waved around to air the smoke before it was blown one more giving the breath of life. The fire immediately sparked giving light to the unusual darkness in the mid-afternoon and revealing the storyteller’s face within the fale.

With her long graying wavy hair bound up in a full topknot. A red hibiscus perched behind her right ear. The middle-aged woman, dressed in deep red puletasi with a patterned tapa cloth wrapped around her waist, was appropriately named after her great-grandmother. The storyteller set the carved coconut with the unlit candlenuts inside. She set the lit coconut fibers on the candlenuts and placed the husk down as she turned to face her young audience, most of them were the village children, two were her grandchildren, two were her brother’s grandchildren, and one was her youngest sister’s child. The children were scared by the sudden disappearance of the sun as it appeared to be swallowed by the “dark circle of death” as the young ones called it.

The fifty-year-old woman continued as she decided against the original tale, she wanted to tell the children, she walked over to the youngest of the group,  and balanced the scared child against her hip before she booped the child’s nose, causing the little one to giggle as she continued, “…of a young woman who faced her deepest fears and sought answers to find where she belonged, and this girl lived on this very island a long time ago.”

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Thirty-seven-years ago.

With a grunt and another mountain crack to push herself up through, a sixteen-year-old Hinatea pulled herself up against the second tallest peak on her island and finally reached the top. She stood up, her long thick curly hair swaying slightly in the breeze as she turned around to look at the glistening sea toward the shore where wooden pieces of her failure floated in the water, from the mast to the main hull of her canoe.

The several hours before leading up to this disaster she played up in her mind, like a newly fresh lash to her pride.

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Hinatea closed her eyes and sucked on her lips before she turned back toward the ocean in front of her, where the competition was supposed to take place… where she was supposed to be on the beach standing in front of her two sisters, one Manaia was everything she wasn’t, she was lean, graceful, and the spitting image of their mother… with the except of her soft shiny wavy hair, and her personality; she was a wuss and a bit officious. Who did she think she was telling her what to do? True they both were the same age––but as far as Hinatea was concerned she was the eldest by one minute.

The call of the conch shell snapped her out of her stewing annoyance, and Hinatea looked back, her round eyes going wide. She took another deep breath before whispering, “Sorry Mom.” Hinatea then gathered up all of her hair and rolled it up into a bun before she reached over and fastened the mask over her face before she headed over toward the small canoe she’d borrowed from one of the visiting Wayfinders last night.

She took a deep breath and said to herself, “Okay, okay,  remember all the basics Hiapo taught you yesterday.” Hinatea saw the waves and gulped before muttering, “And hope for the best.” She lifted the back end of the canoe and then pushed it out to sea.

This had to be one of the craziest—stupidest even—stunts she’d ever done. There was no way she would pull this off. But, there was no way she was going to let anybody else fight her battles.

Not by a long shot.

Especially when that arrogant Whakaī was involved, well, if she didn’t win, at least she’d take him down with her.  

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Six young able-bodied men in a single canoe. The leader of this group was a man––a fisherman no older than twenty with shoulder-length wavy hair tied up in a short half-knot, he slowly glanced over and saw that the opposing group––their island’s visitors were catching up to them and there was clear his smug pride in his competitor’s eyes. The leader’s name was Hiapo, the youngest and only son of the island’s Taulasea and Faatosaga Waiola, the other five rowers behind were all his older sisters’ husbands and fathers to his multitude of young nieces and nephews. Speaking of his sisters, nieces and nephews were all on the beach, the youngest of whom were still being held in their mothers’ arms.  

“Hey, Fisherman!” Whakaī shouted not too far behind him, “Save yourself the humiliation and just forfeit!”
‘Oh, he’s in for it now.’ Hiapo thought to himself as he and his five brothers-in-law began rowing as fast as they could that’s when he felt a sense of competition burning up inside him and he shouted, “Not a chance!” And hearing his older brothers-in-law’s words and cheers only motivated him further.

They’d just barely begun the competition when out of nowhere, “No! No! No!" A familiar girl's voice screamed as the mysterious masked rider came crashing right through the other competitors' canoe. Hiapo and his group were right in the path of the rogue canoe, the six of them quickly pulled their oars and quickly rowed all on one side, causing the canoe to angle slightly against the water.

Thanks to the window and the open sail, the rogue canoe then slid right up against their boat, flew a few feet in the air, and came crashing right through the competitor’s canoe, breaking both canoes in an instant.

Broken pieces of wood came bubbling up to the surface of the water. An unmasked Hinatea burst out of the water, clung to the nearest piece of wood she could find, and coughed the excess water out of her mouth.

The mask she used floated right next to her. She quickly reached over for the mask and saw the large gash scratched diagonally from its bottom cheek toward the open slot for the wearer's right eye.

The race was then brought to an abrupt end with the low resonating sound of the conch shell horn. Hiapo and his brothers-in-law quickly rowed to where she was. Once they floated next to her he quickly got up, walked to the back of the canoe, and gave her his hand to grab.

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Everyone was there, not just the people of their newly formed eighteen-year-old island village: Tuatahi. All of them were wearing their best lavalava, pāreu, and puletasi just for this. Even most of her family had worn their tuiga on their heads.

“Pfft. Get over yourself Hinatea.” She began to speak to herself as she rubbed her hands over her hair and turned away from the ocean. “You’re the eldest daughter to Chiefess Moana Waialiki…” There was a pause as the feelings of shame, injured pride and self-loathing bubbled into one. “Who am I kidding?” She snapped at herself, “You’re the Queen of Shame.” Before she plopped down to lie on the grass, with her arms outstretched, the hibiscus fibers of her skirt spread out slightly while being held back together by her mother’s waist cloth and belt made from woven dried pandanus leaves, with half-dyed ti leaves peeking out from the bottom. Her round eyes stared up at the sky, watching as the hours came by and its color changed from blue to an orange tinge and then a deep reddish purple.

“I thought you’d be here.” A strong elderly man’s voice from behind her. Hinatea didn’t even move from where she lay instead, she sighed and tilted her head back to see who it was. Standing proud and strong despite his age, was her grandfather. With her head still tilted back, she watched and heard the impact of his cane hitting the ground.

Tui with his graying hair, the red patterned siapo wrapped around his waist filled with large designs of leaves, several stars, and other shapes that symbolize his new role within their community. And then there were traditional pe’a that marked his waist, lower back, knees, and the tatau on his left pectoral, upper arm, and bellybutton, and lastly, the vibrant red ula fala around his neck, and the help of his cane approached and despite his aching knees, managed to sit cross-legged beside her.

Tui took a deep breath to regather his strength from the long hike up and looked over at the nightly colored ocean in a minute silence before he held out his hand to her, “You dropped this.”

Hinatea reluctantly sat up while her grandfather simultaneously opened his hand, revealing a necklace adorned with pearls, and a blue abalone shell pendant as its centerpiece. Hinatea turned her head away, not wanting to look at it, and said as she pulled her knees up to her chest before she hid her face on her kneecaps.

She felt her grandfather place his hand on her back before she felt him put her mother’s necklace back on her neck, but still she didn’t move the gesture seemed to harden her a little more. Tui could only guess what thoughts were running through her mind or what feelings were coursing through her heart, but one thing was clear he could see just how much she was trying to emulate her mother as much as possible, from the reddish-orange top to the color of her fiber skirt and even how hard she tried to tame her already too curly hair.

A soft smile came to Tui’s lips as he told her, “Come on, everyone’s looking for you, especially Melelani.”

Hinatea lifted her head briefly inceptive flashed before her eyes the second the name was mentioned. Melelani at only three-years-old, was the youngest of her four siblings, and the only one Hinatea clung to the most. But whatever motivation was there quickly disappeared when the feelings of shame came. Hinatea sighed, “She wouldn’t want to see me, not after what happened.”

The memories came flooding back as Hinatea stopped in her tracks, her thoughts automatically going back to Melelani. She muttered under her breath, “I didn’t want her to see that…”

She then buried her face in her hands in frustration, what made it worse was seeing her baby sister’s letting big bubbling sobs as she neared the shore. That hurt a lot more than seeing their father’s eyes flash with anger and disappointment after she handed him the broken mask.

Hinatea immediately jumped to her feet and started pacing around the mountaintop. “I’m supposed to make her look up to me, I’m supposed to make them all look up to me… ” She stopped and sighed dejectedly after a long pause before she plopped herself on the ground, letting her legs dangle against the cliff edge as she stared out into space, “And I can’t even do that.”

Finally, she let out a frustrated grunt, slamming her fist on the earth to her right as she started muttering, “I swear the next time I see his stupid smug fa––”

Tui stood up to place a hand on his granddaughter’s back, as he shakily and slowly sat down beside her. He continued, “I know why you did it. Whakaī told us everything, but he’s still demanding that we compensate for his boat.”

Hearing that Hinatea’s eyes widened, “Grandpa you can’t!” She shouted as she simultaneously jumped to her feet, “You can’t let him win––”

“This isn’t a matter of winning of Hinatea.” Tui cut her off with a calm tone as he slowly rose to his feet with the help of his cane, he saw the look on her face, how her already round eyes were wide, and how her nostrils flared up.

She was ready to explode, and suddenly she cried out after feeling a hard painful whack to her backside. Hinatea cried as she rubbed the sore spot, “Ow! Grandpa, what was that for––”

“Listen,” Tui cut her off again this time with a firm tone, as he slowly moved his cane in front of
him, “It’s time you put this rivalry of yours to an end.”

Hinatea immediately became agitated as she argued, “But Grandpa, he’s just such a––”

“You were taught better than that, I expect you to be civil,” Tui stated very clearly, “If you don’t learn to control that impulsive temper of yours, you’d do more than damage a canoe and ruin a family heirloom.”

Heirloom. That word was the rope to pull her back from her competitive streak. Hinatea’s expression immediately changed to one of fear and then regret as she hugged herself, once again the weight of her actions quickly came back to her mind and then she remembered the necklace her grandfather had and put it back on her neck… her mother’s necklace, another heirloom and all that was left of her mother. She slowly raised her left hand toward the pendent, clutching it tight, realizing that she nearly ruined this one too. “I’m sorry.” Hinatea sighed as she turned to look at her grandfather as he approached her with a small smile on his face.

Tui held his hand out to her, “Let’s head back to the village.”

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Down in the forest below the mountain, a girl no older than thirteen wearing a light wrap-around top and a faded red pāreu decorated with stencil patterns of leaves, flowers, and several dolphin fins wrapped around her waist.

Her hair long wavy hair was fashioned in a thick side ponytail braid with the same woven hairband her maternal grandmother once had, and to add the finishing touch to her look was a yellow hibiscus flower perched slightly above her left ear, but that was the as far as the resemblance went.

True she, her grandmother Sina, and her mother Moana all had the same head shape, but her eyes, nose, and lips were a carbon copy of her grandfather’s mother: Tala.

All the more reason why she was named after her great-grandmother, but of course that’s not where the resemblance between them ended.

With one hand holding a torch and a conch shell in the other, she was about to blow the conch shell a young boy’s voice echoed from the rainforest, “I found them!”

Soon enough her eight-year-old brother came bursting through the bushes, so fast his wild curly hair swishing all over the place as his undyed but patterned painted siapo flapped slightly from the impact of his rushing legs, the flame from his torch dipped back creating a tail as he rushed over to his older sister. Tala quickly scooted to the side just as her grandfather and older sister appeared.

Hinatea then called out, “Makoa slow down before you––” A loud thud echoed as he fell flat on his face, letting out an exhausted sigh, Hinatea continued with a deadpan look on her face, “––trip.”

“I’m okay!” Came Makoa’s muffled reply.

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“How mad is he?” Hinatea asked Tala as they both spotted the glow of the candlelight flickering underneath the pola sheets that sheltered the inside of their fale. Hinatea felt the dread growing heavier and heavier in her chest, then came the chills, followed by the cold sweat, and how her stomach was slowly turning into knots. She could picture him looking her down with his never-ending disdain every time he’d laid his eyes on her as if he were looking at an invader.

“He’s pretty mad.” Tala replied as she and her sister walked ahead of their grandfather and younger brother, “But only because he’s worried that you took off.”

“You’re lying,” Hinatea stated bluntly, “He hates me. I mean––did you see the look he gave me when I came back?”

Tala turned and gave her sister a knowing smile before she started listing: “Well you did wreck our guest’s canoe, broke an important heirloom, and destroyed one of our racing––”

Hinatea groaned, “Please don’t lecture me right now…” Before she muttered under her breath, “I’ve heard enough from Grandpa already.”

“I’m your little sister, I’m not going to lecture you on anything,” Tala reassured her, “Plus Whakaī probably needed a good knocking or two.”

Hiapo spoke out, his hair still in the same half-topknot from this morning, and moved away from the tree he was leaning on, “You two better keep those thoughts to yourself, especially since your dad’s working on compensating his canoe.”

Hinatea grunted in annoyance and then paused when it dawned on her, “Wait a minute, his canoe didn’t break––”

“No, but one of theirs did,” Hiapo stated, “It might as well be as good as his.”

Hinatea let out a long groaning sigh as she hid half of her face behind one hand, and slowly opened her right eye to ask, “So… does that mean Dad’s talking to Chief Turu right now?” She slowly pulled her hand from the left side of her face, while Hiapo nodded.

He added with an unsurprising tone, “Whakaī put up quite the fuss, and said they would be taking Melelani if we didn’t agree to it.”

Hinatea’s eyes flashed in anger as she looked like she was ready to crush something with her bare hands, “Oh that little whiny son of––”

Chapter Text

Again, her grandfather’s cane made contact with her fiber skirt, causing another sharp surge of pain on her backside. Hinatea let out another pained yelp. She turned and gave her grandfather a sharp glare while Tui simply raised a stern eyebrow and reminded her as he slowly lowered his cane in front of him and reminded Hinatea, “What did we just talk about?”

The soft sounds of subsequent laughter from Hiapo and Tala echoed as the two stood to the side causing both Hinatea and Tui to turn their heads toward the pair. Hinatea took one step forward but her grandfather beat her to it before long Hiapo let out a sharp yelp as Tui spanked him with his cane and gave the young fisherman a stern look, “Hiapo. Don’t make this issue harder than it needs to be.”

Hiapo slowly bowed his head and replied sheepishly, “Sorry Orator Chief.” He watched as Tui slowly approached his second youngest granddaughter. Tala immediately put her hands behind her back and stood there with a genuinely apologetic look in her eyes.

Tui immediately took the bait and shook his head before he sighed and told her, his stern tone gentler than it had been with Hinatea and Hiapo, “Try not to laugh at your sister’s misfortune next time.”

Tala smiled as she vowed, “I promise not to.” With that, Tui nodded his head and that was it, barely a lecture, no smacking with his cane. She got off scot-free. The audacity of it all made Hinatea stand there completely gobsmack, all the while Hiapo stood there next to her with his arms crossed while shaking his head and giving Tala a knowing look.

The two watched as Tala slowly turned to look at them behind her shoulder before giving the two an innocent grin.

Makoa who moved to stand between Hinatea and Hiapo looked confused. He looked up at his eldest sister and asked, “What’d she do?” Hinatea’s expression immediately became deadpan before she shook her head dismissively at her brother’s question.

Tui slowly turned around to face Hiapo and his grandchildren and made it very clear to all of them but Hinatea especially, “No one from Turu’s tribe is going to take going to anyone from our village, and if that were to happen it would be discussed amongst the heads of both families.”

Hinatea tried to argue, “But Grandpa, Hiapo told me that Whakaī––”

Tui raised his hand to silence her before giving her a firm look, telling her to listen. “I don’t know where you got the idea that he’s the one in charge of his people, but he’s not. Stop giving him the tools to get a reaction out of you.”

“Okay, what are you saying? He’s trying to manipulate me?” Hinatea paused before her round eyes widened again, “Oh that sneaky little eel––” That’s when she felt a semi-sharp whack to the back of her leg.

“Enough,” Tui said, his patience slowly wearing thin, “It’s long past sundown and I think it’s time for all of us to return to our fale and get some sleep.” Tala quickly took her younger brother’s hand and bid her grandfather goodnight, Hiapo excused himself before he too rushed down the path back to his family’s fale, all under Tui’s watchful eyes.

Hinatea huffed as she crossed her arms, standing there with stubborn hardness. He wasn’t going to put with it, “Hinatea, the same goes for you, and I don’t want to hear your whining.” 

Hinatea let out a frustrated groan before she uncrossed her arms, revealing the malu on her hands. She stopped thinking that she had an advantage now, she grinned as she proudly crossed her arms and said, “Well Grandpa, I have my tattoos now, so I’m a woman now and that means you can’t tell me what to do.”

Tui paused and nodded once in agreement, “You’re right.”

Hinatea immediately became perplexed and stared at her grandfather like he grew three heads in an instant, with her arms still crossed she leaned forward slightly and asked with a very confused tone in her voice, “I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re right.” Tui repeated, “You’re a grown woman now, and I imagine you’re more than ready to bear the consequences of your actions.”

She didn’t like where this was going, but she remained steadfast and retorted a little too forcefully, “That’s right, am I!”

Tui turned around and slowly began to walk down the path with his cane assisting his every step as he continued, “I suppose I’ll let your father know that you do not want to apologize to Chief Turu––” Soon he heard the sounds of rapid footsteps as Hinatea suddenly moved to stand in front of him with her hands outstretched to stop him physically.

“No don’t!” She panicked with wide eyes and her teeth gritted to reflect the pure fear in her heart. Tui remained calm as he carefully lowered his cane in front of him and clasped both hands on the head of his walking stick.

It took Hinatea a second to realize the pose she was in, so to save face she very quickly straightened up and cleared her throat, “I mean… is telling my dad about this all really necessary? Y’know, he already has a lot on his mind…” She trailed off after seeing the all-knowing look on her grandfather’s face, she sighed in defeat, “I was just trying to show that Whakaī that we aren’t a people to be pushed around––”

“As I said before, Hiapo already told me everything.” Tui reminded her.

“I was just doing what Mom would’ve done.” Hinatea replied defensively before she held her fist high, “You know, I gotta show them that I’m strong and worthy enough to earn the title of Chiefess Moana’s daughter,”

“You’re certainly strong, there’s no denying that, and you’re certainly your mother’s daughter,” Tui began before he took his granddaughter’s hand and turned it so the front of her hand was down and the back of her hand was up, so her malu was within clear view of their line of sight, “But there are all different kinds of strengths Hina,” He said calling her by her nickname, “Putting all your efforts to only focus on one alone will be of little help to this village, to our family,”

Hinatea scoffed and waved her hand dismissively, “Pfft! Hey, it’s kept us together so far, right? And you said yourself that Whakaī isn’t the boss of his people, so Melelani stays and our family won’t be torn apart. Problem solved.”

Tui slowly shook his head in disappointment at her narrow-mindedness before he let out a long sigh. Hinatea turned after hearing the long sigh he’d let out and genuine concern was written all over her face as he started rubbing the bridge of his nose, “Grandpa, are you… okay?” She asked worriedly.

Tui slowly lowered his left hand to settle atop his right hand, he slowly opened his eyes only to gaze upon his granddaughter’s concerned face, “I’m just tired Hinatea, so––” He barely finished when he felt Hinatea wrap her right arm in his left arm, and acting as a second walking cane, she assisted her grandfather down the path back to the village.

The walk there was slow, given her grandfather’s age, so to pass the time Hinatea allowed her sight to wander a bit. As her gaze moved from the trees to the vines and finally to the empty night sky. Seeing just one giant dark space was nothing strange to her, she grew up seeing this vast emptiness every night, but she still remembered being told stories of these tiny blinking dots of light that the old folk called stars, and even a bright orbital thing that accompanied the stars, and what she remembered hearing was this thing they called the moon could change its shape within each month.

“Hey, Grandpa, do you mind telling me more about the moon and stars?” Hinatea requested before Tui turned to her with a soft smile, and seeing that serene expression made her smile too, and in truth, she loved seeing her grandfather’s smile as it reminded her a lot of her mother’s.

“What would you like to know?” Tui asked with a gentle tone as he watched Hinatea look up at the empty sky.

“Did our ancestors really use the stars to guide us?” Hinatea questioned as the two continued walking on.

“Yes,” Tui replied, “And thanks to your mother we were able to learn and pass down the knowledge once more.”

Hinatea froze for a second and Tui slowly stopped beside her and saw the forlorn look on her face as she said, “I’ll never be half the woman she was.”

“Then don’t try to be,” Tui replied, “You’re not your mother, Hinatea, and your actions today have proven that.”

Hinatea groaned, “Really? Are you still going to bring that up? Look, if you want me to apologize. Fine, I’ll do it––”

Tui cut her off, “The point of an apology is to reflect on your actions and never to repeat those mistakes again. So, there will be a meeting in the fale fono tomorrow morning to discuss their terms of compensation and I expect you to be there as our Taupou.”

Hinatea dragged her hand over her face and groaned, “Do I have to?”

“You were the offender and you let your duties fall on your sister’s shoulders.” Tui reminded her.

Hinatea muttered under her breath, “He started it…”

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The pola sheets of the faletofa fluttered slowly as the cool night breeze slowly wafted through the small spaces between the sheets. In the rounded corner of the large circular home, a little girl no older than three squirmed on her second eldest sister’s lap, as her delicate fingers scooped up the monoï oil from its husk with one hand while trying to keep the protesting three-year-old from moving. This was Manaia, the ‘second’ of Moana and Huamo’s children, the so-called pretty one and the first of their children to resemble their mother the most… well before Melelani was born.

Sure, Manaia and Moana shared the same face, but unlike their mother, her hair was wavy like their father’s, and quite well-maintained. Manaia always made sure to treat it with monoï oil once every two nights a week, while styling it with side braids almost every morning regardless of whether she had oil to wash out or not, and then there was her outfit, a single light red puletasi with printed patterns of various flowers and plants that could be found all over their island, and all of it were held together with a neck strap that from the back of her neck to the front sides of her neckline. Like everything about her, she always made sure to keep her clothes looking presentable at all times.

“Melelani hold still––” Manaia begged her tone a mix of forced patience and underlining annoyance throughout her youngest sister’s temper tantrum. The three-year-old toddler threw herself off her sister’s lap to purposely face-planted herself on the lava stone floor to avoid this part of her nighttime routine.

Manaia threw her arm up in frustration before she turned to look behind her where her younger sister Tala sat cross-legged on the lava stone floor weaving another basket in her lap.

A soft smile came to Manaia’s lips before she cleared her throat, Tala stopped what she was doing and began undoing the binds on her braid, and once all the thin pieces of siapo were off her hair Tala gave her head a good couple of shakes, making sure that all of her wavy hair cascaded down her back, she turned to her older sister giving her an inviting smile to come over and treat her hair.

Manaia picked up the coconut husk and walked over to sit behind her sister before she ran her monoï oil-soaked fingers through her hair making sure to get every single strand on her head. “So, why are you making a new basket this late at night?” Manaia asked with a curious tone in her voice.

“You can never have too many baskets,” Tala replied cheekily, Manaia responded by rolling her eyes and softly shaking her head. Tala noticed the fragrance seemed stronger than before and asked, “Did you add extra tiaré petals in this?”

“By accident,” Manaia admitted before she leaned to one side so she could look her sister in the eye, “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all, it smells nice,” Tala replied tilting her head slightly to give her sister a gentle grin before she lifted one hair to give her hair a playful bounce, “And it keeps my hair nice and silky,”

“Good, if only a certain someone could appreciate my efforts,” Manaia said half-jokingly as she kept going with brushing the monoï oil on Tala’s hair first before she moved up to her scalp.

She and Tala turned at the sound of Melelani continuing with her tantrum as she turned to lie on her back and screamed for ‘Na-na’. Manaia paid no made at the fact that their sister was calling for Hinatea, and tried coaxing her to stop her temper tantrum, “See Melelani, Tala can sit still without––”

The pola sheet was pushed to one side and soon Hinatea’s boisterous call came as she and their grandfather entered, “Did I hear someone call for Na-na?”

Manaia rolled her eyes irritably at her older sister’s entrance and shook her head in disapproval as Melelani quickly got up, with tears still in her eyes, she quickly raced to Hinatea’s side as her eldest sister knelt on one knee with her arms outstretched to catch the little girl before giving her a big hug. Melelani clung to her eldest sister like her whole life depended on it.

“Hinatea, how about you make yourself useful and help me with treating Melelani’s hair.” Came Manaia’s irritated speech as she finished massaging the monoï oil on Tala’s scalp.

“Okay, what lizard bit you in the butt today?” Hinatea questioned sarcastically as she slowly set Melelani back on the floor before she nudged her in Manaia’s direction the second Tala’s turn was done.

Manaia rolled her eyes again at her sister’s comment and said, trying not to snap, “Never mind.”

Hinatea crossed her arms and approached her sister with bold steps. “Oh no, if you got something to say to me, then let’s settle this right here, right n––”

Tui’s cane harshly drummed against the lava stone floor, the whole atmosphere immediately became silent and still by the first beat. Tui’s gaze landed on his four granddaughters before it fixated on the elder two. Silencing them both as he slowly walked over to the fala papa and slowly lowered himself to the mat, making sure to cross his legs as he sat.

He looked at his four granddaughters in the eyes, “I want all this arguing and fighting to stop right now. We’re all family and we’re supposed to build each other up, not tear each other down.” Tui closed his eyes and took a deep breath to maintain his patience, and when he opened his eyes, he pointed his finger to the spot in front of him while looking at Hinatea specifically.

“Sit.” When she paused as her eyes darted slightly in confusion, he shouted, “Sit down!” Hinatea sprinted and sat on her knees right in front of her grandfather, she sucked in her lips as she looked completely apprehensive about what he was going to say next. Tui continued, “Now, that we’re at home it’s time to discuss your––”

Hinatea’s apprehension quickly turned to exasperation as she. Nearly shouted, “Wait, didn’t we already––” When suddenly she felt something hard and small hitting her on the back of her head.

“Can you shut up? I’m trying to sleep!” Makoa shouted as he stood up from his fala tapito with his arm already drawn back and the incriminating pebble in his hand. He got up a scared look on his face the second he saw the disapproving glare their grandfather gave him.

Makoa dropped the pebble and immediately got down, placing his head on his bamboo wood pillow, before pulling the large siapo blanket over his whole body.

Tui returned to Hinatea and continued, “As I just about to say; it’s time we discuss your compensation to Chief Turu and his family. First, you will weave an i’e toga and deliver it to Whakaī personally as an apology for ruining his race.”

Tala immediately raised her hand and asked, “Can I help?” Tui turned to his second younger granddaughter and nodded his head.

He then turned to Manaia as she finished with Melelani’s hair and scalp, “Manaia, perhaps you should give your sisters a hand with the weaving too.”

Manaia let out a reluctant sigh before she forced an obedient smile and answered, “Of course, Grandpa.”

Hinatea immediately scoffed at that, “Pfft. Oh please, she’ll cut her delicate little fingers on the soft wet bark––”

“Hinatea.” Tui warned, daring her to see what would happen if she uttered one more word, “Be grateful you’re getting any help at all.”

“Oh alright!” Hinatea relented exasperatedly, before pausing and trying to propose another idea, “Well… maybe they can help deliver it––”

Manaia shot that down, “If you don’t want to weave, then you shouldn’t have crashed the race in the first place.” Tala, who'd resumed her basket weaving, opened her mouth to speak, but Manaia cut her off, “Quiet Tala.” She turned to Hinatea again and said, “You want to show everybody how strong you are, how great you are, then you can carry the fine mat alone.”

“What? Come on have you seen how big…” Hinatea’s words trailed off as she turned to her grandfather, “How small should we make it?”

“I believe you mean how big.” Tui stated, “And I want you to make it as big as the one your great-grandmother made for your great-grandfather.”

Tala’s eyes widened as she grinned in pure excitement, “Oooooo, that’s a big one.”

“Which means… it’ll take months to make,” Manaia replied facing her grandfather before she took a deep breath, “On second thought, Grandpa maybe you should leave the weaving to Tala and––”

Hinatea immediately cut in and didn’t bother hiding her annoyance, “Manaia, I swear if you’re implying that I can’t do it––”

Manaia rolled her eyes, finally finished treating Melelani’s hair, and nudged her over to Tala to put her to bed, “See, this right here is exactly why nobody can stand you,”

Hinatea scoffed, “Well…” She paused for a moment as she thought of a comeback, “Nobody can stand you either. You bossy, self-entitled, dainty, spoiled little princess––”

Tui slammed his cane on the stone floor, “That’s enough from the both of you.” His loud commanding voice silenced the two sisters once again. Tui shook his head and gently tapped his cane on the floor, “We’ve all had a long day, and I can see that you’re all tired, so it’s time for all of us to sleep.”

Hinatea retorted as she stood up and turned around to the entrance, “Well, I’m not tired and I just want to get this whole stupid weaving done sooner… so I’m––”

“Hina.” Her grandfather called after her. She stopped in her tracks as her eyes shut and her face tightened, as he continued, “That includes you.” He looked on as Hinatea slowly turned back around to face him, and then he reminded her, “Next time I speak while sitting, I expect you to be sitting as well. Now, go off to bed.”

Manaia put her arms around Melelani and uttered, “Goodnight Grandpa,” Before she lifted her three-year-old sister and carried her toward her sleeping mat.

“Tell me a story Manaia,” Melelani begged as she looked up at her second eldest sister.

“Um…” Manaia hesitated, “How about Tala tell you a story instead? She’s a lot better at that than I am.”

“I’m still making my basket!” Tala answered in a sing-songy voice after she turned to look at Manaia over her shoulder.

Tui gripped the top of his cane as he slowly began to stand, Hinatea took a step forward but raised his right hand to stop her as he managed to stand on his own two feet. He walked over to where Tala sat, lifted her half-finished basket, and told her, “You’ll have time to finish this tomorrow. Now, go to bed and before you ask, I’ll tell Melelani a story tonight.”

A second later the pola sheet was lifted, and there he was; their father Huamo, he stood just as tall as Tui did once but had a much leaner and slightly toned build. Even in his late thirties, he was still quite the looker, with his dark wavy shoulder-length hair tied in a full topknot, his wide slanted eyes that still bore a bit of that friendly energy from his youth, his angled but soft features had become a little sharper throughout the years, however, his face still bore his friendly looking qualities that could light up almost every space he walked in, or it used too, till the weight of responsibility slowly started to take its toll on his shoulders and his heart.

“Papa!” Melelani raced toward the entrance to hug their father. Hearing his youngest daughter’s voice, he got down to one knee and gladly returned the hug before he rose to his feet. Manaia immediately stood up and bowed her head lightly as their father approached to exchange a hongi, Tala remained where she sat and bowed her head briefly before smiling at him, and Hinatea stood while chewing on her lower lip, “Dad––” She began.

Huamo ignored her, went straight to Tui, immediately sat cross-legged in front of his father-in-law, and reported, “I’ve managed to appease the situation with Chief Turu for now, but tomorrow he wants our best builders to come with him so he can pick the best tree on our island,”

“Well then, perhaps a meeting won’t be necessary,” Tui added, “But, I think adding an i’e toga to the compensation wouldn’t hurt.”

Hinatea immediately interrupted and sat down to her grandfather’s right and her father’s left, “Dad I can explain––”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Huamo snapped as he turned his head away, unable to even look at her at the moment.

“But Dad I––”

“Enough Hinatea.” Huamo cut her off while still avoiding looking at her, “I need to speak to your grandfather alone.”

“Dad if you’d just––”

“I said enough!” Huamo shouted with an angry tone, as he finally snapped, whirling his head around to face her, “Don’t embarrass yourself anymore than you already have.”

Hinatea narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, “No, we need to talk it––” Without any warning, Huamo grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her outside, despite Hinatea trying to break from and shouted that he was hurting her.

She waited until his grip loosened before she wrenched her hand free. That’s when she felt the throbbing in her wrist, and saw that the parts of her skin he gripped were turning red. Just as her father’s face was at that moment, it seemed he’d reached his limit with her, “You want to talk it out, well go on then! Let’s hear it.” He exploded, “Tell me what was important that you humiliated our people and humiliated our guests. Go on, tell me!”

She quickly grasped her reddening wrist with her other hand and looked up at her father with disbelief in her eyes as she felt the tears coming. Still, she sucked in her breath and tried to appear strong, but the façade slowly faltered as she took several steps back to keep herself as far away from him as possible.

Huamo slowly backed up and saw the look on her face. It was as if she were looking at a monster, and then he noticed her holding on to her right wrist. He held his hand out and watched as she instinctively took a step back like a frightened child, “Let me see…” Hinatea took another step back while shaking her head, he saw the tears already trickling at the corners of her eyes and that’s when he immediately took a step forward, but she turned around and then rushed down the stone steps. Fear crept into Huamo’s heart as he rushed to the top of the stone steps and called out, “Hinatea!”

She ignored him and he watched as she made that left turn to the path leading to the small beach just below the coastal cliff the faletofa stood on. Huamo let out a deep breath, at the same time he heard the sounds of Tui’s cane approaching as his father-in-law made his way to stand by his side. Huamo heard that final thump of Tui’s cane, and said with contrition in his voice, “I hurt her.”

Tui slowly nodded in his head as he slowly placed his right hand over his left, letting both hands rest on the top of his cane. The air between them grew thick with uneasiness as the two father stood there, both recalling their past actions, however, while Huamo saw it through guilt, Tui approached his own memories to reflect on his own experiences to pass on what he learned, he turned to Huamo and advised him, “You should talk to her,”

Huamo lamented, “I don’t know how to talk to her anymore. She’s just so––”

“Stubborn?” Tui replied while giving him a knowing look, “Maybe you should give her time to be alone for a bit, and while she’s gathering her thoughts you should go to her, bring her favorite drink and some dinner, and converse down at Moana’s beach.”

Huamo took a deep breath before he turned to Tui and nodded in agreement before he turned to glance over at the tunoa, and climbed down the steps of their foundation toward their village's cookhouse.

<III><III><III><III>

The waves washed away at her feet, giving her a sense of comfort and sadness at the same time. Hinatea continued sitting there with her knees up to her chest, and her arms around her legs in an upright fetal position. She didn’t know how she’d been sitting here and she didn’t care, the handprint on her right wrist had already started turning blue and overshadowed her malu. This was more than enough proof to show how much her father hated her.

Silent footsteps made their way behind her, the sand absorbing the sound Huamo’s feet made with every step until he called out to her gently, holding a bowl of warm plain coconut milk in his hand, “Hinatea.” He watched as she remained still as stone before she made herself smaller by curling further into herself. A sigh escaped his lips as he carefully approached and sat cross-legged to her right, his wavy shoulder-length hair now loose, signifying that he’d come to her not as an authoritative figure but as her father.

He watched as she immediately scooted more to her left and further away from him, that’s when he caught a glimpse of the mark on her tattooed wrist. Huamo’s heart pounded hard before everything inside him felt numb, it killed him to know he did that to her.

He took a deep nervous breath as he held the ipu toward her and some kalua pig wrapped in a banana leaf, “We missed you at dinner, so here, I made your favorites.”

Hinatea rolled her eyes before she retorted, “Quit acting like you care,” She paused as she hugged her knees tighter to her chest, “If you wanna say you hate me, then say it. I already know you do.”

Huamo was immediately taken aback by the accusation, “No… no. Hina, I could never…” His eyes wandered to the bruise on her wrist and he closed his eyes as he sucked in his breath before exhaling, “It’s not you, I hate, I could never hate you. I hated your actions––”

“That’s the same thing!” Hinatea shouted as she quickly rose to her feet and made sure her back remained turned to him so he wouldn’t see the tears running down her face, “You can’t hate someone’s actions without hating them too…” She argued as she hugged herself.

Huamo sighed, shook his head, and said with a kinder tone, “You still have a lot to learn, Hinatea Waialiki,” He gave her an example as he moved slowly to stand behind her, “Do you remember when Makoa was three and chewed on that basket you spent hours trying to put together?”

“Yeah? What about it?” Hinatea snapped, still not wanting to look at him or let him see her crying.

“Do you hate him for doing that now?” Huamo questioned.

She paused for a long time as her shoulders grew tense and rose a bit before she finally admitted with a defeated tone, “No…”

“No.” Huamo stepped to his right, so they stood beside each other, “But it did anger you didn’t it?” Her silence gave him all the answers he needed, once again his eyes rested on her bruise, “Hinatea, I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel I hated you,” He paused as stared at her wrist, “And I’m especially sorry I did this to you,”

Hinatea sniffed and retorted with an angry tone, “Hey, I broke your precious family heirloom––”

“Hina, I think you and I both know it’s not an excuse for this,” Huamo interrupted before taking a breath, “It’s not a reason to hurt you,” He slowly stepped closer to her. She stood still as he moved to stand in front, keeping his right arm parted slightly just in case she needed a hug. She flinched at the sight. He immediately pulled his arm back to hang on his side before stepping back to give her some space. “I’m sorry for hurting you,” He told her with a sincere tone in his voice.

She paused for a moment before she apologized as well, “I’m sorry for ruining everything… and damaging the mask.” She paused again, “You think it can be fixed?”

“Never mind about that,” Huamo answered, “When you’ve calmed down and have something to eat, let’s go see Waiola about your bruise, okay?”

She sniffed as she kept her back to him, “Okay…”

Huamo sat down on the sand and unwrapped the banana leaf. The smell filled the air, and it was aromatizing. Hinatea could feel her stomach gnawing before it let out its hungry protest, she turned around and saw the small feast he’d laid out just for her, he had a warm smile on his face as he waved his hand over the meal for her to behold. A small but grateful smile on her face, before she walked over and sat down next to him on the sand.

<III><III><III><III>

“You know, that mask isn’t actually an heirloom, I called it that because I’d hope to pass it down to you, your sisters, or your brother one day,” Huamo confessed as he watched his daughter eat.

Hinatea swallowed the piece of pork and then asked with genuine curiosity, “So… how’d we end up with it?”

“I carved it myself,” Huamo answered with a bit of nostalgia in his voice, “And gave it to your mother as a wedding gift since I had nothing else to offer her.” He turned to look up at the sea, “You see, I wasn’t born on this island, I just rose up from the waves one day with pieces of my broken canoe all around me, and then the water brought me to this spot right here,”

Hinatea was immediately taken aback, and slowly the pieces began to fit together, why his siapo was left patternless, why he didn't have any tattoos, and why he went more than above and beyond for this island. “Wait… so where did you come from?”

Huamo took a deep breath and admitted, "I don't remember," As he glanced at the sea once more after seeing the pitiful look Hinatea gave him, so he continued with a reassuring tone, "I don't feel sad about it now, my home is here where my family is." He sat there lost in thought for a moment before he continued, "I hope you understand why that mask means so much to me."

Hinatea paused for a moment and said, “It was your way of saying thank you to Mom when you––”

“When she gave me everything when I had nothing left to give her in return.” Huamo cut her off while still gazing at the sea, “For making me one of her people when I was nothing more but an outsider.”

Hinatea paused as she looked into her half-empty cup, “So when did it stop?” She asked out of the blue.

“When what stopped?” Huamo inquired as he turned to face her.

“Feeling like an outsider,” Hinatea clarified, “Sometimes, I feel like that too, well… it’s more like I don’t belong here. Even though I was born on this island.”

Huamo was shocked to hear that, he put his hand on her shoulder and asked her, “Now, what’s this all about?” He watched as her shoulders immediately grew tense and her eyes quickly avoided his gaze, he took a deep silent breath, “Hina––”

“Dad, it’s fine,” Hinatea cut him off, her tone clear telling him this wasn’t something wanted to talk about, “Besides, Grandpa’s right, it’s time I put a stop to whatever problem I have with Whakaī aside and play the proper host.”

Whakaī. At least that was one clue she was willing to give him. “Hinatea,” Huamo began, “You know you can come to me for anything, especially if it has anything to do with Whakaī.”

“Dad, I can handle him myself,” She declared after sighing.

“No, let the adults handle it,” Huamo told her, “You two are still children after all,”

She argued, “Dad, I have my tattoos––”

He slowly touched her shoulder again, “Just because you’ve earned tattoos doesn’t mean you’re fully grown yet.” He saw the defeated look in her eyes and shook his head before changing the subject, “Anyway, let’s see Waiola and get your bruise sorted.”

Hinatea quickly finished her meal, gulped down the rest of her coconut milk and quickly stood up, still holding the ipu and mostly unwrapped banana leaf in her hand as she quickly turned around ready to go, “I think I can make it up there alone. I’m not a little girl anymore. Thanks for the meal,” She paused after five steps and gazed at her injured wrist, and then turned to look at her father over her shoulder, “And Dad, sorry again about the mask.”

Huamo let out his own sigh of defeat, “No. I’m sorry for giving you that mark,” He took a deep breath and told her, “Mind your way when you head there,”

“Okay…” Hinatea replied before she turned around and made her way back up the path from the small beach and up to the village. Huamo watched the whole time till she made that turn toward the steep slopes.

“Well––” Tala’s voice unexpectedly came from behind, causing him to nearly jump before whirling around, and there she stood, his sneaky thirteen-year-old daughter with an all too innocent smile on her face, “That went better than I expected,”

He held his hand over his chest to calm his startled heart before putting his arms over his chest and said with a stern tone, “You should be asleep young lady,”

Tala shrugged her shoulders as she hummed innocently, as her guilty-free smile had a twinge of knowing added to it, “It’s kind of hard to sleep after all that lava was let out,” He shook his head in disbelief and then a pang of worry appeared on his face and she answered before he could get the words out, “I heard everything.” What she said next implied that she knew more than she was letting on, “Hina will always be my sister no matter what happens or what has happened,”

Suddenly a familiar bloop sound appeared behind him, Huamo slowly turned around, and there stood the Ocean in its swell form, and even after all these years, this was a sight to behold, but it was one he would welcome with open arms, but not tonight. He turned back around to face Tala again and stated, “This better be the first and last time you’ve snuck out at night,”

“Ocean, you shouldn’t be encouraging this sort of thing,” Huamo lectured before being squirted with literally a head full of water.

Tala giggled at the sight of her father shaking the salty water off his head before she turned to her mother’s old friend and ran her hand against its watery surface, “Be kind, he’s still my dad, even if you don’t like him that much.”

Huamo shook his head at her remark and slowly approached to kneel before the Ocean, pulled something from his back, and laid it before the element as a gift, “Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that I owe you more than my life,” what lay before the Ocean was a red hibiscus flower, the exact one that Moana often wore in her hair. The Ocean curved forward toward the flower and slowly plucked it from the sand before retreating to its natural form.

Huamo slowly rose to his feet just as Tala was walking to stand beside him, with her hands behind her back. She turned to him with a warm smile and couldn't help but ask in a joking tone,  "So? Do you still feel like an outsider now?"

Huamo responded by bumping his hip against hers, “Alright that’s enough prying from you, it’s way past your bedtime. I think it’s past all our bedtimes,”

“Can I stay up a little longer?” Tala begged.

Huamo put his hands on his hips before he turned to face the ocean again, knowing that she wanted to talk to the water alone, "Alright, but if I don't see catching up to me in five minutes, I'm turning around and dragging you back myself." He empathized by holding up all five of his fingers, "Five minutes, do you understand?"

Tala flashed him a grateful smile and nodded, “Five minutes, no more, no less,” She went over and hugged him, feeling that he needed one after a long day.

Huamo hugged her back for about a minute before he pulled away and reminded her, “Remember, five minutes.” Before he turned around and made his way toward the steep slopes.

Bloop.

Tala looked up to see the Ocean had risen in its swell form before her once again, and despite not having any eyes or facial features, she could tell the Ocean was staring into her very soul. Tala took a step forward with her arm out and giggled as the water quite literally wrapped around her arm, she leaned forward pressing her forehead against its watery top, giving her elemental being a hongi. Before she pulled back with a warm smile on her face, “Mom would’ve come back as a sea turtle, wouldn’t she?” The Ocean responded by dipping its large swell on the top of her head and giving her hair a salty whirlpool wash, before pulling away, letting Tala’s hair slosh down her head like newly soaked u’a.

Some of the water entered her mouth and down her throat, making her cough, before she gathered her soaked hair, and started to wring the water out of each strand on her head. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Tala said with her usual humor, as she continued squeezing the seawater out. Then she heard the short chant coming from the Ocean again.

Suddenly she noticed something floating up inside the Ocean’s transparent head, she took a step forward and stretched out her hand, her fingers just inches from sinking through to grab it when out of nowhere…

SMACK!

The Ocean immediately slapped her hand. “Ow!” Tala cried before drawing her hand back, she immediately understood, “Okay, no touching.” The Ocean used its tip to tap on the clamshell necklace she had on. Tala quickly opened it and held it out as far as she could while wearing the jewelry. The Ocean slowly leaned in using its current to bring the object forward, and the closer it got, the more details were revealed.

It was a keepsake made from bone, carved in the shape of a fishhook. Her fingers were itching to touch it, and it took the Ocean smacking her hand again to realize just how close she was to making contact with it. Tala quickly pulled her hand back and gave the Ocean an apologetic smile, before the sentient water carried on, and just when the keepsake nearly reached the inside of the shell Huamo’s hand popped in out of nowhere and immediately grabbed the small fishhook-shaped carving just in time.

Huamo took a deep breath, turned to his younger daughter, and told her with a no-nonsense tone in his voice, “Five minutes is up, go back to the fale right now.”

“Yes, sir…” Tala replied nervously before she quickly closed the clamshell, and turned to quickly march away.

The Ocean pulled itself away from Huamo’s clenched fist, and the second his hand became dry an instant hot pain seared the skin of his fingers, and dropped the bone carving as he cried out in pain. The Ocean moved quickly and pulled the bone carving back inside its body, letting the current drag it back down before it wrapped its watery form around Huamo’s injured hand, but the effects from the carving were already starting to take place. His vision started to blur and spin at the same time, he shivered as he felt both cold and hot at the same time.

Plop!

“Dad!” Was the last thing he could remember hearing as his last thoughts immediately questioned which one of his daughters was running to this dangerous place.

Chapter Text

A wince escaped from Hinatea’s lips as she sat across the dimly lit fale while the sixty-year-old Taulāsea Waiola rubbed a thin paste made from ‘awapuhi, ash from burnt small bamboo leaves and kukui nut sap on her bruised skin. Waiola lifted one of her thin fingers to her lips and shushed her sharply as they sat in the same space where she, her elder granddaughters, and her youngest and only son all slept. “Goodness sake girl, it’s just a bruise stop acting like you’re going to die.” Waiola scolded with a fed-up tone as she continued without holding anything back, “You made your father angry, didn’t you?”

“Nothing gets past you does it?” Hinatea muttered with low spirit before she yelped from the sharp whack Waiola gave to the back of her head before she finished treating Hinatea’s wound by wrapping it in tapa.

“That was for Hiapo and my other sons,” Waiola scolded as she turned to the young woman before her, and much to her surprise, and a little dismay, Hinatea didn’t let out her hot temper as usual, in fact, all Waiola could see was a young woman weighed down by the mountains of burden on her shoulders. “Alright, go on and tell me what’s bothering you, and let’s just get this over with. Seeing you moping like this is making me nervous.”

“It’s nothing…” Hinatea replied, “I already tried talking to my dad about it… and it sounded stupid the more I thought about it.”

Waiola raised an eyebrow, “Young lady, I’ve raised five daughters, believe me, I’ve had my share of stupid. Now, out with it.” 

Hinatea hesitated but decided to take the plunge, “Well… it turns out Dad and both feel like outsiders––not that I’m an outsider no! I mean––”

“You’re right, that is stupid.” Waiola retorted before she neatly placed a strand of her curly gray hair back in her thick bun before she leaned forward and waited for her to continue, when she felt Hinatea was taking too long, she sternly asked, “Are you going to continue or not?”

“Well… the thing is, what if I’m one too?” Hinatea questioned, “What if Whakaī is right, I don’t look like anyone in my family… so––”

“And why would you listen to that idiot?” Waiola scolded as she put her hands on her surprisingly small hips, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, look at Hiapo, he doesn’t look a thing like me but I certainly remember giving birth to him.” The more Hinatea thought about it, the more she began to question if Waiola did give birth at all, her thin but aged physique certainly said otherwise.

But Hinatea pushed those thoughts out of her head and asked, “Is that why you consider your sons-in-law as your children too?”

“Well, of course!” Waiola said as if it were the obvious thing in the world, “I knew those boys since before they could walk. But I wouldn’t imagine any of my daughters wanting to marry them.” She muttered her breath, “They could’ve chosen better if you ask me.” She waved her hand in the air again, “Ugh. I’m getting off-topic. The point is, don’t listen to that arrogant idiot, understand?”

“Understood,” Hinatea replied as she managed to smile a little, slowly that smile changed to a look of confusion, and for a moment Hinatea believed her mind was playing tricks on her when the distant hums of a conch shell were heard outside, but the confused look on Waiola’s face told her otherwise. The sound seemed to grow closer with each minute.

Hiapo slowly stirred and let out a half-tired grunt as he blurted out, “What’s going on?” He listened as one by one his nieces woke up behind him. He squinted his eyes while trying to get his mind to wake up, and once he realized what the sound was, he quickly got up and left the fale for the beach in front of the island. Hinatea immediately followed after him and picked up a long stick on the way.

<III><III><III><III>

A pair of dark brown upturned eyes, narrowed as the scene played on. Huamo had collapsed in his feverish stupor, and Tala rushed to her father’s aid, before turning him over, and that’s when the Ocean decided to make its presence known by rising out of the water.

Soon, that same pair of eyes glinted in victory as the ocean breeze blew against his long black half-tied hair, lifting some of the layers off his shoulders, “I knew it,” The young man slowly stood up from the cliffside overlooking the small beach, as he triumphally crossed his arms over his chest. The Ocean quickly reverted to its watery form, and a few minutes later, a fisherman’s canoe was deliberately being pushed by the water toward where Tala sat with her father’s head resting on her lap before she gently laid him back down on the sand and quickly got on the canoe, and then the Ocean reappeared and wrapped itself around Huamo before placing him on the boat.

Whakaī always knew there was something off about this stupid island and its increasingly brainless inhabitants. Whakaī walked toward the fale talimalo with purpose, the same time the villagers had awoke to the call of the conch shell and left their houses for the beach, as he carried on––even having to push past some of them to get where he needed to go.

He climbed up the short stone steps, pushed the pola to one side, and saw both his parents were still up.

His mother Kura whom he’d inherited from his dark upturned eyes, strong features, and straight hair sat across from his father. Her hair which she’d up in a full topknot and decorated with leaves from their home island bounced as she turned to face him, and her clothing consisted of a one-piece red siapo held up by a woven tapa neck strap that went around the back of her neck to the center front part of her dress. Her slightly wide-spread eyes stared at him as she asked, “What’s happening out there?”

Whakaī strode over and sat cross-legged between his parents and said, “It looks like that lowly man touched something he wasn’t supposed to.”

Kura knew exactly who he was referring to and reminded him, “That lowly man is married to the Chiefess,”

“Was. She’s been gone for two years, Mother. She’s as good as dead at this point,” Whakaī stated as if it were fact. He turned and saw a brief glimpse of sadness in her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re actually sad about it.” He rolled his eyes at her and asked, “Why are you even sad about it anyway, I say this is the perfect time to put them all in their––”

“In their what?” Chief Turu interrupted, “You were going to say: Place. Weren’t you?”

“Exactly.” Whakaī spoke, his tone a little too eager for his parents’ liking, “They have no High Chief, their Orator looks like he could die any day––”

“Watch your tongue.” Chief Turu scolded sharply, “Think where you are before you open that stupid mouth of yours, and I respect Tui and his people. Unlike some people within my village.” He looked pointedly at his son as he reached over for the ipu and took a sip of kava. “Moana is twice the warrior you’ll ever be, and I will not have you speak about her that way.”

Whakaī quickly turned to his mother, hoping she could see his logic in all this, but Kura narrowed her eyes in disapproval, showing that she sided with his father.

Chief Turu reminded him, “Many lives were lost during the thousand years Te Fiti lost her heart. Not, just lives Whakaī but our histories––our identities, how much is twenty-four years compared to that?” He took a deep breath as he could feel his temper rising, “Barely a ripple, it’s thanks to Chiefess Moana that all of us have found ourselves again. She’s accomplished more than what our people can repay.”

Whakaī leaned forward and said, “That was then, this is now.”

“Whakaī, you will drop this issue.” Kura stated and repeated firmly when he opened his mouth, “You will drop this issue. The time for fighting is done, the time for compassion is now. You’re going to go out there and offer your help.”

“But––”

“So says your mother, now go,” Kura told him with a sharp tilt of her head and a widening of her fierce-looking eyes.

“Yes, Mother,” Whakaī replied bitterly before he pushed himself up, while Chief Turu handed his wife a newly poured cup of kava.

“Whakaī,” Chief Turu called out just as his son was about to push the pola to one side, “Did you see what Huamo touched?”

Whakaī answered truthfully, “No. I was too high up the cliff, but all I know is the Ocean was about to hand that low-born brat of his something.”

Chief Turu and his wife stared at each other for a moment, before he turned back to Whakaī, “You saw the Ocean rise?”

“Yes, in a tall swell, that low-born brat––”

“Tala.” Kura interrupted, “She is still a Chiefess’ daughter and you will call her by her proper name.”

“Tala was down in that tiny sandpit they call a beach, and the Ocean wanted to give something to her, and her idiot father got in the way and grabbed the thing.” Whakaī paused for a moment and asked, “Do you think he’s going to die?”

“Enough.” Chief Turu commanded after he finished his kava, and stood up to approach his son, “And it seems I can’t trust you to put your disrespect aside, stay here with your mother and I will help them myself.”

Whakaī turned to his mother with an astonished look as he asked, “Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”

Kura narrowed her eyes and asked, “Why shouldn’t I? Did he say anything that wasn’t true?” Her expression hardened as she stood to walk and looked her son in the eyes, “I’ve never been more ashamed of you in my entire life.”

“Because I lost the race?” Whakaī questioned as he stared his mother down.

“No, because of your pride, I’d hope losing that canoe race taught you some humility, but I guess I had my hopes set too high with you.” With that Kura headed toward the front entrance of the fale.

“Where are you going?” Whakaī questioned as he followed behind her after rolling his eyes in exaggeration and added, “This is none of our concern you know.”

“So long as we’re on this island, their concerns are our concerns.” Kura stated before letting a disappointed exhale and she muttered softly but loud enough just for him to hear, “We should’ve taken Toa instead of you,” Her hand had already pushed the pola to one side as she turned to look at her son over her shoulder, “At least he would know when to keep certain opinions to himself.” With that, she walked out after her husband and left her son alone with his thoughts.

<III><III><III><III>

“Grandpa. GRANDPA!” Makoa shouted as he bounced right next to his grandfather’s fala tapito before he rushed and headbutted his sleeping grandfather on his side. Tui let out a loud cry of surprise, and then he felt the throbbing just below his ribcage, just as he was ready to scold his grandson, Makoa shouted from the top of his lungs and woke everyone up, “Mom’s back! Mom’s back!” The little eight-year-old could barely contain himself and rushed out of the faletofa as fast as he could, still shouting the news of his mother’s return for the whole island to hear.

Manaia immediately got up and handed her grandfather his walking cane as he tried to get up as quickly as he could, the euphoria was in the air as the two helped each other walk toward the front entrance.

Melelani ran over and gripped her grandfather’s siapo, “Where are you going?” She asked, Tui didn’t answer, instead, he lifted his youngest granddaughter onto his left arm as he took short, careful, but quick steps outside the fale, with Manaia using herself to help him maintain his balance and speed the whole way down to the beach.

<III><III><III><III>

Tala held on to the rope and the oar, while her father lay down on the outrigger with his injured hand hung off the edge of the outrigger and into the water. The Ocean used its abilities to clean out the effects of the powerful incantation in his hand, and it seemed to work. Huamo slowly started becoming more lucid––lucid enough to know he was on the water and a boat, and someone was steering it. The only person he knew who could steer a canoe was, “Moana…?” And for a moment in his blurry haze, he saw her there looking just as beautiful as the day they met eighteen years ago.

<III><III><III><III>

A large crowd had gathered out on the beach by the time Tui and the rest of his family had arrived, Hinatea quickly grabbed hold of Makoa as he attempted to zoom past her and run to the water.

Everyone’s hearts had stopped in pure anticipation as renewed hope was mixed for some, one of those who felt its effects was her grandfather as Manaia helped him through the crowd as the canoe got closer.

Makoa’s eyes widened with joy and then he saw who was steering the canoe, his expression immediately became expressionless as he muttered flatly, “Oh… it’s just Tala.”

Tui had no time for disappointment as his eyes immediately noticed the second figure lying on the outrigger, and it would seem Hiapo noticed as well as he and several of the young men rushed toward as the canoe finally reached the shore.

Tui quickly pulled his arm off his granddaughter’s shoulders and trotted his way over to the scene. “What happened Tala?” Tui questioned barely containing the concern in his voice.

“I’m going to get my mother,” Hiapo announced urgently after he pushed the rest of the canoe to the sand, and dashed off back to the village path, and that’s when Tui noticed one of Huamo’s hands hanging off as the ocean waves drew forward and back against his skin.

He trotted over and turned the limb back to front with the end of his cane, a second later he felt someone rushing beside him, and he held his cane sideways to stop Hinatea and Manaia from moving closer, “Don’t touch him yet,” He warned them. Hinatea tried pushing her way forward, but he used his cane to push her back and then grabbed Melelani’s little hand when she tried running toward the boat, Manaia got down and pulled her baby sister into her arms.

Chief Turu and Kura watched on a few away from them, and they only caught a glimpse of what was inflicting Huamo. Unbeknownst to them Whakaī also stood amongst the crowd closest to the family. He stood there apathetically even as he saw the black charred marks between each of the finger joints on Huamo’s right hand. Still, he turned his head just to see the expression on Hinatea’s face, and a smirk formed on the left corner of his lips as his eyes narrowed with gleeful anticipation as the ideas kept flowing in his mind.

<III><III><III><III>

An hour had passed since Huamo was moved from the outrigger to Waiola’s fale, and much to Hinatea and Manaia’s dismay, only Tala, Tui, and two of Waiola’s eldest daughters were permitted to enter, while the rest of their families had to wait outside.

Hinatea took a deep breath before she turned around to address the crowd, she started awkwardly as words were never her strength, but they were looking up to her now. “I know, it’s my grandfather’s job to give speeches but, uh…” She turned to Hiapo with an unsure look, he gestured for her to keep doing it while giving her an encouraging smile at the same time, she took another deep breath and continued, “He can’t be here right now, so as the taupou I thank you all for being here, wishing for my father’s recovery from whatever sickness he has…” She cleared her throat awkwardly before she continued trying to sound certain, “And he will recover. His name means: to be raised in the waves. If he was able to rise out of the great ocean, then he can rise above anything.”

Another voice cut through the crowd with a sneering tone, “And what if he can’t.” Whakaī slowly stood from where he sat at the very back, he slowly made his way down toward the space between the two rows of people, “What if he will die.” He emphasized the last part while maintaining that lopsided smirk on his face as his eyes remained fixated on Hinatea as he wanted to burn her very spirit, “Then your people will have no High Chief, so what will you do then?”

“We will pick a new Chief.” Hinatea countered after straightening her back as she stared him down.

Whakaī chuckled snidely as he shook his head before he continued taking bold steps toward her, “Who? Your grandfather?” He inched a little closer but Hiapo and his brothers-in-law immediately put themselves between Whakaī and Hinatea. Whakaī let out a soft snort as he looked at Hinatea over all of their shoulders, he saw the determined look on her face and let out another snide chuckle, “Wait, don’t tell me you think you’ll be the next Chief?”

Manaia put Melelani down and stepped in while keeping the three-year-old close to her, “And what if she does?”

“Yeah!” Makoa interjected as he went to stand with Hiapo and the others, “This is our village and we make the rules!”

Whakaī retorted, “Really, do the rules also say an orphan can be Chief?” Everything went silent, most of Tuatahi’s adult villagers sat with consternation written on their faces, not from some unveiling of an unknown secret to all of them, but because the secret the adults knew about had been so blatantly revealed to the one person they promised to protect.

“What are you talking about?” Hinatea questioned.

Manaia was just as perplexed as Hinatea was feeling at that moment, and this was made even more evident as she turned to face her older sister and then turned to Hiapo and his brothers-in-law, who all stood around with uneasy looks on their faces.

Hinatea felt the anger rising and she marched over toward Whakaī and declared with an accusing tone “You’re a liar––”

“Oh, am I?” Whakaī countered as he towered over her and he felt a surge of triumph over her, “Why don’t you ask your dad before he––” Her fist immediately collided with his cheek with enough strength to knock him off his feet.

Hinatea started heaving as she slowly stood up with her back straight while looking down at Whakaī as he rubbed his jaw before he turned to look up at her, anger flashed in his eyes the second he saw that victorious look in her eyes, and he quickly got up and rushed at her, Hinatea was all ready for it, but Hiapo and his brothers-in-law immediately jumped in as well with Hiapo lifting his arm to block Whakaī’s fist. Hiapo narrowed his eyes and stated, “You’re outnumbered here.”

Whakaī’s eyes slowly shifted to look in front of him and counted ten heads in front of him and then he turned to look behind him to see at least a thousand or more.

Whakaī straightened his back as he faced Hiapo, “Fine, I get it, but before you start defending your precious taupou why don’t have her ask her father what exactly he touched to get himself so sick?”

Hinatea was ready to rip his head off, but two of Hiapo’s eldest brothers-in-law held her back by the arms. Whakaī smirked and added just to get under her skin, “Or, maybe you should ask him who your real father is.”

“Whakaī, that’s far enough.” Chief Turu spoke up as he stood, “You’ve made your point quite clear.”

Whakaī turned to his father and said, “Not yet,” He turned back to the group as he stared pointedly at Hinatea, “You look like him, your real dad. The trickster, the one who stole the heart of Te Fiti, the famed demigod Maui––” Once again Whakaī was knocked off his feet by another punch to his other jaw. Everyone’s eyes went wide when they saw who exactly had punched Whakaī.

Manaia straightened her back as she looked down at Whakaī heaving, she sniffed and quickly fixed her hair and her eyes went wide as she realized what she had done.

“Whoa. Little sister I didn’t know you had in you.” Hinatea remarked with an impressed grin on her face and her arms crossed on her chest.

Manaia quickly turned to Whakaī in panic as she held her hands out in front of him, “I’m sorry I didn’t––” The words barely left her lips when Whakaī jumped to his feet and lunged at her. Hinatea quickly swooped in immediately, got in front of her sister, and instinctively gave Whakaī an uppercut to his stomach, knocking him and the wind out of his stomach as he fell to his knees.

Once the young man was down, Chief Turu pressed his hand on his shoulder and forced him to stay down as he knelt alongside him, “On behalf of my son and my people, I sincerely apologize for Whakaī’s insult to you and your people.”

Hinatea stood there with her arms crossed over her chest unsure what to make of it for the moment, but there was one thing she knew that she had to check out first. She turned to look over at Manaia behind her and asked, “You good?”

Manaia slowly nodded her head while she stood there in partial shock at just how close she was to being attacked.

Hinatea turned to face Chief Turu and Whakaī again as her eyes shifted between the two. She thought seeing Whakaī being put in his place would make her happy… well, it did, but not as much as she expected. Hinatea took a deep breath approached the two and knelt in front of Chief Turu, “You don’t have to apologize,” She told him kindly as she took his hands and helped him up before she added just as Whakaī was about to stand but stopped the second Hinatea referred to him, “Your kid on the other hand.” Chief Turu looked behind him and nodded in understanding before he bowed his head in acceptance.

Hinatea thought of the perfect punishment and let his sentence be known, “He’ll be tied up in the malae.” She grinned as she called for her brother, “Makoa.” The little boy immediately rushed to his sister’s side with an equally excited-looking grin as she told him, “You and your friends can throw as much mud on him as much as you want.”

“As much as we want?” Makoa asked gleefully.

“As much as you want!” Hinatea paused for a moment and answered with a wide smile, “You know what, I say we all can throw mud at him tomorrow.” Soon the sounds of cheers echoed all around them.  Hearing all the noise only made the smile on her face widen as she turned to face her sister, and was confused to see her in her shocked state, so she took the plunge and tried in her own way to cheer her sister up, “Okay, I gotta be honest––I was not expecting you to actually hit the jerk. So, uh… good job Manaia––”

Manaia took a deep breath and tried her best to remain as calm and graceful as possible, “Hitting our guests isn’t something to be proud of Hinatea. Even if he deserved it––”

“Exactly.” Hinatea cut in, “He deserved it, so don’t feel bad about it, I mean if I were you––”

“You’re not me.” Manaia stated as she whirled around, “And I don’t want to be like you. You’re always on the offense Hina, that’s a problem––a really big problem––”

Hinatea was taken aback and frankly very offended, “Hey, I’m just saying you impressed me––”

“I don’t want anyone to be impressed! Especially Makoa and Melelani.” Manaia stated, “The last thing I want is to be a bad influence on them like you––” She saw what their brother was doing in the corner of her eye, “Makoa put that rock down!” The eight-year-old boy stopped in his tracks and grumpily dropped the rock he was about to throw at Whakaī’s face. Manaia shook her head in disappointment, “Mom would be so disappointed.”

Hinatea scoffed as she put her hands on her hips, “Yeah. She’d be disappointed at what a big coward you’re turning––”

Waiola suddenly cleared her throat to make her presence known, as she’d been silently standing at the entrance to her fale for the last ten minutes and saw everything that unfolded outside. Hinatea quickly turned and raced up the stone steps. Manaia walked over and picked Melelani up to follow after her.

“How is he?” Hinatea asked at the same time her younger siblings quickly rushed to stand behind her, as they all waited anxiously for the news.

Waiola pulled her pola to one side and told them, “One at a time, and since Hina’s the eldest she gets to go in first.” Soon the sounds of protests from Manaia and Makoa followed. Still, Waiola shut them both up with a single hand raise before she motioned Hinatea to enter, leaving Manaia to stand there with Melelani on her hip.

Makoa was standing by her side with his arms crossed in annoyance as he declared with a deadpan expression, “Why do all the good things always happen to her?”

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea stepped inside and saw grandfather sitting to her father’s left and Tala to their father’s right, while Aimata and Mele sat by each side of Huamo’s head, while the two continued trying to bring his fever down while he continued mumbling the same thing, he had been saying for the past hour, “When her skin touched the fire, she didn’t burn…”

Hinatea turned to the tāulasea with a concerned look as Waiola sat down by the top of her father’s head, Hinatea voiced her main concern, “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Waiola stated casually, “We managed to counter most of the effects that incantation––” She held her hand up to stop Hinatea from talking, and then carried on, “––had on your father, but as you can see it’s a little stronger than what we’ve faced before.”

“Before?” Hinatea questioned as her confusion became even more evident by the minute, she turned to her grandfather for a moment before she turned to Waiola, “What do you mean––” She physically stopped herself from asking that question and reminded herself of what was important, “Can’t you do more for him?”

“I can’t, but you can,” Waiola stated bluntly before she turned and gave Tui a sharp look. Hinatea turned her head toward where her father lay still mumbling the same phrase, as she reached over and took his hand before she looked up at Waiola and her grandfather before she asked, “How?”

Tui took a deep breath, reached for his walking cane, and shakily rose to his feet with Tala letting him use her shoulder as a boost to help him stand, he took short but quick steps toward Hinatea as he told her while she stood up, he took her hand before he led her out through the back of Waiola’s fale,  “You’d best come with me. There’s something I need to show you.”

Chapter Text

Hinatea couldn’t believe it and she found it funny about the amount times she had to go to her mother’s beach in one night. Still, at the same time, it was nostalgic to put one foot in front of the other, while her hand pressed against the side of the coastal wall, feeling the small jagged pieces of earth and rocks that made up its surface. For a brief moment, she saw a vision of a tiny hand pressing the same spot when she spotted a familiar hand pressing the spot next to hers.

Her big round eyes looked up at nature’s wonder in complete awe before her father pulled his hand away from the steep coastal erosion as they continued walking down toward the beach, his brief explanation was etched in her mind, “There’s someone special who’s been dying to meet you.”

Hinatea couldn’t remember the person’s features… but she little recalled that he was big both in a physical and metaphorical sense, and the silhouette of his thick curly ha––“Whoa!” She yelped as Tui felt her hand slipping from his hand. He quickly rushed over toward the edge, stopping only when he felt nothing underneath the end of his cane.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

He heard that loud slap at the bottom of the coastal cliff, and he turned around and headed down there as fast as he could.

<III><III><III><III>

With one final loud THUD Hinatea landed, face-planted on the sand, and laid still for a minute, then a groan escaped her lips before her head suddenly shot up and spat the sand out of her mouth. The coughing ensued and she heard her grandfather’s distant voice call out to her, “Hina!”

Hinatea spat out the remaining sand from her mouth as she slowly stood up, and then a sharp pain suddenly shot up from her right ankle, forcing her down. She let out a sharp wince as she sat there sucking in her lips to stop herself from crying out in pain as she sat for a few minutes. Fifteen minutes passed until she heard her grandfather calling for her, “Hinatea!”

Hinatea took a deep breath to lessen the pain and answered, “I’m here!” The sounds of her grandfather’s footsteps and cane pressing against the sand soon followed. Then he dropped his cane as he placed both his hands on her shoulders and helped her to her feet, but the second she put the smallest amount of pressure on her ankle, she collapsed to the sand again and winced in pain. Tui got up slowly, grabbed his cane, and handed it to her as a crutch.

“We should head back,” Tui insisted as he helped her to her feet.

Hinatea scoffed as she waved off his concerns, “Pfft! I’ll be fine… besides, you said you wanted to show me something, and if that thing can help my dad, then all this––ow…” Another wince escaped her lips as she forced a smile and said through gritted teeth, “…is worth it.”

Tui offered her his arm to lean on as he gave her a proud smile, “So be it.” Hinatea wrapped her arm around his and limply followed his lead toward the shore. That’s when Hinatea heard him take a long almost solemn breath.

Hinatea immediately asked,  “You okay?”

“I’m alright,” Tui reassured her as he patted her hand before he turned his head toward the sea, and his smile disappeared as that solemn expression returned to his face as they reached the shore, “This is what I wanted to show you.”

“The ocean?” Hinatea replied skeptically as she turned to him, “Grandpa, I’ve seen the ocean almost every…” Right on cue, the Ocean slowly rose into a single swell and stood tall before her, leaving her standing there stunned as she slowly finished her sentence, “…day.” The Ocean leaned forward to her. Slowly she reached her hand toward the anthropomorphic water, and just then another memory played before her eyes. Her hand seemed to have shrunk to a toddler’s size as she remembered a pair of warm strong arms holding her. She remembered it was her mother who’d been holding her as they went to meet the Ocean together. That’s when everything blurred in her mind, and none of this seemed to make sense. What did this have to do with helping fix her dad? Just as the question struck her mind, she felt water swirling around her ankle and looked down to see the Ocean had stretched out its appendage around her injury.

The sensation felt odd at first, but the coolness of the water helped a lot with the pain, then she felt something hard brushing against her skin, making her look down. Something was swirling up her leg. Hinatea quickly held her hands out in front of her as the sounds of boiling water sounded before the small object landed in her hands.

“Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!” Hinatea screamed as she juggled the small thing between her palms before it flew and landed in the sand. She winced after she unknowingly took a step back on her broken ankle, her mind so preoccupied with the heat she hadn’t noticed the lack of pain or imbalance till her grandfather’s walking cane landed on the sand. Hinatea quickly turned her head and knelt. That’s when she expected the pain to come.

Only it didn’t.

Confused, she reached over and ran her hand over her ankle. “It’s healed?” Her eyes widened with glee, “It’s healed!” Her joy was palpable but also short-lived.

Panic ensued and she rushed to find that small thing in the sand, that’s when she noticed a small spot on the beach that began vibrating. She immediately stretched out her hand and grabbed a handful of sand, the shaking continued till all the sand slid off the edges of her hand, leaving the little object in her hand. This had to be it.

Tui with his walking cane in his grasp, slowly trotted behind her. He barely had the chance to address the situation when she suddenly jumped and turned around to run back to Waiola’s fale. Tui stood there astonished by her sudden actions before he slowly shook his head in amusement. BLOOP.  He didn’t need to turn around to know the Ocean was there in its swell form. The two watched as she sprinted up the steep path with speeding determination. Tui’s hands rested on the top of his cane. He felt the Ocean’s worry just as it felt his sadness as he turned to his left where the Ocean had stretched out its body to stand beside him, Tui slowly lifted his left hand from the top of his cane.

<III><III><III><III>

“When her skin touched the fire, she didn’t burn…” Huamo murmured again as Waiola pressed the cold cloth against his feverish forehead, and they all watched as his head slowly began to toss and turn.

“What is he talking about?” Manaia questioned as she and her brother were finally called in to enter.

“I got it!” Hinatea shrieked as she rushed in with her clenched fist held up high, she skidded her feet across the stone floor and quickly knelt beside Tala, ready to hand the trinket over to Waiola when she stopped her with a single hand raise.

“Oh no, I’m not touching that thing.” Waiola declared.

“What?” Hinatea nearly exclaimed, “You’re the healer here––”

Waiola bonked her upside on the head with her wood pestle and remarked, “Your memory’s worse than mine. If this what you young people are like nowadays then we’re all doomed.” She put her pestle down and crossed her arms over her chest like the grumpy woman Hinatea remembered her to be and declared, “I’m going to say this once and only once, so keep your mouth shut––”

“Nana that’s a fishhook,” Melelani stated as she pointed at her eldest sister’s hand. Hinatea immediately looked down, clearly not realizing what she had held in her hand, and her baby sister was right.

“Good eye, Melelani.” Waiola remarked before she turned her attention back to Hinatea, “You’re the only one who can help your father and you need that fishhook to help, now give me your hand––your other hand.”

“I still don’t see how that––”

<III><III><III><III>

A blood-curdling scream nearly made everyone outside the fale jump and their hearts almost stopped from the sheer volume of the sound, and sure enough, the sounds of Hinatea’s angry shouts followed, “You just cut me!”

Hiapo winced before he turned around to face his older brothers-in-law to see which one of them wanted to see what was going on, but they all backed away the second their eyes met, the message was clear Waiola was his mother and they had nothing to do with the wrath she might’ve procured. Hiapo shook his head and called them out, “Cowards.” Before he walked over to the stone steps and climbed up, his brothers-in-law had some women, their wives included, laughing at them as he made his way up.

“Quit overreacting, you’re acting like I just cut your whole arm off––” His mother argued, “I shudder to think about the future with a whiny brat like you as Chief.”

Hiapo could only imagine the scene he was dreading walking into, he barely took one step forward when his mother hollered from inside, “Hiapo unless you want to wake up with two bumps on your head in the morning, you’re staying out there!”

Hiapo shook his head amusingly and replied, “Yes ma’am.” He turned around and gave all of his brothers-in-law an irritated look when they started laughing at him in return, but their waves of laughter soon died down when they realized their wives weren’t pleased. Slowly, that’s when they all felt the change in the air, on their island.

<III><III><III><III>

 
The anticipation was high after Hinatea quickly removed the fishhook bone carving from her father’s hand. She and Manaia immediately leaned forward and looked down, each inching closer with every breath he took, while Tala had the good sense not to move, sure enough, her older sisters were given sharp double whacks to the back of their heads.

“Let him have some air before all your worrying smothers him to death.” Waiola scolded as Huamo finally took a deep inhale as sweat finally appeared, this was a good sign.

Aimata looked up at her mother, to make sure he was safe to touch, Waiola immediately nodded, and her eldest daughter proceeded to press her hand against Huamo’s forehead, she smiled as she delivered the good news, “His fever is breaking.”

Relief immediately washed over Hinatea’s face before she paused and looked at the fishhook in her hand and that’s when she had an epiphany she barely opened her mouth when Waiola cut her off and declared.

“You’re not keeping that thing.”

Hinatea was taken aback and argued, “But it just healed him!”

“Yes, but, it also caused this whole mess in the first place,” Waiola explained impatiently as she straightened her back and pressed her hands on her knees, she put on a serious tone as she pointed out, “So, you have to ask yourself: Is that little thing worth keeping if it can hurt others too?”

That made Hinatea pause momentarily as she looked down at the small bone carving again before she pointed out, “It didn’t hurt me though…” She had another thought and unwrapped the dressings on her wrist, not a single trace of the bruise was left, “See!”

“Where am I…?” All eyes immediately turned to Huamo, who was slowly starting to regain consciousness as his incoherent gaze slowly traced about the fale as everyone inside could see his mind trying to make sense of what was happening.

Waiola sat in her spot calmly and chuckled, “So, you’ve finally decided to join the living, though you’d be a lot happier being dead than alive––”

“Mother.” Aimata admonished, “You can’t say that sort of thing.”

“And why not?” Waiola questioned with one eyebrow raised, “Why would anyone want to carry on living with all the nonsense and stress life has to offer? You’ll be living the dream when you’re dead anyway.”

“She’s got a point.” Tala piped in with a cheeky smile, “Just think about how free you’ll be.”

“Now see, she’s the smart one.” Waiola remarked, “You all can learn a thing or two from her.”

Upon hearing his daughter’s voice, he remembered seeing her rushing to him and he panicked, “Where’s Tala––”

Tala leaned over and put her hands on his shoulders, “I’m here, I’m here.” She looked over at her siblings and emphasized, “We’re all here.”

“Except for Grandpa.” Makoa blurted.

Hearing that Huamo forced himself to sit up as he turned to the older four of his five children, “Where is he?”

Hinatea’s eyes immediately went wide, and she jumped to her feet when she finally remembered she’d left him down at her mother’s beach alone. She’d left her elderly grandfather alone. Manaia glared at her, Makoa looked bored out of his mind, and Tala gave her a soft sympathetic smile as she shrugged her shoulders. Hinatea let out an awkward chuckle, “I’ll be right back…” before she quickly turned around and ran out of the fale like her life depended on it.

She stopped halfway there and looked back at Waiola’s fale before she looked down at the pendant in her hand. She took a quick deep breath and put the bone carving in her abalone locket before she raced off to get her grandfather.

<III><III><III><III>

Manaia maintained her glare as she watched her older sister leave before she rolled her eyes in annoyance before Melelani climbed off her lap and rushed to their father’s side before she had the chance to grab her.

Huamo didn’t seem to mind and held his hand up to show it. Manaia eased up a bit before giving her youngest sister a half-stern look. “Papa, Manaia hit Whakaī tonight,” Melelani stated with pride.

“What?” Huamo questioned in complete disbelief as he stared at Manaia with a bewildered look on his face as his mind struggled with the idea of his graceful and often too gentle daughter––

Makoa immediately cut in, using his fists to visually narrate the story, “Yeah! She just jumped out of nowhere and WHAM. He was knocked down and––”

Huamo interrupted, his expression now stern as he said while turning his head to Manaia, “Makoa, I appreciate your enthusiasm but I want to hear it from your sister. Go on Manaia.”

Manaia softly narrated as Makoa sulked beside her, “Whakaī said somethings about Mom…” She paused as she tried to find the right words to make the situation sound as unoffending as possible.

Huamo gave her a few minutes before he questioned, “Manaia. What did he say about your mother?”

She took a deep breath, “He said… he implied that well she had Hinatea with Maui, and what he said was unforgivable, but, what I did was––”

Huamo reached over and touched his daughter’s cheek, “No. You did the right thing by defending your mother’s dignity,” He smiled warmly at her, “And I’m proud of you.”

She paused and stared at him, the shame still clear in her eyes, “But… I did it in front of everyone. Even his parents, what if––”

Waiola cut in as she crossed her arms over her chest,  “For goodness sake, I didn’t hear any angry yelling from them, so they’re probably sick of his antics too. You just did them a favor. So, don’t feel too bad about it.” She raised an eyebrow at the expression on Manaia’s face, “Either way, keep all the serious topics for tomorrow, your father still needs rest.” She slowly stood up, “And you two need to talk it out.”

“Where are you going?” Manaia asked with a confused glance as Waiola approached the front entrance.

Waiola answered, “To tell everyone outside that Huamo’s fine, and now they can all shoo off to their homes.” She then muttered as she stepped out, “Back in my day we never used to worry our butts over this sort of nonsense anyway.”

  <III><III><III><III>

“Grandpa, I’m so sorry!” Hinatea hollered as she finally reached the small beach, stopping to catch her breath first before approaching the stone her grandfather was sitting on. He had his eyes and head tilted back, with a serene smile on his face as the ocean breeze caressed his skin. Just as she thought he hadn’t noticed her presence or heard her shout, he opened his eyes and turned to her.

“How did it go?” He asked with a calm smile on his face, showing her he didn’t mind and understood why she took off.

Hinatea was practically beaming “It went great! Dad’s awake and his fever is breaking, he’s talking…” Her smile softened a little but never lost its warmth as she turned to ask him, “How did you know about the thing?”

Tui raised an eyebrow, “The thing?”

“The fishhook Grandpa,” Hinatea clarified, “How did you know it was here?”

Tui slowly stood up and approached her saying, “That’s a story for another day, now it’s time to return the thing back to where it belongs.”

“But why?” Hinatea questioned and continued before her grandfather could even get a word in, her pitch getting higher as she tried imploring with his grandfatherly instincts,  “What if we keep it? If it can heal things like broken bones, burns, and––”

Tui gave her a sympathetic look as he spoke to her patiently, “Hinatea, I understand you’re excited, but that fishhook also has the power to harm, just as you saw with your father tonight. So please put it back.”

Hinatea wanted to argue, but her grandfather purposely widened his eyes as a stern warning. With a long sigh she begrudgingly opened her abalone shell locket, reluctantly took the fishhook carving out, and slowly walked over to the shore. She knelt as she lowered her down-turned hand toward the sand, intending to leave it on its surface till the water came ashore and covered her hand. She immediately pressed the hook deep into the sand, hiding it from her grandfather’s view before she got up and turned around, lifting her now empty hands.

Satisfied, he extended his arm to her, motioning his eldest granddaughter over to him. Hinatea walked toward him, allowing her grandfather to put his arm around her and lead her way from the beach. They climbed up the stoop, reaching just the right peak for Hinatea to look back at the exact spot where the fishhook lay buried in the sand. The uncertainty hit as she bit her lower lip when her grandfather wasn’t looking; what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them… right?

<III><III><III><III>

“Dad… there’s one more thing that Whakaī said,” Manaia hesitated before she turned to Tala and eyed their younger siblings.

Tala got the hint and picked Melelani up from her sister’s lap, balanced the toddler against her hip before she pulled Makoa by the ear knowing full well that he would protest as she took them out to the back entrance, “Okay, time to wait outside!”

Once her siblings left, she looked up at the ceiling and deeply breathed while her father slowly sat up. She braced herself and said, “He said Mom’s as good as dead…”

“Manaia, you don’t believe that––”

“It’s been two years Dad.” Manaia pointed out before swallowing the lump in her throat, “It makes sense… it shouldn’t take this long to return from Motunui––”

“C’mere,” Huamo sighed as he motioned his daughter to come close and hugged her the second she leaned in, “Never mind what Whakaī said, your mother’s probably still in Motunui trying to help out your aunt, you know looking after babies isn’t easy.”

Manaia chuckled at that before her frown returned and she looked up at her father, “But what if he’s right? What are we going to do––”

“That’s something for your grandfather and I  to worry about,” Huamo told her after cupping her chin with his uninjured hand, “And I know it’s a very important topic we need to discuss, but it’s still grown-up stuff.”

“Will Hinatea be included in this discussion?” Manaia questioned after she wiped away her tears.

Huamo immediately picked up the hostility in her tone and sighed, “That’s up to her if she wants to join in or not.” He watched as his daughter looked down in thought, then closed her eyes to take a deep breath before looking up at him again.

“Can’t you tell her to stay out of it?” She asked before she carried on, “It’s not like she’ll be mature or smart enough to understand how serious this is.”

“Manaia.” Huamo went with a warning tone as he pushed her away slightly to look her in the eyes as he kept a firm hold on her shoulder, “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but whatever it is, it doesn’t give you the right to talk down on your sister like that. Why can’t you two get along like your mother and aunt do?” Huamo saw the guilt and frustration in his daughter’s eyes after he said those words, he pulled his hand away and let out a long sigh, “Never mind.” He quickly changed the subject, “So, are you still going to apologize to Chief Turu and Kura?”

“I will in the morning.” Manaia replied, “Besides it’s the right thing to do. He might’ve deserved it… but it’s wrong to pay back insults with your fists.” She felt his comforting hand on her shoulder, and a soft smile came to her lips as she looked up at him. 

“You know what I think?” Huamo replied as he looked down at his second eldest daughter, “I should be the one apologizing to his parents in your stead.”

Manaia immediately became uneasy at the thought of her father shouldering the consequences of her actions. “But Dad––”

“You both are still children after all,” Huamo pointed out, “And as parents, we’re still responsible for you two, so don’t worry about it.” He reached up and wiped his thumb against her cheek, “You have more than enough on your shoulders as it is.”

A loud cry grabbed their attention as the two instantly turned to face the back entrance. Manaia quickly got to her feet and immediately went to investigate with Huamo following after her.

<III><III><III><III>

“Get off me!” Makoa screeched as he lay squashed between the ground and his older sister’s backside after his latest escape plan had been foiled yet again. Tala continued to innocently sit on her younger brother, her legs crossed underneath her tapa skirt to keep him in place, and cradle their now-sleeping sister in her lap as he tried and failed to thrash himself free.

Tala simply looked down at him and put her finger to her lips, “You’ll wake the baby.”

“Who cares about the stupid baby!” Makoa shrieked as he whined, “I just want out!”

“Are you going to behave yourself?” Tala questioned with a slight grin, “And promise not to bug Manaia before I do.”

“Promise!” Makoa grunted, “Just lemme up!”

“What’s going on here?” Tui called out as he and Hinatea approached Waiola’s fale to find the amusing sight.

“A grounding,” Tala replied cheerily as she continued cradling Melelani and sitting on Makoa as he continued trying to dig his way out.

“Tala, get off your brother please,” Tui told her.

“Okay!” Tala said lifting Melelani into her arms before jumping to her feet, Makoa quickly scrambled away to Hinatea’s side to hiss at Tala before he hid behind their eldest sister’s leg.

Hinatea plopped her little brother in front of her saying, “Oh no, boys don’t hide behind their sister’s skirts like that, you gotta learn to fight your own battles.”

Tui put his foot down, “No one is fighting anyone.” He looked up as he noticed Huamo and Manaia standing at the back entrance to Waiola’s fale. “Huamo, how’s your hand?”

“Better, all things considered,” Huamo answered before he turned to Manaia and told her, “Why don’t you take your brother and little sisters back to our fale,” He turned to the rest of his children and said with a firm tone while eying Tala and Makoa specifically, “And all of you get some sleep.” 

“Hinatea too, right?” Makoa immediately asked.

Huamo raised an eyebrow and promptly answered, “No. Your grandfather and I need to talk to her alone.”

“No fair…” Makoa grunted as Manaia climbed down the steps and took Melelani from Tala’s arms.

“Come on,” Manaia said leading Makoa away while balancing Melelani against her hip, she looked up at their father and said, “Goodnight Dad.” As she led them away to the faletofa. Huamo waited till they left and his father-in-law stood by his side before he motioned Hinatea to follow them inside.

<III><III><III><III>

Waiola raised an eyebrow as she stepped inside her fale to find the three of them sitting alongside her two eldest daughters as she and Hiapo entered, “Oh. You’re all still here,” Waiola quickly read the room and told her children, “Don’t you have your own families to tend to?”

Hiapo pointed out cheekily with a grin as he pointed to himself, “I don’t,”

“Then get your useless behind out of here and go with your sisters till you find the right woman and stop being such pain in my butt.” Waiola griped.

“I love you too Mother,” Hiapo said with his arms crossed and the same teasing grin on his face before his expression softened as his older sisters got up, bid their mother goodnight, and left through the front entrance, Hiapo added just before he followed after his sisters, “See you tomorrow,”

Waiola waved her hand dismissively before she walked over and sat between Huamo and Tui, and directly across Hinatea. Waiola pressed her hand on her knee as she eyed them all and asked, “Alright, so tell me why exactly you have deemed my home so important enough to have your meeting?”

Huamo answered, “Because this is the one place I trust Tala won’t go around eavesdropping, and I’d rather not have her hear this,” Tui and Waiola exchanged a knowing glance as the two seemed to share the same thought: it was time, but the next things that came out of Huamo’s mouth threw them off, “I think it’s time Manaia receive her malu.”

Hinatea was utterly baffled, “Uh… I don’t think I need to be here if that’s all you’re going to talk abo––”

Tui spoke up, “I agree and I assume you’re letting Hinatea know as a courtesy?”

Huamo let out a short sharp breath, “Actually, Hinatea I want you to be there for your sister to help her through the pain.”

Hinatea quickly held her hands out, “Whoa, whoa, whoa––hold on now, it’s kinda unfair for you to spring this up out of nowhere––”

Tui once again stepped in and reminded her, “You owe her quite a bit, especially for stepping into your role today in your absence.”

Hinatea argued, “I don’t owe her anything.”

“Hina, please.” Huamo interrupted, “I’m not asking for much, I’m just asking you to be there for her during the pain, and you already know how painful tattooing can be.” He closed his eyes and let out a defeated exhale as he pointed out, “And your mother can’t be here to comfort her during all that, but you can. So, I’m counting on you to take your mother’s place.”

Hinatea groaned as she turned to her father, “Why can’t you do it?” She turned to her grandfather, “Or Grandpa, or Tala––”

“I still have to go with Chief Turu for the tree picking, your grandfather will need to oversee the festivities in my place and Tala doesn’t have the same experience as you do,” He reached over, cupped his eldest daughter’s chin, and looked her in the eyes, “Much as Manaia hates to admit it, she will need her big sister for this.”

Hinatea stared at him with a deadpanned expression, “We’re only one minute apart,”

Huamo gave her a begging look, “Please.”

Hinatea tried to resist at first and it worked for about five seconds. Finally, she grunted before throwing her hands up “Alright! Just quit it with the eyes––Dad, you’re too old for that sort of thing!”

<III><III><III><III>

Silence and darkness filled the village by the time they finally left Waiola’s fale, signaling to the two men that everyone had finally gone to rest for the night after all the excitement. A soft sigh of relief left Huamo’s lips as he held the lit torch with his uninjured hand and looked back every couple of steps to make sure Tui could find his way as well.

Tui chuckled slightly in amusement and joked, “Was that relief for giving yourself extra time for the inevitable or to be able to get away from Waiola for the night?”

“A bit of both… maybe? But mostly to get away from Waiola, she scares me more than Tala does.” Huamo retorted with a cheeky tone that reminded him so much of Tala.

Tui raised an eyebrow, “Tala scares you?”

“A little bit,” Huamo admitted before he paused and clarified, “Especially with how she seems to be able to read you better than you can read yourself.” His steps slowed before coming to a stop, “And how she just knows things…” He slowly turned around to look at Tui, “I’m more afraid of her revealing anything before I have the chance to.”

“Did you mean with Hinatea or––”

“Of course I mean Hina.” Huamo replied before he stopped himself and sighed as he started rambling, “And Manaia, and this island." He paused again when he realized he was rambling, and changed  the subject, "Before you ask, no, I did mean what I said it’s time Manaia received her malu too.”

Tui said, “Huamo, I never said you didn’t mean it. I know you do, but I must say that’s a good diversion to give yourself some time before Hinatea finds out.”

Huamo gave his father-in-law a sheepish smile before he added, “Or it’ll give me time to figure out to tell her gently.” He frowned as he turned away from Tui before letting out a long despondent sigh before he plunged the bottom of the torch into the ground and massaged the bridge of his nose as a million scenarios played in his mind and all of them ended horribly.

He slowly put his hands on his hips and turned to face his father-in-law as he tried to think positive, “Well, Manaia receiving her tattoos solves one problem.”

Tui nodded before he bent down to pull the torch out of the ground, approached him, and stated, “That’s true, but you’re worried about the second problem this would cause.” He paused as he heard his son-in-law let out a defeated sigh. He offered gently, “Huamo, I can tell her.”

Huamo immediately shook his head despite a huge part of him wanting to take him up on the offer, but he wouldn’t––he couldn’t. His eyes slowly spotted a piece of wood on the ground, three centimeters tall and three inches thick, he immediately picked it up and could tell it was the perfect size and width for a small wood carving he could make using his niho ‘oki. And it so happened to conveniently lay within his line of sight. “I’m her father. She’ll need to hear it from me.”

<III><III><III><III>

Once everything was settled and the youngest siblings had fallen asleep, Manaia found herself unable to sleep, staring up at the three main wood posts supporting the center of their tall roof.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tala’s voice echoed from her right.

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Manaia reminded her as she turned her head to see her sister staring at her with that all-knowing smile and the knowledge-seeking twinkle in her eyes.

“I know,” Tala replied as her all-knowing grin shifted to her listening smile as she turned to lie on her side and rest her cheek on her hand, “I’m all ears.”

Manaia slowly shook her head and said as she turned her head back to face the high ceiling, “Tala, I really appreciate the concern but my problems are my problems to deal with.”

Tala eyed her suspiciously before she replied cheekily as she quickly turned to lie on her back, “Alright. But if you want to talk about Hinatea let me know.” A pause transpired between them before Manaia slowly turned her head, and saw Tala was already eying her with an expectant smile.

Manaia let out a long sigh, “It’s that obvious isn’t it?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before she opened them and said,  “He's right. We're sisters and we're supposed to get along." She turned to Tala and asked, "So…tell me what I can do?”

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea stood at the front entrance with a contemplating look on her face as she heard their conversation, her wet hair and clothes dripping from seawater as she turned away from the curtained entry and looked down at the newly retrieved bone-carved fishhook in her hand. She quickly shook those thoughts out of her head before she spotted her father and her grandfather making their way toward the faletofa. She promptly hid the fishhook inside her abalone shell locket and tried to make herself look the least bit suspicious as possible as her father helped her grandfather up stone steps to the top of their lava stone foundation.

After two minutes they finally made it to the top and Huamo immediately took notice, “Hina, why are you wet?”

“I uh… went out gathering the pandanus leaves I need for the i’e toga and accidentally fell into the river,” Hinatea replied forcing a smile.

Huamo narrowed his eyes in suspicion and said, “I hope you’re not lying to me––”

“No! No, of course not.” Hinatea quickly spoke up, “I mean… look at me, I’m practically soaked and it’s getting really chilly––”

Huamo immediately shook his head, “Alright, get inside and dry yourself up before you get sick.”

“Okay…” Hinatea whispered before she turned around and powerwalked inside. Once she’d entered the fale Tui and Huamo eyed each other.

Huamo sighed and said, “I’ll go make sure she hasn’t sabotaged any of the boats.”  

Tui stood with both hands on the top of his walking cane and said casually, “Good plan.”

Chapter Text

Loud snores echoed on the beach as Huamo sat sleeping, perched against one of the racing canoes he wanted to inspect just before sunrise. The sounds of the long resonating hum of the conch shell’s morning call signaled that it was time for the morning to begin and for everyone to start their day.

Hinatea quickly opened her eyes and glanced around to see if her family were still asleep––most of them, anyway. She noticed her father’s empty sleeping mat and assumed he’d gotten up earlier. She clasped her abalone shell pendant and carefully stood up, making as little noise as possible as she got up.

Suddenly, Makoa let out a snorting snore that made her freeze, and her eyes widened in dreading anticipation, but her little brother didn’t wake. Instead, he rolled from his stomach to his back with his arms and legs spread out in a starfish position. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief before slowly turning around toward the covered front entrance and tiptoeing out of her home.

Manaia heard the pola being pushed to one side and sat up just in time to see a glimpse of her sister’s curly head stepping out into the front foundation. “Where is she going…?” She thought aloud just as Tala sat up behind her.

“Why don’t you go with her and find out?” Her younger sister suggested with a wide smile on her face. Manaia looked behind her, confused, as Tala quickly remembered, “Oh, oh! Don’t forget what I told you last night.”

Manaia rolled her eyes playfully and said as she styled her hair in its usual two-side braids, “I won’t.” Before she told her sister with a gentle but stern tone, “Go back to bed it’s still way too early for you to be up.” Now, it was Tala’s turn to roll her eyes before she conceded and laid back on her sleeping mat.

Like Hinatea, Manaia slowly stood up and made little noise as she carefully stepped out of the faletofa.

Tala slowly opened her eyes ten seconds later and sat up on her sleeping mat just as her grandfather began to wake.

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea darted around, ensuring no one would notice, as she clutched the abalone shell pendant around her neck. She walked a few more paces within their island’s forest till she felt safe and let out a sigh of relief before opening the pendant and pulling out the bone fishhook carving, “Okay, now where to hide you…” She muttered as she surveyed her surroundings within one of their island’s many tropical forests.

“What are you doing?” Manaia’s voice came out of nowhere as she appeared right behind her. She screamed and whirled around while hiding her hands behind her back. “Where are you off to before sun up?” She questioned with one eyebrow raised.

“Nowhere! Absolutely nowhere.” Hinatea answered as she forced an innocent grin. She dropped the fishhook behind her and placed her foot over it before she straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest to maintain a confident stance as she demanded impatiently, “What do you want?” Ensuring her posture didn’t give away the fact that she’d overheard their conversation last night.

Manaia took a deep breath and said, “I… wanted to apologize.”

Hinatea raised an eyebrow, “Okay?”

Manaia continued, “About what the things I said, the part about making yourself useful… about not wanting to be like you. That wasn’t fair of me to say, and I’m sorry.”

Hinatea stood there confused and unimpressed as she answered, “Okay…? Well, apology accepted.” She waited for Manaia to leave, but she didn’t. Instead, her younger sister stood there with an expectant look.

“Well?” Manaia spoke up with a slight head tilt.

“Well, what?” Hinatea answered with a confused tone.

“Aren’t you going to apologize, too?” Manaia asked, and much to her chagrin, Hinatea scoffed in response.

“For what?” Hinatea questioned, trying hard not to laugh, “Listen, sis, I really appreciate the apology. I really do, and you’re done now, right? So, why don’t you go back and continue pretending you’re Mom and boss everyone around, ‘kay?”

Manaia stood there, her mouth agape and her expression utterly admonished by her older sister’s words, and she snapped, “Pretending? You think I’m pretending? You think I like having to––”

Hinatea immediately cut her off, “That sounds like a you problem. So, keep me out of whatever drama you have going on in your life.”

Manaia threw her hands up and exclaimed, “Why are you acting like this?”

Hinatea rolled her eyes in annoyance and asked with a confronting tone, “Acting like what?”

<III><III><III><III>

Tui’s walking cane, pressed against the sand, grew closer as he approached Huamo and gave him several light taps to his ankle. Huamo let out a snorting snore before he immediately woke up and nearly jumped, wondering how he’d gotten there momentarily before he pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt his latest carving slip through his fingers only to fall on the sand. Huamo quickly reached for it before anyone could see it.

“I trust Hinatea didn’t sabotage any of the canoes?” Came Tui’s slightly amused question as Huamo stood up and stretched his back, an audible crack was heard, and Tui half-expected Huamo to wince. Instead, he watched his son-in-law suck in his lips while trying not to show too much pain, but Tui saw right through it and was about to say something when a small blur of dark brown, tan skin, and red zoomed past him and knocked Huamo off his feet and onto his stomach.

“I can help!” Makoa declared as he began stomping all over his father’s back as hard as he could, much to Huamo’s discomfort as he sank about a foot deep in the sand.

Tui intervened and said with a firm tone, “Makoa. Wait till we get home, where you’ll have a more stable surface.” Makoa immediately stopped and looked down at his father with a confused expression.

“Please.” Huamo groaned as the first fishermen approached the beach. Thankfully, that fisherman just happened to be Hiapo, who’d just stopped in his tracks at the unusual sight several feet away from him.

Hiapo nestled his fishing net over his shoulder, shook his head, and walked over to the three before he plucked Makoa off Huamo’s back and set him down on the sand before he leaned forward to help Huamo up, but the older man raised his hand to stop him as he managed to slowly rose to his feet. Hiapo caught a glimpse of Huamo’s injured hand and stated, “Alright, you really need to relax––”

“There’s no time for that,” Huamo insisted as he instinctively hid his injured hand behind his back, “We have a lot of preparations today, and I have a lot more apologies I need to make––” Tui gripped his shoulder to keep him standing upright.

“I’ll handle the apologies for Chief Turu and his people today, you go and get some rest,” Tui told him with a stern tone.

Huamo spoke up, “I’m her father––”

Tui cut him off, “I’m her grandfather and one of the village elders. And I think you’ve done more than your fair share.” He turned to the young fisherman and instructed, “Hiapo, go take Huamo back to your fale and ask your mother to look at his wound again.”

“Yes, Orator Chief,” Hiapo replied with a respectful tone before he put his net down, he paused as there was one concern in his mind, “Will I be able to go fishing after?”

Tui nodded, “Yes, now go,” He watched as Hiapo led Huamo away to Waiola’s fale and then called out, “And tell your mother to go easy on him!”

Not even a second later, he held his cane in front of Makoa, stopping the young boy from even taking a single step, “And where do you think you’re going?” He asked as he lowered his cane.

“I’m going with them?” Makoa replied, confused about what else his grandfather thought he should be doing.

“How about you help by getting the coconuts down––” Tui turned his head to face his young grandson and was perplexed when he saw he’d vanished and saw his small footprints on the sand and looked up just in time to see him disappearing up the small slope leading to the village.

<III><III><III><III>

“Acting like you don’t care.” Manaia continued as she took a step forward to approach her older sister, “I followed you here because––”

“You followed me?” Hinatea accused while putting her hands on her hips, “What? Are you spying on me now?”

Manaia narrowed her eyes and retorted, “After that stunt you pulled yesterday, maybe you do need someone to keep an eye on you.”

Hinatea rolled her eyes, “Oh, here we go…” She muttered before shaking her head and crossing her arms while she tuned out Manaia’s uninteresting ramblings about how life was unfair… or whatever she was complaining about now. Then, another sound immediately caught her attention: a wild pig's snort.

Manaia seemed to have noticed as well and immediately turned to her older sister as they both saw something moving in the bushes, “Hina, we should start running––” Suddenly, an idea came to Hinatea’s mind as she turned to her now frightened sister with a mischievous grin on her face. Without any warning, Manaia suddenly had dried mud and sand flung right at her face, most of it getting into her eyes, when she felt something hard hitting her forehead, knocking her down and causing the back of her head to smack against the ground.

Hinatea skidded over to grab the fishhook before she turned and raced back into the rainforest, heading straight in the direction where the wild pig’s snorts were the loudest.

Manaia quickly sat, wiped the dirt off her face, and tried to rub the rest out of her eyes. “Hina?” She called out with closed eyes, “Hina, where are you?!” She rubbed her eyes again hard before opening them. It took a few seconds for her sight to clear up, but when it did, she saw her older sister’s footprints on the ground leading into the forest. Eyes red and stinging, Manaia immediately got up and turned to run back to the village for help.

<III><III><III><III>

Makoa raced down the path, showing no signs of slowing down, even as the other villagers stopped to say hello or good morning as he zoomed past them. “Can’t talk now, bye!” His reply came as he nearly bumped or knocked over those within his path.

Huamo and Hiapo continued on the village path toward Waiola’s fale. Huamo’s steps slowed down, causing Hiapo to stop several times just to give him a break before proceeding forward. After finishing their third break, Huamo couldn’t help but complain about the distance to Waiola’s fale as they kept walking through the village path, just as the rest of the islanders awoke to begin their day.  

Seeing the villagers through his blurry sight, Huamo told Hiapo as he forced himself to look strong, “I need to see the tattooist––”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Hiapo cried out, grabbing Huamo’s shoulder as he nearly fell to the ground.

The other villagers gathered around, ready to offer assistance, but Huamo insisted unconvincingly that he could manage, and he pulled himself away from Hiapo to stand up straight and reassure the villagers himself, but he staggered with each step he took, “We need to get everything ready for the rematch––”

Hiapo didn’t hide his worry and said as he went over and gripped him by the shoulders as he stood in front of the man, “No, we need to get you to my mother right now––”

Huamo, in his short state of delirium, suddenly grinned and playfully tapped the young man on the nose: “You’re a good man, Hiapo… I wish I had a son like you.” A couple of the villagers immediately went to help.

“Wait for me!” Makoa shouted as he finally caught sight of them and moved faster right behind his father––knocking him forward onto the ground once more. Hiapo hurried over and pulled Makoa off Huamo. The other two men quickly turned him over, and that’s when Huamo grimaced, and the sound of sizzling disappeared and reappeared all the while, Makoa stood there with a puzzled look on his face. “What’s wrong with him?” He questioned.

Hiapo’s focus shifted to the little boy behind them, and he got up before leading him away, “Makoa, it’s nothing you need to worry––”

“Quit lying to the boy and tell him the truth.” Waiola’s voice broke through the small crowd around Huamo. Everyone turned to look behind them and saw Waiola standing there with her arms behind her back as she slowly strode over, heading over to see Huamo’s injured hand once again, and it was clear she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She straightened her back, “Makoa, go find your grandfather and Hinatea, and the rest of you quit standing around like idiots and carry him to my fale. Now.”

<III><III><III><III>

“Help! Help! I need help!” Manaia’s frantic shouts grew louder and louder as she neared the village. The fishermen and women stopped in their tracks as they turned their heads to the right just in time to see Manaia bursting through the bushes, bumping into one of the fishermen as she furiously explained, “It’s Hina––we were in the forest, and there was a wild pig––she ran after it!”

They immediately understood the seriousness of the situation, and one fisherman grabbed the conch shell fastened around his tanned-colored siapo and gave the signal. They dropped their fishing nets and quickly went to their homes to grab their hunting weapons.

“Manaia, what’s happened?” Tui questioned as he hurried over upon hearing the call and seeing the messy look on his granddaughter’s face.

“Hinatea’s in danger––” Manaia immediately turned her head as the hunters quickly ran into the forest, “I need to show them the way.” Just as she was about to run and join them, she felt her grandfather’s large hand grip her shoulder, holding her place.

Tui was about to insist he go with them when Makoa’s voice resonated from the crowd. The little boy pushed his way through as he dashed toward where his grandfather and older sister stood, “Grandpa! Waiola told me to get you!” He pointed behind him and said, “Something’s wrong with Dad.” He grabbed his grandfather’s hand and tried to force him to hurry. Suddenly, he felt his hand being pulled away before another hand occupied the space.

“Take me to him,” Manaia ordered, gripping her little brother’s hand. Makoa immediately tried to protest, but one stern look from their grandfather was more than enough to shut him up and begrudgingly take Manaia instead.

<III><III><III><III>

The pola sheets to Waiola’s fale fluttered as Manaia entered after Makoa practically dragged her inside. Hiapo immediately got up when Makoa released her hand and rushed to their father’s side. Hiapo told her in a calm voice, “Don’t panic––”

Manaia immediately turned to face him, “I thought he was better––”

Waiola cut her off and explained with a deadpan tone, “You sister didn’t throw that fishhook away…” She turned to face the young woman and questioned with a serious tone, “Did she?”

Manaia took a deep breath and said with a baffled tone, “Of course she woul––”

“You don’t even know the answer, do you?” Waiola rebutted, “That’s why I asked your brother to bring your grandfather and Hinatea here, so where are they?”

<III><III><III><III>

“HOLD STILL YOU STUPID PIG!” Hinatea shrieked as she held onto the large thrashing pig. And it proved harder than she thought. This heavy-set, black-haired pig fought with all its might as she tried forcing its mouth open simultaneously––when she suddenly found herself thrown off and tossed several feet in the air, “OH, COME ON!” She yelled in mid-air before landing face-first on the ground. She blacked out for about a minute, and then a sharp grunting exhale blew on her head, causing her to stir and let out a muffled groan. When she lifted her head, she found an angry, territorial pig staring back at her. A nervous grin slowly made its way to her lips.

<III><III><III><III>

Hiapo wasn’t all that too surprised to hear that Hinatea took off like she did, but he was surprised to know that she’d been the one who’d given her sister that small bump on the center of her forehead and the dirt in her eyes. So, here he was, waiting outside on the foundation of his home, pouring water into both her eyes to wash the dirt away, at the same time his mother tended to her father back inside––all the while, the panic was rearing its ugly claws in the back of his head.

There was no way he’d been able to go fishing this late into the morning. He let out what he thought was an inaudible sigh until Manaia said, seemingly having guessed what was going through his mind, “I’m sorry for taking up your time, Hiapo.”

He immediately went into default mode and shrugged his shoulders, “Eh. It is what it is.” He put the water gourd down and asked, “Feeling better yet?”

“Yes, thank you,” Manaia replied.

“Good,” Hiapo replied before giving her a hard smack to the top of her back.

“Ow! What was that for?” Manaia questioned as she turned to look behind her.

“That was being too hard on yourself,” Hiapo retorted while giving her a knowing look, “What makes you think going up to Hina and apologizing will help? Especially when she’s in a mood.”

“I thought it’d help get her out of whatever mood she’s in,” Manaia rebutted before she paused and admitted, “I thought it’d help get us closer… a little.” Hiapo raised an unimpressed eyebrow for about a second; his expression slowly softened when a sad look came to her face as she continued, “I just wanted to make things easier for my dad, that’s all.”

“Is this all because he brought up your mom and your aunt again?” Hiapo questioned, although he knew the answer by how she cringed. He couldn't imagine what it was like to have a sisterly relationship compared with someone you've never known in person. He sighed, “Look, if you wanna talk about it––”

“I’ll be okay,” Manaia reassured him with a forced smile that looked a little too real. She quickly turned her head the second her father let out a painful cry from inside. Makoa was suddenly and literally kicked out of the fale by Waiola.

The little boy slid about two feet and sat there stunned for a moment before he processed what just happened and shouted, “Hey!”

Hiapo stretched out his arm, pulled the boy over his shoulder to stop him from going inside, and declared, “That’s it, I’m taking you fishing.”

“What! No! Put me down! I don’t want to be on a boat with smelly fish!” Makoa protested. “Manaia! Get him away from me!” He ordered, but much to his dismay, Manaia gave her brother an awkward smile and wave.

Hiapo suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Manaia,” He called out, getting her attention he tossed something to her. “Your dad dropped this on the way here earlier,” Manaia clumsily caught it and looked down to see that it was a wood carving of her mother.

Manaia sucked in her breath and lips as she stared at the simplified version of her mother’s face her father had skillfully carved into the wood. A sobbing smile appeared on her lips as she stood there, unaware of the looming presence of a disapproving Waiola standing behind her with her hands on her hips.

After her usual grumpy huff, she questioned, “Don’t you have anything better to do just standing around here?”

Manaia quickly turned around. She stood up and came face to face with Hiapo’s disgruntled mother. Manaia immediately took a step back to put some distance between them before she took a deep breath she looked up at the older woman and said in a soft tone, “Waiola, please heal––”

“Manaia?” Huamo’s voice rang out from inside the fale as he spoke in a weak but desperate tone.

Manaia took this as a sign that his mind had regained some form of clarity, and he recognized her voice. She turned to face the elderly taulasea as she gave the woman a begging look. Waiola rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, shook her head grumpily in disbelief, and moved to one side.

Manaia smiled and said, “Thank you,” Before she hurried inside, Waiola followed closely behind. The pola sheet fluttered shut.

<III><III><III><III>

Makoa continued to squirm, protest, and even bit Hiapo’s shoulder several times as the young man brought him toward the malae, where Whakai sat with his arms tied behind the newly set up post. Hiapo stopped ten feet away from the gaggle of children that surrounded Whakai, set Makoa down, and told the young boy, “Knock yourself out.”

Makoa turned around, bewildered, as Hiapo started to walk away. “Where are you going?”

“I gotta get fish,” Hiapo replied with a cheery tone before he added sternly, “And you need to leave your dad alone, alright?” He paused, choosing his words carefully, before he let out a long sigh and said in a soft but empathetic tone, “He’s pretty sick right now.”

The bewilderment never left Makoa’s face as he asked rather bluntly, “Is he going to die?” The question immediately left Hiapo taken aback physically and metaphorically. Makoa crossed his arms and stared up at him before declaring, “I’m eight, not three––”

“I––” Hiapo began before he took a deep breath, “Makoa, you can’t talk about your dad like that. Okay?” He walked over to the young boy and knelt in front of him, “I promise you, my mother’s going to do everything in her power to get him better––”

“Are you just saying that because your dad died a long time ago?” Makoa questioned with an annoyed tone, he puffed out his chest and declared, “If it is, then don’t. I don’t want your charity!” And there… there it was. The mannerisms, the words, and the pride. Everything Makoa was doing had Hinatea’s influence painted all over him.

Hinatea the insensitive, Hinatea the liar.  Hiapo couldn’t stop himself as he dragged his hand over his face and muttered his thoughts under his breath, “Hinatea the pain in the––”

<III><III><III><III>

“AHHHHH!” Hinatea burst through the bushes as she screamed bloody murder, “Get away from me, you stupid pig!” She ran for her life while contemplating all the choices that led her to this point. Here, running away from a wild pig, hiding the fishhook pendant––

“OOF!” She collided with something hard and bark-like? Her head barely had time to register what she slammed against when the pig’s fierce snorting grew louder and louder as it neared her. She quickly turned around and found herself trapped between an angry, murderous pig and this giant banyan tree. Hinatea’s back and hands pressed against the tree as the pig finally found her and charged.

Hinatea closed her eyes and did the only thing her instincts were telling her, she closed her hands into fists, unaware of the white-hot glow emitting from the palm of her hand.

<III><III><III><III>

Tui and the three hunters carried on up the forest path, following the tracks that Hinatea and Manaia embedded onto the earth. They made it up the path when one hunter suddenly stopped and questioned with a confused tone, “Do you hear that?” The question gathered everyone’s attention, and they all stopped to pause and listen. There was nothing at first, then came a soft, high-pitched whistle, as the sound grew louder, the whistle sounded like the high pitch of a scared pig falling right toward––

“Look out!” Another hunter shouted as he pointed to the sky, where a heavy-set, black-haired pig was plummeting right where they were still standing. Tui and the other hunters quickly moved out of the way as the pig finally landed with a loud impact that left a small hollow mark on the ground. All the men stood there stunned, wondering if what they saw was real or a figment of their imagination. They all stared at the pig lying in the center of the large impact crater, all of them unsure what to do. Suddenly, the pig began to stir, and before it let out a frightened squeal as it rushed out of the crater, disappearing into the rainforest out of fright.

“Where did you see it fly from?” Tui questioned, despite part of him knowing the answer wherever Hinatea was.

The hunter replied with a stunned tone, his eyes never leaving the scene, “I can’t say…”

<III><III><III><III>

Was it gone? Hinatea couldn’t tell… but everything around her was quiet and dark. That’s when the rush slowly started to slow down, and that’s when she realized she had her arm raised high. Hinatea gently opened her eyes and couldn’t see the pig anywhere, “Wha…” The word barely formed in her mouth when she quickly remembered what happened, and she lowered her fist, revealing the fishhook in the palm of her hand. No way. No way!

“No way!” She exclaimed before she let out a resonating, “CHEE HOO!” She immediately froze once she realized how loud she was. That’s when everything hit again; she needed to hide this thing before the search party found her. The thought of that made her roll her eyes as the irritation set in. Manaia just had to overreact––

Slowly, the color of the grass, trees, and even the ground seemed to darken like it was night. Hinatea stepped away from the banyan tree and slowly walked over to where she could see the sky.

<III><III><III><III>

Hiapo had just got on his fishing canoe when he suddenly heard a thud and felt the bottom of his boat land on top of the coral. He peeked over from the side of his canoe, and the water was gone. He turned to look at the horizon, and to his confusion, it looked like the sea was pulling away from their island, and day turned into night within a matter of minutes. Another sight caught his eye: right where the line between the sky meets the sea, a darkness plunged out from the water. Growing larger and larger as the water stretched up, turning the same shade of black as this angry entity before him. Hiapo watched as the being took shape. Revealing its feminine characteristics and its eerie glowing white eye sockets.

A sudden rush of terror burst out inside him as he remembered seeing the very same creature––and how much smaller he was back then, but that terror was washed away quickly as it came, and he grabbed the conch shell from his canoe, climbed out and blew on it as hard as he could in a rhythm that signaled danger as he rushed toward the village as quickly as he could. “Get to high ground! Get to high ground!” He shouted, alternating between blowing the conch shell and screaming. He heard a loud rush and found himself suddenly knocked off his feet by the large waves hurling toward the beaches.

The dark-colored entity's eyeless sockets focused squarely on one spot. Waiola’s fale. The being opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing cry––a mixture of shrieks of rage and wails of grief as it rushed toward the island.

<III><III><III><III>

Huamo gave his daughter a weak but warm smile as he held out his uninjured hand toward her. Manaia immediately went over and knelt beside the sleeping mat while giving him a warm smile in return.

She opened her mouth to ask if he was alright––but he cut in before she could get the words in, “Manaia, I wanted to give you this…” He said as he sat up and reached under the large siapo that Waiola used as his blanket, his hand searching for the very gift he’d made for her. A panicked look came to his face when he couldn’t find it anywhere.

Manaia cleared her throat to get his attention before she held up the carving and explained, “Hiapo found it.” She looked down at the carving again and smiled as the tears formed in the corners of her eyes, “It looks just like Mom.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she held her hand out to give it back to him, “I can’t take it.”

Huamo reached out and curled his daughter’s fingers over the carving before giving her closed hand a firm grip. “You can, and I want you to…” A confused look came to his face as the sounds of fleeing villagers suddenly appeared right outside the fale.

And then a loud, ear-piercing scream soon followed. Manaia quickly tried shielding both her ears at the same time Waiola did, but nothing was enough to block out the sound. Huamo pulled his good hand away from his ear and reached out to pull Manaia close to him, putting his good hand over hers to add extra help to muffle out the sound.

The pola sheets swayed and thrashed about as large winds appeared out of nowhere, followed by the sound of rushing water going around the fale, and the shrill cries of grievous rage grew stronger as the very inner structures of Waiola’s home started to give away, and the wooden pillars holding everything together started to tremble.

Manaia quickly helped her father to his feet just as the pain in his hand intensified to such a degree that he collapsed from the fiery sensations shooting up his whole arm. Manaia was pulled down with him; she barely had time to get back up when the thatch roof to the fale was swept away, and a chilling silence followed after the sounds of wood and dried fern leaves landed against the lava stone foundation. The two came face to face with a pair of eyeless sockets staring them down as the two-hundred-foot-tall being stood before them.

Huamo knew who she was, “Lō…” He uttered, the name sending chills through his very bones. Seeing and sensing him, Lō’s breathing hardened as she barely contained her rage, and she thrust her arm forward and reached to grab him.

Huamo instinctively pushed Manaia back just in time as he was swept up from the exposed fale as Lō wrapped her giant fingers around him. Bringing his tiny insignificant self to hold in front of her eyes, she let out the same sharp shrieks before him before she screamed, “WHERE ARE YOU HIDING HER?” Her fingers curled tighter around him, squeezing the air out of him and crushing every bone in his already weak human body.

“Papa?” Manaia's soft voice managed to reach his ears, and Huamo whirled his head to look down and saw his daughter slowly getting up from Waiola’s destroyed fale. The terror immediately began pulsating through his veins as he did the only thing he could think of to keep her safe, and that was to shout, “Manaia, run!”

<III><III><III><III>

Makoa’s head burst through the rushing water as he struggled to stay afloat against the water’s sweeping current through his submerged village, but the drag quickly pulled him back underwater just as quickly.

Suddenly, the little boy’s head burst through the surface again, this time with Hiapo in tow to help him stay afloat. Hiapo looked on as they were bobbing up and down as the water dragged them away. Makoa darted his head around and shouted, “Where is everybody?”

Hiapo didn’t have time to answer as they were rushing through the submerged village and right toward a tall coconut tree. Hiapo waited for his chance, and when it came, he pushed Makoa toward the tree, “Climb, Makoa, climb!”

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea ran like she’d never run before, the fishhook carving hidden in the palm of her hand. She wasn’t afraid––she wasn’t terrified in the slightest––but she knew she had to hurry. She rushed through the forest, heading straight for the village, not paying attention to where she was going till she collided with something or someone.

Tui let out a sigh of relief, seeing that she wasn’t hurt, before he pulled her up and said, “We need to get to safety––”

“Sorry, Grandpa, no time!” Hinatea said, pulling her arm before she continued running, despite her grandfather’s shouting for her to come back.

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea’s eyes narrowed in determination when she saw the dark water in front of her and froze––whatever bravado she had quickly left her at the sight of its untamed currents, but then she heard her little brother’s voice calling out to her. She took a deep breath and walked several steps back before she sprinted forward and dove right into the water, holding on to the fishhook as tight as she could, but she found the water was as dark as the current sky, making almost impossible to see anything right in front of her, suddenly several small rays of light appeared through the thin gaps between her curled fingers, that’s when she felt the hook within her hand beginning to shake violently forcing her to let it go. Suddenly, the dark water became clear, and the hook continued to glow––creating the light she needed to guide her path. A smirk appeared on her lips, and that’s when she noticed something in the bottom corner of her eye.

She looked and saw Whakaī unconscious and bound to the pole on the now submerged malae. There was no time––her little brother needed her, plus she was sure that they all would be better off without him… just as she was about to swim away, leaving him to his fate, her conscience got the better of her, rolling her eyes, she grabbed the end of the fishhook, taking it down with her as she swam down toward him.

<III><III><III><III>

“Hina! Where are you?!” Makoa cried out, Hiapo had long since been swept away to who knows where. “Hina, I’m scared!” He cried again out of desperation, and then he saw the light in the water and two figures heading up to the surface. Finally, their heads burst out of the water. “Hinatea!” Makoa shouted to get her attention. Hinatea held on to the unconscious Whakaī with one arm and started paddling toward her little brother with the other.

“Makoa?! You’re supposed to go to higher ground!” Hinatea scolded, barely holding back her temper. Makoa was about to argue that it wasn’t his fault and Hiapo had told him to climb, but Hinatea cut him off, “Get down and hold onto me now!” Makoa quickly slid down the coconut tree and held on to his sister’s back as she started paddling away with her left arm and legs. Her main focus was that giant thing who started all this.

Makoa looked down and noticed the water was calmer, and it only became calm after she showed up. “How are you doing that?!” He blurted before the water rose in a swell and quickly wrapped itself around him before lifting him. “Hina!” He screamed out of fright as the Ocean sped away, taking him somewhere safe.

Hinatea felt herself gently lowering as the water slowly started to retreat where it was supposed to be. Finally, her feet could touch the wet ground, and she could finally let go of the deadweight, letting Whakaī fall flat on his face with a loud thud, leaving him there as she ran toward the monster’s location.

<III><III><III><III>

The pain from Lō’s powerful grip brought Huamo back to the reality of the situation he’d found himself in––all thoughts and worries about his daughter crumbled away as his insides felt all sorts of wrong; all the while, his mind was fighting the urge to collapse into the darkness that slipped in and out of his consciousness. The fight in him was growing weak––the thoughts of his children, Hina, Manaia, Tala, Makoa, and Melelani, were the rope keeping him tied in this world, but with every bone-crushing grip of Lō’s fist, more strands of the rope’s fiber were cut. He was sure this was where his story would end, and at the end of the day, he was fine with that––he was more than fine with that.

Suddenly, he heard an unfamiliar young man’s voice yell out, “Hey Lō!” Before that same voice mocked, “Someone’s still lolo!” Huamo barely had the time or the pain tolerance to register anything. He heard Lō cry out in pain, and then air shot up from below him.

Hinatea caught him with ease and saw the state he was in. “Dad?” she asked, trying to get a response from him. She saw his lips moving as he tried to speak, but she could see from his grimace that even talking was too painful and from the audible cracks in his insides that breathing was also too painful. This was bad.

She turned around to look at the monster behind her, and that’s when she felt her anger rising, as a strange young man swinging a flat-broad gigantic greenstone that seemed to grow and shrink in size, depending on where he would strike her next. But she wasn’t about to let this guy take her payback away, so after laying her father flat on his back, she rushed forward, taking a deep breath and still clutching the fishhook in her left hand before she dived right into Lō’s watery form.

That’s when she felt the fishhook vibrating violently in her hand––too much for her to hold with one hand. She quickly put her right hand over her left and held on tight. The shaking continued as the hook’s light grew brighter and brighter and hotter. In that very moment, she felt exactly what her father felt––the hot, shooting pain burning through the skins of her hands, but she––Hinatea Waialiki, daughter of Moana of Motunui, was no quitter.

<III><III><III><III>

The stranger stone wielder looked down, seeing the light coming inside Lō. The distraction was enough for Lō to smack him away toward the trees before she reached down to grab the invader within her.

Hinatea saw the giant hand coming and kicked her legs to swim up. She quickly turned her head when she heard something charging at her from below. Before she could even figure out what it was––she was knocked off and sent flying right out of Lō and far above the village path, the hundreds of seawater-soaked fale all over the village, and even the tallest trees on Tuatahi. She could see the sky and horizon for a split second. The view was striking––and she would’ve been awestruck if everything hadn’t started speeding up all around her, every strand of her hair flew upwards as she kept free-falling back toward the ground below. Panic immediately set in as she started waving her arms and kicking her legs instinctively, as if that would stop her from crashing to the land.

The last things she remembered were hearing the loud screeches and seeing a giant brown feathered bird heading straight toward her with its talons open to grab her or eat her. It came closer and closer to her, and the last sound she heard was her own screams just mere seconds before something hard collided with the back of her head, and everything went black.

<III><III><III><III>

And soon there was light––sunlight. Hinatea found herself back in her family’s fale. She slowly sat up from where she lay on her sleeping mat, and there was the glint from the rising sunlight again. She turned her head toward the closed entrance and saw the pola sheets swinging with the ocean breeze, letting the sun’s rays touch the lava stone inside and within the spaces between the ornate tapa sheets and the outer wooden support beams surrounding the fale, she saw her father sitting on the paepae slightly hunched forward, clearly carving something.

Relief bubbled up inside her, and Hinatea sprinted off her sleeping mat and rushed forward, almost knocking her father off, “Dad! You’re alright!”

“Whoa!” Huamo exclaimed as he managed to steady himself as he felt his daughter’s weight on his back. He stopped carving and turned around while sitting and smiled the second he saw his daughter’s face, “Now, why the sudden enthusiasm?”

Hinatea wiped her tears and said, “You wouldn’t believe the crazy dream I had…” She paused, feeling silly that nightmares still scared her at this age.

“Tell me about it,” Huamo encouraged without an ounce of concern on his face. That’s when she picked up on the strangely good feeling that everything would be all right… and worry didn’t exist here.

“Am I dead?” Hinatea questioned.

Huamo chuckled, “You better not be, at least not before me.” He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear, “So, go on, tell me about this dream you had.”

Hinatea took a deep breath as she prepared herself: “Okay, Dad, better prepare your ears because this will be a long one.”

Huamo’s smile never left him as he said with a genuine tone, “I have plenty of time.” He listened as she began narrating the tale in exact detail, starting from her wrecking the racing canoe, damaging the mask he’d made for her mother as a wedding gift, to the small fishhook the Ocean had given her.

Then she paused and said, “You got hurt in that dream, and Waiola helped you get better again, but she cut my hand to do it, and she smeared my blood all over it before she pressed it on the palm of your hand.”

He leaned forward, “And I got better after that?”

“Sorta?” Hinatea spoke, “You weren’t mumbling weird stuff anymore, and your fever was gone.”

He raised an amused eyebrow, “I was mumbling?”

Hinatea scoffed, exaggeratingly, “Pfft! Yeah, you kept saying when her hand touched the fire, she didn’t get burnt. What was that about?”

Huamo chuckled and admitted as he continued carving his newest piece, “It was something that happened to you when you were three.” He carefully slid his small shark tooth carving knife against every curve and every wave he’d cut into the wood, stopping only to give her the look, as he pointed the sharp end at her accusingly and declared, “You nearly gave your mother and me a heart attack when you stuck your little hand into that lit firepit.”

Now it was his turn to pause, a somber look in his eyes as he recalled the night’s events, “But even with your hand directly in the fire, you didn’t get burnt even with the flames dancing all around your little fingers.”

“Whoa. Dad, why didn’t you tell me?” Hinatea questioned as if this was something that should be bragged about.

Huamo’s smile faltered, but it never left his lips as he explained, “It’s something I don’t like to remember,”

“Because it scares you?” Hinatea teased with a smug grin on her face, but her father didn’t react the way she thought he would. He frowned, and in turn, that made her frown in confusion as well, once again, that somber came, and this time, it spread to more than just his eyes, “Dad?”

Huamo finally spoke, half answering her question by gifting his newest carving to her. Hinatea looked down at the wooden figurine he placed in the palm of her hand and immediately could tell this was supposed to be her. He said while curling her fingers atop the wooden figure, “This is my last gift to you. May it help give you strength and to help you remember where you came from.”

He held onto her hand with his right and pressed his left against her left cheek, “No matter who you were born to, no matter who you’re going to be, you always have and will always be my daughter.” He slowly pulled his hand away from her cheek to grasp her left hand with his. “And when you become the person you’re meant to be, I hope you won’t forget me.”

She chuckled and eyed him suspiciously. “Okay, okay. Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

The emotion behind his smile changed once again, and he squeezed her hand, “Now, what did your mother always say?”

“There is nowhere she can go where she won’t be with me,” Hinatea repeated hesitantly. She didn’t like where this was going, and it was written all over her face.

Her father’s smile remained unjudging as he added, “And there is nowhere you can go where I won’t be there for you, your brother or sisters.”

“Dad, I don’t like where this is going…” Hinatea admitted as she stared at him with disbelief in her eyes. Huamo’s smile turned sad, and that’s when she finally noticed the quiet. There were no villagers, no birds, no signs of life, but them… and the breeze. And then memories started flashing before her very eyes.

Lō’s gigantic form towered over them all, squeezing the life out of him with her death grip, and how he felt heavy and limp like a newly soaked tapa the very second she caught him in her arms. How broken he looked.

He couldn’t just give up––he couldn’t let something this small beat him. “No, no. Dad, you’re stronger than this––you gotta fight…” Hinatea harshly began wiping away each tear that pushed themselves from the corner of her eyes. “I’m not going to let you––” That’s when she felt his protective arms around her. “Waiola healed you the first time––”

“Hina, she did the best she could,” Huamo whispered, “Sometimes there’s nothing anybody can do. And there are some fights that we can’t win by sheer strength or will alone.”

She pulled her head off his chest and looked up at him with glistening tears pouring down her cheeks as she declared, “I’m not letting you say goodbye like this––”

“Hinatea, this isn’t something you or I can control. There are some things you need to––”

“Dad, please, I’ll give the fishhook back to the sea––please, please, please––this is all my fault…”

Huamo tightened his hold on her and told her, “Hina, you weren’t the one who found it, you were given it. And I should’ve known better than trying to hide the truth from you.” That somber look filled his eyes for the third time, “Did you hear what I said earlier?”

“About what Mom always said––”

“Before that.” Huamo clarified with a gentle tone.

Hinatea paused and admitted, “No…”

Huamo reached out and pressed his hand against her left cheek, “No matter who you were born to, no matter who you’re going to be, you always have and always will be my daughter.” No sooner did those words leave his lips, the low humming sounds of a conch shell followed, echoing in the distance.

He slowly pulled his arms away from her and glanced at her with love-filled eyes but a sad smile as he pointed to one particular corner spot just inside the covered fale, “When you wake up, open the middle basket there’s another gift waiting in there just for you,” He reached down and clasped both of her hands, “It’s pretty old, so take good care of it.”

He gave her hands one more squeeze and said, as he rested his forehead against hers, “I hope you can forgive me. I can’t answer whatever questions you’re going to have, but when you find the answers, I want you to know you’re just as much my child as your siblings are, and that will never change.” He drew his head back and smiled as he said just before he stood up, “Remember that, even if everyone else tells you otherwise.”

Hinatea watched as he stood up and turned around, that’s when she finally took notice of the short-ear owl tattoo covering his back. He never had a tattoo––he had never asked for a tattoo. That’s when it felt all too real for her, and she couldn’t take it.

Hinatea immediately stood up just as her father took an owl form and flew far beyond her where her hand could reach and down to the shore, where a small canoe bobbed up and down against the surface. She quickly jumped down the foundation and rushed after him. She started screaming, “Don’t go! Don’t go! Don’t go!”

Her feet finally touched the sand as she rushed toward the shore and the water. She desperately started swimming for his canoe, “Daddy, don’t go!” but no matter how hard or fast she tried, the distance between them kept growing as the waves kept getting taller and taller, till finally, they pushed her underwater.

<III><III><III><III>

Waiola and her eldest granddaughter, Hana, draped the large siapo over Huamo’s body, covering him from head to toe, minutes after he’d drawn his last breath, surrounded by those who loved him most… well, except for one. Hinatea, who hadn’t been found yet.

At least not, since they all saw that giant hawk racing down to grab her as she screamed before they both disappeared under cover of the trees and her screaming stopped, that’s when they found Huamo lying there, crumpled, broken, and beyond saving, and Manaia sat near him, trying to shield him from the ongoing fight.

And now here she was, sitting by her father’s side alongside the rest of her family, holding three-year-old Melelani close to her, keeping the little girl from trying to pull the siapo off their father’s face, all the while, Tala kept giving her older sister comforting rubs on her right arm. Makoa stayed glued to their grandfather as they sat opposite the girls as Waiola stood up to step outside to deliver the news.

<III><III><III><III>

Something was calling out to her… a sound in the distance. It was a resonating low-toned humming, drawing her out from wherever her mind had sent her and back to the world of the living, and when she opened her eyes, the tears immediately streamed down the sides of her face, and that’s when she felt something in her left hand. She quickly sat up and lifted her hand to see what it was.

The answer nearly made her cry again. It was the wooden carving her father had made of her image, and that’s when the truth struck her heart. She hugged the wooden statue close to her. And at the moment, nothing else mattered. Not that she had been taken away from the site of Waiola’s fale, not that it was nighttime, or that she could hear people calling her name in the distance. She looked down at the carving in her hand and sniffed back a tear as she shakily stood up and whispered to herself, “It was just a dream, Hina, it’s just a dream…” There had to be a chance.

There had to be.

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea ran like her very soul depended on it. She kept running, running and running––even racing past the remnants of Lō’s destruction behind her. She had to get there, and she could see her family’s fale getting bigger and bigger within her line of sign. Her heart kept skipping a beat while it pounded against her chest at the same time. Finally, she was so close. She would walk right in, and she would see her father lying on his sleeping mat––a little worse for wear as Waiola tended to him. He will be fine.

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea nearly ripped one of the pola sheets off by pushing it to one side. She entered the fale, heaving and clutching the wood statue close to her. Her family turned toward where she stood with a shocked stance. Tui grabbed his cane and rose to his feet as fast as he could, but she dropped the statue and immediately rushed to her father’s side, before anyone could stop her, she pulled down the part of the siapo covering the person’s head––there had to be a chance. But she found her father’s face right before her eyes.

No…

Hinatea immediately held back her tears as she quickly got up with a furious determination on her face. There was no way she wasn’t going to let this happen, she marched her away toward the front entrance of the faletofa, declaring the rage clear in her voice, “I gotta find the fishhook––”

“Hina—–” Tui quickly stepped in front of her. "There’s nothing you can do.” Hinatea turned, ready to walk around him, but he gently grabbed her hand, and she reacted the way he expected her to. She fought––hard, trying to break free. “Hinatea, there’s nothing you can do––”

“I can bring him back! Now, let go––” Tui didn’t let her finish before he pulled her into a one-armed hug. Hinatea continued trying to fight back any way she could; she couldn’t let this happen. Finally, her defenses crumbled, and her arms fell to her sides. Tui set his cane upright against the closest poutu to them and put his other arm around her. Hinatea looked up at her grandfather with tears streaming down her face, “Let me bring him back… please.” She suppressed a sob and continued, “Please. Please…”

Tui just hugged her tight and told her as he looked upon his granddaughter’s tear-stained face, “Let him go.”

Hinatea’s face crumpled at his words, “I can’t…” She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, “He can’t…” Tui pulled his left arm away from her right shoulder and led her toward the sleeping mat. She slowly got down to her knees beside her father, and none of it felt real. Not the pain throbbing through her chest, not the sleep-like expression on his face, none of it. And yet, here was reality staring her right in the eyes.

Hinatea looked up and saw Manaia crying over their father’s chest, Makoa holding onto Melelani while holding back his tears, and Tala staring at her with a sad smile on her face. Hinatea immediately looked down at their father once more. If only she’d listened, she said with tears streaming down her face, “I’m so sorry, Dad… I’m so sorry.” Then the guilt hit. Her siblings were never going to see him again. 

She was never going to see him again.

And it was all her fault.

Chapter Text

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Destruction was everywhere. The villagers’ fale were all in ruins, and the stones for the paepae from each fale were scattered around, leaving wood and lava stones everywhere. The young man’s stone grey eyes looked at the wreckage, his stone-patterned rāpaki swaying slightly as the beads swung from his tatuā, colliding with each other as he took in the solemn scene all around him, the wet grass crunched beneath his bare feet.

He bent down to pick up one of the lava stones in front of him, letting the single piece rest in the palm of his hand. Small glowing particles emitted from his skin into the stone’s surface, forming swirling koru atop it.

He received flashes of the fates of the inhabitants residing in this part of the village and shook his head, causing his half-tied curly hair to tussle against his shoulders. “What a mess...” Before he knelt to put the stone back, he was unaware of the bulky, imposing silhouette behind him, wielding a giant fishhook.

That was until he heard a stern voice behind him, “And guess who’s going to clean it up, Manu.”

Manu scrunched his face and squeezed his eyes shut as he slowly turned around with a forced grin on his face, “Hey, Dad…”

Maui crossed his arms over his chest and said while air quoting, “Don’t ‘Hey Dad’ me.” Before his tone immediately became accusatory, “You told me you could handle this.” 

Manu jumped to his feet, making the ground shake beneath his feet, “Okay, so I made one itty-bitty mistake––and let my guard down––”

Maui squeezed his son’s lips to shut him up and said, “Could you stop talking for a minute and let me finish?” After he released his fingers from his son’s lips and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How many times have I told you never to let your guard down or not to take your eyes off Lō, even for a second.”

Manu immediately opened his mouth to defend himself, but Maui didn’t even let him utter a single word, “You had one job, Manu: keep an eye on the crazy old lady. And you blew it.” Before Manu tried to defend himself again, the loud, low-toned hum of a lamenting tune resonated from one spot, and Maui immediately turned his attention to the melody.

Manu peeked behind and could immediately tell what his dad was about to do just by his body language. “Dad, no. No––” A glowing bluish hue reflected on his face, followed by the sound of flapping wings before he flew in the direction of the song.

Manu stood alone with a deadpan expression as he untied his flat-broad green stone from his tātua and began spinning it in the air. Gradually, a soft glow appeared, and he felt its powers coursing through him. He raced toward the half-crumbled paepae in front of him while simultaneously spinning his weapon, “Show me where he went,” He commanded before dematerializing into the rocks.

<III><III><III><III>

“Oof!” Manu exclaimed as he tripped on one of the stones he phased out from, falling flat on his face. He grunted as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground, just in time to see his father from the corner of his eye. He walked over to him, “Dad, Dad. We gotta move before somebody sees us––”

“Okay, okay, just give me a minute,” Maui replied, waving a dismissive hand his way as he kept his eyes focused on the faletofa. Manu immediately rolled his eyes and moved to stand next to him.

“So, why are we looking at this particular fale?” he asked with a hint of boredom in his voice, unaware that his father’s hand was reaching for his chin. He felt it being squeezed by his father’s fingers and his head forced to look in one specific direction. That’s when they both saw a thirteen-year-old girl step outside, with several deep purple siapo to change the pola surrounding the fale.

“Really?” Manu spoke, his voice slightly pressed from his father’s grip, “That’s what you’re waiting for?!”

Maui shushed him as his eyes kept scanning the newly opened fale, and there inside was the very person he was looking for. There she was, hunched over the newly deceased, he could see her shoulder shaking like the other girl across from her. “Look how much she’s grown.” He murmured.

Manu stood there, raising an unamused eyebrow as he spoke with a slight muffle in his voice. “Then why don’t you go over there and talk to her––” He stopped when he heard the familiar twinkling of his father’s sentient tattoo. “What do you mean it’s not a good time?” he asked Mini-Maui. “She’s right there––‘she just lost her dad.’” He let out what was supposed to be a scoffing laugh. “That guy’s not even her real fa––”

Maui discreetly moved his hand away from his son’s chin and covered his mouth to silence him. “Uh. Don’t you have hook-finding duty to get back to?” Maui pointed out with an annoyed tone. “So, shoo, get going, buh-bye, and don’t let this happen again.” Maui was just about to lift his hand off his mouth a thought immediately crossed his mind, “Oh, and one more thing.” He gave the back of his head a hard smack, “How many times do I have to tell you not to swing your weapon by its cords,”

“But it’s made from flax! Flax is one of the most durable natural fibers out there,” Manu stated in a muffled voice.

Maui leaned in closer and looked his son in the eyes, “You look stupid. And, the edges of green stone can be very sharp, so unless you want to lose your weapon in a fight, keep the cord fastened, tied around your wrist to the base of your fingers like you’re supposed to. Got it?”

Manu replied, his annoyed tone still muffled by his father’s hand, “Yes sir…” Maui removed his hand from the young man’s mouth and made a shoo gesture as Manu walked off. He held his green stone weapon toward the left side of his chest and chanted, “Tohutohu,” before he dematerialized into the same stone he’d come from.

Maui swallowed the lump in his throat, taking in whatever time he had left to gaze upon the teenage girl—his girl—before the fale was covered again. Finally, the last sheet was hung up and went to drop, cutting his only chance to see her short.  

<III><III><III><III>

“Whoa!” Manu exclaimed as he came crashing down from the rocky slope he’d summoned from the ground during their fight with Lō. The impact of his fall caused him to slide face-first onto the ground. He let out an annoyed, muffled grunt as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground. A large portion of dirt and grass slid down his face, and his right eye twitched as he wiped the residue off his face. He stood up and started reciting mockingly, “You’re the son of the world’s greatest demigod, Manu, no task is impossible for you, Manu. You got my blood flowing in your veins, Manu.”  

He rolled his eyes as he continued venting, “Yeah, sure, I got your blood in my veins, Dad, but I’m only nineteen; I’m still a baby when it comes to this divine stuff, unlike your ancient, egotistical three-thousand-year-old self!” Manu immediately stopped in his tracks and pinched the bridge of his nose before he looked at the sky, imagining his father flying up there, and shouted, “I didn’t start this, you know!” And his heart waited for a response, but his mind knew it was never coming.

Finally, he let out an irritated sigh and said to himself, “Let’s just get this over with.” Slowly, he held his green stone out and chanted in a softer voice: “Arataki,” and waved it over the scattered rocks of Waiola’s collapsed fale. The green stone didn’t glow, leaving him baffled. He lifted it and began shaking it before giving it several light taps with his wrist. When that didn’t work, he chanted the same spell again, and when that didn’t work, he began shaking it violently with both hands. “What’s wrong with this thing?” 

Suddenly, he felt a chill run up his spine as he heard a womanly coming from the shadows, “Yes, what is wrong with that mere you have in your hand there?”

Manu quickly turned around, holding his weapon out, as a woman with ashen-colored skin and black smokey hair that seemed to evaporate toward the sky appeared. Her sclera was completely black, while her irises had that same bluish glowing stardust hue that ancestral spirits had. Her clothing was a mix of dark purple and black, decorated with black feathers. Manu had heard tales about her during his childhood in Motunui, and now this legendary personification was standing before him.

“Pō,” Manu spoke as he continued wielding his mere in front of her, “You better not try anything, I’m armed––”

She rolled her eyes in amusement and informed him, “Please, I’m not here for you,” Leaving Manu puzzled but guarded as he made sure never to turn his back to her as she slowly glided past him and gracefully traced her hands over ruins within her reach, “Can you feel all that death?” She paused for a moment and smiled when she realized he wasn’t letting his guard down, “If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done so already. Besides, I already told you I’m not here for you or your father.”

Manu finally eased and asked, while shrugging his shoulders, “Then why are you here?”

Pō just stared at him with an amused toothy grin and one hand placed casually on her hip, “You’re asking me, a goddess of the night and guardian of departed souls, why I’m visiting an island touched by death?”

Manu paused for a moment and admitted, “Alright, that was a dumb question––” Then something clicked in his head, and he exclaimed, “Hey, wait a minute! You’ve never personally led lost souls to your domain––”

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t,” Pō replied, “But there was one soul in particular that made the exception.”

Manu crinkled his nose in confusion, “Whose?”

<III><III><III><III>

Tala smiled sadly as she reached for the lowered siapo and draped it back over their father’s head. “Say hi to Mom for us,”

“Papa!” Melelani called out as she tried to reach out for their father, but Makoa quickly put his arms around her and held her back. Tala walked around their father toward where her younger siblings were and lifted her little three-year-old sister from their brother’s arms, finally giving him a chance to say his goodbyes to their father as well. 

Manaia finally lifted her head and slowly turned to face her older sister, “We need to start planning the funeral…”

“Could you not?” Hinatea hissed before she lifted her head and gave her younger sister a dangerous stare.

Manaia had a pleading look in her eyes, “He needs a proper burial––”

“Who cares how we’re going bury him?!” Hinatea exploded, “None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t decided to play hero and save me.” 

Tui immediately tried to intervene and called out to his eldest granddaughter. However, his voice seemed to fade into the background as Hinatea continued her verbal attack.

Manaia told her, “I was just trying to protect you––”

Hinatea jumped to her feet, “I don’t need protecting,” And said while pointing her finger straight at her, “And I don’t need you! We don’t need you!” The sharpness of her words immediately pierced her sister’s heart, Manaia immediately drew herself back and came very close to crying once again.

“Hinatea!” Tui shouted as he reached over and pulled her back down gently before he spoke to her with a softer tone, “We’re all angry, we’re all grieving, but now it’s not the time to point fingers at each other. This isn’t what your father would’ve wanted. He loved you all, and the last thing he would’ve wanted to see was us tearing each other apart when we all need to come together. And tonight, we should let him rest so he may join his ancestors.”

“Do you know any of them?” Makoa questioned as he wiped his nose with his arm.

“I’m afraid not,” Tui answered, “And unfortunately, neither did your father.” He motioned his grandchildren to gather around him, “But before I tell you the story of how he landed on these shores, there’s another tale he wanted you all to know.”

He turned to all of his grandchildren and took a deep breath, “There is a secret that your father never had the chance to reveal to you all, especially to you, Hinatea.” He hesitated for a brief moment to look at his eldest granddaughter in the eyes, “Before I begin, I need to know if you’ll be strong enough––”

“Grandpa, don’t. Just tell the story already––”

“Hinatea, this might be a lot for you to take in––”

“I can handle it.” She snapped, “Alright? So, whatever this secret is, just spill it.”

Manaia immediately turned to her sister, her expression a mix of sadness, sympathy, and disappointment by her lippy tone toward their grandfather, “Hina…”

Hinatea whirled her head toward her sister and hissed, “You shut up.” 

Tui immediately began his story before another fight began, “Today wasn’t the first time Lō made her way to Tuatahi’s shores. In fact, the first time happened sixteen years ago,” He turned and shifted his gaze between Hinatea and Manaia, “She came the night your mother gave birth…” He paused to glance down at the large siapo covering Huamo and immediately felt a slight pang in his heart, that’s when he felt a hand grasping his own, he turned and saw Tala’s encouraging look as she slowly sat directly next to him. Tui took another breath and continued, “Your mother’s labor was long and arduous––”

<III><III><III><III>

The atmosphere outside the smaller, hastily constructed fale near the faletofa was more than tense––it was downright frightening… at least for one of the parties involved. Tui had to keep a firm hand on Huamo’s shoulder to stop the soon-to-be father from entering while Waiola and her daughters did their work.

“What’s taking so long?” Huamo blurted, barely hiding the concern in his voice as another scream resonated from the small fale, once again, Tui held him back.

“This is completely normal,” Tui reassured him and informed him, “The first ones are always the hardest,”

“Shouldn’t there be noises––crying? Screaming––”

“Huamo, don’t worry, all of this is completely normal,” Tui once again reassured, “She’ll be fine, I’m sure of it. If there were any complications, Waiola or Aimata would’ve let us know by now.”

Huamo couldn’t help but ask, “Were you this nervous when Moana was born?”

“Absolutely,” Tui affirmed, “But I knew that Sina had a lot of capable women surrounding her, my mother was among them.”

“Tala,” Huamo spoke before he paused, “Chief Tui, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” He watched his father-in-law’s expression change from calming reserve to slight curiosity.

“And what would that be?”

Before Huamo could even begin, loud bird-like cries echoed from above. The sound was louder than anything he’d ever heard before, and sure enough, a shadow of a giant bird overcast them and headed toward the beach.

Seconds later, a loud BOOM echoed from the same beach. The impact sound resonated all over the village, causing the villagers inside their homes to step out to investigate immediately, but Tui knew exactly who’d come.

“Maui,” He uttered before he turned to Huamo and ordered, “Stay with––” He barely finished his sentence when the cries of a baby echoed from the beach. He grabbed the torch closest to him and hurried down the path with Huamo racing behind him.

<III><III><III><III>

With a blue flash, the giant hawk shape-shifted to his human form, Maui knelt with one knee bent on the sand with two woven flax carriers strapped to him, one on his back and the other on his chest. He opened his mouth to gloat about his amazing landing, but he barely had time with the baby’s loud cries and his young boy’s voice asking from the pikau strapped to Maui’s back, “Are we there yet?”

“Yeah,” Maui retorted with an annoyed tone, “We’re here.” He singlehanded took off the straps to the pikau on his back, causing it to slide down with his three-year-old still inside it. Little Manu landed on the sand with a soft oof! While the baby strapped to his front continued crying. Maui immediately removed the second set of straps and gently held the pikau in his right hand, where a one-month-old baby girl was crying her little lungs out. Maui immediately grabbed the tiny fishhook in his grasp and carefully handed it to his baby girl.

He watched as her little fingers could barely curl around the bone carving when a warm orange glow illuminated to his right. He looked up and saw many unfamiliar faces–wearing all sorts of different styles of outfits—which made things very clear to him… again.

This wasn’t the island. But, just like the other times, he wasn’t going to show them his disappointment, and the air of bravado instantly kicked in as he was just about to begin his casual greetings––that was until the crowd parted, revealing one familiar face.

“Moana’s dad! You’re alive!” Maui spoke up, barely hiding his excitement to see his best friend’s father standing before his eyes. After all, that could only mean one thing. Immediately, he darted toward the crowd, his eyes searching expectantly for his missing friend. His mind was so focused on finding her face in the crowd that he hadn’t realized his young son was tugging on the rope that held his leaves together till his three-year-old had the bright idea to stomp on his foot… hard.

“OW!” Maui cried before he whirled his head to look down and glare at him. Then he noticed Manu was pointing to the receding sea and turned his little head to look up at him. His little eyes widened with fear.

Maui instinctively shoved the pikau in his son’s arms and ordered as he picked up his giant fishhook, failing to notice the carrier was too big for his son’s arms to handle, “Hold the baby,” He turned to look behind him and instructed, as Huamo took the pikau from the little boy as Maui continued with his instructions “Okay Moana’s dad, you need to get everyone as far away––”  

But it seemed Maui didn’t need to direct anything as Tui immediately acted and ordered his people, “Everyone, head to higher ground!” Before he turned to Huamo, knowing him being younger and faster, he told him, “Take the children with you and wake everyone who’s still asleep in their fale. Lead them to the mountains.”

Huamo nodded before he quickly strapped the pikau to his back and grabbed three-year-old Manu. He then carried the little boy under his arm. “What about Moana?”

“Leave her to me, now go!”

Huamo reluctantly nodded before he turned and ran as fast as he could, going beyond to rush to the front of the crowd to wake the rest of their people in their homes.

The sea continued receding, showing no signs of striking just yet, so Maui took this last-minute chance to call out just as Tui was about to join Huamo in evacuating the villagers, “Hey, Moana’s dad?” As the symbols on the giant fishhook glowed, “You mind telling her to get here––”

“Maui––”

“She’s gonna love this!”

Tui revealed to him, “Moana’s in labor.”

Maui immediately felt his mind go blank as he slowly turned to look at Tui with a stupefied look, “She’s what?”

Fortunately, in Maui’s case, the awkward moment was interrupted by a loud, resonating, ear-piercing anguished scream.

Maui held his free hand over his left ear––he turned to look behind and Tui, on his knees with both hands covering his ears. A second wave of grief-filled cries echoed from the sea. Maui slowly turned his head, and with his ears still ringing, he changed his course of action and shifted into his giant hawk form.

Without warning, Tui felt sharp talons around his arms and the wind beneath his feet as Maui stated in his giant-hawk form, “Change of plans, show me which house is hers right now!” Tui quickly looked down and saw Huamo’s tiny form below them, ushering the newly woken villagers out of their homes and directing them toward the mountains.

Then, he spotted the birthing fale and shouted, “That one, to your left!” Maui made the turn and glided down to the spot. Once his feet touched the ground, he wasted no time entering the fale while Maui stood armed and ready outside.

Seconds later, the unmistakable shrills of a newborn’s baby reverberated from inside the fale.

<III><III><III><III>

Moana immediately looked up the second her father had rushed in the fale and toward her with an urgent look on his face. “Dad? What’s going on?”

“Moana, are you strong enough to move?” Tui asked, his voice mixed with urgency and concern as he quickly approached.

“Where’s Huamo?” She questioned the second she noticed he hadn’t come with her father.

Tui took his daughter’s hand and explained, “He’s leading the villagers up the mountains.” He paused as they all heard the sounds of running water––a large amount of running water heading toward them.

“Dad, help me up.” Moana requested with a determined look on her face. “We need to get my oar––” The eerie ear-piercing scream appeared again, Waiola and Aimata immediately covered their ears, Moana instinctively pressed one hand over the left side of her newborn daughter’s head while keeping the right side pressed firmly against her chest, hoping to protect her baby’s underdeveloped hearing for the intense noise. Suddenly, there came a powerful smack, and Maui came barrelling toward the main support post, causing it to tilt and the roof to sway.

He quickly grabbed his giant fishhook, changed into a giant hawk, and soared toward Aimata and Waiola first, allowing the two women to grip his chest feathers before gliding toward Moana and her father. Using his beak, he tossed Moana to his back to make her flight easier while she held her newborn before doing the same with her father, as he slid out of fale just in time as it finally collapsed.

Moana glanced over her shoulder to see what the threat was, and that’s when she immediately recognized the rampaging entity before her, “Lō…” Her eyes widened when she saw where the giant blackish-watery being was heading. She quickly turned toward the second tallest on Tuatahi, their emergency shelter. It seemed Maui noticed this too and immediately made a detour toward the large fale he saw overlooking a coastal cliff.  

It was the only place Lō’s waters hadn’t touched. Which meant it was safe––and keeping all of them––especially Moana––safe was his main priority right now.

“Wait–wait, Maui, what are you doing?” 

Finally, he landed and remained in his giant hawk form until the women helped Moana and her father safely off his back.

Moana carefully handed her baby to her father and pushed herself to run back inside the faletofa to retrieve her oar.

“Hey! Hey! Curly!” Maui called out after he changed back to his human form and easily caught up with her before blocking her path. “You literally just popped out a little human five minutes ago, and it shows. This is no time for you to be fighting.”


“Maui, who said I was going fight?” Moana pointed out, feeling the intensity of her emotions rising, she took a deep breath to calm her emotions and focus, “Get me up the mountain with my oar so I can direct Lō’s currents away from the island and my people and then I’ll leave the rest to you.” She saw the hesitating look in his eyes, “Maui, I got this––” He quickly held his hands out for her to take as her shaky legs nearly gave way. She looked at him with a grateful smile and the all too familiar fiery determination in her eyes, “––we got this. I’ll deflect, and you fight.”

He sighed and relented, “Alright, on one condition––”

“Maui––”

“Don’t strain yourself; I’ve seen my fair share of women having babies, and lemme tell you––”

A set of frightened children’s screams reverberated from the rainforest situated between the coastal cliff and the slope leading up to the mountain.

Four-year-old Hiapo screamed, “MAMA!”

Manu’s scream followed shortly after, “PAPA!”

<III><III><III><III>

A frightful hush washed over the evacuees as this enormous creature managed to separate Huamo’s small group from the rest of them by drawing a large wall of water to encase them. “Stay behind me, boys,” Huamo ordered as he grabbed the closest thing he could use as a weapon, a thick, long branch. He held the piece of timber out while making sure to stay in front of the two boys at all times.

“The baby’s glowing!” Manu stated as he pointed at the woven carrier on Huamo’s back, just as Lō rose behind them, placing herself between the four and the frightened villagers. Huamo quickly maintained a fighting position as four-year-old Hiapo held onto Huamo’s leg. The four-year-old’s eyes widened as he stared at the giant monster’s face and her hollowed eyes. Huamo gently pushed Hiapo and Manu behind him as Lō screamed upon seeing the glint emitting from the pikau as she stretched out her hand, ready to grab and take what she came from by any means necessary. “Give her back to me!”

Huamo instinctively bent his knees and curved his spine as much as he could in an attempt to protect the boys and the baby strapped to his back while holding the large stick toward her. At the same time, her giant hand rushed right at them when another wall of water rose directly in front of Lō’s hand. This time, the water was clear and blue, with glowing speaks of magnificent yellow within it.

“It’s Papa!” Manu cheered as he pointed high in the sky, and Maui’s giant eagle flew overhead. Huamo watched with worry and relief etched on his face as the divine carving glowed on Moana’s oar as she used her powers. “We’re saved!” The little three-year-old’s excitement continued as he stomped hard on the ground, causing the area around them to shake almost immediately before columnar jointed basalts shot out of the ground. The impact of its sudden appearance sent him, Huamo and Hiapo flying up within the same airspace as Maui and Moana were.

The sounds of the nearby screaming and a baby’s cries immediately caught Maui and Moana’s attention. He turned his head only to see his son and another boy around his age flailing their arms and legs as they immediately began free-falling toward the ground. Fortunately, the two boys were within Huamo’s reach, and the new father grabbed the two, pulling them close to his chest before he immediately turned himself around in midair as they crashed toward the basalt, letting the right side of his body take in most of the impact as they landed on the surface. A sickening CRACK was heard coming from Huamo’s bones as the second crashed into the surface. Hiapo quickly lifted his head, “Huamo?” He called as he crawled toward the young man’s head.

“Huamo!” Moana screamed with her oar in hand as The Ocean dropped her off toward the basalt’s flat hexagon surface. She rushed over, running on pure adrenaline, and was on her knees by his side within seconds. Her focus then shifted as the sounds of a baby’s cries came from Huamo’s back.

She looked down and saw the unusually long straps and quickly undid the left strap first but gripped the only untied strap to let the main part of the pikau gently touch the ground. She carefully leaned over only to see this tiny one-month-old baby crying their lungs out while grasping a glowing object in their left hand.

Her heart immediately melted at the sight of this thick, curly-haired infant, but soon, all of that affection turned to concern when Huamo let out a sharp cry of pain and said through gritted teeth and tightly shut eyes, “I can’t feel my arm…” Soon, the baby’s crying registered in his ears, and the next thing that left his lips was, “Are the kids okay?”

Moana turned to her left and saw the two boys looking at her with worried faces and some scratches. She turned to face Huamo, just ready to reassure him. Seconds later, Lō’s thundering cry echoed all over the island as she directed all her anger at Maui: “GIVE HER BACK TO ME!”

With her oar in hand and The Ocean’s help by letting her dip the oar’s head into its surface, Moana used her newly found powers to retake control of the waters Lō had dominated, entrapping the grief-stricken entity in a swirling sea current. Moana looked up at Maui and gave him the signal with a nod.

<III><III><III><III>

A heavy silence hung in the air as his only grandson and two eldest granddaughters stared at him with shock and surprise in their eyes as Tui faced his eldest granddaughter and said, “That baby was––”

A village man shouted from outside, his voice grew louder, and he neared the faletofa, “Chief Tui! We found a survivor down by the beach!”

Tui quickly stood up and told his grandchildren, “Get some sleep, I’ll finish the story tomorrow morning,”

“But Grandpa, you were getting to the best part!” Makoa protested just before Manaia shushed him and took his hand before she stood up and led him to his sleeping mat, letting Tala take over their younger sister’s bedtime routine while Hinatea remained sitting firmly on her spot as their grandfather exited the fale.

<III><III><III><III>

The saltwater never tasted so horrible as it did tonight. Hiapo lifted his face from the sand and found himself being helped up by several nearby villagers. However, when one of them touched his right arm, the young fisherman let out a pained cry as a sharp but dull pain shot through his muscles. The men helping him immediately released their hold on him, letting Hiapo roll to his back on the sand, and that’s when he noticed the unnatural way his arm was bent. His mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and he cried out, “What happened to my arm?!” 

Just as Tui arrived at the scene, relief was written all over his face at the sight of one of their own lying before him––injured but alive.  “Go get his mother, and let his sisters know he’s still al––”

Hiapo screamed, “Who are you?!” Scrambling his feet on the sand, he quickly from Tui in pure confusion, and then the pain shot up his arm, forcing him to stop. He noticed all of them approaching the young man gently, and that’s when Hiapo immediately stood up and shouted, “Get away from me!” As he tried to run, unaware that his mother and older sisters had been informed.

Mele, who lived the closest to the beach, was the first one of her family to rush to the scene and embraced her twenty-year-old baby brother in a tight hug, exclaiming in joy, “We thought we’d lost y––” but immediately pulled away a millisecond later when cried out in pain. She looked down and noticed his broken arm, “Come on, Mom will take care of that in a––”

Hiapo slowly backed away and stared at his second eldest sister as if she were a stranger, “Who are you?”

Mele stared at him, her expression shifting from hurt to disbelief as she approached him slowly, “Hiapo. I’m Mele, your sister, remember?”

“Who’s Hiapo?” He asked, scrunching his nose in confusion, the question left a sense of dread and concern on everyone’s faces as the rest of Mele’s and Hiapo’s family approached. Waiola was the last of their family to approach the scene. Her daughters and her eldest grandchildren all watched as their family’s matriarch approached with her usual grumpy expression. Waiola took one look at her youngest child and retorted with a deadpan tone, clearly unfazed by the whole thing. “Memory loss.”

<III><III><III><III>

Manaia blew out the lit candlenut in the coconut husk bowl and undid her double-side braids, letting her long, wavy hair flow off the front of her shoulders and onto her back. She noticed a shadow reflected in front of the single-lit candlenut in their whole fale and turned to see that it was Hinatea casting the shadow and that she hadn’t moved since their grandfather’s tale. Manaia let out a silent sigh as she tried to reassure her older sister, “Grandpa will be back––”

“Are you spying on me again?!” Hinatea questioned with an accusing tone as she whirled her head to face her sister the second she heard her voice.

“I’m worried about you,” Manaia said in a gentle voice, “So, you don’t have to keep up the tough girl act all the time––”

Hinatea rolled her eyes and retorted sarcastically, “Okay, Mom.” Before she let out an exaggerated gasp, “Oh, sorry, you’re not Mom, are you?” She dropped the melodrama and let out her genuine irritation, “How about this, instead of getting all touchy-feely with me, why don’t you learn to mind your own business and butt ou––”

“What’s happening?” Tala questioned with a cheery tone as she just popped in between her two older sisters out of nowhere, causing Hinatea to let out a startled scream as she fell back and knocked her head against the lava stone floor.

Manaia shook her head and questioned, “Tala, do you have to scare people like that?”

Tala gave her a wide smile, “Well, I had to find some way to distract Hinatea’s anger, didn’t I? Besides, I already know this story.”

Hinatea groaned from her head pain as she grunted while still on the ground, “How?”

“I have my ways,” Tala reiterated as she sat cross-legged between them, “I can continue it if you want.”

Manaia told her sister with a gentle but slightly firm tone, “Tala, I think we should let Grandpa continue it in the morning. After we all have some rest,” She then nudged her head toward where their two younger siblings lay fast asleep, “Besides, it wouldn’t be fair if we heard the ending before they did.”

“Well, you two do whatever you want,” Hinatea muttered as she forced herself to get up and rubbed the back of her head, “I need some fresh air.”

Manaia gave her sister a disapproving stare, “Hina, we’re not supposed to leave fale at this––”

Hinatea let out a sarcastic chuckle and turned to her sister, “What are you going to do, ground me?” She paid her younger sister’s annoyed stare no heed as she stated, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember you being the boss of me, so while you stay here blowing a vein or two, I’m going to head out and get some well deserve air––”

Manaia let out a sigh and said, “Hina, we know what that story was about… I get it, Whakaī was right about one thing, but so what––”

“Okay, that has nothing to do––”

“Just because Whakaī made one lucky guess doesn’t mean––”

“Will you shut up?” Hinatea groaned in frustration, “If I want fresh air, I’m gonna get fresh air, Whakaī has nothing to do with this, so drop it already.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Thanks for reminding me just how unwanted I am, sis. That’s exactly what I needed to hear tonight.”

Manaia once again tried to speak as Hinatea just began to walk out, “Hina, if you just let me––”

“I don’t care!” Hinatea cut her off from the other side of the pola sheet as her silhouette was seen descending the foundation. 

<III><III><III><III>

Maui immediately ducked behind a nearby bush the second he saw Hinatea marching down out from the fale. He took a deep, sharp breath, part of thinking just how close he could’ve been to being seen as Mini–Maui wiped some inky sweat from his forehead to further empathize with the quick span of anxiety they both felt, then they both heard her marching past the bush they were hiding behind. 

Fortunately, Hinatea didn’t seem to notice them or his giant fishhook as she walked on. He could hear her sniffling as she passed, and he took this as a sign that the whole truth had finally been revealed to her.

“Okay, okay,” Maui spoke as he prepped himself for this long-overdue reunion, “Be direct, to the point, and everything’s going to be okay.” He told himself, confident that she’d come to terms with her heritage and the bonus of having one of the most powerful demigods as her father… after losing the only mortal man she’d known as dad their whole life.

A split-second of hesitation kicked in, but it went away as quickly as it came. Mini-Maui immediately stepped in and gave the larger-than-life demigod a skeptical eyebrow raise. Maui waved a dismissive hand in his tattoo’s direction, “Pfft! Don’t worry, I’ll break it down to her gently––” That’s when a barge of protesting twinkling sounds echoed, “Of course, I’ll pay my respects after––I promise.” He slowly turned his gaze toward the faletofa, “Besides, I gotta thank the twig––” That’s when Mini-Maui used his tattoo fishhook to twist Maui’s left nipple, showing his disapproval for the old nickname he’d given Huamo all those years ago.

“Ow! It’s not my fault that he was skinny as a––OW! Okay! Okay! No disrespecting the dead!” 

With that, Mini-Maui stopped with his antic and assumed his usual inked position. Maui took a deep breath as he picked up his fishhook, and with a flash of blue, he turned into his vibrant-colored tuatara form and scampered after her. This meeting had to be perfect, and what better way to make it perfect than to show her all the perks that came with being of demigod heritage?

<III><III><III><III>

Hinatea made her way down toward her mother’s? Moana’s? She didn’t know what to call the owner of this private beach anymore. Was she still her mom, or was she just her Chiefess who adopted her out of pity? And her dad––did he say he loved her because he meant it, or did he say it out of pity too? What about the village she’d always called her home… and the villagers here. Did they also watch her grow because they had no choice or because they pitied her too? There was a gnawing feeling in her stomach that traveled up her heart. Did they all pretend to care because they felt sorry for her… did they see her as weak?

As her thoughts and mixed emotions began to spew together, creating an internal mess, a blue flash appeared and went unnoticed by her… till she saw a large shadow flying over her, causing her to look up, and there she saw the same giant hawk that was about to eat her, her mouth immediately gaped open ready to let out a scream, when the giant hawk’s patterned feathers flashed blue, and a shark took its place, and the patterns on the shark’s skin glowed blue, and the same colored flash came.

The giant fishhook the person held was a dead giveaway. Maui rolled in the air, tossed his giant fishhook in front of where he planned to land, did a perfect level-three dive roll, and ended his demonstration by grabbing his hook.  Finally, he lifted his head, “Pretty cool, right?” He questioned with a confident smile, “Well, shape-shifting and using magic is one of the many perks of being a demigod, kiddo.”

He then pointed his fishhook after it lost its magical blue glow, “I know you have a lot of questions, but the short answer is yes, I’m your dad, and also yes, am I this amazing…” His attempt at a grandiose entrance and his expectations of this joyous reunion began to deflate the second he saw Hinatea go pale, her round eyes going wide in shock, and her breathing becoming shallow as she took one shaky backstep.

Maui stood there, completely stunned. Clearly, this wasn’t the reaction he’d envisioned, and then he immediately tossed his fishhook aside and rushed in to catch her just before she fell into the sand.  

“Hinatea!” Maui called out to her in a panic as he leaned in, putting his ear in front of her nostrils, while Mini-Maui began trying to fan her. Maui let out a sigh of relief when he could hear breathing. He straightened up, his tense expression immediately relaxed as he gazed upon his unconscious daughter, recalling the last time he was able to see her and how much she’d grown over the last thirteen years. He let out a sad chuckle as he noted her features, “You take after me, only girlier.”

Unaware that Manu had made his appearance, he stood a few feet away from his father, next to a group of natural lava rocks, with his arms crossed over his chest and shaking his head in disapproval. His mutter went completely unnoticed, “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”