1. Maka
907 Words
1
Maka
Ka-Maka-O-Ka-Moana
The eye of the ocean; the beloved of the ocean.
It was the hour of the night when the moon slips beneath the ocean and the sky starts to lighten over the cliffs in Lauele Town, Hawai’i.
Maka in her Niuhi shark form nosed Zader’s body toward shore. She’d found him unconscious and drifting out at sea, a baby dorsal fin bump on his back, gills along his neck, and rough gray skin the only outward signs of his failed transition from human to Niuhi.
Maka sighed.
Things were never as simple as they should be.
Face down in the water, at least he was getting oxygen through his gills and his heartbeat was strong. His body, however, was dangerously chilled. He needed to get out of the water before hypothermia set in, leaving him without enough energy to fully shift one way or the other.
Maka whipped her shark tail back and forth, keeping her snout pressed against Zader, working with the tide toward the shore at Nalupuki. Landing at Keikikai would be easier, but with dawn on its way, she didn’t want to take the chance they’d be seen by early morning joggers. Better to get him on land as quickly as possible and let his mammalian instincts return him to his usual human form.
Well, as human as Niuhi ever got.
This is my fault, Maka thought. I knew Kalei was spending too much time in Lauele, and that’s never good. If ‘Ilima hadn’t been there—
She closed her eyes.
Don’t think about it.
Don’t think about how Zader, the boy who believes one drop of water burns his skin like acid, was more afraid of staying on land than jumping into the sea.
From the pavilion on the hill, Maka caught scent traces of Kalei, Zader, and ‘Ilima, the dog who wasn’t really a dog. The emotion surrounding their scents crackled in the air like a nuclear explosion. Whatever happened between her uncle Kalei and her brother Zader, it wasn’t the happy family reunion she’d fantasized about.
Earlier that night, swimming with her mother Pua miles away from Lauele Town, Maka knew the moment the ocean embraced Zader. The water around her suddenly prickled with his presence.
Zader!
All her life Maka had known about her twin brother Zader, but he knew nothing about her. While Zader thought their childhood adventures were dreams, Maka knew they were real.
Maka’s heart leaped.
If Zader’s in the ocean, he knows he’s Niuhi.
No more pretending.
No more hiding.
Mentally, she followed their bond back, but instead of elation at his transition from human to Niuhi, she felt confusion and fear.
Adrenaline squished through her veins; her mind raced faster than a riptide. Her eyes darted to Pua swimming calmly by her side.
Mother doesn’t know. And she can’t—not yet. I have to get to Zader first. He needs to understand being Niuhi is a good thing.
Maka stretched and yawned.
“Mother,” she said, “I’m ‘ono for eels.”
Pua turned to her.
“Eels? Yuck. Too chewy, Maka.”
“I know a good place.”
“Every place is a good place for eels, foolish girl. They’re plentiful because nobody wants a mouthful of tendon and gristle.”
“We’re not far from Makapu‘u. Good hunting along the reef.”
“Maka, we ate yesterday.”
“Just an eel snack. I like the way they slurp.”
“If you’re hungry, find a fish.”
“You don’t have to come.”
Pua gave her side-eye. “Why not?”
“I mean, come if you want. It’ll be fun.”
Maka held her breath, feigning disinterest. She swished her tail at a plastic bottle floating on the surface.
Make her believe you don’t care; if she thinks this is important, it’s over.
She felt Pua’s scrutiny.
Relax!
Think eels, eels, eels!
Don’t think about being on my own.
Pua swam closer, her fin brushing Maka’s side.
“You’ll be leaving me soon,” Pua said.
Sea stars! Is she reading my mind or my body language?
Eels, eels, eels!
Don’t think about—
“You’ll be with that boy,” Pua said.
“Who?”
“You know the one I mean. Your brother.”
Maka shrugged. “I don’t think he likes eels.”
Pua drifted, considering.
“You’re right. Together on land won’t be the same as in the ocean with me. But if you insist on eating eels, I don’t want to hear how your stomach hurts later.”
Score!
But it has to be her idea.
Maka frowned. “You’re right. Eels are kinda rubbery.”
“But you like them.”
“Never mind. With school starting we won’t—”
“Go. Now is not the time to start feeling nervous about being alone.”
“Makapu‘u is far—”
“I’ll see you back here at dawn, Maka.”
“You sure you don’t want to come, Mother?”
Pua shuddered. “Eels? They stick in my teeth. I’d rather eat cow.”
Maka thought hard: Hang in there, Zader. I’m coming.
But Zader in the water was silent.
He must be human again.
That was fast.
The human-Niuhi transition must’ve really freaked him out.
Maka didn’t panic until she entered the waters near Lauele Town. From the scent trail she knew Kalei had chased Zader into the water—and Zader hadn’t come out again.
I would know if Zader died, right?
She shook her head.
Don’t think about that either.
It seemed liked forever before she found him unconscious and floating miles from shore.
Nothing broken or bleeding.
Good.
But what an i***t.
Who fails at transitioning?
Really, how lame is that?
No wonder Kalei didn’t bother coming after him.
And it’s up to me to push him to shore.
Figures.
Now in the shallows off Nalupuki beach, the waves buffeted Zader’s body, pulling him away from Maka. At any moment a wave could catch him and roll him up the beach like rice in a sushi mat. Maka adjusted her angle and timed the waves.
With a little luck, they’d be on the beach in two shakes of a jellyfish tentacle.
- Writer
