“I heard about what Ana did earlier,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“So you guys dated?” Mina asked, trying to act indifferent about it.
“Yeah, it was a few years ago. I broke it off when my dad died. She wanted a serious commitment that I just couldn’t give at the time.” He paused and picked up Mina’s hand. “Looking back, it was for the better.”
Keoni escorted her back to her hut and paused to give her a quick kiss before leaving. Mina was grateful that her grandmother was snoring in the next hut, completely unaware.
In her hut Mina was unable to fall asleep. She couldn’t believe the difference between kissing Andrew and kissing Keoni. With Andrew it had been a comfortable kiss, but it didn’t have the underlying passion that she always imagined these moments should have. At least not on her end. With Keoni, though, it was… wow. It made her feel crumbly inside and at the same time made her view of the world crystal-clear.
Mina realized that if she could choose right now between the two boys, she would choose Keoni. He understood the Okawiian world whereas Andrew would always be an outsider. Until now, she had had no idea how Keoni actually felt about her. But now Keoni had been honest with his feelings. And it changed everything for Mina.
But still, she felt some guilt. Oh my God, what about Andrew? Am I a cheater now? I am NOT the cheating type. No, of course this wasn’t cheating. With Andrew we were never actually going out, we just kissed one time. This is going to be ugly to explain when I get back, I do not want to break his heart.
Chapter 11
Hector walked into the main cabin of his yacht in the South Pacific waters feeling more alive than he had in a long time. If he could bag his mermaid, the beast that got away, his collection would be complete. After his accident when he was a boy, he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of having to conquer, to dominate the animals who were not made in God’s image as man was. He felt that with the vanquishing of a supposed mythical creature he would have accomplished complete supremacy over nature. Not to mention gaining demigod status at Venatus.
He returned to the deck with a tray carrying two drinks. His luck on this trip had been fabulous. First he had succeeded in tracking the mermaids all the way back to Okawii, and now he had managed to lure an islander onto his boat for a discussion of the ‘fish’ in the area.
He handed his guest a drink with his disfigured left hand. “You may remember that I was here fifteen years ago. I saw what I saw and my goal hasn’t changed.”
Hector’s visitor shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“We’ve discussed the money, is there anything else you want?”
“Yes,” the islander said ardently. “I want you to promise that if you get your prize, you’ll leave and I’ll never have to see you again.”
Hector thought this was smart. If his fellow Okawiians found out he sold one of them out, no doubt he’d be exiled forever. Then he remembered his promise to Simon that he would get one, too. Oh well. Simon wasn’t here yet and the early bird gets the worm.
“Yes, just one and I’ll leave you in peace forever.”
“As I said before, the money must be in place, as well as the other things we discussed.”
Hector smiled and passed his guest a drink. “You shall have it all. Thirty million dollars will be wired to your relative on Hawaii tonight and all of my political contacts will be at your disposal.”
“And of course my name is never to be mentioned in connection with this little incident.”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know how good your maps are of this area, but there is a small, uninhabited island called Luta a few miles southwest of here. After I hear that the money is secure, I will arrange it so that there is a mermaid around Luta next Wednesday morning. That is all I can do.”
“Don’t worry about my hunting skills,” Hector said, tapping the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. “There had never been an animal I couldn’t handle,” he smiled, his confidence hiding the fact that actually, he did miss a mermaid fifteen years ago.
After what happened with Keoni after the feast, it was natural that Mina let her imagination run and she thought about a potential future with him. However, what Maria had told her at the Feast about the strict marriage laws on Okawii bugged her. It was all very strange to her: here the teenagers were thinking about who they would marry while at home her peers were only worried about dates for the prom. Back in Arizona she had secretly thought that Andrew would eventually be a good husband and father, but it was never something she would have admitted to anyone. In her world, the topic of marriage was only to be discussed after college.
“Grandmother, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, my dear.” Nukuluve was sitting by the fire in a rare moment of inactivity.
“Back at the feast Maria mentioned something about marriage rules on the island. What is that all about?”
“There are indeed such rules on Okawii,” said Nukuluve. “Our community is too small otherwise. I am your grandfather’s second cousin, for example. Second cousins are allowed to marry under any circumstances on Okawii, first cousins are slightly more complicated. Here you can marry your cross cousin, but not your parallel cousin.”
“What’s the difference between a cross cousin and parallel cousin?” asked Mina.
“Your cross cousin is the child of your parent’s opposite-gender sibling. So if your mom had a brother, your cross cousin would be your mom’s brother’s son. Your parallel cousin is the child of your parent’s same-gender sibling.”
“So it would be my mom’s sister’s kid, if she had had a sister.”
“Exactly.”
“Doesn’t anybody here go to college? It just seems like the teens here are too young to be thinking about this.”
“College is indeed a rare thing here. Some have, and have gone on to do great things. Some go away to school and after a short time, find that they miss our way of life.” She smiled. “There is no White Coral at college, you know.”
“But my mom went, right?”
“Yes, your grandfather was insistent on that. She was too bright and the world was changing too fast for her not to have gone.”
“Am I affected by any of these marriage rules? Not that I’m looking to get married,” added Mina hastily. “I’m just curious.”
“No. You don’t have any cousins on Okawii because your mother was an only child. And anyways, you can marry anyone you want on the island because your father is an outsider and so you have fresh genes.”
“And anyone can marry anyone else from any of the other mermaid communities?”
“For the most part. We get together yearly with people from the islands of Ipona, Beluu, Lilo, and Otto Island for just such a purpose.”
“You mean aside from the Mermaid Games?” asked Mina.
“No, it is the Mermaid Games that serve that purpose.”
Mina suddenly pitied Ana that she had grown up in such a closed system. It was hard to imagine only being allowed to marry one person, and all throughout childhood knowing who that person would be. What was worse for Mina, it appeared that Ana truly did like Keoni.
For a moment, Mina thought that she should give up on Keoni completely. Then she shook herself out of it. She really liked Keoni and Keoni really liked her, and it wasn’t as if Ana couldn’t marry someone from another one of the mermaid colonies. Mina decided that as sad as the marriage situation on Okawii was, she would let life happen as it happens, and not try to deny her feelings for a girl who never showed her any kindness.
David approached Okawii in the Aquarius and felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The last time he had seen the island was when he was leaving with 1-year-old Mina the day after Eva was buried. Dabbing his eyes, he told himself that this entire trip would be filled with emotional moments and it would only be appropriate to control himself.
Nobody met him at the dock. High school was not in session at the moment and only one
other Okawiian got off with him. David knew that Okawii was a culturally protected zone, but when he had left 15 years ago, his father-in-law told him to come any time. He assumed he would be welcome.
David stepped off the dock and turned right toward Nukuluve’s huts, amazed that after all these years he still had a decent grasp of the island’s layout. Along the way the sight of the palm trees and the scent of the tropical flowers permeated him, and, overcome with emotion, he stopped more than once to dab his eyes. How different his life would be now if Eva had lived. They’d be living on Okawii by now, no doubt, and his daughter, having grown up in this environment in a family that was whole probably wouldn’t hate him so much. He didn’t know where Mina was on the island, and hoped she wasn’t in the sea right now. Something was going on with Simon and his hunting club that he didn’t understand yet. There was one yacht he saw not far from the island, and he didn’t know it’s purpose or origin, but he wanted to be here to protect Mina if necessary.
He came to Nukuluve’s fire pit and saw her kneeling beside it stirring something. The widowed banker couldn’t help but think back to the last time he saw Eva in a similar position, preparing something tasty for him.
The old woman heard his footsteps and her eyes widened when she saw him. “David! Please sit down. The soup is almost ready.” She wondered what on earth he was doing there, if something perhaps happened at home and he had come to fetch Mina early. She thought that it was poor timing for him to come when that yacht was parked outside the island.
Sitting on one of the logs, he asked, “How are you, Nukuluve?”
“Very well, thank you.” The happy-creases in the corners of her eyes showed that she was telling the truth. “Thank you for sending Mina to me, it has been wonderful to get to know her, and to see a bit of my Eva still alive in her.”
She passed him a steaming bowl of her turtle soup and from the first spoonful it seemed to imbue him with a calmness and peace.
“How has Mina been?”
“She is very well. She has made friends and is very comfortable with the language now, and…,” Nukuluve looked at him with a twinkle in her eye, “…she has asked me about the marriage laws on the island which makes me think there someone she has her eye on.”
That surprised David. Mina was still a baby to him. Plus, he had never thought about her settling down on Okawii before. College was a must, of course, but if she were to decide to come back here for good, David would probably follow her to be with the grandkids.
“How much does she know?” asked David.
“You mean has she discovered the Coral yet? Oh yes, she’s swimming with the best of them. She completed a long-distance fishing trip with her peers a couple weeks ago and she wowed the judges at the Island Games with her show jumping.”
“No, I mean about Eva, about her mother.”
“I have not told her everything yet. She suspects something. At first, she was asking people about it, but they respect me and know that it is my job to fill her in at the right moment.”
“Mina!” David put down his soup bowl as his daughter ran into his arms. He hugged his daughter tight, hoping that being in this atmosphere had given her the power to forgive him for being unable to be honest with her all these years.
“Why did you come here?” she asked him.
“I needed to make sure you were okay,” he said quietly.
“Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m finally here, finally where I belong.”
“Nothing, never mind. I just think that as your father I should be able to protect you if necessary.”
“From what?” she asked, pulling away from him.
“Forget about it. How are you doing?”
“Fine.” She looked over at her grandmother. “Dad, can you tell me how mom died?”
David and Nukuluve exchanged glances. “Honey, why don’t you tell me about your fishing trip instead?”
Mina gave him a cold look and stormed into her hut.
It took a few days, but as David spent more and more time on the island, he began to relax and fall under its spell. Everything he needed was here, and the luxuries he was used to in Arizona seemed like nonsense on Okawii.
One morning as they were eating breakfast, he nodded to Nukuluve. She understood that it was time.
“Mina,” he started, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I first got here—I needed to process being here again without your mother. But now I’m ready for you to know how your mom died.”
Mina’s mouth fell open, then she shut it and sat down, her entire attention fixed on her father and grandmother.
David began. “When you were a year old, your mother and I brought you to Okawii for your first visit, and probably your last visit until you were old enough to keep the secret of the islanders. Eva was glowing with happiness and eager to show you off. The 3 weeks we spent here were wonderful.”
He stopped, not knowing where to continue.
Nukuluve broke the silence. “You should know also about Moko. Moko is an Okawiian man, about the same age as my Eva. Poor Moko was in love with Eva from the time they were very little. According to the marriage rules, there were only two boys her age who would have been allowed to marry your mother, and Moko happened to be one of them. Now, he was a sweet boy, and while I hesitate to use the term ‘village idiot’ to describe him, he definitely was not the sharpest spear in the satchel. Eva, of course, was brilliant, and unfortunately not attracted to Moko in any way, but they were friends. When Moko heard that Eva was going to marry David, an outsider, he was completely distraught. He did not even go to the wedding. Later he felt bad about that, so his mother told me, and wanted to be there to properly congratulate Eva when they visited with you.”
David continued. “So toward the end of our visit, your mother and I went out for a ‘date’, leaving you behind with your grandparents. We took a sailboat to Luta where Eva wanted to show me the turtles hatching. Moko, still not completely over his rejection by your mother, changed forms and followed us all the way to Luta without consulting anyone. We don’t know exactly what he was doing or what he hoped to accomplish.
“At the island, we didn’t know that we weren’t completely alone, besides Moko. By chance, someone had parked a yacht at the backside of the island where we didn’t see it. He happened to be scuba diving that day and he caught sight of Moko. As luck would have it, the yacht owner was a big hunter or fisherman or whatever and wanted to get Moko. Without anyone noticing, he slipped back to his boat, and returned with a few harpoons, intent on bagging Moko. He tracked Moko carefully and figured out the bubble pattern that we emit. At the end of the day when we were disembarking toward Okawii, the hunter decided to make his move before we left the safety of the reef.
“Your mother and I were gracious about Moko’s presence on our date. We were talking and laughing, when suddenly his shoulder was hit by a harpoon. Eva, hoping to stop the hunter, jumped in the water without thinking to protect Moko.
“Luckily she didn’t have any White Coral in her system, so she didn’t change when she hit the water. She swam over to Moko just as the hunter was throwing his second harpoon, and it hit your mother instead.”
David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Mina felt herself blinking back tears as well.
“I jumped in after her and brought her back to the island.”
“It was devastating,” said Nukuluve. “Your grandfather was heartbroken—he had lost his little girl and his heir. Only two months later he, too, passed away. After Konala died, Akolo was made Chief. In an effort to better protect Okawii from the hunters, he proceeded to cut all ties with the outside world, including the Island Council. For several years after the islanders were very careful in the sea, fishing only close to Okawii.”
Mina’s head was swirling. Finally, after all this time, she knew the secret of her mother’s death. And, finally, she realized why it had caused her dad such great pain. What a horrible tragedy to have had to keep secret all these year
s.
After a short pause, Mina collected her thoughts a little and asked, “What ever happened to Moko?”
“He survived the injury,” responded Nukuluvle. “After the incident he swam away from the boat and was never seen on Okawii again. A few years later he showed up at the Mermaid Games. Apparently he married someone from another mermaid tribe and now lives on the island of Ipona.”
The sadness in Mina subsided, and in its place anger arose. Who was this Moko to have robbed her of a mother? If she saw him at the Mermaid Games, would she be able to forgive him?
“Did anybody ever catch the guy who threw the harpoon? How did he just…get away?” Mina asked with fire in her eyes.
David rubbed his fingers anxiously. He was not enjoying reliving this moment. “All I could think about was your mother. Maybe I should have gone after him, I don’t know, but I was too intent on getting Eva back to the island for medical care.” He looked down at his hands. “But I was too late,” he whispered. “By the time we got back to Okawii, she was gone.”
Nukuluve put her hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder. “After David returned, a group of men went to Luta to chase off the harpooner. When they got there, both he and Moko had vanished.”
On Monday morning Chief Akolo made his way to Vai Place. As he watched the youth frolicking about, he felt some regret that he would never have any grandchildren of his own. These were the cards life had dealt him, however, so he didn’t dwell on it too long. Akolo, like most of the older people on the island, didn’t change forms very often anymore. He used the White Coral a few times a year for official ceremonies and every year for the mermaid games. He had an island to run and a lot of business to attend to make sure his people were happy and healthy. The young people who went out a lot as mermaids were happy to help him with chores outside of the island.
“Mina and Filipe!” the Chief called to the youth. “May I speak with you a minute?”
Filipe made a face at his friends and followed the Chief to the side.
“I need a favor from you two.” The gushing sound of the waterfall made it hard to hear him and Filipe and Mina leaned in closer.