Other Titles by Keith R. Rees
The Hana Sun Does Shine - POETRY
Take the Water to the Mountain - FICTION
Shaking the Tree - FICTION
The Brazilian – FICTION
Legend upon the Cane – FICTION
Quill and Ink - POETRY
The Lunas
Keith R. Rees
True love.
True and amazing love.
To discover such euphoric happiness and passion is like finding
The rarest of all gems.
For those who seek it, may it be as you wish…
Chapter 1
The street lights glowed up and down the boulevard of Honoapiilani in the late evening darkness. The rush of traffic from tourists and locals alike had long since subsided and only a car or two meandered down the tropical island road. Palm trees swayed on both sides of the boulevard. Myna birds cackled as they settled for the night. All was quiet on this typical summer night in West Maui, all except for the three mischievous shadows ducking across the highway, snickering as they ran.
“You got the flashlight?” one shadow blurted to another.
One of the three boys sighed with exasperation. “We don’t need a freakin’ flashlight. I know these streets like the back of my hand. Now shush!”
The two Kapule brothers rolled their eyes and continued to follow close behind their buddy, Vince. The three boys hustled down the narrow, darkened streets of Lahaina, ducking under plumeria trees and around overgrown oleander bushes.
“Come on you guys,” Vince whispered. “And try and keep up will ya?”
“Hey, where are we going anyway?” protested the younger Kapule brother, Naoki.
“Quiet, Oki! You’ll see,” Vince assured him.
“Yeah, quiet back there,” Oki’s brother Kai hissed.
“Oh that does it,” Oki whined out loud, sticking his foot out to trip his brother. Kai fell right into Vince and both went crashing into some bushes. Oki roared with laughter. “You klutzes.” Apparently they weren’t too sore at him. They both got up and brushed themselves off, snickering the whole time. “I got you guys good.”
Waving his ball cap at his brother and still laughing, Kai said, “Knock it off, will ya?”
“Yeah, knock it off,” Vince added. “We’re here.”
“We’re where?” both brothers asked simultaneously.
“Shhh,” Vince said, holding his finger to his lips. Then he pointed across the street at an old darkened house right on the corner. Both boys looked puzzled. It didn’t look different than any other house in Lahaina.
“I don’t get it,” Kai said. “Doesn’t look like much to me. Whose place is this?”
Vince grinned from ear to ear. Suddenly it dawned on Kai what Vince was up to. “Oh no, we didn’t. Tell me we did not come here!” The one thought that he never wanted to talk about, much less go looking for.
“What? What?” Oki exclaimed. “What place is this, huh?”
“Please tell me we are not gonna spy on Fat Mazy,” Kai said flatly.
“Yep,” Vince answered proudly. “If she is what I think she is, then the answer to that my boys is ‘yes’!”
Oki gasped. “Oh forget this man! I ain’t goin’ near that woman. I don’t care how fat she is. She’s not Fat Mazy, she’s Crazy Mazy. She lives with two dozen cats you know. This is making me nervous.” Oki pulled out a candy bar and began to chow down on it.
“Hey, what do we wanta do with her anyway, Vince?” Kai pleaded. He didn’t like the idea either. “I bet she’s not even as big as you think. Nobody can be that fat.”
The legend was that Fat Mazy was indeed the largest woman anyone had ever seen on the island. And the legend grew even more since no one really saw her at all. No one had ever seen what she looked like. She never came out. Not even to go the grocery store. People just assumed a friend or relative did it all for her. Other rumors that became popular over time were that she lived with dozens and dozens of cats and she had gone crazy long ago and relatives just kept her inside away from rude onlookers. But the craziest rumor of all was that she was some kind of sexual legend and had a way seducing any man, young or old. And that was the legend Vince was banking on.
Vince shook his head, smiling. He couldn’t wait to get a look at her. “I don’t think she’s fat at all boys. I think that’s all a bunch a hooey. See, this is what I think.” Kai and Oki leaned in, as if they were about to hear the secret of the century. “I think she really is some kind of sex goddess. The rumors are just to throw people off. And the cats, I bet she doesn’t have a single one. If she had dozens, where are they? All in there? I doubt that. And the fat thing, I bet she’s not fat at all and she’s hot as ever. Unbelievably hot! She sneaks out at night all fixed up in somethin’ slinky, shows up at one of these fancy resorts and tries to pick up some loser that just got dumped by his girlfriend.” Kai just shook his head. “And she never fails because she’s so dang hot! That’s what I think the truth is!”
“Wow!” Oki exclaimed. “I wanta see her then too.” He seemed convinced already.
“And I suppose she brings them back here to this dump,” Kai said sarcastically. “Next day the dude disappears like some kind of Black Widow thing, right?”
“Heck no,” Vince answered. “She makes them take her somewhere classy. All part of the plan, man.”
“Yeah, and then she kills ‘em after lovin’ ‘em up,” Oki laughs. He frowned suddenly and changed his mind. “Man, I don’t wanta mess with this chick.”
Just then a couple came walking down the street. The boys knew right away that they were tourists. The woman smiled politely at them and stopped. “Could any of you young men tell us if we are near the Old Prison?” she asked.
Speaking in the most polite tone, Vince answered, “Oh yes ma’am. Just two blocks that way, you can’t miss it. But I’m afraid they’re closed now, but you can tour the prison for free daily until 4 p.m.”
“Oh thank you, young man!” she said cheerfully. They began to walk in the direction of the prison. “The people are so friendly here!” the woman said to her husband. “We’ll have to check it out tomorrow.”
“Yeah, maybe they’ll get to see us locked up tomorrow,” Kai said sarcastically.
Vince looked up and down all the darkened streets to make sure the coast was clear. “Shhh! Quiet now. C’mon, let’s go!”
The brothers followed close behind as Vince stood on the sidewalk outside Fat Mazy’s home.
“No lights on in the front,” Kai observed.
“Yeah, maybe she’s on one of her dates of death right now,” Oki whispered.
“C’mon, I see something in the back,” Vince whispered again. He peered around the back side of the house and saw one small square window where the lights were turned on inside. “She’s in there all right.” He crept underneath the window. It was too high for him to peek in. “Kai, come here. Gimme a lift will ya?”
“Hey, I wanta come see too!” Oki pleaded.
“You stay there and keep a lookout,” Vince called back. Looking perturbed, Oki flashed him the bird and folded his arms while looking up and down the street.
Kai did his best to lift Vince up on his shoulders, but he could feel the strain of his weight already. “Come on, make it quick!” he gasped.
“Here we go,” Vince said with anticipation. “Time to see the goddess of the island.”
“Or Sasquatch in a dress,” Kai retorted.
The shades were pulled down behind the window, but he could still see through the cracks around the edges. He could barely make out items on the walls and on the floor.
“You see anything?” Oki hissed.
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“Shhh! Not yet!” Vince whispered back.
Kai’s face began to turn flush, he couldn’t hold on much longer. “Come on man, I ain’t got much left!” he pleaded. “I gotta let go man.”
“Wait!” Vince said excitedly. “Just saw a shadow. She’s in there!” He started fumbling around in his pockets. “Dang it! Need to find a way to get her to come to the window. Oki, bring over those fireworks!”
“Ah forget it man!” Kai said, his face turning red.
“I don’t have ‘em, Kai does!” Oki answered.
“Come get ‘em out of his pants pockets,” Vince ordered.
“Uh, no,” Kai said, regaining his stance. “I can get them. Just hold on to the house.” Kai quickly retrieved some fireworks and a lighter from his pocket. He hesitated. “You sure this is your plan to get her to show herself? How about just knockin’ on the freakin’ door?”
Vince began to chuckle. “Hurry up, light it will ya?”
Kai’s knees began to buckle under the strain as he started to light the fuse. Suddenly a car passed a block away, honking its horn as it crossed the intersection, startling Kai and Vince too.
“Dude!” Vince yelled. “That’s a chaser, not a firecracker! I said bring firecrackers!”
Kai looked up in horror just as his legs finally gave way. He tossed the lighted chaser away from them before they tumbled to the ground. The chaser went off, sending ball after fiery ball of dazzling colors spinning and screeching in every direction up and down the street. A light switched on in the room just above their head.
“Oh geez!” Oki yelled. “The Yeti’s coming!” He took off as fast as he could down the street with Kai and Vince tailing close behind him.
The tourist couple came walking back after finding the Old Prison when they saw the fireworks going off. “This place is so festive, I just love it!” the woman exclaimed.
The boys finally stopped running a few blocks away, coughing and wheezing and laughing at the same time.
“What the hell’d you run for, Oki?” Vince yelled.
“That was a stupid plan, Vince. We all ran, dude.” Kai said in his brother’s defense.
“Hey, before we left, I said a firecracker lit on the ground would do man,” Vince fired back. “Not a Chinese fire drill out in the street! Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Just as they turned to walk back home, the three boys bumped right into Tua, a local policeman in Lahaina.
“Evening boys,” Tua said calmly, but sternly.
Startled, Kai gathered himself. “Uh, good evening officer.”
“Hey Tua,” Vince said nonchalantly. Vince had known Tua most of his life since they both had grown up in West Maui and Tua was less than ten years older than he was. He knew he could probably talk his way out of anything with Tua. Kai and Oki were less confident though, since they did not know him too well. All on account they came from Kauai a year before to be boarders at the local high school, Lahainaluna. They had been friends with Vince ever since then, being that he was a boarder there too.
The high school was unique in that way as it was one of the few in the entire country to have a boarder program. They had dorms right on the campus for the boarder students, who came there to get away from bad situations or other reasons where boarding school was their last chance for an education.
Tua looked the boys up and down, shaking his head. “Vincent, what did I tell you about fireworks on these streets?”
“Um, what fireworks?” Vince said, trying to act innocent.
“And I do believe I told you to leave that woman alone, correct?” Tua continued. Kai and Oki looked at one another. Obviously their friend had made an attempt to see Fat Mazy before.
“Um, yes. That is correct,” Vince answered. “We weren’t bothering anyone though, really.”
“And the fireworks?” Tua asked.
“Fireworks?” Vince asked. “You guys see any of those?” The brothers shrugged. “Not sure about that. I think I may have heard something a minute ago. Wasn’t sure what it was.”
Tua just shook his head. “Uh-huh.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m not going to tell you again Vince. Leave people alone from now on and find something else to do. And I don’t want to catch you again like this, you hear?”
“Yes.”
“What’s that?” Tua said, putting a hand to his ear.
“Yes sir. From now on,” Vince said, feeling a bit guilty.
Tua took a deep breath. He knew they were the guilty parties. But he also knew their situation and any misstep would cost them their place at Lahainaluna. The only reason he was sympathetic was that he was a graduate and boarder of the same school. “Get outta here,” he finally told them. The three boys looked relieved and immediately walked away as fast as they could. Tua watched as they rounded a corner two blocks down and disappeared. He continued on his patrol, muttering to himself. “Sure will be glad when summer is over.”