PoraBora

Chapter Thirty-Three

Miimikani watched him with her heart clenched. U'ekeo's face did not match his words, and though she could not hear it in his voice, she saw in his eyes where fury had been doused and all that remained was a somber acceptance.

"We will help Taipala grow into a stronger unity, alongside Chief Makaia," U'ekeo said from the deck to the people of Li'hili, who gathered along its rooftops and lower streets. The shape of the bay projected his voice. "Our lands have already been blessed by Maye, but as a part of a...greater whole, we will enjoy the gifts and offerings of all of Taipala."

Chief Makaia nodded beside him, and warriors carried forward enormous crates on metal carts. They pulled open their doors, and bananas, as yellow as butterfly tangs, without a hint of brown or green, tumbled out in their hundreds.

"They will not bruise," Makaia announced. "They will not spoil or grow mushy! Ila'i shall have bananas just as Akapua has always enjoyed them."

Iumili's father stared down at them, his arms crossed. His son glared from his side. It would not be easy for a banana farmer to see.

"Ila'i will enjoy its own prosperity without any change for the worse," Makaia continued. "Your lives will not be different. Your laws will not be changed. You shall still call Chief U'ekeo your chief. The only change will be an endless bounty. Today, bananas! Tomorrow, oil."

That's not all, Miimikani thought. You'll take our warriors. You'll take our ships.

Chief Makaia opened his arms toward the people. "These bananas are a gift for Li'hili! Gorge yourselves, brothers and sisters, and do not worry about the damage your village has taken. My men shall help you to rebuild. We will help you to replace your coral and continue your lives."

Nobody moved towards the bananas. The night before would not be bought away so easily.

U'ekeo stepped up, reached down, and picked one up. His people watched as he peeled its skin, every side slower than the last. He knew, Miimikani thought. He knew what it meant for him to stand in front of them, the morning after they had lost their island, and to stand beside their conqueror.

Don't eat it, Miimikani thought, but of course he had to eat it, because they had lost, and there was no point for him to pretend. They had no choice but to accept Makaia's unification. Better that than watch the island burn.

U'ekeo took a bite. "We lost," he said, after swallowing. "I lost. But that does not need to change anything in your lives. Eat. Enjoy this bounty. It is a gift from a god, not from a man. It is Lehe'e saying we are his people, not Chief Makaia. Come, eat."

A couple of children snaked out of their parents' hands to join him, squatting on their tiny legs to grab a fruit. And then a couple more, and a couple more, and some adults joined them too, because U'ekeo was right. There was no reason not to take free food but pride.

"Taipala welcomes you," said Makaia, and he left the docks to join his men at the shore, who stood by with their spears and watched the people.

Miimikani rushed to Chief U'ekeo, as many people did. He looked very much like he wanted to be in Kahule, asleep in his bed, twenty-four hours ago. It could have been different, they both knew, if he had consented before the battle. But he couldn't. Not when they thought they stood a chance. Not even if they didn't.

U'ekeo did his best to assuage his people, even listening to landed complain about how he had lost the island, about how their sons had died, and to fishers, whose boats had been destroyed in the landing. But his warriors stood like river rocks as the people poured around them, as they realized they had not done enough; their chief had not done enough; their commander had not done enough. Hui's fists were clenched around his spear.

Everybody needed a good swim, Miimikani thought. A real long soak in the sun, their reef all around them... tarnished, she sighed, by blown-apart boats and ships that didn't know where the coral sat. A swim at the northern beaches, then. At least. Something that wasn't standing here and staring at Makaia and his fleet.

The people hushed and spread away when Makaia came to U'ekeo's side. Miimikani did not step back.

"There's no more time to waste," said Makaia. "We have a whale to chase, so let us finish up here."

U'ekeo grimaced. "Please direct all questions and concerns to the Navigators today," he said to the people. "I shall make myself further available to the captains at a later time."

U'ekeo met Miimikani's eyes and turned away.

He and Makaia stepped onto an outrigger, joined by several of their warriors, a man in a black rig jacket whose hands were bound behind him, and the Navigator of Fowl, who sweated profusely and looked thirstily at the water, eager for a dip or an escape. Miimikani tried to follow, but more warriors stepped between them, crossing their spears.

"Please direct all questions to your Navigators," said one of the men.

"I am a Navigator," she growled, but it made no difference, and even less when she tried to squeeze by them.

"U'ekeo!" she called, but only Makaia looked back. The man grinned and said something to the chief. "U'ekeo!"

A warrior pushed her back.

"Hey," shouted Hui, and he had her arm before she lost her balance. The warriors glanced at his tattoo. "I thought we were supposed to be your brothers."

"Just stay back," said Makaia's warrior. "We'll be off your island soon."

Then the outrigger left, following the bay before cutting around the shape of the island.

"Come on," said Hui, putting his hand on Miimikani's shoulder.

Well, if she wasn't going to reach him from the docks, a woman of Li'hili knew other ways.

She gave the warriors a last glare before pushing past the bananas and the crowd.

"Miimikani," said Hui, following behind. "Don't be rash. Chief U'ekeo is having a difficult enough time without us--"

"Without us what?" Miimikani demanded. "Without us trying to help?"

"Yes," said Hui. "He's the chief. He can handle himself."

No, thought Miimikani, he can't.

"What would you do, anyway?" Hui asked.

"I'm working that out."

"Work it out before you do it, at least," Hui sighed. "He told me to keep you safe."

"He told you to take me somewhere safe," Miimikani said. "And you did. So you should probably get back to the other warriors and try to help people who need it."

He didn't. He stayed by her side, beseeching her not to get into trouble as she climbed up the town. She didn't make any promises. It was impossible not to, with the island as it was, but U'ekeo needed her. She couldn't imagine what he'd be convinced of if he spent an entire day at Makaia's side. His ineptitude, his inadequacies, and, before the end of the day, the blame. As if he had been the one to kill hundreds of his people.

Was that how Makaia maintained his benevolence throughout the seas? It was him, Miimikani told herself, because she couldn't forget. She would be the only one who could remind U'ekeo. It was Makaia who killed those men.

It was Makaia that brought war.

She had to be by U'ekeo's side, anyway. However she could. She was his Navigator now. She had a duty to make sure he did what his people wanted, and she couldn't do that here. She had to get to the outrigger.

Or be where they landed. Without a boat of her own, it was the best she could manage. She had a thought to borrow Lea's, but her friend wasn't around and it wouldn't do for a Navigator to go about stealing. Still, they were circumstances out of hand....

No. Easier to lose Hui in the jungle. She did, because nobody knew it as well as her, except maybe U'ekeo, and waited on the northern shore. At least here, she thought, there was no debris, only the rocks that pushed the villages elsewhere and funneled attacks onto the people.

The outrigger appeared when the sun left a glowing line of the horizon. Miimikani stepped towards its landing. Don't worry, she told herself, but it never really worked.