Ova Da Rainbow: HAWAII'S STORY (3)

Unfortunate Luck

After 8 months of Hawaii skipping out on the every-other-month Polynesian meetings, it turned out it was her turn to host said hangouts together on her islands.

The group was slightly larger now, having both Samoas, Tonga, Hawaii, Cook Islands, Māori from Aotearoa, and for the first time, the Marquesas islands.

Māori refused to be called Aotearoa, crediting said name to be for "the place, which I no longer am." He was old and wise, but was also just as sharp-witted and fun as any of the younger ones.

For the first 30 minutes or so, he just sat smiling and smiling, and when asked about it, he said he hadn't seen this much of his family in one place in forever.

The youngest was Cook Islands, who was only a few months younger than the Samoas. He was by far the youngest physically as well, considering he was technically still under New Zealand rule, and as such, Hawaii was cautious what she let slide and what she kept to herself.

Sure, he was family, but once again, family that had way too many ties to Britain.

The last one to arrive was Marquesas, who preferred to go by the name of Enana. She was also really old, but refused to say how old she was, exactly. When she got off the plane, she seemed dazed and out of it all.

Tonga had met Enana before, and as such, felt it was her duty to introduce the two, as the younger ones and Māori spent some time trading stories and anecdotes.

"Ka... Ka oha, Hawaii." She said softly.

"Aloha." Hawaii said, smiling warmly. "I must have missed you the past few months that you have come. I haven't been exactly coming too often to... these gatherings. Grieving the loss of a friend will do that to you."

Enana looked like she was about to cry, and as if she was stopping herself from getting closer to Hawaii. She reached out her hand, as if she were to touch Hawaii's face, but scared to. "So it's true. You are alive."

She had a soft voice, one that had a slight, lilting French accent to it. Tahiti and French Polynesia shared that odd accent, as they had all learned French as their second language, then English from French.

"Yes." Hawaii said, cocking her head. "Did I know you and I'm not remembering correctly?"

Tonga was about to speak, but Enana shook her head.

"No, you have not." Enana sighed regretfully. "All you need to know is that I've been watching... for a long time. I remember when you were just a child, Hawaii."

Hawaii smiled again, and Enana looked so happy for a moment. It was so heartbreaking to watch that happy face dissolve once again, as if she were thinking about something else. "You have your father's smile, you know. You have the same smile as the little boy who I knew."

"You... knew my father?" Hawaii said, keeping her voice steady and trying not to let it crack with confusion and apprehension. "You knew my father that long ago?"

Tonga frowned, glancing at Enana with a look Hawaii couldn't read. "Marquesas, wha-."

"I believe you call his people that came from me 'menehunes'." Enana interrupted quietly. She looked almost pained by the term.

Hawaii's face paled as she realised exactly who this was. This was the Enana, the very same one from thousands of years ago. Her father had said something about another set of people being on the Hawaiian Islands before him, one that had no 'land spirit'.

They were the menehunes of old, a short statured race that were in every way mysterious and dangerous. Or, that was how the story went.

At that moment, Hawaii really saw Enana, not just a skin deep glance. She was a middle aged woman, physically, but something about her eyes and her demeanour revealed something much older and ancient than Hawaii had even thought of. Even older than Māori, who was around the same age as her father.