The Stars and The Sea

Chapter 4

Even though Keoni insisted that he was fine, Moana also insisted that he was not. She could tell that the burn hurt, so she stopped him from proceeding further with the food and fetched a salve from her canoe, tenderly applying it to his hand. She took note of its roughness and the callouses on his palm. The upperside bore a few small scars, and she could assume his other hand had a similar appearance.

"I'm flattered, but you don't have to do that. I've dealt with much worse," He tried to assure, but that only furthered Moana's concern for him.

"Well, you shouldn't have to continue dealing with whatever has been much worse. I'm here to help you and get you off this island."

"You seem pretty sure about that."

"I'm pretty sure about many things, it's my duty to be so."

"Your... duty?"

"My duty to my people. I'm the chief of my island-" he yanked his hand away from her, blinking.

"You're chief? Then what are you doing here?" Rolling her eyes, Moana took his hand back into hers, wrapping a loose strip of tapa around the treated burn.

"Like I told you, the Goddess of the Stars sent me here. It's not the first time I've had the responsibility of a Goddess in my hands; the first time was Te Fiti."

"Responsible for Te Fiti?" Moana finally told him the whole story about how Maui stole Te Fiti's heart many millennia ago, and because of his actions, Te Kā began wreaking havoc, and the Darkness began to consume islands, Motunui itself almost dying. Keoni snorted in disbelief when she mentioned how the Ocean chose her to restore Te Fiti's heart, but Moana proceeded.

She concluded with how she stood in Te Fiti's palm and returned home safely and brought back the art of wayfinding to her people. And how, for the past two years, it's been her mission to restore wayfinding to other islands.

After all that time, Fetia came to her in a dream, relaying the story of the broken family and saving him.

Understandably, Keoni was quite stunned by all of this new information.

"Why would a Goddess be interested in me? And my sister? We're regular people. You... you're the chief, I mean. I guess it makes sense why you were chosen."

"I still think the Ocean could've chosen anybody." Moana countered, "But, to me, there's always a reason why the Gods choose us mortals, y'know? Whatever the case may be, Fetia chose you. Maybe she felt pity for what happened to your family." She gazed up at him with an assuring smile.

"One thing about me, I don't give up. And, you may not realize it, but something tells me you don't either."

"We just met, and you're already my motivational speaker," he teased with a snort.

After chatting for a couple more hours, the part doused the fire and turned in for the night. Keoni was not about to have a chief sleep in his ramshackle old house, despite Moana's insistence that she didn't mind. Eventually, he conceded, setting out a mat for her.

Even as Moana slept a few feet away from him, Keoni could not sleep. It was all so much to take in. Living on this abandoned island for over two years, he was forced to survive on what little was left behind and had to cultivate what he could. He recalled occasionally seeing boats in the distance, calling out and making fires to get attention, but his attempts were always ignored.

Rubbing his face in frustration, he got up and sat on the steps, having a clear view of the remnants of his village. Even in the moonlight, he could see how little of an impact he made. Even the former chief's fale couldn't be salvaged. The posts slowly rotted, and the fronds on the roof were blown away. Personal items left behind were scattered about.

He had managed to keep a section of the farmland going, only growing enough food to sustain him. In the distance, he spied a feral mother pig with her piglets, rummaging for seeds in the dirt. Whatever chickens were not taken from the village during the exodus had also become feral, forming small broods in the forest. The roosters had become even meaner and extremely territorial, often fighting one another, leading to bloodshed.

Sitting there, he craned his head towards the star-filled sky. The moon was waning, a few days past being full. And in the distance, he could see the constellation of Maui's fishhook kissing the horizon. He wondered about his mother and sister, whose faces he could see vividly see crying out for him through the violent waves of the ocean. He had tried reaching for his sister's hand, but the ocean pulled them apart.

He genuinely believed he'd suffer the same fate his father did. 18 years ago, when Keoni was still a baby... But for whatever reason, the gods had spared him. And now here he was, contemplating his family's fate.

And now he couldn't help but contemplate about his mother and sister...

His mother, T'ali'au, had always been the reserved type, a trait he had gotten from her. She was gentle and encouraging, her watchful gaze watching him. Especially when he was a child, he would be glued to her side, silently learning from her. Even after his father's death and she had to be a single parent, she was a wonderful mother. She was his role model.

His big sister, Huihana, was also someone he equally admired. She was always the bold and resourceful one, and not easily dissuaded. Since he was a shy child, she protected him from the mean, older kids that would pick on him, sometimes beating them up.

He chuckled at the memory.

Given that strong women had always surrounded him, he was impressed with Moana already, even if he still had much to learn about her. He cracked a small smile at the proposition of getting off this island and going somewhere better.

Eyelids becoming heavy, he settled back in for bed, his gaze still locked on the horizon ahead.