Kamaile by Joni Keamoai

Kililau & Alohi 🦅 ⛰️

Wainiha

"Ae Pa," Kililau answered his father, before heading up the pathway to the pond. He had agreed to help at the lo'i, where the chief would later check on the progress of the field. Just as he was about to enter the terraces, he spotted Alohi descending the path toward the entry.

Lo'i Fields fronting Kamaile

"Alohi!" Kililau called, relief threading his voice. She turned and began walking toward him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, worry creeping in.

"I was coming to find you," Alohi replied. "I don't have much time, Tutu is only in town to grab provisions." She took a breath, continuing with urgency.

They hadn't noticed the eyes watching them—his uncle Lono, the men from his station, and even colleagues of his father. Kililau listened to her words, acknowledging that their bond was more than friendship.

"I leave by the end of the week," Alohi breathed, voice catching, eyes brimming with tears. "I don't want to leave you."

The confession hung between them, electric and undeniable.

A throat cleared. And It wasn't Lono.

Kililau turned, spotting the crowd that had gathered. Chief Ha'ikū stood, stern and perplexed. His son was supposed to be tending the field, not entangled in conversation with a girl who had only recently been a guest in their home. A girl Kililau had insisted was "just a friend."

"Pa," he sighed.

Alohi stiffened, but lifted her head with quiet defiance. "E kalamai iā'u," she murmured, attempting an apology, before running back up the trail to her home.

Kamaile.

"Wait, Alohi!" Kililau called after her.

"Let her go!" Ha'ikū shouted, fury boiling over. Kililau froze for a heartbeat, knowing any further defiance could cost him dearly.

Alohi hurried along the path, oblivious to other eyes upon her.

"Oh, Alohi," a voice whispered behind her. Tutu Hali'i. Alohi jumped, a mixture of fear and relief- for finally being able to show her the truth of how suffocating it was to be kept in Kamaile- like a prisoner.
She could only stare, speechless, caught between awe and terror.

"What are you doing down here?" Tutu Hali'i asked.

Meanwhile, Kililau faced his father's wrath. "I keep giving you chance after chance, and each time you disappoint me!" Ha'ikū bellowed, his anger a storm that scattered everyone in sight. Lono ushered his cousin and nephew to a quiet space, but the chief's fury exploded like a thunderclap.

"You are grounded for life, and I will follow you wherever you go!" Ha'ikū declared.

Kililau felt spent, defeated. Nothing he did seemed enough.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Alohi confronting Tutu Hali'i at the entrance of Kamaile. Worry surged through him, as he ran toward them, ignoring the looming wrath of his father.

"I need to talk to you," he called to Alohi.

"I think the time for you both to talk has come to an end," Tutu Hali'i replied.

"E kalamai Tutu," Kililau sighed, careful to maintain respect for the woman who had cared for his mother just the day before and many years before that.

"I know, Kililau, but she also knows of her kuleana, and that is what she must focus on before she leaves us," Tutu Hali'i explained, her hand rising. Everyone around them froze—except Alohi.

"Alohi, your father had specific instructions for you, and you have disobeyed them," she declared.

"I didn't mean to, Tutu. I just wanted to pass a message to Kililau," Alohi explained, voice trembling.

"This—you and Kililau—ends right now. I will not tell your father," Tutu Hali'i announced.

"But Tutu, I care for him. I have feelings for him," Alohi confessed, desperation breaking through.

"You are young, you do not know of your feelings, Kealohi," Tutu Hali'i cautioned.

"But I do!" Alohi cried. And in that instant, the air shifted.

"Yes, I care for her too," Kililau declared, stepping forward.

Shock rippled across the gathered faces of Ha'ikū and Tutu Hali'i. Kililau embraced Alohi, and in that embrace, the hidden magic of Kamaile awakened.

The world tilted.

Light shimmered around them, petals lifting in a gentle whirlwind. Kililau's form began to shimmer, and before Alohi's eyes, feathers unfolded across his arms, shoulders, and back. His human form dissolved into a magnificent bird, wings stretching wide in hues of emerald and gold.

An Albatross- like Mōlī.

"Alohi!" he called, wings beating the air like a drum of thunder and wind.

Tears stung Alohi's eyes, but her fear melted into wonder as Tutu Hali'i wove her hands, forming a protective bubble. Alohi felt herself lifted, weightless, encased in a shimmering sphere that allowed her to see out but kept the world at bay.

The plumeria petals swirled, catching sunlight like molten stars. Kililau swooped toward her, eyes locking with hers, the pulse between their hearts undeniable.

"I'm here. I'm not leaving you," he called, voice carried on the wind.

Alohi's hands reached for him. Light pulsed between them, a golden tether binding hearts and souls. The grove hummed, ancient and alive, the secret of Kamaile recognizing the awakening of love.

Tutu Hali'i watched silently from the shadows. "Their bond is real," she whispered. "Only those who speak their names can undo what has been set in motion."

Kililau spiraled upward. Alohi followed, floating in the protective bubble, the mountain itself alive beneath her.

In a single, breathless moment, they understood the secret of the land. This was why her father sent her here, why the old ways were hidden, why the Ohana guarded this aina, it was filled with magic. Love, courage, and truth was all it needed to be awakened.

She reached out, brushing his feathers, and light flared around them, the mountain exhaling with approval.

"Kililau," she whispered.

And the mauna listened.

The bubble dissolved. Kililau soared higher, and Alohi remained sheltered within the mountain veil. Outside, Ha'ikū, Lono, and all others had no memory of what had transpired. The secret, the magic, the love—they existed only for those who dared to feel and name it.

Tutu Hali'i smiled faintly, knowing the curse and its remedy lay in the hearts of those who would remember to speak their names. Then and- Only then could Kealohilani and Kililau exist fully in the world again.

This is the final test.
Kamaile whispered