The Selkie That Deud No' Forget (WIP)

Chapter One

 It always surprised Mina how loud the waves were as they crashed on the shore. Today was a good day; the trade winds were just strong enough to give her some resistance to lean against, and it brushed the salt off the water and onto her face. She couldn't think of something to compare the sound of the waves to, mostly because those were the only crashing sounds she regularly heard growing up. Waves, crashing waves that woke you up in the morning. Yet it always calmed Mina; chaos, waves, birds, wind, rain, anything to interrupt the stillness that sometimes permeated the world. The waves were simply proof of life, that the earth was still turning. Sometimes, especially when she listened to music, it seemed like the tide would go in and out to the beat of the song she was listening to.

Living in Waimanalo meant that the ocean was only a ten-minute walk from her house. She enjoyed going to the shores in the early morning when there were less tourists, although if there was a good swell then she tried to avoid the surfers. She used the beach as an excuse for a walk because unfortunately Huli Huli chicken and Kalua pork and Cabbage were insanely delicious, and it was hard to control herself around such good food.

Mina was a proud Hawaiian, though she only had about a sixteenth of Native Hawaiian blood, it was her home. And growing up on an island surrounded by tall, jagged mountains and a gorgeous blue ocean taught her to understand how important it is to appreciate the things that you have. And of course, the Aloha Spirit, something she tried to take with her whenever she traveled. To just love and respect everyone that she met. But there was always something nagging at her when she thought about her heritage. Her father is 50% Scottish and her mother was a bit of a mutt herself, but she was also Scottish. Not only did she never know her mother but she knew there was a large chunk of her DNA and history that she knew nothing about. George wasn't on good terms with his mother and rarely talked about Scotland. She would hear him sometimes reminiscing on the phone with relatives but it seemed that he was intent on embracing the island way and being a Hawaiian, even though he was Scottish, German, and Portuguese.

"Wish I could have talked to you about all this mom. I hope I'm doing ok." She spoke softly to the water. Her dad used to say that her mother would spend as much time in or near the ocean as possible and never wanted to leave. She loved it when the water would come up to her feet, lapping at her toes. Almost as if her mother were tapping them, saying she was there.

"Howzit sistah! Where you been eh? Haven't seen you fo what, tree weeks?" Ali'i Kama called out as he came to sit by Mina. He came to the beach to go fishing with his kids when they were out of school and the elementary schools had an extra week off for spring break. Mina found that completely unfair.

"Hey Uncle. Nice to see you too by the way." She laughed at his quick-to-the-point tactic. He was like family and was probably worried about her. "I've been busy. School is almost over and I had two projects to finish over break. Plus, some good movies came out so I went to see em."

Ali'i smirked at her before pinching her stomach and laughing, "Oh so das why you all pudgy eh Mary?" Mina slapped his hand away, hating it when he did that.

"Uncle, I know you no like scrap with me this morning. I'll beat your wrinkly butt!" A small smirk was now playing on her face, her pidgin always came out when she was around him, waiting for what came next. "Oh, look who's feeling tough today. Now I gotta show you who's boss after you call my beautiful 'okole wrinkly."

Mina stood up, turned to Ali'i and slapped her chest attempting to look like she knew what she was doing. And the wrestling match began. Mina got a good hold on him but then he turned her around, dropped her on the ground and started tickling her. The kids heard the commotion and joined in. He had two this morning, Pua was 4, and Kekoa was 8; the 10 and 11-year-old must have been sleeping in. Mina grabbed Pua and used her as a shield waiting for the attack to stop, and she could finally breathe again. She let go of Pua and let Ali'i pull her up from the sand, brushing off as much she could knowing most of it was now in her shoes. I should know better than to not take my shoes off at the beach, she scolded herself for being so careless.

"Thanks Uncle, now I gotta shower again. Why you always use your kids against me huh? And you, you little Kupua, you're supposed to be on my side!" she said as she picked up Kekoa. The little boy just laughed as she planted kisses all over his face. Looking at the little family, she was very grateful to have them in her life, even though they weren't blood related. That was a great part of living in Hawai'i, everyone was family.

"Eh, my keiki are my minions. They know who gets them all da ono grindz for dinna." He leaned in and whispered to Mina "Keneke's is da favorite. Scratch my head yea?" Sighing, Ali'i continued, "Now go get ready for school, you all messy and yuck! Like you jumped in one rubbish can!" They all started laughing as Mina grabbed her things.

As they walked away, she yelled,

"Eh, you not getting off that easy! Where's my hongi?" Pua immediately ran up to her while Kekoa stayed back. "Both of you, you lolo" She laughed when Kekoa came up to her. When she was done with the kids, she gave Ali'i a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug.

She made her way to the parking lot of the beach park and started across the street, on her way home. An hour later, she had showered, eaten breakfast and was waiting for her dad so they could catch their ride.

"Dad hurry up, Imma be late for school!" Mina yelled for her father again as she waited by the front door. Every time her father George grabbed something he forgot, he'd forget something else. He was very nervous about the meeting with his boss today as he was in line for the new promotion and needed the money to help Mina get through college.

"Ok baby, I think I finally have everything. Jacket, watch, phone...." He started muttering off his checklist for the day. "Ready!" But the look on his daughter's face said otherwise.

"What? What did I forget?" he asked.

"You never grabbed one sandwich Dad." Mina said as she held up a black lunch bag with the initials G.W. on them. As they walked out to the car George chuckled at his daughter, finding it funny that he had been on the phone with his cousin last night who had a Scottish accent and now heard his daughter with a light pidgin accent.

George was very grateful to Kaimi for giving Mina a ride to school even though it was out of the way to work. As Kaimi and Mina were engrossed in their own conversation, George reflected on his family. He had a big family up in Scotland that he hadn't seen since he was a boy. Mother used to take him with her on trips to see them and have family reunions. He remembered playing in the grass around his cousins' house and going on adventures, finding castles and looking for hidden treasure. He wanted to take Mina there as well but they hadn't found the money for that long of a trip. Plus, it was her senior year and he wanted her to focus on school.

As she hopped out of the car George had a flashback of when she was just five years old and decided she was ready to go on the trampoline all by herself. It was harder than he had expected, and it wasn't just because he was afraid of her getting hurt, but it was another step away from him that she was taking. After he lost his wife, George swore to be the best father he could and to raise her the way he and his wife would have approved of. But as she grew up he realized how much he needed her there, to see that smile and laugh that reminded him so much of his wife. It was a little piece of her that he held onto every day.

"Oh, Dad don't forget, I'm working with Lilli on a project after school so I'll catch the bus home with her." She leaned to give him a kiss on the cheek and jogged over to her friends. George watched as she ran to class with her friends, already waiting to see her when he got home.

"Alright G-Man, I hope you're ready for that meeting. You ain't gunna be G-Man no more, you're gunna be Boss-Man." He let a loud guffaw as he turned the car around and headed for town. George was worried about the meeting. He really wanted that promotion so he could give his daughter a bright future and maybe even take a short vacation to visit his family.

"Yea Kaimi, I'm ready. You got my back if I get this job, right? I need to have some support if I get this promotion." George looked across the truck anxiously at his longtime friend.

"Brah when you get the job, and yes you have my support. You also have Isabelle's, Danny's, Ikaika's and Ren's as of two nights ago." Kaimi smiled gleefully, very excited for his friend to get the job he's been working over 20 years for. George was very glad to hear that and felt some stress leave his shoulders as they raced onto the freeway.