Moana - Warrior's Journey

Chapter 23: Island of Anxiety

Moana let out a deep sigh as the boat thrusted through the waves of the ocean. "Brighten up, buttercup~!" Maui said. "I gave you words of encouragement and warm hug so that you can feel better~."

"I know," Moana said. "But something's missing..."

"Like what?" Maui asked.

"I... I don't know..." Moana said. 

"Well, feel free to talk to me if you remember," Maui winked.

"I will," Moana snickered. They focused on sailing for a while. But then Moana became curious about something. Although that curiosity was not that thing that made her feel a bit empty, but she wanted to know. "Hey, Maui," Moana called.

"Did you remember what you wanted to talk about?" Maui asked.

"No, it's not that, but... I think you'll not like the question," Moana warned.

"Uh-oh, go on," Maui said. He felt a little thirsty that he opened up a coconut to drink the water out of it.

"What were you and... Hakatau?" Moana asked. Maui aggressively spit out the water and violently coughed as he chocked on coconut water. By his reaction, Moana knew there was something there. Something that Maui was afraid to tell. "How long did it last? It's fine, I'm not angry. I'm just curious. I think I have to know. There shouldn't be any secrets between us."

"Uh... ten months..." Maui said.

"How many women have you been in a relationship with?" Moana asked. "Please be honest with me."

"In the name of all gods and goddesses," Maui confessed. "I have been in total of four relationships."

"Is that true?" Moana asked as she looked at Mini Maui. Mini Maui nodded as he crossed his heart.

"May I ask why you wanted to know...?" Maui asked cautiously.

Moana warmly smiled and said, "I wanted to take our relationship to the next level. You know, no secrets what so ever. This way, we can gain trust from each other. If you want to know more about me feel free to ask." Moana took the rest of the coconut water that Maui left and started to drink from the shell.

"Okay," Maui said, relieved. So he asked, "Since when did you start having a crush on me?" He expected Moana to choke on the coconut water just like he did when Moana asked him an awkward question. 

Instead, Moana calmly answered, "Roughly, one month since we parted." 

"Tell me, be honest," Maui said, trying to hide his mischievous tone, "How much did you cry when you missed me?"

"Uh..." Moana started to blush and covered bottom half of her face with the empty coconut shell. "A... a... a lot..." her whispering voice echoed in the coconut shell and spread through in the air, which eventually hammered Maui's eardrums. 

Maui chuckled. "That's fine. I admit I missed you a lot too."

Pua and Mini Maui snickered a little. Heihei kept bumping into the end of the storage as the empty coconut shell was covering his head.

"Pua, stop making fun of me," Moana said as she saw Pua snickering more than it used to.

"I have to say," Maui said. "Pugley is pretty smart."

"That's why I decided to keep him as my pet," Moana said. "He's too precious."

"What about drumsticks?" Maui asked. "He's still clueless."

"But there's something within Heihei that makes him unique," Moana replied.

"Makes sense," Maui said. "I wouldn't eat him anymore."