To Love the Water

Chapter One

Pele is the goddess of fire. She was in the hearth. She was in the volcanoes. She was everywhere. Pele created the island on which they lived. She was the mother of Motunui, one of them at least. Islands were not like people; they needed much more than a mother and a father. They needed someone to lay the stone, someone to make the land workable, someone to cradle it in the water, and someone to light the fire within, not to mention all the others to give and maintain life. Island's had more family than just the people inhabiting it.

Aronui's mother once told her that each person came from a specific part of the island. The sailors came from the water, the farmers came from the land, and the chieftains from the sky. Aronui, being only a small child, innocently asked who came from the fire. Her mother only smiled and said, "The really special ones." Aronui had no idea what was meant by this and did not ask. She lost her mother soon after that. Her father was a fisherman and was away most of the time, so she was left to be raised by the village. This was not uncommon for everyone in a way was family. One villager in particular was most prevalent in her life. Grandma Tala. It should be noted that Grandma Tala was not actually her grandmother, she was the chief's mother and therefore acted like a grandmother to all. She was the one who taught Aronui about Pele.

Aronui was only five when her mother died, the loss made her solemn in character but quick to anger. She found herself lashing out at the other children and adults, leading to a heavy disciplining. That was until Grandma Tala took her under her wing and introduced Aronui to her granddaughter, Moana.

She was sitting by the hearth, helping Grandma Tala do some cooking when a young girl about her age came bounding up, basket in hand.

"Grandma! Grandma," she called as approached. She came to a sharp halt, trying to stop herself before she accidentally ran into the fire. Moana did so successfully, but not without spilling the contents of her basket, a collection of shells and the water Moana appeared to find them in.

Both girls cried in despair at the scene, Moana for the dropped shells and Aronui for the death of the fire she had worked so hard to build.

Moana dove to her knees, hastily gathering her treasures. "Hurry," she commanded. "Before they crawl into the hearth!"

Crawl? Aronui looked down to see that the shells had small crustaceans inside that were crawling about. She scrambled to her feet where she watched Moana and Tala scoop them into another basket.

"Is that all of them," asked Grandma Tala.

Moana counted then nodded. "Yes! Aren't they pretty?"

Tala smiled and nodded then looked at Aronui, who was sulking in the corner and glaring at Moana. Tala's smile faltered but then returned twice as big as she put her hands on her granddaughter's shoulders. 

"Moana, you know Aronui."

Moana nodded, offering a sweet smile to Aronui.

"She made her first fire today," she continued. "I think you should apologize."

"I'm sorry," said Moana. "It was a really good fire."

Aronui remained silent.

Moana turned slightly to her grandmother and whispered, "I don't think she talks."

Tala smiled and nudged Moana towards the girl. "I assure you, she does. She's just shy. Maybe you should play with her," she suggested.

Aronui frowned at the suggestion.

"She doesn't spend a lot of time with kids her age."

Moana lit up at the idea. "I can show her my favorite shell spot!"

"That is a great idea, Moana. Aronui, could you please go with Moana? You've done more than enough to help here."

Aronui wanted to protest, but Moana took her by the wrist before she could. "Come on! They shouldn't be away from the water for too long." She pulled her down the hill towards the shoreline. Aronui wanted to pull away, but gravity plus Moana's grip kept her going down the steep slope. They made it to the edge of the sand when they heard a deep voice behind them.

"Moana!"

Coming down behind them was a tall man wearing a feathered headdress, Chief Tui, Moana's father. He had a stern look on his face.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Moana stopped and turned to face her father. "I was going to collect shells with Aronui."

He looked down at the small child next to his daughter. She tried to shuffle her way behind Moana, but her wrist was still trapped in Moana's small fist. Tui's gaze shifted between the two girls a few times before he agreed to let them go on the condition that they stayed out of the water.

Moana squealed and dragged Aronui onto the sand. She dumped her basket into the water and guided her new friend through a set of shrubs. On the other side was a small section of beach completely covered in bright lustrous shells of all shapes an sizes, all an array of colors. Aronui had never seen so many shells in her life, much less in one small spot. She ventured foreward and picked up one of a deep red with black markings, it had a silvery shine to it.

"That one's so pretty," exclaimed Moana, who had already collected a few pastel ones of varying sizes.

"It is," agreed Aronui quietly. "Where did you find it?"

Moana gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean? You're the one who found it."

Aronui shook her head. "I mean where did you find it before I found it here?"

"I didn't find it anywhere. The ocean must have washed it up."

Aronui gave her a skeptical look and looked around at the beach. There had to be at least a hundred shells and they weren't like the small white ones used on leis, they had to have come from deeper water. As strange as Aronui found this, she said nothing, deciding to sit down on a nearby rock and examine her shell while Moana waded in the shallow water. Moana would occasionally call out to Aronui, encouraging her to join her, but it proved futile.

Aronui was not fond of the ocean, which only further set her apart from the other children. She felt a deep disdain for the cerulean waves that spent their time crashing onto the sand, and if one were to be frank, she practically hated them and perhaps even feared them. She knew that it was not the ocean's fault or even the main reason she refused to allow herself to be enveloped by the water's coolness, but ever since she found her mother lying face down in shore, she could not bring herself to reconcile with the fact that it was merely a natural force that was simply there and not some vengeful creature wanting to swallow anything in it's path. This is why she chose to spend her time up near the hearth where it was warm and safe.

The girls' playtime was interrupted by the sound of men talking and joking. Moana lit up and exclaimed, "The fishermen are back!" She took off running the way they came and Aronui decided to follow. On the other side was a row of wooden boats with traps full of fish that the men were unloading. One of these men was Futkefu, Aronui's father. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a tattoo of a shark on his back. He hardly noticed the girls as he carried a basket of fish toward the village.

Moana, recognizing that they were well out of the line of sight, made her way onto one of the boats.

"Moana," Whispered Aronui. "I don't think the chief wants you on the boats..." But her words fell on deaf ears because Moana was already fiddling with the ropes. Aronui climbed on after her. "Do you even know what you are doing?"

"It can't be that hard."

Just before Moana managed to do anything with the ropes, Chief Tui came charging down the hill. "Moana!" He snatched the girls off the boat and carried them back up to the village.

This was not the last time that this would happen to Aronui. Over the next several years Moana would break the shell that Aronui had around her. It was a slow process, but this was only the beginning of their friendship.