Hybrid

Hiding Out in Hawaii

Joe and I make our way across the sandy Hawaiian beach at the crack of dawn, our drenched clothes hanging off our backs. I stop to take off my shoes and wring out my socks. Joe does the same. I roll up my pants and put my wet hair up in a bun. Joe takes off his shirt, exposing his muscled torso and he attempts to comb back his hair with his fingers. I force myself to stop staring at his nice chest. I turn and take in the sun as it rises up over the beach on this warm morning.

"Look how amazing the sunrise is - and the beach, with it's clear water and white sand. It's even more beautiful than on TV. We'll have to come back some day when we can enjoy it," I say. We both look out at the crystal blue water and the surfers as they tackle the high waves. I suddenly wish I could be as carefree. I know that now is not the time for hanging out at the beach though. I look toward the island. "I'm not quite sure where my uncle's house is. He said it was on the North Shore, which I assume is that way. I think we'll have to knock on some doors." We head in the direction I point in.

"Are you okay to walk or do you want to fly?" Joe asks me, matter-of-factly. I have to stop and laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asks me.

"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you can fly us everywhere. It's just weird and funny."

"You know, you can probaby fly too," he points out as he keeps walking toward the road. I look at his bare back, with its rippled muscles. I sure hope his shirt dries soon. It's too distracting otherwise.

I catch up to him. "What do you mean, I can probably fly too?"

"Since your father is an advanced human, you should have the ability to fly. You should have the ability to everything I can do."

"Even better, right?" I jest.

"I don't know about that. I've been working on my skills since I was a kid. You've never even tried yours yet."

"So show me."

"Show you what?"

"Show me how to fly."

"You've already seen me fly."

I grab his arm. "Okay, okay, teach me how to fly then." He stops and looks me over. He reaches out and squeezes my torso. 

"What? What are you doing?" I'm suddenly self-conscious.

He steps back. "I'm not sure your body is physically prepared for flight. You could drop like dead weight if you don't have the right core strength."

"I'm pretty fit. I ice-skate almost every day."

"Okay, let's try it. But let's not go too high. And let's do it on the sand, not over the asphalt."

Joe walks to the sand and leans over and picks his feet off the ground and places his body into a horizontal position. He's hovering over the ground.

"You mean I can just lean over and start flying? I don't have to jump up into the sky or anything?"

"You can just lean over. Superman likes to be dramatic by jumping up into the sky."

"Superman is real?"

"Of course. Now lean over slowly."

I'm in shock about Superman. That puts everything in an entirely new light for me. I idolized Superman. I still do. To know he's real has truly blown my mind. I do as I'm told and lean over slowly and I try to muster some levity. It doesn't come very quickly. The first time I put both legs up in the air, I fall down to the beach. Joe catches me before my chin hits the ground and I end up with a mouthful of sand.

I try it a few more times and I finally get it to work, briefly. "You did it!" Joe announces.

"That was weak. I need to practice."

"Why don't I fly us out of here and you can think about how much you  can practice at your uncle's place? We've been in this same position too long. We should keep moving."

"Okay." I let Joe wrap his strong arms around me and he lifts us up into the sky and we fly toward the North Shore. We see a few houses and Joe flies us lower so I can see if I recognize the house from any pictures I may have seen. I don't see anything that I recognize until we get to a ranch off the beaten path. I see an elderly man tending to a garden. "There! That's him! I remember he used to love to garden. That must be him."

Joe lowers us to the ground. Once we get close to the ground, I ask, "Can you let me go and see if I can fly myself?"

"I wouldn't do that. You should practice first."

"Oh come on, I want to try." I wiggle out of his arms and fall like a ton of bricks to the ground. Joe lands next to me and helps me up. "It takes practice Emma. You can't expect to do and know everything just because you want to."

"I'm learning that ... the hard way." We both look down at my knees and they are nicely skinned. I look like a 5 year old and hurt like one too.

"Are you okay?" Joe asks.

"I'll be fine. I've had many skinned knees before." 

"After you." Joe motions for me to walk ahead of him.

"What am I going to say?"

"I don't know. He's your uncle."

"Yeah, but I can't go in there and tell him we need him to let us hide out for a while."

"That's exactly what you need to say."

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"Why are you so nervous? He's your uncle right?"

"Yeah, but he hated my father. I don't know how he's going to react to what's happening."

"There's only one way to find out." Joe pushes me toward my uncle's home. Joe puts his shirt back on - finally. Our shoes are still wet so we just carry them in our hands. We head toward toward the garden. 

My uncle is leaning over tending to some tomatoes. "Uncle Luke?" He stops what he's doing and he looks up at me and Joe.

"What did you just call me?" He stands and looks at us closer.

"Hi Uncle Luke, it's me Emma. Your niece. And this is my friend Joe."

"You look like you just got out of the ocean."

I look at Joe and back at my uncle. "We kind of did."

"Did a plane fall out of the sky or something? That seems to keep happening these days." My uncle grabs up his vegetables and starts walking back to his house. We follow him.

"No, we flew in but had to swim a little too."

"The skies are no longer friendly I guess," he says.

Joe nudges me to get to the point. "Uncle Luke, is it okay to stay here for a couple of days? Joe and I don't know anyone on the island so we're hoping we can hide, I mean, stay here?"

"I have two spare rooms. You're welcome to them. Dinner's in an hour." He holds the door to his home open to us. We walk in. 

"How's your mother?"

"She's doing well. I was hoping to call her, tell her we made it okay. Do you have a phone?"

"I don't have a phone up here. There's no technology or electricity. I have candles and flashlights. The outhouse is in back. I try to keep minimal contact with the rest of the world. I can take you to town tomorrow and you can use a pay phone to call her." I nod okay.

"I have some clothes you both can borrow. Emma, you're about the same size as your aunt. I kept a few of her things. You're welcome to them. Joe, I'll get you a few things to wear as well." 

"Thank you Uncle Luke."

"Go on and get settled. We'll catch up at dinner. I'm sure you have a lot to tell me." He winks at me. Joe and I head to our rooms to get cleaned up. I suddenly feel much more relaxed. I think I'll be able to clear my head here and figure out what I need to do next.