The+Promise

Pomaika’i was born and raised in La’iku, a menehune community nested in the trees of Kalihi Valley. The menehune of La’iku, recognized for their skilled craftsmanship in building heiaus and canoes, were swift, never seen by the eyes of any human. When the menehune first started giving the humans gifts of canoes or heiaus, the humans did not know who gave them these mysterious gifts. Menehunes, who enjoyed a good laugh just as much as they enjoyed giving, would always peer out from hiding places and watch the baffled humans when they would stumble upon their gifts. The humans were thankful and continued to receive these gifts graciously. Although the humans did not know who was responsible for these gifts, they were able to recognize that these gifts were magically built. So they would give the menehunes mai’a(bananas), a favorite food, and other fruits as offerings. After repetition followed tradition, and so the menehune took it upon themselves to always present the humans with hand crafted gifts.

Before Pomaika’i was born, it was destined that she would do great things and have endless potential. It would only be fitting that as the daughter of Maiele and Ha’aheo, La’iku’s two prominent menehunes, she would be as skilled, successful, and influential in the community as they. For that reason, Maiele and Ha’aheo named her Pomaika’i, or blessed. Even before she came out of her mother’s womb, this keiki had unrealistic expectations set for her. Once Pomai was born, her mother, Maiele, and father, Ha’aheo, had decided that once Pomai inherited her magical gifts before her 13th birthday, she would go to ‘Imiloa, a school of which all prestigious menehune attend, like her father and mother.

Pomai’s father’s name is Ha’aheo, meaning haughty. Her father was just that. Ha’aheo would go around to all the other menehune and brag about his daughter. “My daughter is blessed,” or “My daughter will be able to build a canoe by herself faster than 5 grown menehune can.” All of La’iku heard Ha’aheo’s nagging, but they put up with it. Until one day, he went to far. Ha’aheo was cutting down a tree to hollow a canoe out of when he proclaimed, “My daughter, Pomaika’i, will be able to build a canoe faster than the canoe god, Mokuali’i, will ever be able to.” Mokuali’i, being a god, could hear Ha’aheo’s blabbering and decided he would punish Ha’aheo by cursing Pomaika’i, preventing her from ever getting her powers.

For the first twelve years of her life, Pomai was raised as if she were higharchy. All the menehune respected her, thinking she would be all powerful, not knowing that she was cursed. This was not a good thing. Another thing Pomai was destined to inherit from her parents was their haughtiness and pilau attitude. Don’t get mistaken. Pomai was an attention whore that demanded to be recognized if she did something “good”, but in actuality, she was not a very good person. She had no real friends, and people only pretended to like her out of fear. The only person that would set her in her place was this one kane, Pakela, the son of the Kahu. Pomai always wondered why he was the only one who treated her like this since they would always throw verbal punches.

“Eh, Pakela. Try come, you stink toad,” Pomai sneered one day. Ignoring her nickname for him, Pakela answered, “What you want, Pomai?” “Try stand here. There’s all these bugs flying by me. I thought you might wanna try eat some, since stink toads like you think bugs are ono!” Pomai grinned smuggly. “Yeah, keep talking, Pomai. You so stupid. No wonder my dad wen’ say you not going, ‘Imiloa. It’s cause you so stupid!” Pomai was confused after Pakela criticized her. She didn’t understand what Pakela meant when he said she wasn’t going to ‘Imiloa. “Wait, what you talking ’bout, toad face?” Pomai asked. “Oh, nothing. Ribbit, ribbit.” Pakela croaked. “No, it isn’t nothing. What you mean, Pakela?” Pomai was worried, she knew something was up. “I jus heard my dad talk to the other priests. He was sayin that you ain’t goin get your powers.” “But my birthday is tomorrow, doodoo. I know I’m running late, but I get a little time. I am goin get them,” her confused voice tried to assure him and herself. “No, you not! Mokuali’i don’t like stink, ugly, pilau wahines like you. So you not gettin your powers.” That hit Pomai hard. Not getting her powers? That was not an option for her. How could she not get her powers? What kind of daughter of Maiele and Ha’aheo would she be? She would be less than average, and she could not settle with that. Pomai stormed off, listening to Pakela laugh victoriously underneath her heavy, bitter foot stomps. She knew she had to go talk to the kahu.

Pomai searched for the kahu, checking the heiau, his hale, as well as the river, but he was no where to be found. Although discouraged by the fact that she could not find him, Pomai continued to search for the kahu to find the actual truth of the rumor. She found the kahu crouched over a baby lo’i planted on the top right lo’i terrace. He heard her bitter treading and greeted her with a warm smile. “Aloha, Pomaika’i. Come to cultivate lo’i today?” the genuine kahu conversed, his inviting eyes excreting comfort. “No, Kahu. I actually needta talk to you. Get some time to talk, or what?” Pomai barked at him. “Yes, I have some time as soon as I pull out this one baby lo’i right here. Do you see it?” The kahu gestured towards a small taro plant. Smaller than all the other plants, Pomai could tell it wasn’t growing as fast as the others for some reason. “Do you see the two big lo’i surrounding it? Those two are its parents. It’s overshadowing the keiki, preventing it from getting the right nutrition it needs from the sun. We need to move it. Would you like to help?” Pomai, irritated with his small talk, helped him loosen the wet mud surrounding the small taro plant, which allowed the root to come right out. With the lo’i in his hand, the kahu walked over to the left side of the terrace and found a clear spot. The kahu kneeled over the edge and started packing the lo’i in, “hopefully, the baby can grow better in this environment, where it can grow without its parents.” Pomai instantly remembered what she originally came to talk to the kahu about and spared no time to get the truth. “Kahu, Pakela went tell me what you said. Can you explain? What you mean I not goin get my powers?” Pomai choked out as frustrated tears welled up in her eyes and stung it. She stubbornly fought them back. “Ahhhh, Pakela. Running his mouth again, I see. Well, you deserve to know the truth, Pomai.” The kahu’s warm smile faded and morphed into a serious look. He announced, “Sweetie, you aren’t going to get your powers.” “Why not? I don’t get it…” Not used to rejection, Pomai couldn’t support her fort of stubborness together anymore. A single tear streak toppled over the bottom lashes of her golden-speckled brown eyes and stained her pain and confused stricken face. “It’s not your fault, sweetie. But there’s nothing you can do about it.” “What will my parents think? Gotta be a way. Why is dis happening? I don’t understand at all.” Pomai wasn’t talking anymore, but her spoken words evaporated into whispers. “It’s been this way since you were a keiki, still drinking milk from your mother’s breast. It was around that time that your father, Ha’aheo, started bragging about how skilled you would be when you were grew up. It was around that time that your father, with his haughty characteristics, angered the god, Mokuali’i. It was around that time that Mokuali’i decided he would get revenge. It was around that time that Mokuali’i decided he would curse you, prevent you from getting your powers, to teach your father to be humble.” Confused, Pomai questioned, “How come I get the blame? I get the junk part? I don’t get it. It’s not fair.” “Nothing in the world is fair, Pomai. You are blessed, remember that. Even if you may never have extreme strength or extreme speed or invisibility, you still are blessed.” “Kahu, I not blessed. I’m nothing if no more my powers. I’m s’posed to be powerful.” “What can I do to help you?” the kahu offered. “Help me fix ‘em, please?” Pomai pleaded. The kahu saw the anxiousness in her eyes and finally agreed, “All right. I can only give you advice. I can’t do anything for you. You have to do it for yourself. Do you understand?” Pomai slowly nodded her head. “Keh, what you gotta to do is somehow convince Mokuali’i that you are deserving of your powers.’ “How do I do that?” Pomai questioned. “You need to visit the god in his sacred resting place hidden beneath the Pali cliffs in Nu’uanu. I’m sure he’s expecting your appearance, and no doubt will he set up tests for you along the way. Bring him one mai’a and offer ‘em. Do you understand?” Pomai had never left the border’s of La’iku by herself and the kahu had told her venture into a neighboring valley of unfamiliarity. This is crazy, Pomai thought to herself, but she understood this was necessary for her to get her powers and annouched her choice, “I will do it.”

It was still the early morning, and Pomai figured she didn’t have much time. After all, one day isn’t enough time to try to achieve a miracle. Not mentioning her plans to anyone, she grabbed one of the ma’ia and started running through the trees in the southern direction. After 10 minutes of sprinting, Pomai started to get tired and decided to walk. By that time, she was just out of La’iku near the bordering human village. Pomai had to sneak around it, for it was cardinal rule to never be seen by a human. Luckily, there were ti leaves planted all around the village, so she would sprint, head behind one, sprint, then hide behind one. This worked until she reached the end of the village, and started to uphill to eastward into Alewa Heights.

The run uphill was tiring and hard against her shins, so once again she walked. She leisurely walked, as if she was taking a stroll. It was still morning, and she thought she was making great time. Alewa Heights was a whole different scene of La’iku. La’iku, rooted on a stream, was lush and green with forestry, but Alewa Heights was dry and bushy. There was some greenery, but most of the scenery was brown. Pomai must’ve been walking for about an hour before she noticed another menehune walking towards her. It was a boy, a cute boy. The boy had bushy, black hair that sat atop his angular face with a delicate square jaw-line. He looked dirty, but it just made him appear rugged, or so Pomai had thought.

“Aloha,” his raspy voice greeted her. “Aloha,” Pomai oozed back with suave. “Never seen you around here before,” he noticed. “I not from here that’s why,” Pomai replied. “What’s your name?” he questioned her. “Pomai,” she answered with a shy smile. “I’m Keanu. I was just going to throw a net down at the beach, want to come with me? Maybe we can get to know each other,” he dazzled her with his charm. She fought between her two choices: talk to this boy or talk to Mokuali’i. Right now, her hormones were telling her to stay, but her heart was telling her otherwise. Finally she decided, “That’d be nice. But not today, kay? I gotta go see someone first.” He look insulted but that instantly melted away as he smiled, “Alright, hopefully you’ll see me sooner than you think.” She flirted back, “Maybe if you’re lucky.” She was smiling to herself was she turned her back and continued on her way.

Pomai didn’t realize how long she had been talking to the boy, Keanu. The sun was blaring overhead and causing droplets of sweat to trick down her foreheads, stinging her eyes as if her forehead were crying or something. But she kept treading on.

By the time the sun was starting to set behind the Waianae mountain range on the west side of the island, Pomai’s bare-feet were extremely sore. She was used to the soft, muddy ground in La’iku and could not easily adapt to the rough, gritty dirt ground. Her feet were basically raw before the time she took a break. She sat on a rock that had the word, “Lanakila” carved onto it. She realized she didn’t have much longer to go for Lanakila was the bottom village at the mouth of Nu’uanu Valley, her destination. She closed her eyes and her dreams consumed her.

She woke up from her dream and opened her eyes to a darkened world. She slept so long that the sun had completely set. Frustration over came her as she cussed, “Oh shit.” Currently, she had two problems. One, she had no light to walk through and see where she was going. Two, a hungry animal inside her kept growling. She was starving. She couldn’t eat the single ma’ia she held in her hand, so she fought her hunger and just kept walking.

After a while, Pomai got used to not being able to see and started to rely on her other senses, especially her sense of touch. She tripped over a brittle tree root, once or twice. Get up, she told her self. She persevered.

As Pomai kept walking, she heard a heart warming, familiar sound. She heard the rushing of water as it swished against rocks. She knew she had arrived in Nu’uanu. She followed the sound until she reached a lower ground where the water rested upon pebbles and mud. She reached down, cupped water in her hand and drank it until she was full. Her thirst was quenched, but not her hunger. Once again, she was tempted to eat the ma’ia. She was tempted to peel the smooth, elastic skin and take a bite of the rich, firm, sweet banana. Her stomach told her to eat it, her heart told her no. She knew that if she ate the banana, she wouldn’t have anything to offer Mokuali’i. She took a deep breath and released with a sigh, “No can.” She grabbed the offering and started walking again.

Still in the pitch black of the night, all Pomai could hear was the rustling of the trees and the babbling of the stream. All she could feel was the cool, squishy mud cooling her sores on her feet, the chilly wind whipping against her skin, the pain in her body, and the slow beating of her discouraged heart. What if I never get there? she questioned herself. She erased the questions in her mind and continued her journey.

She finally reached the back of the valley and was confused as where to go. She didn’t know which way to head, so she called out, “Mokuali’i! Mokuali’i, I’m here. I need your help.” No answer. “Mokuali’i! I offer you this ma’ia that I wanna eat but I give ‘em to you. Mokuali’i!” Still no answer. “Mokuali’i!” This time, there was an answer. A familiar raspy voice answered, “I am here.” Pomai saw the figure and realized the shape of the figure was small, like a boy her height. Not as tall as she had expected a god to be. “I told you I would see you sooner than you thought,” the voice continued. “Keanu?” Pomai asked. “Yes, I am your Keanu. I am your canoe god, Mokuali’i. I am the one that cursed you.” The voice she had found dazzling and charming still carried its confidence but she found a new trait: the voice was frightening. “I came here to beg. Please, may I have my powers?” Pomai begged, trying not to anger him. “No, you may not.” he replied. “Your father brought this upon you. You need to suffer.” “Haven’t I suffered enough?” she cried out. “Perhaps you have. But someone needs to. I’ll tell you this: I’ll take the curse off of you, but someone needs to pay. You can choose the person of your choice to put it on. Maiele, Ha’aheo, maybe that pesky Pakela?” the god proposed. “It’s your choice.” Pomai thought about this for a while. She would never want to curse any menehune with this burden, but she herself wouldn’t want to suffer this burden. She fought with herself. “I no can do that to anyone. No make me choose.” she begged. “You need to choose,” the god demanded. Pomai knew she wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt, but she wouldn’t be able to live with her family if she didn’t have her power. She could always live somewhere else though, right? “I no can do that to anyone. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Pomai choked out. She turned and tears started to spill out as she realized that she condemned her own fate. “Are you sure?” the god questioned. “Yes.” Pomai croaked. “I wasn’t expecting this.” the god said. “I wasn’t either, but I no can do that like I went say before. I no can. Not now at least.” “Because of your selflessness, you can have your powers. On one condition,” the god declared. Pomai was confused but was so elated she didn’t care. “Anything! You sure?” “Yes, I’m sure. Just make sure you don’t turn into Ha’aheo. Always stay true to your name, Pomaika’i. You really are blessed.” the god requested. “Keh, I can do that! What do I gotta do?” Pomai excitedly asked. “Once every month, you need to make a journey down here in Nu’uanu. Once every month, you need to bring me one ma’ia. Good enough for you?” he questioned. “Sounds more than perfect. I can do that.” Pomai promised.

Pomai went back to La’iku, attended ‘Imiloa, and became something great, just like it was proclaimed in the prophecy, because for the rest of her life, she was able to honor her promise. Something not just anyone, or just any menehune could do.

Process Reflection This assignment was part of the 1001 flat world tales project, of which we partnered with a school in St. Louis. We were assigned to write a story of which we would peer edit with an assigned partner from St Louis. This was a great experience since I got to peer edit with more than 3 people. Through this, I was able to gain more knowledge about giving and receiving writing feedback. This assignment also taught me what it was like to work with people from across the ocean, kind've like working with a real job. There were definitely major issues with time management and communication, but like everything else in English, I was able to mature from this. I definitely know how to handle myself under stressful situations such as that. This story and the actual process of writing it are great examples of identity, growth, and self in english.