“Can you hear the waterfalls?” Harper shouted, sprinting up the hill.
They hiked up one last steep bit of trail and were finally rewarded with a sweeping view of Oakley’s favorite place on Earth.
She loved both of her home towns with all her heart, and she had loved her New England college town. In the early years of her relationship with Trent, they had taken trips to all seven continents and seen countless extraordinary sights.
But somehow, nothing compared to Hikuwai.
The place was otherworldly. There was a magic to this verdant valley that she could feel right down to her soul.
Two rivers joined there, crashing down from the mountains and pausing in deep pools before continuing downhill in one enormous waterfall. The space swallowed the handful of hikers who had gotten there before them, generous enough that each group could claim their own natural swimming pool.
Oakley stood there for a long moment, taking in the view while the kids worked their way down the hill and towards the river. She relished the rushing sound of the seven waterfalls, and her gaze wandered from one to another in a leisurely sort of way, almost caressing the white water and dark green vegetation that grew all around.
It was the one place in the world where her nervous system felt fully at ease.
Ironic, given the rushing water that could easily sweep her girls away.
The river was dangerous. On a logical level, she was fully aware of that – and she respected it. She had instilled a healthy level of caution in both girls at an early age, and they knew how to navigate the rocks and rivers.
On a somatic level, the place brought her nothing but peace.
The water level was relatively low that day, and they all waded easily across the first branch of the river. Then they hiked up the rocks and made their way to Oakley’s favorite pool.
The waterfall there was smaller than the others, but that was why Oakley liked it. It was low enough for the kids to climb to the top and jump into the pool below.
The water was gorgeous and clear – but even so, the pool looked dark. It was far too deep to touch the bottom, even jumping off of the modest cliff. The deep basin had roughly the same surface area as a backyard swimming pool, and the water was calm.
Safe as she felt at Hikuwai, Oakley maintained a healthy degree of caution. The bigger waterfalls were there to admire, not to approach. The tops were far too high to see, and there was no knowing when a rock or a log might come crashing down.
This waterfall, though, the calm little one. It was kid sized. Tall and loud enough to feel big to them, but short enough that Oakley could easily monitor the pool that fed into it.
Claire pulled off her sundress and dipped a toe in the water.
“Eek!” she squeaked. “It’s so cold!”
“It comes from up the mauna,” Harper said solemnly. “There’s snow up there sometimes.”
“Not in the summer,” Hayden told her.
“I saidsometimes! Anyway, it’s still cold up there in the summer!”
Pete canonballed into the pool, and Claire shrieked when the water splashed her.
“Hey Claire,” Oakley said, “I’ve got sunscreen.”
“I’m okay,” Claire said. “I put some on back at the house.”
“You need to reapply,” she told her, spraying her own arms a second time.
“Ugh!” Claire coughed in disgust and backed away. “That stuff smells like cancer!”
“It smells, but it works.”
“I’m good!” She went scrambling up the rocks.
“You’re going to burn!”
“I reject and repudiate your curse!”
