As we got into the open carriage, I took the reins and Aulani sat next to me, her arm touching me. It was something I rather liked about her. I was not a “touchy” person, yet she never hesitated to sit close enough so our arms touched.
She was always so warm and smelled of the sea. Her hair, natural and wild in its own way, was down today and the energy from her felt like fresh mountain air compared to the tense meetings I’d been in the last while.
Kalei and Ho‘ohuli joined us in the back of the wagon, and while Kalei began humming a song, Aulani smiled and sighed.
I wish I could sing with her,she said.
I wish you could too. I’m sad they’ll never have a chance to hear your voice.I nudged her.I’ll admit I feel pretty lucky that your voice is all mine now though.
Aulani nudged me back and laughed.I like it when you say that.
Say what?
That I’m yours.Her grin was infectious. I had to look away, my cheeks coloring.
Good.I didn’t know what else to say, but when she moved even closer to me, I knew I was falling. I was falling fast and falling hard…
If I haven’t already.I sighed quietly to myself.Storms and surf, Ezra! Just stop! She’s not from your world.And if she didn’t get back to Prince Ryker, she’d turn to sea foam. I couldn’t let that happen.
We’re taking her to the sea. Today.
Can I try?Aulani watched me hold the reins to the horses.
Sure.I handed them to her and nearly flipped backwards as she snapped the reins. The horses went off at a gallop, as if they found the mermaid amusing.
This was just a glimpse of the adventure in Aulani.
In the back, Kalei and Ho‘ohuli laughed out loud–it was the first I’d heard Ho‘ohuli laugh like that. He was always so stoic, and yet… he and Kalei were clutching the sides of the wagon for dear life, giggling and squealing like little kids. Aulani laughed too as we raced over a bridge, then she slowed the horses down, her hair a beautiful mess as the breeze picked up around us.
I couldn’t help but put my hands behind my head and lean back. I don’t know the last time I enjoyed myself…really enjoyedmyself. But if this was the first–besides that one or two times I kissed Aulani–then I was going to be here, in this moment. Because these moments were like a cool breeze in the middle of a sweltering day. They didn’t last long.
When we reached the village,the people rejoiced to see us. We still had a few more villages to go before the sea, but it took longer than I expected at each spot.
The children swarmed around Aulani like busy bees. At one point, we lost her because she’d gone off playing tag with the littles. They laughed and ran all over the town, my guards trying their best to be inconspicuous but keep an eye on Aulani who flitted around like a bird.
As I spoke with a village leader, some children came running to get their parents.
“You have to see the birds! They’re back!” they exclaimed. My conversation died as I looked in the direction everyone was heading.
“It’s Aulani!” Kalei exclaimed, running past me to see the commotion. As we neared the edge of the forest, a circle ofpeople had formed around Aulani and the children. Big smiles crossed every child’s face as each one took a turn around the mermaid princess.
“Who is she?” whispered the parents, but they didn’t seem scared of her. They seemed amazed, like she was a miracle.
“The birds haven’t sang like this since the coquis,” said another.
“But they’re singing… for her,” said Ho‘ohuli, his eyes wide as he looked from the princess to me. “She’s not one of us, is she?” an old man whispered softly, and I shook my head.
A little child ran up to him, and everyone listened. “Tutu kane! You should’ve seen what she did!” said the boy.
“What did she do?” the old man asked, placing a hand on his grandson’s shoulder.
Others came closer to hear the child speak. Aulani and the other children were so entertained by the red honeycreeper, its curved beak entering in the flowers they fed it, that they didn’t pay the adults any attention.
“Ioane found a bird at the edge of the forest. It was dying, but when she held it, she did something… and then it jumped back up! Good as new!”
I blinked. I’d seen Aulani with birds. She told me what happened with Pili. But this… this could be the answer to losing our songbirds… because without them, our island was nothing. We were not Kaiora without our songbirds…
Tears filled the old man’s eyes as he watched. Even Ho‘ohuli was growing emotional.
