Ezra was in trouble, and I needed to help him.
When I reached the terrace garden, the sound of a coqui frog filled the air.
Ezra!I climbed the lava rock terraces, avoiding stepping in the middle as saplings and young plants grew within. As I reached the top, panic began settling in. He was not anywhere in sight.
Ezra.I couldn’t sense him. Couldn’t see his koa trees blocking his mind from my view. Couldn’t sense his warm, calm presence in my mind. An unsettling feeling came over me. If I couldn’t sense his mind, was his mind… dark? Was he… gone?
I slumped to my knees as water pooled in my eyes.Where are you Ezra?What happened to him? Was I too late?
A coqui frog chirped nearby and I swallowed hard.Ezra, I’m so sorry…
“Don’t be.” I jumped, aware that he spoke to me, but his mind seemed so far, so empty, so… small? Even his voice was quiet.
Ezra, where are you?I looked around in the darkness, hoping to see his form approach. Instead, he said, “I need you to kiss me again.”
This isn’t a time to joke. Where are you?
“I’ve been trying to get your attention.”
I frowned and continued to search the area.If I had a sand dollar for each time you tell me information without telling me anything, I could buy your whole kingdom,I said rather angrily.
Aulani, look down.He spoke to my mind.
I did, but then I had to kneel because, well…
You’re a frog again?I wanted to scream.Who did this to you?
Can you kiss me so I can transform into a human first?The little thing coqui-ed and it echoed around us.
Ho‘ohuli arrived at that moment, bending over, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. I waved to him, trying to explain that the little coqui in my hand was Ezra, but his face was red and his eyes were wide. He understood nothing I tried to explain with my hands.
Just kiss me already,Ezra said, adding,Please.
I wished he would say that to me when he wasn’t a frog in need of turning back into a king.
I could if you wanted me to.Ezra heard me, his tone both humorous and bitter.Kissing humans is much better than kissing frogs, I’m sure.
I rolled my eyes and kissed him. This time, I watched. The air around us grew electric, tense even, like a coiled tide ready to break. Golden magic swirled around the frog and it grew until a young man crouched in front of me, his green eyes warm as our faces were close to each other.
He looked at my lips. I looked at his.
“Ezra!” Ho‘ohuli exclaimed, shocked as he made his way up the terraces. “Whatever happened? You were afrogagain?”
“I came here to get a flower–” He paused as the tips of his ears turned red. A flower? Then I realized… he got a flower for me.
A million feelings erupted inside of me, like a sea volcano ready to burst and touch the surface. “Anyway, all I remember is on my way here, things started getting blurry and by the time I reached the garden, I was a frog again.”
“What? How?” Ho‘ohuli was speechless. “Who? Was there anyone around you?”
“Not that I recall.”
What were you doing before you came to the garden?
“I was seeing Princess Cressida off.”
Ho‘ohuli and I exchanged looks and he folded his arms. “You don’t think it was her, do you?”
Ezra shrugged. “Now that I think of it, shewasthe last person I saw before I turned into a frog both times.”
