STORYLINE

The Hidden Manimal Mine of Maui Lou

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The tunnels, lava tubes, and storage facilities beneath Lahaina have long been popular places for those with an adventurous spirit to explore. Finding supplies and weapons can be very lucrative to those brave or foolish enough to explore these dark places. However, one such location has held the imagination of islanders much more than any other, and it might not even exist. The Hidden Manimal Mine of Maui Lou is a story every child knows, and a dream a handful try to find every year.

Maui Lou was not a well-known man in his time or a successful one. He spent most nights sleeping on the beach beneath the stars, and his days wandering from place to place. When he was younger, Lou dreamed of being a professional surfer, but in his early 50’s the only thing he surfed was couches. And so it would have gone, had it not been for the great fracture. Like so many, the accident awakened something inside Lou and showed him his destiny.

From his time wandering the town, Lou knew many places to seek shelter and the best gardens in Lahaina. He helped many make it through those first terrible weeks and soon found himself with quite a following. While harvesting vegetables from abandoned backyards, and canned foods from demolished stores, was helpful to the survivors, Lou began to believe that they owed their lives to one thing, the hydrating powers of Manimal.

His Manimal obsession and strange beliefs around the drink grew, and his believers followed suit. They began calling themselves “The Quenched”. They believed that in addition to your physical thirst, Maimal could satisfy your emotional and spiritual thirst as well. Under Lou’s leadership, the group followed The Three Tenets: intensity in all actions, ferociousness of thought, and daily acts of daring. The group became famed for its outrageous escapades and chaotic nature.

While they were not openly hostile to others, working with a group of The Quenched was all but impossible. They could not resist climbing tall structures and leaping whenever possible. When exploring an unknown area, it was common for a member of the group to run ahead with a Manimal in each hand, screaming their intentions. Others began to shun the group and refuse to be involved with any project that included the drink-loving fanatics.

Soon, they found themselves outcasts, and it was too much for Lou. He moved his followers to the Mauna Kahalawai mountains and began preaching visions of doom. He told The Quenched that this new world would not be the last. Another great cleansing was on its way, and that in the future the extreme would inherit the Earth. They began expanding an old mine to make it a suitable place to live out the upcoming catastrophe. It is here that the stories diverge.

Some say The Quenched built a gigantic recirculating pool, to hold all the Manimal they had collected over the years at a perfect temperature. Others say they were much too unorganized for such a feat, and simply filled many tanks with Manimal to serve as a source of life-giving hydration, while they waited out the end. Whatever the truth, one thing is certain. When they were done, they hid the entrance and sealed themselves inside with Maui Lou delivering a warning, anyone who were to go inside without believing in the Three Tenets, would find nothing but their doom. The Quenched were never seen again.

There the tale might have ended, a bedtime story for children, had it not been for a Thriver woman named Cork Waltz. By all accounts, Cork was an excellent scrounger and bragged that she came from a long line of treasure hunters. While Cork could find a single wire hidden in a field of pili grass, what she loved finding above all else was Manimal. She was obsessed with the old drink and stories of the mine. Every year, Cork would explore the mountains for a few weeks in the spring, looking for the hidden entrance and return to the jokes and teasing of her friends. Then one year, Cork didn’t return as usual.

Everyone assumed she had been taken by one of the island’s many dangers or had slipped from a cliff. They were overjoyed when she finally made it back, but her pack bursting full of Manimal made them wonder. The usually boisterous Cork remained unusually quiet about where she found the drink as well. When she left again in the morning, the rumors spread quickly.

Over the next few months, Cork would take many long trips, each time returning more intense, and with more Manimal. Her neighbors were now sure that she had found Maui Lou’s Manimal Mine and many tried to follow her. Cork began to take long dangerous routes to throw off any pursuers. The speed and energy she’d display while scrambling up rocks and navigating the narrow twisting trails did little to dispel the rumors, and attempts to follow her always failed. Then a group of trackers happened upon Cork at the bottom of a ravine. Apparently, her attempts to elude her followers finally caught up to her. She had slipped and fallen from a ledge, but before she passed she left some tantalizing clues.

According to the stories, Cork’s lips and hands were stained red with Manimal, although her pack contained no Radical Red flavor. Even more tantalizing, she had scratched a crude map on a rock next to her with the words, “Extreme Refreshment” underneath. Since then, many have searched for the location of the mine without success. There are almost as many copies of the map floating around, as there are people gullible enough to buy them. Still, there just might be a pool of Manimal underground somewhere out there, just waiting for someone brave or foolish enough to go looking for it.

STORYLINE

The Lost Submarines of Simon Kai

Living on an island and being so connected to the water, it is no surprise that so many Kanaka legends focus on boats and the sea. We are taught how to read the currents and how to follow the seabirds to find land at an early age. Every young Kanaka knows the story of the great fisherman Lawai’a. We learn why we should avoid the Eldridge, resting on its mountain perch with her ghostly crew, cursed to never sail again. One legend however has a special place in the hearts of all adventurous Kanaka children and has been the bane of many concerned mothers. It is the story of the lost submarines of Simon Kai.

It was once said that the difference between a child and an adult was the price of their toys, and so it was with Simon Kai. Before the fracture, those of great wealth would spend exorbitant amounts on boats, cars, and homes, but some preferred something more unique. Kai collected anything related to ocean exploration and his warehouses on Lanai were bursting with: cameras, specially made diving equipment, and automated deep-sea rovers, but submarines were his passion.

A man of great means, Kai’s submarine collection was impressive indeed with examples from many different eras. His estate resembled a maritime museum more than a home. Although many would consider him eccentric, he was a very popular figure on the island. He would give tours of his collection to tourists or anyone who seemed interested. His pride and joy was a 60-foot long luxury sub he called the Kanaloa, named after the Hawaiian god of the ocean. Being a personal friend of Eric Oeming, the creator of the veil, it was not unusual for Kai to ferry Veilcorp guests around in his ship. But the Earth didn’t care about money or status on the day of the great accident. Three days after the fracture, a giant flood hit Lanai and delivered at least one of his submarines to Lahaina.

According to the stories, one found its way to Kalani beach and was discovered by a group of Veilcorp scientists who began repairing the beached metal beast. It took months for them to seal the cracks in the hull and to rebuild the broken propeller. Unfortunately for them, others had been watching their efforts as well.

The Tappers came early, shrouded in the morning mist. Most of the scientists never made it inside, and those that did were not spared. The submarine now rests just offshore, buried in the reef. Some say that the Tappers use it as an underwater cache and have dug a tunnel that connects to the bottom of the boat. Others believe the ship contains only the skeletons of scientists and whatever secrets and hopes they held.

It was 20 years before another one of Kai’s subs was discovered. A group of Kanaka fishermen found the great yellow machine tangled in their nets one morning and paddled it to their village. They named it Hilina’i after the whale in the story of Lawai’a. Even though we Kanaka do not revere technology in the same way the Thrivers do, the usefulness of a working submarine was apparent. For years the Hilina’i could be seen cruising off the coast helping fisherman and rescuing those in bad weather. When Chief Ikaika began his campaign against the horrors born of the fracture, the Hilina’i joined the cause.

Those who were at the Battle of Black Rock Beach, say that when the ship rose from the water like some great avenging spirit, adorned with the markings of war, it broke the morale of the enemy and they fled. Unfortunately for the Hilina’i, the Kanaka embrace celebration with the same vigor as they do battle. The ship survived the great accident, 40-years adrift around the islands, and a year-long war, but it could not survive the carelessness of an overindulged crew. The sub sank on its way back home and still remains visible to all as a reminder to always remain vigilant, especially after a victory.

Rumors persist that more of Kai’s submarines lay hidden, waiting to be discovered. It is common for groups of Kanaka children to walk the beaches and explore hidden coves in the hopes of finding one of the lost ships. Some even say that Kai himself survived the fracture and the lights sometimes seen in the bay are him traveling in the Kanaloa searching for the rest of his fleet. Most laugh at such an idea, but in the past people also laughed at the idea of boats that could navigate underwater and being able to travel across the world in the blink of an eye. The world has seen many wonders before and it will see wonders again. The lost submarines of Simon Kai remain one of the most beloved Kanaka legends and have led many to wonder about their fate.

Bruddah Lee

Kanaka Historian

STORYLINE

Lilinoe and Clever Kopono

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The Kānaka’s relationship with technology is a complex one. While they accept the need for science and machinery, most consider the fracture to be a direct result of an unhealthy obsession with them. Add to this the fact that the accident caused severe deformities in many Kānaka which makes working on fine components difficult, and it is no wonder why their heroes don’t interact with technology. Clever Kopono is the rare exception. There are many stories about the resourceful young man and his backpack, but the most well known is about his adoptive mother, Lilinoe.

Lilinoe was a widow and sickness had claimed her children. She was the poorest woman in the poorest village on the island. Her back ached when she walked and she had lost most of her teeth years ago, but she was always caring to others. She would gladly share what she had, which was almost nothing, with anyone in need.

One day while she was searching for a crab to add to her onion water she heard a noise from behind a rock. Slowly Lilinoe hobbled over to investigate and saw that it was a crying boy. The wretch was soaking wet and shivering. A dirty backpack was stretched over an enormous hump on his back. It looked as if the poor boy hadn’t eaten in a week. Lilinoe took off her tattered cloak and wrapped the boy up. She walked him over to the soft sand and asked if he was alright.

The boy said his name was Kopono and that he was an orphan. He told Lilinoe that he had been wandering for weeks and just wanted a place to stay for the night to dry off. The old woman agreed right away. It wasn’t much, but he was welcome to stay in her children’s old room and share as much of her onion water as he could stomach.

One night stretched into two, then three. Lilinoe began to care deeply for the odd little boy who never seemed to let the backpack out of his sight. She asked him if he would like to stay with her permanently and make the village his home. “You won’t have to carry around that backpack anymore, you can leave it in your room,” she said. The boy began to cry and gave Lilinoe a hug. He said he would be proud to call her mom and leave his bag in his room if she promised to never ask what was in it and always knock before she came in. It seemed a strange request but this was a strange little boy, so she agreed.

Kopono began to settle into life in the village. He wasn’t very strong or especially quick. His back kept him from being a good hunter, but he was very smart. He knew a better way to make fish traps and a way to grow plants in balls of moss without soil. Soon Lilinoe had something to add to her soup besides onions, and everyone in the village began calling the boy clever Kopono.

After living with the boy for almost a year, Lilinoe began to hear strange noises coming from Kopono’s room. She would knock and ask if the boy was alright to which he would always reply that he was. He would tell her that he was working on projects with his helpers. She thought he was a little too old for imaginary friends but he didn’t think like anyone she had ever met, so she didn’t let it concern her. Then one morning she heard a different noise. One that excited her.

She could hardly believe her ears at first. She held her breath to hear it more clearly. When Kopono’s door opened the boy was holding her old music box and it was working again. She had no idea where her husband had scavenged it, but he had given it to her on her wedding day. She took the box and stared at it in disbelief. “How did you fix this,” she asked through the tears rolling down her face. “My helpers showed me how to make it work,” he answered. Two hours later a line had formed outside of the house with villagers hoping to have their broken items fixed.

Clever Kopono fixed fans, handheld games, and a pile of other electronics over the next few weeks and word of his abilities began to spread. Usually the Kānaka need to go to the Thrivers to get things fixed and that can be dangerous and expensive. Having one of their people who could repair things was a blessing. Before the month was up everything was working in the village again, including the generator. The village began to grow thanks to clever Kopono.

Word spread far and wide about the clever little boy until one day Chief Ikaika himself appeared in the village. He had heard about the strange little boy and wanted to see for himself if the stories were true. The chief was in the middle of his campaign to clear this part of the island of all the dangers to the Kānaka. One of the drones he was using to keep track of his enemies movements had broken, and he didn’t want to pay the people on the hill to fix it. He asked Kopono if the boy could rebuild it. “I’m sure I can, give me 2 days,” Kopono answered.

The chief agreed and promised to have some more land cleared for farming, and 3 new fishing canoes for the village if his drone got fixed. In addition, he would take Lilinoe as one of his private cooks. She would never want for anything again in her life. With a look of determination, Kopono took the drone into his room and shut the door. The chief left and the village waited.

After not coming out at all the first day people began to worry. Lilinoe knocked and asked if she could help. “No, don’t come in here. My helpers and I will have it fixed in time. Don’t worry,” clever Kopono answered. The tension around the village was almost unbearable by that evening. “Why did we agree to let an orphan boy hold our fate. Everyone knows he’s sick in the head,” shouted a man. “You need to make him let you in there so we know if we should leave before the chief comes back. He’s sure to be angry and punish us if his machine doesn’t work,” added a neighbor. Lilinoe didn’t know what to do. She loved and trusted Kopono but the villagers did have a point.

With only a few hours left until dawn the pressure was too much for her. Lilinoe quietly opened the door and went inside. She saw the little boy sitting with his back to her illuminated by an electric lamp. His backpack was open on the floor next to him and he was surrounded by screws, pins, and a variety of machine parts. The drone was almost completely rebuilt in front of him, and covered in rats poking out here and there. She let out a gasp and one of the rats stood on its hind legs looking at her. Clever Kopono spun around and stared at Lilinoe in shock. The rats all ran into his backpack.
He began to cry and started to attach the last piece of the drone. “You promised that you would always knock before you came in,” he said. Lilinoe asked him what the rats were doing and if he was alright. “I told you, they’re my helpers and no. I’m not alright,” he answered. He turned the last screw and stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “The drone is done. I want you to know that I will always carry you in my heart, but you broke your promise so I must go.” Before the sun rose, clever Kopono was gone.

The drone worked like it was new and Ikaika kept his promise. The village prospered and Lilinoe was never hungry again. When people asked where clever Kopono had gone she told them that the Thrivers had let him attend one of their schools which seemed like a fitting lie to her. She never told anyone what she saw that night, but would often sit on the rocks where she had found him that day. She would listen to the music box and the waves. The rest of her life Lilinoe wondered what happened to her clever Kopono and wished that she had trusted him.

STORYLINE

The Legend of “The Lucky Dodge Hotel”

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There is no shortage of mysterious legends and strange places in Lahaina. Whether it’s a cryptic Hailoha driver patrolling Front Street, a mountain top ghost ship, or an eccentric survivor with a small fleet of submarines, there are plenty of stories to tell around a fire. One of the most beloved by the Kanaka is the story of The Lucky Dodge Hotel. A place where you can get almost anything if you are desperate enough, and willing to pay the price.

Before the fracture, The Laki Beach Lodge was one of the most popular places to stay in Lahiana. Set between Front Street and the ocean, guests found themselves yards away from the beach and within walking distance of many popular destinations. Laki Lodge was always full and had a reservation list that extended months ahead. However, like everything else, the accident changed all that.

A Naval group was traveling to their base on Molokai when the veils ruptured. Instead of appearing next to the docks and commencing with some minor maintenance, the ships emerged from the veil like a bullet from a gun. All of Lahaina shook and the sound was deafening, as reinforced hulls tore great furrows into the ground and shattered from the incredible force of the impact. In a matter of seconds, the group had reshaped the coastline and created two deep channels in a “V” shape around the Laki, leaving it alone on a green island. The Kanaka renamed it “The Lucky Dodge Hotel” and the moniker has stuck to this day.

Many believe that the hotel’s near destruction was no accident. The Kanaka say the area is sacred and protected by the land and water. The fact that the lights are always on, and strange sounds can often be heard coming from the building, does little to dispel these rumors. Most Kanaka refuse to visit the hotel and there are numerous stories about the curious never returning after walking through the front door. While there are no vacant rooms, it is said that you can get almost anything in the lobby of the Lucky Dodge if you are willing to pay the price. The desperate few who have returned describe staff as enigmatic as the building itself.

Nobody knows for sure who owns the hotel. There are stories that it is run by the Tappers who use it as a base to watch over the island. Others say that Veilcorp knew that the fracture would happen and took over the hotel, keeping it a living time capsule of 2050 for high-ranking employees. There are even tales that it is part of some larger underwater complex. However, everyone agrees that it is dangerous to try and reach the Lucky Dodge without help.

The dark waters of the koʻokoʻo inlets that surround the hotel hold an unusually high number of patrolling sharks. Lingering radiation in the waters can cause confusion in those trying to swim across, leaving them to tread water until the sharks find them or they slip below, due to exhaustion. According to the tales, the safest way to cross the inlet is to travel to the Southern bank, find the old valet stand, and press the call button to summon the canoeman. A young man of Kanaka descent, the canoeman never speaks except to say, “Tipping is appreciated” and always arrives within minutes, day or night. A trip across the inlet costs 10 rai which must be paid upfront with return passage, should you make it, being free. There are rumors that without payment you can cross, but must serve inside the Dodge in some capacity.

Once inside the building, visitors are treated to an immaculate lobby filled with the sounds and smells of the old world. Unlike the canoeman, descriptions of the concierge vary greatly. Some describe a short bearded man in a suit, while others recount a statuesque woman with raven-black hair dressed in an old-fashioned gown. While the physical descriptions differ, they are said to both speak with a strange accent and carry themselves oddly, leaving visitors uneasy.

They say that the concierge can get anything you may need, direct you to any location, and answer any question for a price. That price is always high and often, not a monetary one. Many accidents and strange events on the island are rumored to be the price paid for a favor from the Dodge, but the few who claim to have visited are reluctant to talk about the cost. Whatever the truth about the owners may be, there is no doubt that the Lucky Dodge Hotel is one of the most enigmatic locations in Lahaina, with many considering it a destination of last resort.

Bruddah Lee

Kanaka Historian

STORYLINE

The Legend of Veilcorp’s Building FF

We Kanaka are known for our easy going lifestyle, and taking time to enjoy what nature has provided, but there is one thing we take seriously, our stories. We have many legends about others who survived the fracture including: mysterious hotels with equally mysterious guest, billionaires living in underwater shelters, and lost mines holding riches beyond gold. However, our stories about Veilcorp survivors are the most numerous and varied. Among this sea of tales, the story of Building FF rises above the rest because it might just be true.

Before the great catastrophe, when governments determined how everyone should live, and corporations tracked the hours of your day, people would study for years, struggling to make a favorable impression on these powers, in order to work for them. One of the most popular corporations to work for was Veilcorp. The company responsible for tearing the world apart, used to be thought of very favorably. People employed there were paid well and received many benefits, but it was the rumor of special perks offered to those who climbed high in the company that interested many. Free travel across the globe, discounted Nuuskin treatments to keep you looking perpetually young, and access to the latest in company technology before it was available to the public, were among the rumored blessings bestowed on anyone becoming a VP. While all of these were intriguing, it was the rumor of Building FF that piqued the interest of many inside the organization.

Born from the chaos of a terrorist attack that claimed the life of many employees, including the founder Eric Oeming’s wife and daughter, Building FF was supposed to be a place employees could go in an emergency. However, it soon became Oeming’s obsession, and with the backing of the government, the emergency shelter grew into something much more complex.

Located hundreds of meters underground with: independent water, air, and power sources, state-of-the-art filtration systems and communication technology, medical facilities, and food stores that could last for decades, Building FF was more like an underground paradise, than a place to wait out a hurricane or another attack. The exact location was classified, with only a handful of people knowing its coordinates. There were no passages leading to Building FF, protecting those inside from terrorist infiltration and any airborne toxins. The only way in or out was through a small emergency veil system located deep within the complex. When the great fracture began, many found themselves deep underground, and safe inside the Veilcorp wonderland. Unfortunately, a paradise is only as good as its creator, and we all know how fallible people can be.

Building FF was doomed from the beginning. While it protected those inside from living through the horrors and disease of the outside world, it could not guard them from the sickness of its creation and themselves. They sent out emergency calls with no response, and with the veil network down, their only way in or out was useless. Instead of panicking, they decided to take full advantage of the benefits their incredible shelter offered, and wait for help that was sure to come. A day became a week, a week became a month, and a month a year, and the cracks that had slowly been building among them grew into fissures with terrifying speed.

It is amazing at how quickly fear, anger, and jealousy can grow within a small community, and without the power of the sun, wind, and waves to wash the negativity away, the survivors in Building FF soon gave in to their darker emotions. It started as all problems do with the little things. People began to forget to seal food containers, common areas were left messy, and the employees responsible for making daily emergency calls stopped showing up. Before long, factions began to form inside, rules were made in a vain attempt to maintain order, resentments grew into accusations, and eventually revolt.

Some say that a small group of the survivors began using the others as fuel for the specially made Nuuskin machines, and they remain inside today, untouched by the ravages of time. Others claim that a few managed to connect the veil inside with one in another world or even space, sabotaging it after they left, and stranding the rest of their co-workers. Still other stories talk of cannibalism, and fabulous drilling machines. Whatever the fate of the survivors in Building FF, one thing in the stories is consistent, after 5 short years all the calls for help stopped, and the dream of the emergency paradise was over.

Still, with more and more new faces appearing on the island and some of the network running again, stories about Building FF are gaining popularity. There is talk about the rumbling of machines inside the ground near The Augustinian Cliffs, and places in the forest charged with so much energy that your hair stands on end. Some warn that these are signs that the survivors are getting ready to unleash their technology once again on the world. Others say the survivors are like animals who have lived in cages for too long, and are not able to enjoy the taste of freedom anymore. Rumors circulate that Building FF holds many treasures for those smart enough to find it, and foolish enough to tempt its curse, and the tainted people who might still live in its twisting tunnels. Whatever the truth, the story of Building FF remains a mystery for now, but who knows what the future might hold.

STORYLINE

The Legend of Lindy the Dancing Bear

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We Kanaka are natural storytellers. We teach our children about the island, our beliefs, and our history through our tales. While these stories cover many topics, the most common theme is respect for the land, and all the creatures that fly, swim, or walk upon it. It is this reverence for the Earth that has protected us from dabbling in the same kinds of endeavors that led to the great fracture. Our people learn from an early age that everything in nature has its place, and role to play. We have many stories that teach this lesson, but one of the most popular among the children is the legend of Lindy the Dancing Bear.

Lindy was a cub living in the Lahaina Zoo on the day of the fracture. While many animals suffered the same fate as people, those that survived found a better life than they had before. Without people driving their cars, polluting the air and water, or confining them with concrete, steel, and rope, the animals thrived. Many zoo animals experienced freedom, and the feel of soil beneath their feet for the first time in their lives, and they rejoiced. However, some people survived and brought with them their unnatural beliefs. Little Lindy never got a chance to revel in her freedom as the other zoo animals did because she was captured by the Tappers.

Tapper caves and dark buildings are not the places a young bear cub should grow up, but it was all Lindy knew. Worse still, something happened to the tiny bear during her Tapper training. Nobody knows if it was something the deranged dancers did or something caused by the fracture, but Lindy changed. She became smarter, more aware of her situation, making her more angry and more dangerous. The Tappers jumped for joy.

They fed her their enemies, the unrhythmic, and the plain. The dyed her hair audacious colors. They dressed her in sequenced outfits, poofy skirts, and frilly lace ruffs. They taught her their most deadly dances: the can-can, the hully gully, the shuffle, the mashed potato, the foxtrot, and worst of all, they taught her how to pogo through the innocent. They forced their fearful and fantastic beliefs on the growing bear, and Lindy was a fast learner.

Soon they started to bring the bear with them on their raids. Tapper attacks are terrifying and terrific enough on their own, but with the addition of a trained bear, they were unstoppable. Stories of Lindy charging into an unsuspecting village, balancing on her ball and mauling anyone too slow to get out of her way spread quickly. If that wasn’t bad enough, they continued to teach Lindy new terrible tricks, and worked on her battle choreography. One week she was doing handstands across the bodies of the fallen, and the next she was jumping a bloody rope through a Thriver outpost. Nobody was left out of the dancing bear’s reign of terror.

Unable to fight off the attacks by themselves, the Kanaka and the Thrivers arranged a meeting to figure out what to do. The Thrivers were worried that the Tappers would enlist other animals into their troupe, and teach Lindy more complex tricks. “What could we do against a herd of perniciously prancing ponies? What if they teach the bear to drive an ATV, or ride a motorcycle? We must focus on the Tappers themselves and not the bear during the next attack,” they said. The Kanaka disagreed. They had fought the Tappers many times before and survived. It was the bear that was the key. The fear it caused was contagious in battle, and they believed getting rid of Lindy was the key to victory. It was then that one elder Kanaka came up with a plan.

Although his village was destroyed, Paulele and a handful of others had survived a recent attack, and he believed he saw something in Lindy’s eyes, sorrow. He told everyone assembled that he could subdue the bear himself if they followed one simple rule, ignore Lindy. He would do the rest.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what village would be attacked next because the Tappers had been dancing a straight line across the island. Nonetheless, when Lindy came cha-chaing out of the forest, flanked by the frolicking fighters, it was almost more than the defenders could take. After a brief moment of hesitation, they remembered the plan, and ignored the bear as it shuffled into the heart of the village. While everyone fought to keep the Tappers out, a bewildered Lindy found herself face-to-face with the elderly Paulele.

Lindy roared and began a simple box step, but Paulele didn’t respond. She stood on her hind legs and spun around, yet the man remained unmoved. She did a somersault that ended just inches from the old Kanaka man’s face, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he reached out very calmly, unfastened the sparkling collar from her neck, and let it drop to the ground. The elder told Lindy that she should be free to roam the forest without having to wear costumes. He told her that she should be tearing apart logs, and looking for fish in the stream. She should be living as a bear, and not dancing for the Tappers. He offered her something she had never known her entire life, freedom.

Lindy could feel the truth in Paulele’s words and ran into the forest. The battle ended soon after. Lindy lived the rest of her life as a bear should, at peace in the wilds. She never wore another poofy skirt, or balanced on another ball. Some say she could still be seen dancing in the forest when the moon was full, but when she danced it was out of joy, and not hate.

STORYLINE

Lokelani: The Green Girl of Launiupoko Point

Of all the dangers in the forest, the most dangerous might be the green ladies. Whether they are feeding on a family, catching the unwary in the forest, or hunting a group of explorers, trying to make a better life for their people, there are lots of tales about them. One of my favorites is the story of the green girl Lokelani. Like all good stories it teaches you a lesson, that everyone gets to decide how they want to act when they grow up, even monsters.

The green girl didn’t know what she was, where she was, or that it was strange that she was born alone. She just knew that she was hungry, very hungry! She was the last of her garden-mates to leave her pod, a real late bloomer. Months before, her sisters left their birthing garden, and set out into the forest together to find food. Green ladies aren’t known to work in groups, but when they first blossom they usually travel together until they hunt down a good meal, and get a lay of the land. This little one was alone. Left to find food by herself.

Almost as soon as she heard the bird, she was mimicking its song. The first tasted good, but it was very small, and didn’t have much fluid inside. She drained over a dozen before her hunger began to subside. Over the next few months she studied the animals, copied their calls, learned how they acted, and where they ate and drink.

She soon learned that the birds along the beach were bigger and had more blood to drink, but were out in the open, a dangerous place for a little green girl to be. She watched how some of the other predators hunted, and she didn’t like what she saw. The wolves would chase terrified prey for hours sometimes, before dragging it down and ripping out the soft parts. The boars would bite the legs of deer and let the wounds fester before finishing off the sick animals days later. Her way was much better.

When she hunted something, it didn’t even know she was there before it was too late. She respected and honored everything she ate by draining it quickly, and making reassuring noises as she drank. She knew the sounds of every animal in forest or so she thought, until one day she spotted something she had never seen before, people.

At first she thought there were only two, one slightly smaller than she was, and a big one who was budding. It was only when the bud began to cry that she realized that the smallest was actually riding inside some sort of carrier. In some ways they looked like her. They had arms and legs, but they were a strange color and their head vines looked thin and weak. They were very careless to be out in the open, and making so much noise. She watched them pick up shells and shark teeth and put them in a bag. She wondered what they planned on doing with them. She knew from experience that you couldn’t eat them, even though they came from living things, they held no blood. She wondered what these strange animals where and what they tasted like, but she knew better than to leave the safety of the forest during the day. She would wait and watch.

After an hour or so the Kanaka girl walked towards the trees and the green girl’s vines shook in anticipation. Finally, she would get to see what these strange animals tasted like. She watched her weak legs, clumsily work their way through the sand. She couldn’t believe how loud and slow it was. Maybe something was wrong with it. Maybe it was sick. The green girl was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice that the Kanaka girl was looking right at her.

“I’m Ana,” it said. The green girl filled the air with a welcoming smell. “You smell like lokelani flowers. Is that your name?” asked the Kanka girl. Lokelani reached out and touched the girls arm. It was so soft that she knew she couldn’t drain this little thing, it just wouldn’t be right. There was much healthier game to be had. “I have to go but we’ll be back tomorrow if you want to play,” said the girl before she ran back towards her mother.

That night, as she gorged herself on a particularly large boar, Lokelani wondered why she hadn’t at least tasted the Kanaka girl. It would have been easy enough, but there was something about the way she had talked to her that she liked. None of the other animals had ever talked to her before. They just squealed, screamed, or chirped. She liked being talked to. She hoped she would see the strange little thing again.

That spring, the little girl and Lokelani became friends. The Kanaka girl would sneak to the forest many times a week while her mother collected things on the beach along Launiupoko Point. The girl told Lokelani about her people’s legends, stories of bravery, love, and sacrifice. They played hide and seek even though the Kanaka girl was terrible at it; she couldn’t even change the tint of her skin. Lokelani learned a lot about the little girl and her people, but wondered how they managed to survive.

One day, soon after the girl had left, Lokelani heard the mother scream, and she moved through trees to investigate. She saw that a bear was attacking the mother as her friend stood paralyzed with fear. Lokelani couldn’t believe how lucky she was! She’d heard countless stories about how tough the Kanaka were, and now she’d get to see it in person. However, things weren’t going well. Instead of cracking the bear’s skull with a newa club, or driving a spear into the beast’s chest, the mother was being mauled, and Lokelani knew her friend would be next.

Bears were big, and she normally wouldn’t have tried to take one on, but it was distracted, and there was something about the situation that made Lokelani feel strange. A burning sensation was building up inside her that she didn’t understand. She was mad, and she would make the bear pay for attacking such helpless creatures. Lokelani unleashed her fury on the bear before it knew what was happening. By the time it understood how much danger it was in, it was too late.

Lokelani had no idea she could be so full when it was over. She watched the wary mother make a splint for her injured leg, and mimicked her friends laughter in an attempt to reassure her, as she helped the mother to her feet. Despite her nature, the spirit of Aloha had taken over Lokelani’s cold green heart. She realized that the Kanaka’s power didn’t come from claws, teeth, great strength, or speed. Their power came from each other, and by helping them she had gained something that no Green Lady had ever had. She had friends, and that was a powerful thing indeed. In exchange for friendship, Lokelani would protect all the Kanaka around Launiupoko Point, and so it was until the little girl’s grandchildren grew into old women.

Akamai Mahelona
6th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina

STORYLINE

The Story of Miki the Helpful Menehune

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The Kanaka don’t teach their kids in the same way we do here in Pu’u. They use stories. Since they didn’t plan as well as people like my grandpa and his friends, they didn’t have safe places to live, food, water, and printers to make things like the Thrivers do here. Instead, the Kanaka had to rely on each other and their families to survive the big accident. They know that they have to count on everyone in their village if they’re going to make it, even if someone doesn’t always do a good job every time. Miki the Helpful Menehune is a story about not giving up on someone even when they disappoint you.

Lohi’s grandfather was one of the elders in her tiny village. Having lost her parents to Night Marchers when she was only two, her grandfather raised her as his own daughter. He thought it was important for Lohi to go on walks with him so she could learn the ways of the forest and see its dangers firsthand. It was on one of these walks that the pair heard a horrible noise coming from the ruins of some old houses.

Carefully they approached to find the scene of a shrig attack on a menehune den. One of the scintillating shrigs lay dead, surrounded by the bodies of many menehune. It looked like the creatures had killed each other and there were no survivors. Just as they were walking away they heard a shrill cry from behind them, and saw a very young menehune standing there. Lohi’s grandfather said it was too young to survive without its parents and they should leave it there, and let the jungle judge its worth, but Lohi couldn’t help but feel bad for the tiny thing.

As they walked home, Lohi noticed the menehune following them as best as it could. Its little legs were barely able to keep up, and it struggled up ravines and over logs, but it never gave up. She asked her Grandfather if they could take it to the village and help it until it was big enough to fend for itself. One look in her eyes, and her tutu knew it was no use in arguing with the girl. “If we take this menehune to the village it won’t learn what it needs to survive, and you will have to take care of it for the rest of its life. It will become part of the family. Do you understand,” he asked? Lohi shook her head yes. She named it Miki, and hugged her grandfather saying she would look after and feed it every day.

Many were not happy when Lohi and her grandfather returned with Miki. He screamed nonstop the first few weeks until Lohi found that he’d stop for a while if he could hold a set of old tools. He only screamed half the day after that. Feeding him was hard too. His teeth hadn’t come in yet and she had to feed him poi, and boiled fish every few hours to keep his hunger screams at a bay. Still Lohi never gave up on Miki and the two grew very close. But menehune grow up faster than people, and it wasn’t long before Miki started causing trouble in the village.

The menehune was fascinated with anything mechanical, especially anything that ran on electricity. Overhearing one of the hunters talk about how the village guns were in desperate need of repair one day, Lohi got an idea. She’d sneak out after bed with Miki and they’d fix all the guns. The others would be so happy when they saw what she and Miki had done, they’d stop shooing him away from the houses, and saying bad things about him. She asked Miki if he could do it and his little body shook in excitement. He screamed with joy, but things didn’t go quite as planned.

Miki took everything apart at lightning speed, but he didn’t seem to know what to do next, and neither did Lohi. Her grandfather grounded both of them, and it took days to put the village armory back together again. But Lohi didn’t give up. When she let Miki try to upgrade the village’s solar panels a few weeks later, he covered them in paint and they both had to tend to the composting pile for a week for punishment. When Miki ruined half the village’s batteries while trying to charge them, and accidentally electrified the front door, Lohi’s grandfather had enough. He took away Miki’s tools and told Lohi that she would have to get rid of the menehune if he got into any more trouble.

Everyone in the village was already upset because of a long drought, and Miki’s “help” was not appreciated. Many, including Lohi’s grandfather, were worried because they didn’t have enough water to irrigate the crops, and it looked like a long hungry winter was on the way. When the village well dried up, panic struck the Kanaka. Getting through a season of poor crops was one thing, but they couldn’t survive without water. The people had to think about the possibility of braving the dangers of the forest in search of water and moving the entire village.

But Lohi had a plan. Even though her grandfather told her Miki wasn’t supposed to try and fix anything again, she knew that if they got the old desalinator working again they could stay where they were, and they might even save the taro. She got Miki’s tools from where her grandfather hid them and asked the menehune if he could fix the machine. Miki threw his screwdriver he was so excited and screamed with confidence.

The next morning while everyone was gathered to talk about what they were going to do, Lohi showed up with a glass of water, and Miki yelping in delight behind her. She said, “They may disappoint you, by not always doing the right thing, they may even make you angry sometimes, but a Kanaka should never give up on their family. Even though you all did, I never gave up on Miki and now he’s fixed the desalinator. We don’t have to go anywhere.” Everyone cheered, and from that day on he was known as Miki the Helpful Menehune, even though he probably went on to break a lot more stuff.

Akamai Mahelona
4th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina

STORYLINE

Lawai’a and the Whale

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Even though many of them are sick from the big accident, the Kānaka are really good hunters and fisherman. They are also great storytellers. They use their stories to help remember people who have died and to teach lessons. One of my favorites is the story of Lawai’a and the Whale. It is probably based on a real person but parts of it seem a little fishy to me.

The Kānaka have a long history of being excellent canoe builders but none of them were as good as Lawai’a. His long canoes were just as straight and strong as the short ones, and they could handle even the biggest waves. Nobody wants to go far out to sea, but if you had to, you wanted to be in a canoe that Lawai’a built.

Lawai’a took pride in his creations, but what he really wanted was to be a good fisherman. You see, while he was easily the best canoe builder on the whole island, maybe ever, he was a terrible fisherman. In fact, Lawai’a had never caught a fish or crab in his entire life. Even when he was asked to collect limpets from the rocks he came back with the smallest basket. All of the fishermen wanted one of his canoes, but none wanted to go fishing with him. As far as they were concerned he was cursed. He would spend every day the same way, building canoes in his shop by himself, and dreaming of becoming a fisherman.

The fracture didn’t just kill things on the land, it devastated the waters too. After the accident most of the big fish disappeared and the Kānaka had to live on crabs, small reef fish, and the occasional big prize that would swim too close to shore looking for food.

One spring the fishing was particularly bad, and the people worried that they might not get enough food to make it through the summer. What little hope they had disappeared when they saw the whale. Nobody had seen one since the day everything stopped working. The villagers knew that the whale would eat all the little fish they depended on. They were scared and didn’t know what to do. But Lawai’a said he had a plan.

He said he had an old harpoon that he found in the ruins of the whaler’s village to the North. He would take his biggest and strongest canoe out past the reef and kill the whale. The fishermen thought he was crazy but they didn’t have a better plan. The villagers wished him luck, and had a big party before sending him off. Nobody expected to see him again.

It didn’t take Lawai’a long to find the giant beast. He watched it herd the fish into tight balls before diving beneath and engulfing the whole school with its gigantic mouth. The closer he got the more he shook in fear, but he knew that everyone was counting on him so he tried to be brave. He finally got close enough and let the harpoon go. Lawai’a very first throw was true and it hit the whale mid-tail. The big animal sped off out to sea and the coiled rope hissed at it spun out. In less than a minute the rope went taught and the canoe lurched forward knocking Lawai’a down. He was speeding out to sea.
Lawai’a stayed attached to the whale for 3 days. They went around islands and over reefs. The whale tried diving deep and sinking the canoe but Lawai’a had brought enough rope for even the deepest spots. They swam through a storm but even crashing down the biggest waves wasn’t enough to loosen the harpoon. Finally the whale was getting tired and asked Lawai’a why he had stabbed him.

Lawai’a told the whale about how hungry the Kānaka were and about how bad the fishing had become. The whale listened to Lawai’a and offered him a deal. If he promised to remove the harpoon, the whale would promise to not come back to the Kānaka’s fishing grounds, and he would teach Lawai’a how to find and catch fish. Lawai’a thought about it, looked at how little water he had left to drink, and agreed.

The first day, the whale showed Lawai’a were the black crabs lived now and how to catch them. Lawai’a filled a third of his canoe full of them. He told the whale how he chose which trees would make the best canoes. He talked about which chisels he liked best and how to make lacquer while they looked for crabs.

On the second day, the whale explained how smart the octopus had become since the fracture. He taught Lawai’a how to disguise his traps with shells the same way the Kānaka still do today. By that evening another third of the canoe was filled with food. Lawai’a told the whale about his family and the first girl he loved. He talked about how his father taught him his craft and how he still dreamed of his mother’s cooking.

The third day, the whale explained that a deep canyon had formed after the accident and that the butterfish now swam there. He took Lawai’a to a good place to fish for them, and before long they had caught a dozen. Unfortunately, the canoe was becoming so full that there wasn’t much room for the Lawai’a. The whale saw this and offered to help again. He told Lawai’a that he could keep fishing until his canoe was completely full and he could sleep on the whale’s back that evening. Lawai’a agreed.

That night as the whale swam back to the village Lawai’a sat and looked at his full canoe in the moonlight. He wondered if it would be enough to get invited on fishing trips in the future. He told the whale how all the other fishermen thought he was cursed. The whale told him about his life and the secrets of the sea. All through the night the pair shared stories.

As the sun rose they saw people already casting nets in the surf. The whale told Lawai’a that its name was Hilina`i and that if he ever needed help again to paddle out to where they met and call his name. Lawai’a thanked him and plunged his harpoon into the whales blowhole.

The villagers could barely believe their eyes. Not only had Lawai’a killed the whale, but he had ridden him into shore with a canoe full of food behind him. Lawai’a told them what he had learned. The Kānaka divided the whale and all the rest he brought in the canoe. From that day on Lawai’a was known as the best fisherman on the island.

For the rest of his life Lawai’a would go out every week to the spot where he had met the whale and call the animal’s name. While he got his wish and was now also known as the greatest fisherman of all time, he still wasn’t invited to go on trips. The other fisherman were scared he would show them up or worse, they’d have a bad catch while fishing with the legend he had become. Lawai’a hoped that one day Hilina`i’s spirit would answer his call for help. He longed for those days they spent together fishing and talking. Lawai’a learned that what he had really wanted all those years wasn’t to be known as a good fisherman, it was to have someone he could call a friend.

Akamai Mahelona
4th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina

STORYLINE

Little Lili and the Lava Flow

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Right after the big accident people like my grandpa had to work hard to find enough food, water, and medicine. It was tough, but they made it. By working together people survived by getting the generators working again, fixing some of the machines, and making guns to protect themselves. But machines breakdown and guns need new parts. At first it was easy to find parts or find things to recycle to fix the generators, but eventually all the good parts got used. Even the Kanaka were running short on batteries. It was then that people started digging for metals and minerals to make parts and fix things. One of the best places to look was also one of the most dangerous, the active lava flows. This is the story of one of the best mineral collectors ever, a Kanka boy named Little Lili. It shows that everyone can contribute, and that sometimes the things you think are bad about yourself can actually be really good.

Little Lili grew up with his mom in a village near Black Rock Beach. Lili’s dad was killed by a green lady before he was born, and his mom worried all the time because he was always sick. They didn’t have much because the medicine he needed was expensive. Lili felt bad because his mom worked so hard, and almost everything she made, traded, or found went to take care of him but she always smiled and said, “there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my little Lili!”

When he got older he decided it was time to go out and pull his own weight, so his mom wouldn’t have to struggle. But Lili was barely bigger than a child, and Kanaka work is hard. First he tried fishing but he could barely lift the nets. It took all of his strength just to push them out of the boat. When a big wave came Lili fell in the water and got tangled. The fishermen laughed and brought him home caught up in the net. As his mom cut him out, he apologized, but his mom just said, “there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my little Lili!”

Next he tried hunting, but he was too little for that too. The bow was bigger than he was, and he could only throw a spear a few feet. When he was checking one of the pit traps he fell in and was too short to reach the safety rope. The other hunters laughed, and left him there. It was hours before his mom showed up. He said he was sorry that she had to walk all the way out to help him but she just said, “there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my little Lili!”

When he walked to the Kapu Kuialua Dojo, and told them that he wanted to be one of the elite Koa warriors they just laughed. But one of the masters was kind, and offered him a job cleaning up around The Mission. It barely paid enough for dried fish and clean water, but it was a start. It was there, surrounded by the old books, and listening to the old stories, that Lili came up with a plan that would change his life.

Lili learned that the Earth produces minerals just like plants produce fruit. One of the best places to find metal and mineral deposits was where the ground is the newest, the lava fields. But there was a reason not many ventured out near the active flows. Not only did you have to worry about the heat, but it was filled with fissures, and hills with thin crusts leading into deep lava tubes. It was dangerous but it was filled with nickel, zinc, copper, and other metals that were very valuable.

While his size kept him from being a good hunter or fisherman, it was perfect for getting around near the flow. He was light enough not to fall through the thin crust around the magma bubbles, and small enough to slip into fissures and climb into tubes where nobody else could reach. Before long he was one of the most successful mineral hunters on the island. What he couldn’t trade to the Kanaka, he would sell to the people of Pu’u, and he became very wealthy.

Months later, his mother received a message that Lili needed her. Figuring that he was in trouble again, she hurried to The Mission. When she arrived she was met by finely dressed Kanaka who took her to a large house. It was beautiful, with intricate wood carvings, roasting pits filled with boar, and bowls of fresh fruit. As she looked around Lili came up beside her. She asked who could afford such a lavish house. Lili just smiled and said, “We can.” She could hardly believe her eyes, or her ears, when he explained what he was doing. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for her son, but said she could not allow him to keep doing something so dangerous for her. Before she could protest anymore Lili hugged her tight and said, “there’s nothing your little Lili wouldn’t do for you.”

Akamai Mahelona
4th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina