When Water Burns

by Lani Wendt Young

  Leila made room for him beside her and he put an arm around her as she leaned into his chest. Listening. “There it is. Your heartbeat. It’s so strong. Soothing. It always reassures me. Calms me.”

  He grinned down at her, placed a kiss on her hair, breathed deeply of her scent. “This isn’t the way I imagined our first time in the same bed together.”

  She answered with a shy smile, “I’d love to hear how you did imagine it.”

  “No way. We’re not going there. The nurse said no excitement.”

  She gazed up at him, “Can you at least tell me again how you’re going to propose to me one day? I was a little out of it and didn’t catch all the details.”

  Daniel ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling at it in that embarrassed gesture she knew so well. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

  “Why not?” She faked a horrified expression. “Was that proposal meant for some other girl?”

  “No, you flamehead. But it was meant to be a surprise. A beautiful, romantic surprise proposal.”

  She snuggled closer into him. “I love surprises. Tell me it now so I can practice being surprised. Go on. I just woke up from the edge of death. I’m sure you’re supposed to be super nice to people who just wake up from comas.”

  “Alright. But only because you’re a recently awoken coma girl. That’s all.” Moonlight danced through the window as Daniel proceeded to tell her again, all about how he wanted to ask her to spend forever with him.

  And Leila listened with a sleepy smile. And when he was finished, she asked, “What about the wedding? Where are we going to get married? Tell me the story.”

  A tropical breeze danced through the open window on a star-spangled Samoan night as Daniel told Leila a story of a wedding. “On the other side of the main island of Upolu, at the end of a weather-beaten track through the rainforest, there is a secluded beach that very few know of. It’s a narrow strip of powder-white sand, fringed with rainforest and there’s a river that meets the ocean there. The beach looks out to a small island, Nu’u I’a Sa. The Island of the Sacred Fish. We’ll get married on that beach, just as the sun is setting. Mama will be there. Your aunt and uncle. A few of our friends. You’ll be wearing a dress made by Simone. Of course.”

  With her eyes fighting to stay open, Leila laughed softly. “Of course.”

  Daniel continued, “But nothing too fancy. And definitely nothing with gold bodypaint. Just you in a simple, white elei dress and barefoot in the sand. With your hair down. Trailing with white ginger flowers.”

  “And how about you? What will you be wearing?”

  A shrug, “I don’t know. Clothes.”

  “A black lavalava and a white elei shirt. Like that night when you took me to dinner after the Culture Dance performance.”

  He kissed her hair. “Fine.”

  She interrupted. Again. “Can there be candles? All over the sand? And some floating ones in the water?”

  He frowned. “Alright. But not too many. It will be a full moon and the stars will be out, more than enough light. Now stop interrupting my story.”

  “Sorry.” She snuggled into him again. He ran his fingers through her hair and she sighed with contentment. Sleep was calling her.

  His voice dropped to a low timbre, “So we’ll be married on the beach and then everyone will congratulate us and go home. Immediately. And then we’ll get into a canoe.”

  She mumbled, “Which will have flower petals all over it. And some candles on it.”

  He rolled his eyes, “Okay. Flowers and candles. And I’ll paddle us to the little island where we will be completely alone. There’s a small fale beach house there, overlooking the cove. It’s got a bed and a mosquito net. A lantern.”

  Her eyes were closed but she was still with him, “And pie. Matile’s pineapple pie. Ice cold vai tipolo lemonade.”

  He grinned, shaking his head at her, “Yes, there’s food. I wouldn’t dream of taking you on a honeymoon on a deserted island without any food.”

  A happy sigh. “Keep going. This is the best bit. This is where I finally get to love you in all the ways that I’ve dreamed about.” She prompted, “And then?”

  “And then Daniel and Leila live happily ever after.” He teased, waiting for her to protest. But there was no response. He looked down. She was asleep in his arms. Daniel held her, watched her breathe. Gratitude. Joy. Peace.

  Music seemed to be the only way to express what he was feeling. Soft and low, he sang to Leila in the moonlight. As the river flows, gently to the sea, darling so we go, some things were meant to be. Take my hand. Take my whole life too. But I can’t help falling in love with you.

  And slowly, slowly – with Leila safe in his arms, he fell asleep.

  Perfect moments. They’re rare, few and far between. Hold them close when you find them. They will give you strength when the storm comes.

  The Bone that Lesina had returned sat on the bedside table.

  Sometime in the night, the smile on Leila’s face faded. It was replaced with an uneasy frown. She shifted in her sleep, whimpered as if caught in the clutches of a nightmare. The Bone began to glow. Emanate a fiery orange light. Leila’s tattoos answered.

  And then her eyes flickered open. They glowed with the intensity of a millennia of powerless fury. The woman who lay cradled in Daniel’s arms smiled into the darkness and whispered softly,

  “At last. I am free.”

  The End

  An excerpt from the third book in the Telesā Trilogy

  by

  Lani Wendt Young

  The Legend of Pele, the Fire Goddess – as told by the Telesā

  Pele was born in the islands of Hawaii, an Ungifted daughter of Noalani – a legendary telesā fanua afi. Noalani was the Covenant Keeper for the ruling fanua afi in the Pacific and, as such, the holder of the Tangaloa Covenant Bone. Noalani hoped, watched, and waited for her daughter’s Gift to manifest. But her hopes were in vain. Pele grew to womanhood and only demonstrated a whisper of fanua afi capabilities, barely a spark next to the raging fire that was her mother. According to the Telesā custom, Noalani should have sent her away. Given her to a good mother to raise so she could find a place in the world. As a healer, a wife, a mother. So she could find happiness. But Noalani loved her daughter too much. She could not bear to part with her and so she kept her with the Fanua Afi Sisterhood. In this, Noalani did her a great cruelty because Pele grew up a stranger amongst her own kind. As a child, Pele was scorned by her sisters. Pitied by her elders and mocked by her community, who knew that she was a fanua afi without fire.

  Racked with guilt and sorrow for her daughter’s pain, Noalani did the unthinkable. She gave the Tangaloa Bone to Pele and showed her how to use it to take the Gift – and thus the life – of one of the youngest and newest telesā fanua afi. An orphan child who “noone would miss.”

  “There my daughter. Now you have the Gift of fanua afi and you can walk proudly amongst your sisters. Put aside your sorrow. Embrace who you are. My daughter.”

  For a time, Pele was content to be the same as her sisters. But like a tree maggot, the hunger for power ate at her soul. She nurtured a growing hatred for her sisters, they who had scorned her, mocked her, pitied her. Her hatred drove her to do the unthinkable. She took the Tangaloa Bone without her mother’s knowledge and secretly used it on another young girl in the village. And then another. The string of mysterious deaths had the whole island puzzled. Who was killing their daughters?

  Suspicion grew in Noalani, a tree fern unfurling its leaves in the sun. She confronted her daughter. Noone knows exactly how it happened, but Pele stole her mother’s Gift. And her life. The girl who had begun life as the weakest among them was now the strongest telesā fanua afi in Hawaii. She could have been the Covenant Keeper. There were none who dared to oppose her. But Pele did not want to belong to a family that had rejected her. She did not want to belong to a sisterhood. She wanted everyone to suffer for the years of pain she had endured. Vengea
nce was her enduring thirst.

  And thus began the Time of Darkness in Pacific telesā history. Pele killed off all the telesā fanua afi one by one. But she was not content to stop there. She wanted to rid the world of every fanua afi in existence. She hunted them in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and Tahiti. And with each kill, her powers grew. She turned her attention to the other elements. Using the Tangaloa Bone, she then hunted the vasa loloa and matagi who dared to oppose her. It was a time of fear, suspicion, and distrust.

  But Pele’s unquenchable thirst for power proved to be her undoing. She stole so much of the Earth’s raw power that a body of flesh and blood could no longer contain it. One crimson-spangled day, Pele erupted into flame and her body was no more. Her spirit fused with the very heart of the volcano she ignited and the earth’s fierycore enveloped her and would not release her. She was bound forever to the earth from which she had stolen.

  She lives still. In raging rivers of molten red lava. In shimmering bursts of cindered light. In the raging violence of earthquakes.

  She is Pele, the Fire Goddess, and she festers beneath the surface of the earth. Brooding, innately powerful, but forever wanting that which she cannot have.

  A body.

  They say that the Pacific Council of telesā met after Pele’s death. The Council agreed that the Covenant Bone must never be held by any single telesā again, the lure of its power too great. It must be protected from the powerseekers and instead secreted away for the time spoken of in prophecy, when the Bone would be used to bring together all telesā as one heart and one mind. The Bone was broken into three pieces and given to three chosen telesā to safeguard.

  The elements of Air, Fire, and Water – forever separated.

  Waiting for the coming of the Bone Bearer.

  In Samoa, the heat arrives before the fullness of the morning sun. Seeping in softly through the screened windows, wet in its humid embrace. Eight o’clock and sweat was already staining the uniform of the grim-faced nurse as she stood in the doorway, shaking her head at the couple that lay on the bed, entwined in each other’s arms. Asleep.

  Roughly she shook the boy first. He awoke instantly with a start. “What is it? Leila? Is she alright?”

  Calm replaced the panic as he gazed at the girl asleep in his arms. Safe. Alive. And well. The nurse was not happy. “What are you doing in here? This is against hospital policy.”

  “Shh…” Daniel slowly arose from the bed, gently loosening from Leila’s embrace. Still she slept. He gave the angry nurse a grin and walked her away from the bed, out into the hall. “What is? This? Patients having their family spend the night at the hospital with them?”

  He nodded across the hall where other patients slept in a line of beds. And beside them on mats on the floor, slept their family, keeping them company. Because no self-respecting Samoan ever let a family member stay in hospital without someone to sleep alongside them.

  The nurse frowned even more. “It’s not right for you to be here all the time with her. Are you this girl’s family? No you’re not.”

  Daniel was about to say, ‘Yes I am. She’s my fiancée.’ When a muffled gasp from the room interrupted them. He spun around. Leila was sitting up in the bed, looking at them with mingled fear and confusion. He smiled. Pale, rumpled, and wearing a dingy hospital gown – she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

  “Hey you. You’re awake.” He went to hug her and she shrank back from his touch.

  “Who are you? What is this place?” Her look of fear had him slowly releasing her. He sat beside her on the bed and spoke soft and slow. Calming.

  “Babe, it’s me, Daniel. You’re in the hospital. Remember? You’ve been in a coma for a week and you woke up yesterday. I must have fallen asleep holding you last night.” A reassuring smile. A nod at the sour nurse. “This nice nurse is here to check on you. Make sure everything is alright.” He gave Leila a nudge with his shoulder and leant in close to whisper with a lighthearted tone, “She’s been giving me a hard time about staying with you because I’m not family. I was about to tell her that we’re closer than family. I’m your Vasa Loloa and you’re my Fanua Afi.”

  But there was no answering smile on Leila’s face. She shook her head, terror in her voice, her face, her body. “What are you talking about? I don’t know you. Where’s my Dad? I want my father. I don’t know this place. Somebody help me! Get away from me.”

  Leila pushed against him, eyes wild with fear. Daniel stared in horror as she started thrashing and screaming, pulling at the wires and tubes that connected her to the monitors. The nurse shouted for help. Two more nurses came running in, pushing past Daniel, curt and efficient.

  “Move. Out of the way.” With quick precision two nurses restrained Leila while the other gave her a shot of something in her IV line. They soothed her with professional ease. “It’s alright. We’re here to help you. You’re in a hospital, you’ve been sick and you’re just a little confused. Calm down. No-one is going to hurt you.”

  Whatever they had given her worked quickly because in a few minutes Leila’s body relaxed and she sank back onto the bed with a weary sigh. Her eyes were glazed and her speech slurred as she asked the nurses, “I want my Dad. Please can you get my Dad?”

  “Of course we will. You just rest now and he will be here soon.” said one. The other took Daniel to the side, “Where’s her father? You better call him that she’s awake and asking for him.”

  Daniel shrugged helplessly. He whispered, “I can’t. Her father’s dead. He died two years ago. She knows that already.” He glanced at the drugged girl on the bed. “Well, she knew that before she got hurt. I don’t understand. What’s happening? She didn’t know me.”

  “Shh…we’ll talk outside. Come.” A nurse took him outside into the hall. “The doctor warned you that she might have compromised brain function when she regained consciousness, didn’t he?”

  Daniel interrupted, “Yes but he said she might be a little confused. Disoriented. Not this. She has no clue who the hell I am! She looked at me like I was a complete stranger. Last night when she first woke up, she was different. She was fine. She knew me. She loved me. Dammit, what’s going on?” His voice rose to a shout. He was battling for composure.

  “Daniel? What is going on here?” The stern voice of disapproval startled him. “Why are you speaking with such disrespect to this nurse?”

  He turned and wilted with relief. It was Salamasina, frowning at him. “Oh Mama, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  He swept the old woman into a fierce hug. He was tired, hungry and beaten. “It’s Leila.” His voice caught and his grandmother instantly assumed the worst.

  “Oh no, my son. I’m so sorry.” The compassion on her face was genuine. Daniel rushed to correct her.

  “No, no she’s okay. Leila’s awake Mama.”

  “That’s wonderful news. I don’t understand, what’s the problem then?”

  “She’s awake but she doesn’t know me. She can’t remember anything about what happened and she doesn’t recognize me.” Shoulders slumped; he sank into a chair in the corridor, face in his hands.

  “This is a foolish reaction don’t you think?” Her lips pursed in disapproval as she sat beside him, an arm around him. “The important thing is that she is going to be alright. There will be plenty of time for you two to catch up. You must be patient my son. And remember, she will need you more than ever as she recuperates. Now is not the time to be discouraged. Or to be selfish.”

  A deep breath. “You’re right, Mama. As always.” A half-smile. “What matters is that Leila is awake. And she’s going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine now.”

  “Yes, so maybe now you will consider getting some rest? You can’t keep going like this. I’m going to take you home for a good meal and a sleep. You can come back tonight.”

  Together they stood and Salamasina took the opportunity to take her son in her arms. A rare moment to hold the boy that had always been her reason for living. S
he felt tears burn her eyes. Daniel pulled away.

  “Thank you Mama for being here. And supporting me, I know you’ve never been happy about me and Leila.”

  “I don’t think any mother ever thinks any girl is good enough for her son. Don’t worry about my feelings. I only want you to be happy.” She smiled up at him, seeing him as the little boy that he used to be. Daniel caught the glint of tears.

  “Mama, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing son. I was just remembering…when you were a little boy, you would hug me and promise me I’m never going to grow up Mama. I’m going to be your little boy forever.” Tears broke free. “Sometimes I wish you were that little boy again. And for always.”

  “Oh Mama, of course I love you. Even if I’m not your little boy anymore.” He bent to kiss her forehead. “I’m just going to say goodbye, let her know that I’m leaving.”

  “Of course. Give me some time to go find her doctors. I want to see what they have to say about this latest development.” One last quick hug and Daniel went into Leila’s room where a nurse fussed with charts and meds.

  She looked up as he walked in. “The drugs have calmed her a bit. We don’t want her to be agitated though so please, just a quick visit. She’s still trying to process everything, so no big revelations or any more information about anything alright? It will only add to the sensory overload. There will be plenty of time for that sort of thing in the days to come.” She left him with that last warning.

  Leila lay in the bed staring out the window.

  “Leila?”

  She turned to his voice. Slowly. She was crying and the look in her eyes caught and held him captive. They were the eyes of a child, lost and afraid. “Where’s my Dad? Why isn’t he here? I need him. He’s the only one that loves me. The only one who understands me.”

  Three steps and he was kneeling at her bedside, holding her hand in his, choking on emotions. “I’m so sorry, he’s been delayed. But I’m going to stay with you until he gets here.” The lies tasted like broken coral in his mouth. “I’m going to stay right here. Right beside you.”