by Joanna Orwin
Taka watched Matu slouch off, his shoulders hunched. He almost felt sorry for him.
Kai joined him. ‘Explains a lot.’ He nodded towards Matu, now a distant figure at the far end of the landing place. He was hurling stones into the water.
Taka was contrasting the Hara headman’s tactics with how Moho would have handled things. The Ra-Repo dance master had not once shown him up in front of the other dancers, yet he knew his father had good reason to be displeased with his maverick attitude. So far as he could tell, Matu hadn’t done anything to justify such unrelenting criticism. Taka wished he’d appreciated his father’s even-handedness when he’d had the chance, instead of resenting the restrictions he imposed. It was too late now. He pushed the sobering thought away. ‘Why would Tarapu humiliate his own nephew like that?’
‘Who knows?’ Kai shrugged. ‘But it goes a long way towards explaining why Matu was so wary when we tried to pick his brains about moki. He must’ve thought we were looking for a chance to put him down.’
Taka’s sympathy didn’t last long. The following evening, when they returned to their compound after a day of practising their new technique on the water, trying to co-ordinate their control of the large moki, Matu soon reverted to type.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it! Going round in circles like a one-footed duck. Anyone would think you lot had never paddled a moki before.’
‘That’s true for me and Taka,’ said Kai, ignoring the insult. ‘Our waterways are narrow, so we mostly pole our moki — and they’re small.’
Matu snorted. ‘I don’t know what the Wise Ones were thinking, choosing such useless Travellers. Repo dancers — Tanga protect me!’
‘Mind how you invoke the gods.’ Taka glowered at Matu, then made the demon-averting sign. ‘Who are you anyway, to question the Wise Ones?’
Piko drawled, ‘Aren’t you both forgetting Something? We’re probably the best of a bad lot. As I recall, the actual Choosing was random.’
‘That’s debatable.’ Kai’s tone was neutral. ‘It’s not really the point, though.’ He turned to the Hara youth. ‘Instead of criticizing the rest of us for lacking your skill, how about coming up with some ways of speeding up our learning?’
Matu frowned. Taka could see his dawning suspicion that this Kai had an uncanny knack of deflating his bluster. Then he shrugged, unable to resist the flattery. ‘Could do, I suppose. But you’ll have to accept me as leader, take directions from me.’
‘As lead paddler?’ Kai went on smoothly before Matu could find the words to correct him. ‘Why not? Everyone happy with that?’ He looked around the group, his eyebrows raised, the picture of innocence.
Just as Taka was admiring his cousin’s clever diplomacy, Piko said, ‘Why not indeed?’ The long planes of his face were transformed by a grin. ‘We’re all in the same boat, after all.’
The others laughed. When even Matu grinned reluctantly, the tension dissolved. But Taka suspected it wouldn’t be long before the Hara youth tried again to exert his dominance, at least when the Hara headman wasn’t present.
Later that night, as he was drifting on the weightless edge of sleep, he remembered that odd remark Kai made about the Choosing not being random. It jerked him awake. What did he mean? Taka could still feel the texture of those slightly pitted, rounded pebbles. He hadn’t been able to distinguish one from the other. If there had been any guidance, it could only have come from Tanga himself.
Once Matu was seated at the stern of the moki, calling the stroke and providing steerage, they made better progress. At last Tarapu was satisfied and left them to it, saying they should continue to spend hours on the water practising their improving skills. He didn’t bother acknowledging that his nephew’s new role was making the difference. Matu stared off into the distance, a scowl darkening his face, while Tarapu praised everyone but him.
After the headman had gone, Kai said to him quietly, ‘Let’s just get on with it. What you’re doing really helps.’
For a moment, Matu didn’t respond. Then he nodded and gruffly told them to take up their paddles again. It wasn’t long before he was concentrating on how to get the best performance out of them. But his peremptory tone continued to rile Taka, and it was all he could do to keep his mouth shut when Matu ordered them to change places so he could experiment with the pairs of paddlers, trying different combinations.
He placed Taka in the prow so Kota, sitting behind him, could follow his movements, then did the same with Kai and Piko sitting behind the front pair. After that, they managed more often than not to paddle in a straight line and even pick up some speed. At the end of a particularly successful session, Matu actually acknowledged that both Repo youths had a good sense of timing and control.
Taka couldn’t resist. ‘So, Repo dancers have some uses after all?’
Matu shrugged. ‘Don’t get too cocky. Even a three-year-old could learn to paddle on the calm waters of this estuary. It’ll be a different story on the open sea.’
‘Too true,’ said Kai. ‘None of us — not even you — has any idea how we’ll go out there.’
Matu’s head came up, and for a moment Taka thought he was going to challenge Kai. He waited expectantly, but the Hara youth set his jaw and said nothing, then turned away and busied himself with stowing the paddles.
Nobody else said anything, but their expressions were glum. Taka could see their hard-won confidence leaking away like water trickling from a broken gourd.
Then Kota’s face creased in that gentle smile of his. ‘A day at a time, a day at a time. Let’s leave the future to the gods.’
‘Good thinking.’ Taka seized on his words with relief. ‘With Tanga’s protection, we’re bound to succeed.’
Piko raised no objections, which must mean he wasn’t a Hou sky-talker convert. That was a relief. But Taka saw Kai’s expression go blank and felt his heart sink. Nothing had changed. His cousin still didn’t credit the gods with any role in their venture. That reminded him: he hadn’t yet tackled Kai about the Choosing. He held him back. ‘I need to talk to you.’
When the others were far enough ahead to be out of earshot, he asked, ‘What was all that the other night, about the Choosing?’
For a moment Kai pretended he had no idea what his cousin was talking about. But when Taka stared at him steadily, not saying another word, he relented. ‘It stands to reason, doesn’t it? If the Choosing was random, some of our most useful people would be sacrificed. Why would the Wise Ones want that?’
Taka frowned. ‘I did once think the Travellers must be selected, for that very reason. Until Moho told me otherwise. But we do seem a totally random bunch. Why us in particular?’
‘Think about it,’ said Kai. ‘We’re all misfits in some way.’ As he made each point he ticked it off on his fingers. ‘Matu’s an insecure bully. You’re not a team player, always ignoring the traditions, wanting to go your own way. I don’t know the other two well enough yet, but I suspect Piko’s a bit too smart and Kota’s a bit too placid. As for the other Travellers, I’m sure there were equally good reasons to weed them out.’
Taka wasn’t convinced. ‘What about you then? You’re a headman’s son with everything it takes to be a leader. I don’t see where you fit this scenario.’
‘Even you’ve noticed I’m not entirely comfortable about some of our beliefs.’ Kai shook his head. ‘Don’t deny you’ve been testing me — you’re not that subtle. And if you’ve spotted my doubts, presumably more influential people have also.’
Taka still wasn’t convinced. ‘Why would that penalize you? My own father’s attitude isn’t that different to yours.’
‘Maybe, when it comes to practicalities,’ said Kai. ‘But maybe I’ve taken it too far, questioned too much. Doubters can be seen as a threat.’
This was getting too deep for Taka. He changed tack. ‘Even if you’re right, I don’t see how the Wise Ones could influence who chose the white pebbles. I couldn’t detect any difference.’
‘Th
at’s easy,’ said Kai. ‘If we were pre-selected, all they had to do was make sure the baskets offered to us contained nothing but white pebbles. Don’t forget we were blindfolded — and drugged.’
When Taka stared at him, momentarily stunned, Kai slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about it. Makes no difference really, how we were selected. We were, and we’ve just got to make the most of it.’
Taka was only too aware of the white pebble he’d tucked reverently away in his pouch with the amulets his grandmother had given him. That pebble was the one sign he’d had no doubts about, the sign that the gods had chosen him, Taka. He could feel its hard shape digging into his belly. His voice rough, he said, ‘Think what you like. It doesn’t alter anything. This voyage is god-directed.’
Kai lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘We certainly need all the help we can get. I’m happy to accept Tanga’s protection.’
‘That’s big of you.’ Taka glared at him, then turned on his heel. He hadn’t gone far before he turned around and shouted Something else. ‘Think I don’t know when I’m being patronized?’
Just before the sun set, he went alone down to the landing place. Slowly, he opened his pouch, took the pebble out and stared at it, lying on his hand as it had at the Choosing. It looked ordinary now. A dull, white river-rounded stone, flecked with quartz. Kai had succeeded in destroying its magic. On an impulse, he hurled it as far out over the water as he could. He watched the ripples spread, bright, sun-lit lines that cut across the black reflection of the sacred mountain, lightning flashes that matched his anger.
Chapter 8
Collect your belongings and prepare to leave.’ Tarapu told them they had made enough progress on the easy waters of the Ra-Hou lagoon. ‘You’ll continue practising on the more challenging currents of the river at Hara while we start work on designing and constructing the ocean-going moki.’
As the Travellers returned to the guest hut to pack, Taka looked for an opportunity to settle things with Kai. His cousin had tiptoed around him all morning, not realizing he was already forgiven. Taka knew there was no point resenting Kai for voicing his opinions — it was his own fault for asking. He enjoyed seeing him eat humble pie, but the novelty soon worn off. As soon as they reached a suitable spot, he hooked Kai’s ankle with his foot and tipped him off the path into a patch of thistles, then flung himself on top of him, intent on wrestling the last traces of anger out of his system. At first, Kai lay underneath him without struggling until the gleam in Taka’s eye brought him to his senses and he fought back with increasing vigour. When they at last rose to their feet and brushed off the sand and thistle chaff, the tension between them had gone.
Back at the settlement, Taka rolled his cloak and spare loincloth inside his sleeping mat, then fastened the carrying straps. Ready for the next new challenge, he couldn’t help letting anticipation rise like bubbles in a freshwater spring. He hadn’t visited Hara before. The only negative was that they would be on Matu’s home patch. ‘That big oaf’s bound to be a real pain at Hara.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Kai absently. He was tucking a finely woven headband into his waist pouch.
Taka recognized it as Hara workmanship. Poa must have given it to him as a keepsake. He felt sad for his cousin and Matu’s sister, knowing the attraction had been mutual. ‘It’s all very well for you. You seem to know how to handle Matu. He gets to me every time he opens that ugly mouth of his.’
‘That’s exactly what he wants. That’s what gives him power.’ Kai finished fastening his carrying straps. ‘You could try not showing how much he gets under your skin.’
‘Easier said than done,’ retorted Taka. But he knew Kai was right.
Piko overheard. ‘Matu’s skill on the water is what matters.’ He grinned at Taka. ‘I remind myself that my life might well depend on that skill at some stage. It makes it easier to ignore his bluster.’
Taka managed to grin back. Even though Piko had been tactful, the Hou youth shared Kai’s knack of making him feel like a child. For a moment, Taka resented their maturity, then shrugged the feeling off. He wasn’t ready for adulthood yet. As for all the thinking that burdened Kai with so many doubts, he certainly didn’t envy him such lack of faith. He shouldered his rolled mat and followed the other two out of the reed hut, blinking in the glare of the low spring sun.
As Taka neared the landing place, he spotted a cloaked figure standing apart from the other people. From the figure’s slightness and upright bearing, he recognized Hina. He quickened his pace, realizing she must be waiting for him. They hadn’t had the chance to meet up since the Choosing and his sister’s entrance to the Council of Wise Ones. As he approached, he called her name softly.
Hina turned at the sound of his voice. She pushed the hood of the cloak back off her face and smiled as he hesitated, suddenly overawed by her new status. He was remembering the way she’d sat at ease with the Wise Ones during the long days of discussion.
‘I’m still your sister,’ she said. ‘Nothing will ever change that.’
Taka embraced her then, and kissed her cheek. ‘It’s good to see you. I miss you.’
She smiled again, a little sadly. ‘The gods are leading us in different directions. Our childhood is behind us now.’
He blurted, ‘What lies ahead for me?’
Hina’s face clouded. She shook her head slowly. ‘The messages from the gods are never that clear. All I saw were swirling patterns — kua flying north, and you dancing among them.’
‘Dancing?’ Taka asked. ‘You saw me dancing?’
‘Dancing is your destiny,’ she said.
Taka was stringing questions together like shellfish on a thread. ‘Does that mean we make it — wherever we’re going? Is that right? We do cross the Great Ocean? Do we return?’
He watched her eagerly, trying to read her expression, but Hina’s face was calm and unmoving, her sightless eyes hooded beneath half-closed lids. She didn’t speak for some time. Then she said again, quietly, ‘Dancing is your destiny.’
Taka stared at her, frustrated. There was so much he wanted to know. He was sure she knew the answers, if only he could find the right questions to ask. Before he could say anything more, Hina took a small, slim package from the folds of her cloak and brushed her fingers over its surface, murmuring some words he couldn’t quite hear. Then she turned her head in his direction. ‘I can’t answer your questions.’
She could not answer or she would not? Taka felt an urge to grab his sister by the shoulders and shake the information out of her. He clenched his fists, then took a deep breath, appalled that he could even think of such a violent act. It was Kai’s fault for unsettling him. He’d never hurt Hina.
As if she knew what dark impulses had seized him, Hina shook her head slightly. ‘I don’t hold the key to your future.’
Taka bowed his head, ashamed of himself. Hina held out the package. ‘Here, take this. It will protect you in times of need.’
‘Can I ask what it is?’ Taka fingered the wrapping cautiously.
She explained that the package contained a god stick, a place where Tanga could reside. ‘You already know that it’s the water-god who holds your future in his hands. This will help bring him to you if you need his protection while you’re at sea.’
His voice trembling, Taka thanked her. He put the package into his secret belt pouch, in the corner where the discarded pebble had been, alongside their grandmother’s amulets and dried herbs. Hina always knew when he was troubled, knew what to do. By giving him the means to invoke Tanga’s presence, she had fully restored his faith in the gods and returned the balance to his world. Taka embraced his sister one more time, then continued on his way down to the landing place, a shadow he hadn’t acknowledged lifting from his mind.
The thatched houses of the Hara settlement sprawled on a sandy delta where a tributary entered the main river, the only clear space in the dense fringe of flax clumps that lined both river banks as far as Taka could see. Not
that he could see far. More often than not, the opposite bank was obscured by sea haze blown in from the western coast. Although he could hear the distant boom of waves, there was nothing else to indicate that Hara was close to the sea. The wide river sliding past the settlement landing place was deceptively swift, its currents swirling and treacherous. Beyond its banks, vast reed beds stretched inland, the densest and tallest he’d ever seen, the rau growing more than three metres high.
Within a few days of their arrival at Hara, the five Travellers had settled into a routine of cutting the reeds needed to build the giant moki. Although Hara spared as many men as they could and provided them with efficient steel machetes, the task seemed never-ending. Each morning, the workers paddled into the beds, then worked in pairs, systematically harvesting the tall reeds with their long, strappy leaves, cutting each stalk below the water. It was a few days before Taka noticed that none of the Hara men would pair up with the Travellers, which meant one of them had to work alone. But he read nothing into it.
More than a week dragged by, with nothing to distinguish one monotonous day from another. Taka dumped yet another armful of reeds on the tethered moki and stretched his aching back. His hands were sore, reacting to their prolonged immersion in swampwater. He examined them closely. More blisters were forming between his fingers, splitting fragile, thin skin just starting to heal after the first lot had burst. ‘Who would’ve thought becoming a Traveller meant we’d spend all our time cutting rau.’
