by Lux Miller
I smile and relax as Tua uses all of the empty space in the clearing, undulating as he spins one fire knife in each hand. He speeds them up with every twist of his wrists, until the dual flames of each blend into one circle of fire surrounding each of his hands. The sounds that spill forth from Tua’s mouth are otherworldly as he spins them over and over again until he suddenly stops the maniacal motion and throws his head back. His next words are chanted so fast, I can barely translate them in my head, but I know in an instant that he has passed along my prayer for fertility as I hear my name and keiki, one of the many Hawai’ian words for child. He gives each fire knife one more frantic minute of rapid spinning, then stops them dead in his hands and looks directly at me.
He drops the fire knife to the ground beside him and scoops the soil that rests just beneath the loosely rooted grass, suffocating the fire. As he finishes with his eyes still focused on me, a heavy wind blows through the clearing, the torches flickering as they fight to stay lit. I reach over to Luca and grab hold of his still-bloody hand with my own and shudder as I close my eyes. Beneath us, the ground trembles as I squeeze Luca’s hand tightly. To my surprise, he returns the intimate gesture just as fervently, his fingers tightening around mine almost painfully.
I turn to look at him when the subtle movement under us stops and nod. “I think she’s heard our prayers Luca, so it’d probably be in our best interest to try tonight like our lives depend on it. If it’s what you really want… no funny business, just straight and efficient.”
Luca nods, his expression blank for a moment as he turns to me. He shakes his head quickly, then his face twists into a surprised look. “Did we shake the island?”
I chuckle softly and shake my head, releasing Luca’s hand, wincing as the thickened blood creates slimy tendrils between our hands. I look up as Tua’s heavy footsteps approach. He smiles and says, “Looks like Pele is messing around at Kilauea, but if you needed a sign that Hawai’i approves of your union… that was it.”
I nod quickly, smiling as Tua hands each of us a strip of cotton cloth that I tie around my palm. Luca does the same, then stares intently at Tua. At first, I worry that he’s sizing him up for a fight and I’m about to step between them and advise Luca against it when he asks, “Are those native?”
Tua looks down at his chest where his left bicep and pectoral muscles are covered in a swirled design meant to mimic the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Embedded within the waves are dozens of symbolic images ranging from sea turtles to shark teeth and spearheads. The tattoo winds halfway down Tua’s arm in a sleeve and extends to the middle of his chest. Tua looks back up at Luca and nods, turning so that Luca can see the design better. “As you can see, not much different from your own. Just different meanings and application styles. And I heard firsthand from Uncle Gunner how the kings of New Orleans cover their battle scars with tattoos to remind them that until they’re dead, they still have work to do.”
Luca nods slowly, his eyebrows shooting up almost to his hairline. “I’d imagine he knew what he was talking about. He had many of those himself. Just because he was good at his job doesn’t mean he always came out unscathed. Tell me, Tua… did he have Hawai’ian tattoos too?”
Tua nods in agreement. “He did. Many, in fact. He used to joke that no matter where his life took him, he was always trying to stay ten yards ahead of sharks. I don’t think he was always able to outrun them, though, as he ended up with quite a few shark teeth. He had his share of spearheads too, though. In fact, the last one I did for him when I was practicing was a circle of spearheads that met back unto itself.”
Luca narrows his eyes. “And what does that symbolize?”
Tua shrugs a shoulder. “It can mean many things, but considering I finished it for him right before he and Kai, uh, Emily… disappeared… I’d assume his meaning was death conquering life, though it can also be used to represent life conquering death, the past conquering the future or likewise, depending on which way the spearheads are facing. An infinity circle of spearheads typically means victory of some sort, though it’s not always positive.”
Clearing his throat, Luca motions to his own tattoos, pushing aside his shirt to reveal the ugly scar from the night he was stabbed. “Do you still tattoo?”
Tua’s eyes widen as he stares at the ugly scar from the night Luca was stabbed. He nods solemnly, then looks up at Luca’s face. “I do, but only in the traditional manner. Our ancestors didn’t have fancy tattoo guns.”
Luca raises an eyebrow. “What did they have?”
Tua glances at me, then back at Luca as I nod. Tua lowers his voice as he leans in to get a closer look at the raggedly healed flesh. “In short? A sharp stick and a hammer?”
Luca swallows, then asks, “And how do you get ink into it?”
Tua shrugs and motions at the scar, “Can I touch it?”
Luca nods as Tua rests his the fingertips from one hand over the scar lightly, carefully tracing along the craggy ridges and valleys. “First, you milk a squid… and then you pour the fluid into the open wound. Your scar’s hideous. I’ll have to punch through the skin very deep for it to hold ink, but it can be done. That might be one of the most impressive scars I’ve ever seen. What happened?”
I look over at Luca quickly, expecting a dark cloud to settle over his features, but instead, he cracks a smile. “I know it’s awful. Your cousin isn’t much of a seamstress, and after the hack job she did on me, you’d better believe I haven’t let her anywhere near my expensive suits.”
Tua’s eyes widen in alarm as he lets out a nervous laugh. “You’re...joking, right?”
Luca shakes his head, his face serious. “I’m afraid not. My line of work has a lot of hazards involving sharp objects. My stubborn ass refused to be seen by a doctor, so Emily went straight gangster on me and sewed up this nasty cut…” Luca motions the length of the scar with his finger, then makes a sewing motion as he finishes, “...with a sewing needle and thread. Saved my life, but ended my career as a male swimsuit model.”
I nudge Luca hard and shake my head at him, then glance at Tua. “Would the traditional style cover it at all?”
Tua rests his thumb and forefinger against his chin, stroking the skin thoughtfully as he stares at the scar. He sighs, then shrugs. “It’ll disguise it, but I’m afraid no kind of tattoo is going to completely hide it. It may be better hidden with a modern tattoo, but my offer still stands if you want a traditional Hawai’ian tattoo. Just let me know, so I can go catch a squid.”
This time, it’s Luca who’s caught by surprise as he eyes Tua. “What?”
Tua bends over to slap his knees, his voice roaring with laughter. “Just a little island humor. I keep squid ink on-hand, since my day job is tattooing.”
Luca raises an eyebrow. “And what do you do at night? Or is that a question best left unasked?”
Tua smirks and points to the clearing, then holds up the pair of fire knives that are in his hand. “The pay is lucrative when the sun goes down for men like me. In the shows, of course. I work with my sister and several of the cousins. The cultural center gets fifty dollars a person to feed them the same food we’re about to indulge in and watch us perform much the same show. I will say, though, that Aleka doesn’t typically dance with little kids. She’s one of the stars of the show and typically dances alone. She wins awards year after year, so nobody else really wants to dance with her.”
I glance at Luca and nod. “Told ya. I bet Aleka’s fa’arapu is insane.”
Tua nods. “It’s pretty good. I’ve seen faster, but not many. She’s my sister, though. I have to say she’s good.”
I snort softly with a nod. “Fair. I mean, I don’t think mine’s too terrible… if you put me wth a bunch of ten-year-olds It makes my booty shake, so it does what it’s supposed to do.”
Luca smirks. “So shaking your booty has a name in this dance of yours?”
I nod with a giggle. “It’s called a fa’arapu. Like this…”
I turn ar
ound so that my ass is facing Luca and I’m facing Tua. I start off with an Ami as I sway my hips in a circle, then speed it up into a fa’arapu, closing my eyes so that I can concentrate. By now, it’s probably second nature to Aleka, but for me, it takes a real effort. I stop as I feel the muscles in my thighs protesting and stand up straight, glancing over my shoulder at Luca.
He’s five seconds shy of drooling on his shirt. He motions to my ass, then nods. “I wanna see that behind closed doors.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head, then look over to where Aleka is standing near the food table. “You have to see a real one. Trust me. Aleka!”
She looks up and makes eye contact with me, so I motion her over. As she approaches, I nudge Luca. “Watch her do it.”
Aleka raises an eyebrow. “Watch me do what?”
I motion to her ass with a smirk. “A fa’arapu. I showed him, but he needs to see what it’s supposed to look like.”
Aleka shrugs and turns around as Luca’s voice rises an octave, “You want me to watch your cousin’s butt?”
I nod. “Relax. It’s totally normal to stare at someone’s butt when they do this. It’s like a train wreck… you can’t help but look. It’s rather mesmerizing.”
Aleka chuckles as she starts off slowly. Luca turns to me with a confused look on his face as he holds both hands up in confusion. I motion back to Aleka and as Luca’s gaze shifts back to her, his jaw drops. I nod as I watch her shake her ass too. It’s that impressive. When she stops and turns back around, she takes a step towards Luca and with one finger, lifts his chin with a smile. She glances at me and nods. “I think I understand your attraction to him, now. If you don’t mind, though, there’s a pig over there on the spit with my name all over it…”
Aleka grins and disappears into the crowd. Luca nudges me as he turns his gaze to Tua. “You gonna hold my hand while he carves artwork into my skin?”
I nod with a smirk. “You know, your description is pretty accurate. He’s literally going to carve it into you, so you’d better make sure that whatever design you pick is something that means something to you. Something that will always mean something to you, because there’s no way to remove a traditional Hawai’ian tattoo completely. It will be a part of you forever.”
Luca pulls me to him and kisses me gently. As he pulls away, he nods. “I wouldn’t have it any other way…”
NINETEEN
“You two go ahead. I’m gonna grab something to munch on while I wait for Tua to tattoo you.”
Luca glances over his shoulder at him, raising one eyebrow. “Would you you get enough for two? My stomach is rumbling, but from the sounds of it, if we don’t get started now, we’ll be here half the night.”
Tua nods and grunts his agreement, “We may be here half the night anyway. It will take many, many taps, and I’m going to be upfront with you… it’s going to hurt because of where you’ve chosen to put it. I can do it. I’ve tattooed for eight hours straight before and this will likely take at least that long. It’s not my stamina in this endeavor that I’m worried about.”
Luca frowns and crosses his arms, but Tua chuckles and shakes his head quickly. “That’s not a dig at you, but you’ll soon understand my concerns. Let’s let the lady get some food, so we can get started. We’ve a long night ahead of us.”
I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss Luca softly. “I’ll get you some pig, Luca. You know what? I’ll just get you a variety plate. I wonder if Puna has trays…”
Tua chuckles and nods. “She does. Us boys have been eating her out of house and home for years. Aleka’s husband is as big as I am. He started really coming around ten years ago, so Puna is very prepared to feed the lot of us.”
My eyes widen. “Aleka is married?”
Tua smiles broadly. “For a while now. She married Keone. They have three kids already, so she apparently really likes him. Two boys and a baby girl.”
My jaw falls open in surprise. “She married the snot that used to yank her pigtails?”
Tua nods. “Yeah. I guess that’s another reminder that we all grew up. Keone’s a good guy. I wouldn’t have let my sister marry a jerk. He’s good to her and he loves those babies. Well, Keanu is hardly a baby anymore, and he certainly won’t let you call him one. He’s almost eight.”
I cough. “Eight?”
Tua laughs and pushes me towards the food table. “Go talk to her. I’ll be over here inflicting the pain of a thousand suns on your husband. But really, Emily, go enjoy her company. Keone stayed home with the kids tonight so Aleka could enjoy herself. I can’t think of much more she’d want to do than catch up with you. A lot changes in sixteen years.”
I nod and glance past Tua to Luca, who bows his head in my direction quickly, then draws his gaze up to mine. I can’t decipher the expression his face, but it’s one I’ve never seen before and it looks a whole lot like apprehension. In a flash, the moment’s gone as Tua approaches Luca and they lower their voices, speaking to each other in hushed tones. I roll my eyes at their sudden secrecy and walk off.
As I approach the pair of tables holding the food, I can feel my mouth watering at the delectable smells that are on the breeze. “Wow, it’s just like I remember it. That smell… it takes me back to a time when life was so much simpler. No kids, no husbands, no commitments except to the sea and our dance lessons… it’s been too long since I was home, and so many things have changed.”
Aleka looks up as I start talking to her and nods slightly, but the joy that was on her face earlier during the Ori and immediately following Tua’s fire knife dance has vanished. Replacing it is the same look of apprehension that I just saw on Luca’s face, but I knew why he was nervous. Seeing that expression on the face of the woman who used to be my best friend is unsettling, especially when her brother welcomed me with open arms.
“They certainly have,” she murmurs as her posture stiffens. “You vanished in the middle of the night, then word was sent that your father had been killed and you were missing. Now, sixteen years later, you return out of thin air with a mafia ring on your finger. Why so long to come back?”
I make a strangled noise as memories of Piacere flash through my mind, making bile bubble up into my throat from my uneasy and nearly-empty stomach. “It wasn’t as simple as hopping on a plane and returning home. It just… I came back as soon as I could.”
Aleka narrows her eyes at me. “You know, some people in Hilo murmured rumors that you were responsible for your father’s death. That you sold him out to the people who were hunting him…”
My eyes widen into saucers at her subtle accusation as my hand goes to my face. I shake my head quickly. “Why would I do that? I loved my father!”
Aleka glances around quickly, then lowers her voice as she says simply, “As revenge for forcing you to leave Hawai’i. We all know you never would have left willingly. Not when your entire family was here… when your mother was here.”
I cross my arms over my chest, tears pricking at my eyes. “My mother is and was dead. I watched three men break into our apartment and kill my father right before my eyes, and the only reason I’m not rotting in the ground with him is because he shoved me in a closet and told me to stay quiet, no matter what happened. I was fifteen years old and had to stifle my horror at watching my father get riddled with bullets. I had nothing after my father was murdered.”
Aleka’s face softens slightly as she drops her arms from in front of her chest. “If you had nothing how did you survive for another eleven years?”
It’s my turn to narrow my eyes as I shake my head. “You truthfully don’t want to know.”
Aleka taps her foot impatiently on the ground. “Emily, tell me. Did you steal?”
I sigh when I realize she’s not going to let this go. “Lee Lee, I know you’re asking for Puna and I’ll tell you if you insist, but I assure you that what I have to say is not something an old woman needs to hear.”
Aleka’s eyebrows knit as her posture relaxes slightly. “So, you
did steal? Nobody would blame you for that! You didn’t have a choice…”
I shrug my shoulders, bringing my gaze to meet Aleka’s with the haunting of my past right on the surface. “Not at first, I didn’t. The stealing came later…” I take a deep, unsteady breath as I try to steel my nerves. “While I was still young and pretty, I paid my way with the only thing that was truly mine… and even then, it belonged to him, not me.”
