by MJ Brannigan
“Can you swim?” the lady shouted.
Swim, did she say? Is she crazy?
“Can you swim?” the lady asked again.
“Yes, but…” she answered.
“Swim to me on the next wave then!” the woman shouted.
What? Swim into the thing that’s trying to kill me? Was all that ran through her mind.
“You’ll be okay—I got you when you jump!” the woman shouted over the noise of crashing surf.
What else could she do? She had nowhere to go amongst the rocks. They were only becoming more slippery and dangerous. Her arms were getting weaker with the sheer tension of trying to hang on for her life. And this woman probably wasn’t some sadist that would want her to jump into the water only to watch her drown.
She needed to take the leap, needed to trust someone even as her body was trembling with fear and exhaustion. She could float—that was it. Just hold her breath and float. It was something she remembered from water safety class so many years ago: you can’t sink with lungs full of air. And if she was able to jump far enough, the wave’s backwash might even—for God’s sake, please—pull her away from the rocks.
She turned her body around to face the sea, her back and splayed fingers pressed against the jagged rocks. The next wave came in above her knees, and the resulting spray splashed into her eyes.
“Okay, when I say jump: JUMP!” said the woman perched atop the safety of her bright yellow kayak.
Before she could spend any more time agonizing about the embarrassment of her dilemma, whether or not to trust this woman, she heard “JUMP!” Sucking in a huge breath, she dove forward into a wave she hoped was timed to take her away from the rocks she had been dashed against. Maybe she would get out of this without meeting the same fate as her beloved Nikon.
She popped up closer to the bow of the kayak than she expected. The woman had maneuvered forward with a skill that could only have come from years of being on the water.
“Grab the cords on the bow, aye?”
With that, she wrapped her hands over the bow of the kayak, finding the black, stretchy cords to hold on to.
Once she had a firm two-handed grip on the kayak, the woman began skillfully back-paddling away from the rocks that surrounded them. With strong, confident strokes, the woman maneuvered between the jutting rocks to calmer water beyond the break. “You gonna be okay?” the woman asked as she continued paddling, more slowly now, through gentle swells deceptively soothing compared to the crashing surf they transformed into as they neared the shore.
She could only nod as she hung on to the kayak, her wrist looped into the elastic cord. It was cutting off some circulation in one hand, but she was breathing, head above water, and too weak to do much else but hang on.
“Take your time, rest,” the woman said, as she pulled the top half of the wetsuit up over her arms. She watched as the woman placed the paddle across the gunwales and secured it in place with bungee cords.
“You’re gonna be okay, no worries. Just rest a bit longer.” And with that, the woman slipped over the side and into the water next to her.
She found herself still shivering, not so much from the water being cold, but from the fear and adrenaline that had shocked her system. Holding onto the side with one hand, her rescuer moved closer and put her free arm around her. “Yes, you’re gonna be okay now,” her voice quiet and soft for the first time. “Don’t worry anymore. ‘K den?”
* * *
The sound of the waves crashing on the rocks seemed distant and muffled now. All she heard above her breathing and sniffling was the water lapping against the hollow hull of the yellow kayak. With a quivering jaw and a little difficulty, she managed to speak: “Thank you. Thank you. I really thought I was done for back there.”
The lady smiled back. “You’re welcome. You’re okay now. I’m Kamea—what’s your name?”
“Rebecca,” she answered, jaw still quivering, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Rebecca. Again, thank you.”
As she felt the fear and its accompanying tunnel vision pass, Rebecca looked closer at the face of the woman who had saved her. Kamea had long, jet-black hair with a few reddish streaks, pulled back into a ponytail. A few loose tendrils of long, wet strands framed a tanned and freckled face. Her face held such beautiful Polynesian features but—her eyes. She had the most beautiful brown eyes Rebecca had ever seen. Kamea’s eyes were at once warm and comforting, and yet piercing and deep as the sea she found herself immersed in. It was hard not to stare. But she had almost lost her life. How much longer would she have lasted on the rocks? She could only stare and enjoy the face of this lovely creature that had come out of the sea to rescue her.
Rebecca watched as Kamea unrolled a small, orange bag she had pulled from the hatch towards the front of the kayak, and placing the attached tube between her lips, began to inflate it like a balloon. She placed the bag over the end of the paddle blade on Rebecca’s side and secured it in place with the ties. “This’ll help steady ya when you get in, ‘kay?”
Rebecca just nodded, assured that whatever Kamea might be doing was going to help her.
“Okay, you think you’re gonna be able to pull yourself up?” Kamea asked, wiping her fingers across Rebecca’s forehead and breaking her mesmerized gaze.
“I think so,” she replied, the quivering of her chin becoming less and less. Tears still streamed down her cheeks, mingled with the red from the cut on her forehead, and dripped into the water from her chin.
“K den,” Kamea replied, and in one fluid motion took a quick breath and dropped under the kayak, only to pop up on the opposite side a moment later.
“Aw’right, just hang onto the side and go down towards the paddle. I got it tied in place. I’ll hold it from this side too and keep us steady. You’ll be fine.”
With that, Rebecca moved alongside the kayak, grabbed the paddle with one hand and found a proper hand hold on the top of the kayak.
Kamea held the paddle on the opposite side, ready to counter-balance Rebecca’s weight as she managed to climb into the kayak. That’s when Rebecca saw the two fish in the rear well; one she recognized from sushi bar menus and tourist brochures as a Mahi-mahi. The skin was such a beautiful iridescent blue-green and yellow. It wasn’t any single color at all. She didn’t know they could be so beautiful: that there could be so many subtle nuances and shifts in color.
She had never seen the other type of fish before. It was bigger than the Mahi-mahi but sleeker, silvery and barracuda-shaped. There were two spearguns, bottles of water, dive mask and fins—long fins, that looked to be as long as the fish. She wasn’t sure where she would fit in this boat, but after what she had been through, was happy to sit next to the fish, even lie down next to them if she had to, all the way back to shore. She knew how lucky she was that Kamea had come along when she did.
* * *
Kamea, now at the side where Rebecca’s feet dangled in the water; hands on the bungeed paddle and kayak, took one dip under the water and propelled herself up and into the boat, landing in the seat with a slight pirouette. It looks like she’s done that a thousand times, Rebecca thought.
“Can you find a place to sit okay? You can just scoot forward towards the bow a little. Maybe you can sit on the little hatch, put your feet in the center and face me? Not so comfortable though.”
Kamea spoke with a gentle, lilting accent unique to Hawaiian Islanders, but it reminded her of the Native Americans she had met on trips to Santa Fe, Taos, and on the reservations in Montana. The beautiful Polynesian features and intensity of her lovely brown eyes threw her a little though. Kamea looked to be a fascinating creature. God… those amazing eyes.
In the few minutes since being in her presence, a calmness came over Rebecca that she hadn’t experienced before. Perhaps this happens to people who get rescued? she wondered. Perhaps there’s even a name for it? What do you call it when everything and everyone seems more precious, colors more vivid, and you realize that the life you ha
ve is such a gift? Even above the wonder of this, Rebecca couldn’t be sure, but in her gut, she felt as though this was all supposed to happen. And Kamea was meant to be here for her at not just this moment, but at this time in her life.
“You’ve got some nice big fish here,” Rebecca said, stopping herself from blurting out what she was thinking: Oh my God, you rescued me and you’re beautiful! She thought the former would be more appropriate.
“We better get you to shore,” Kamea said with a little smile, seeming to notice Rebecca’s inability to look away from her. “We’ll get that cut on your forehead looked at too, ‘kay?”
Rebecca remembered seeing the blood but had forgotten all about it in the rush of her rescue. She was sure Kamea didn’t mention it so as not to panic her further. It was then she realized there might have been sharks in the water. She looked with new fear into the undulating waves around her as she straddled the yellow kayak. But she was safe aboard now and managed to put it out of her mind.
“I must be a mess,” Rebecca said.
“Well, maybe you could use a little cleaning up,” Kamea replied with a teasing smile and a wink. “Plenty of time for that later. Let’s get you ashore first. My cousin’s a lifeguard—we’ll have him take a look at you. You’re gonna be just fine. Here ya go. You take a few sips of this while I paddle in—don’t drink too fast. Just sip to keep yourself from feeling thirsty.”
Rebecca took the bottle of water Kamea handed her, sipping obediently to soothe her throat; parched by the fear and salt water that had nearly drowned her. Her upper body swayed gently towards the stern as Kamea’s first paddle stroke lurched the kayak forward toward the beach and solid ground.
CHAPTER 3 - KAMEA
Kamea guided her kayak to skirt far around the rocks and pounding surf. She took them further on and down towards the safety of a small break wall formed by a line of rocks, and further again towards the long, gently sloping beach. Few swimmers were out this early in the day. The yellow lifeguard tower stood right ahead in her aim, nestled against the row of trees behind.
As they rode in on a small wave, Kamea jumped out of the kayak and kept the momentum going by pulling it further onto shore without her weight to hold it back. JonJon was on duty, standing on the small balcony of the tower and she waved him over towards them.
“Bring a med-kit, too!” she shouted. In a flash of tanned muscle and red shorts, JonJon ducked inside the open door, grabbed the red box, leaped down the steps and ran towards them.
“Wassup, Cuz?” he said, noticing Kamea’s passenger had streaks of blood and mascara running down the length of her face.
“She hurt herself against the rocks,” Kamea replied, motioning along the shoreline.
“You got yourself into some hurts there, Miss,” JonJon said with the same gentle, lilting accent, as he kneeled down beside her.
“Let me wipe this mess away to see,” he said. “What’s your name, sweetheart? Feel anything broken?” he asked, running his big hands along the length of her arms, squeezing ever so gently to see if she would wince at any problem spots.
He held her ankle and checked it for mobility.
“Anything hurt, Miss? You just let me know.”
“Rebecca. I’m Rebecca. Nothing broken but my ego… I think,” she said with a small smile that lifted the corners of her mouth—then squinted and furrowed her brow at the effort. “Ugh, though it hurts my face a bit to smile.”
JonJon took a squeeze bottle and held it in front of her.
“Close your eyes, Miss Rebecca. I’m gonna use a little water to wash away and wipe so I can see your hurts better.”
After flooding Rebecca’s face with clean water, JonJon reached into the med-kit and ripped open a large packet of flat gauze. He doused it with rubbing alcohol and dabbed away the blood from around the cuts on her forehead and cheeks.
“Might sting a little,” he said. “Hmm, might need a stitch or two up there, Miss. But it’s right at your hairline, so probably no scars on that pretty face,” he said, winking and smiling in an attempt to comfort her. “The scratches might itch a bit later on, but we’ll get them cleaned up from any possible infection.”
“Did she scrape herself on any coral?” JonJon asked, looking towards Kamea.
“No—she hit her face and arms on the rocks out past the point,” Kamea explained. “Got caught on that silly trail that leads to nowhere but danger when the big swells roll in.”
“Oh,” JonJon shook his head. “Not a good place to be. They need to put signs up there, maybe even a fence or something,” he said, turning his focus back to Rebecca’s scratches and cuts. “You’re fortunate to be alive, Miss. Some folks haven’t been so lucky.”
“She’s a brave one, though,” Kamea interjected, “She jumped into the water when I asked her to, and let me pick her up.”
JonJon shook his head again, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes, pulled out a small LED flashlight and aimed it at Rebecca’s cheek.
“Okay, Miss, just look at me,” he said as he shone the light into and then away from Rebecca’s eyes, one at a time.
“Looks good so far.”
He held up an index finger: “Okay, follow my finger side to side without moving your head, Miss.”
Rebecca did as instructed. “Like this?”
“Yes, Miss, just fine. Just like that. Hmm, fine… you gonna be just fine. But let me clean that cut more and put a little iodine on those scrapes. After that, we’ll get you to a clinic right away. They’ll stitch you up, bandage you proper.”
“I can take her into Paia,” offered Kamea.
“You’ve done so much already. I’ve taken up enough of your day,” Rebecca protested, reaching for Kamea’s hand.
“No worries,” Kamea replied, squeezing her hand in return. “I’ll get you to the clinic, make sure you’re gonna be okay.”
“Why don’t I help you put your things away, Cuz?” said JonJon. “I’ll take Rebecca over into the shade next to the tower first, let her rest out of the sun a bit. Lealu can keep an eye on her while we get your stuff put up in the truck.”
Helping Rebecca up from her seat on top of the kayak, Kamea and JonJon supported her while she found her legs. He held her as she walked toward the tower, Kamea squeezing Rebecca’s hand before releasing it and turning back towards her kayak to begin dragging it towards her truck.
Rebecca’s unsteady legs almost went out from under her more than once.
“See… you need a little help still, Miss. But you gonna be okay.” He pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Lealu, can you come to the tower? Need you to keep an eye on a swimmer with some cuts and scrapes.”
“Sure thing!” the squawk came back.
After he helped seat her under the tower with Lealu, bottle of water in hand and a fresh pad of gauze wrapped around her forehead, JonJon found his way back to Kamea’s kayak and noticed the Mahi-mahi and Ono.
“Wow Cuz, that’s quite a catch you got this morning… and those are some nice fish, too,” he chided.
Kamea furrowed her brow and tilted her head, as if to say, Really?
He followed with a laugh. “You know I’m only teasin’ ya Cuz. I just want you to find a nice girl to settle down with, and the ocean gave you this gift today?”
“Don’t know anything about her, though. She’s a tourist—may be goin’ back home tomorrow. Who knows?”
“Well, the way she looks at you, looks like you might make her wanna stay longer, is all I’m sayin’—see what happens, aye?”
Kamea pressed on with gathering up her things, not looking at her cousin any further, wanting to end this part of their conversation. She tossed her fins into the back of the truck. He might be her cousin, but he was more like a big brother; always looking out for his little sis and always teasing her too. Because that’s what big brothers do.
“That’s a nice Ono!” JonJon said, changing the subject. He didn’t seem to want to push his cousin too far, even if his kidding was all in good
-natured fun.
He was only two years older than she, and they had been best buds since Kamea left Oahu as a young teenager to come live with his family at her Auntie’s. She was a bit of a tomboy—which suited him just fine. She could surf and catch fish as well or better than any guy he knew. But she kept to herself most of the time, enjoying nature and the company of her Ohana on Maui where her mother’s side of the family lived.
“Took a dozen dives, once I saw they were there,” Kamea replied, “I followed the Iwa and ‘A to the ledge, and there they were!”
“They’ll be good eatin’ for tomorrow!” JonJon said, smiling. “Wow, this is a sweet fish,” JonJon said, lifting the Ono from the kayak and holding it up with both hands. “Must be nearly fifty pounds!” his eyes went wide with amazement.
The long cooler lid let out a plastic squeak as Kamea opened it, and JonJon slid the huge fish into the waiting ice.
“I’ll clean this up when I get to Auntie’s in a few hours. Don’t know how long it’s gonna take with this lady.”
Once they got Kamea’s gear into the pickup and had the kayak tied down on top of the simple rack of bars welded into the truck, they walked back over to Rebecca. JonJon’s partner on duty, Lealu, had put a gold thermal blanket around Rebecca’s shoulders and sat with her to make her feel comfortable and safe. “She’s going to be fine,” Lealu said, “She says you’ll take her to the clinic?” looking at Kamea.
“Yeah. I’ll make sure she gets fixed up; take her to her hotel later too.”
“I think she needs someone to be with her the rest of the day,” Lealu said. “She’s still a bit shaky. But it doesn’t look like any concussion worries though. That’s what concerned me when I first saw her.”
“Well, I can take her with me to Auntie’s later if she’s up for it. Gotta get these fish to her for tomorrow. You coming too?” she asked Lealu.
“Of course—wouldn’t miss it!”
