Unleashed

by Patrick McLaughlin

  Chapter 22

  The Hawaiian sunset seemed softer than usual as a brightly colored flotilla of garlanded surfers and paddlers silently proceeded to the heart of Hanalei Bay. In spite of Deep Surf’s desire to keep Drake’s memorial subdued, hundreds of his faithful lined the pier and beaches. His family did insist those invited to the memorial have a meaningful connection to Drake, so Deep Surf provided security to verify everyone’s relationship to the deceased before entering the memorial area. If they let everyone paddle out, the water would have been loaded with Drake’s feminine conquests with a cat fight surely to erupt. Two news helicopters circled above and photographers took positions wherever they could find a clear angle or field of view. It was unavoidable; Drake Powers was the most talented surfer to ever grace the faces of the ocean’s best waves.

  Drake was an only child and his mother had Drake later in life; the outcome of an early morning interlude with a fisherman she met at one of the local haunts. On in years, she was carried on a small pontoon boat with dear friends beside her, the urn containing Drake’s ashes held tightly in her lap. The urn was a wooden bowl ceremoniously carved by one of Kauai’s spiritual elders and was appropriate as a natural symbol of the essence of one’s spirit returning to the sea. All gradually came together in the large memorial circle with a smaller circle within reserved for those closest to Drake. Everyone was adorned with beautiful purple and gold leis reflecting the golden glow of the setting sun.

  Shawn was in the center, two leis over his shoulders, one to send with Drake, the other to present to Drake’s mom. Beside Shawn was Drake’s favorite board, empty and alone. Deep Surf again surprised Shawn as they had respectively had their logo covered up on the deck as this was not the time for crass commercialization. Hands clasped before him, Shawn looked to no one, and then he saw Sally.

  Sally held Frisco in her lap and was seated in a classic, wooden Chris Craft with the same muscled chauffeur at the helm but as the driver the night before. Shawn’s first impulse was to call to Frisco, but this he could not bear to do, even Frisco’s head hung low. Sally offered a weak smile and Shawn thought to paddle over but then thought better of it.

  Turning back to the ceremony, Shawn moved with the others to make way for the boat with Mrs. Powers onboard as it pulled up alongside Drakes board — unusual, but appropriate. He reached through the railing and took hold of Drake’s mother’s hand.

  A Hawaiian elder solemnly raised his arms and with this gesture asked for all to be still. Then, he spoke with a ceremonial tone, first beginning, “No cameras please. We are here to release the soul of our brother Drake onto the Ara Whanui a Tane, to live with his ancestors in the golden land to the west. We do not wish to hold any part of him back. He is free to go.”

  The participants acknowledged, some blessed themselves, and others bowed their heads like Shawn.

  “Our sister Wairua from the Paumotu Islands has asked to read from a poem by the Maori poet Tieme Ranapiri which speaks of our beliefs. Let us join her to celebrate our brother, who is going home.”

  Wairua was adorned with a memorial lei slightly different from the others as she had made hers in the ways of her people. She also wore a vibrant yellow flower in her hair tucked behind her ear. She had joined Drake’s mom on the pontoon boat knowing her place for healing was by her side. Standing, Wairua began to read, “Your path may be clouded, uncertain your goal: Move on, for your orbit is fixed to your soul.”

  The Hawaiian elders nodded their approval. Wairua continued,

  You were. You will be!

  Know this while you are:

  Your spirit has traveled both long and afar.

  It came from the Source, to the Source it returns.

  The Spark which was lighted eternally burns.

  The few Deep Surf executives who had paddled out attempted to look suitably solemn but look awkward at best on the very boards they manufactured and marketed. Kauai’s watermen took comfort in her words, thoughtful and undistracted in prayer. Wairua lifted her gaze into the blue sky but pointed out across the water, and recited:

  It slept in a jewel.

  It leapt in a wave.

  It roamed in the forest.

  It rose from the grave.

  It took on strange garb for long eons of years.

  And now in the soul of yourself it appears.

  A low drum from an outrigger beat in the background as Wairua spoke:

  From body to body your spirit speeds on.

  It seeks a new form when the old one has gone.

  And the form that it finds is the fabric you wrought.

  On the loom of the Mind from the fiber of Thought.

  As dew is drawn upwards, in rain to descend.

  Your thoughts drift away and in Destiny blend.

  She paused and looked down once again, as the drumming came to a crescendo then halted as abruptly as it began. With this Wairua was silent, the only sounds were the lapping of the waves as they slid across the boards of all the surfers present.

  The elders solemnly nodded to Drake’s mother who had now broken down in tears and Shawn held her hand ever more tightly. Wairua, there to assist Mrs. Powers, took Drake’s urn and held it in her hands, lifting the top so Drakes mother could take a small amount of her son’s ashes in her hand. With a gasp and with a single anguished breath, she released the only remaining physical instance of her son on this earth, Drake Isaac Powers, into the sea.

  Shawn paddled away from the boat, bringing with him Drake’s board. He removed his lei and placed it softly on the deck. Others were invited to share stories of moments with Drake they held most dear. After, they paddled to the center to place their leis upon Drake’s board. Soon the surfboard was buried under a stunning mound of flowers and when all had said their good-byes Shawn lifted the bowl high above his head, spun it round, and released Drake into the jeweled blue water while at the same moment, another pulled the board from beneath the flowers and they begin to drift freely upon the water.

  Drake’s ashes shone as they spread outward towards his friends and in an instant, every surfer was dipping their arms and splashing water on each other, on themselves, and out into the opening while shouting and hollering, throwing their remaining leis high in the air in a cascade of color. After a while and after all the prayers were said, everyone took their time to paddle in, deep in thought, some with their foreheads pressed down on the decks of their boards.

  Shawn was one of the last to finally come ashore and smiled for the first time in twenty-four hours when he saw Sally and Frisco waiting for him. “Thank you Sally, I know you barely knew Drake. You always thought he was kind of a womanizer too.”

  Sally, not fooling Shawn, not fooling herself said, “Well, he was,” and they both cracked a smile. “You know I had to bring Frisco to his Daddy’s memorial. He had to say good-bye. It was lovely. These paddle outs…so right. I have never been a part of anything more wonderful.”

  “Yeah, but it’s over now, and Drake’s still gone”

  “Not if you believe the words of the ceremony Shawn, you have to believe. That is the way you will keep him with you forever.”

  “Sure, people say nice things to make themselves feel better. It doesn’t change the facts. Come on, there is a barbecue down the beach for Drake. After that if you want you can come back to my place.”

  “Shawn, I’m so sorry, I can stay for the barbecue, but after I have to fly over to Oahu. Daniel is shooting some TV spots. ‘Jesus Advertisements,’ he calls them plus an interview. He asked me to sit in at the agency’s office in Honolulu and offer my opinion. I’ll need to leave soon, but I have time to grab a bite with you.”

  “Well, hallelujah! Daniel will be filling up the space between Hawaii Five-O and Magnum PI!” Shawn mocked. “Guess your ‘I’ll stay with you as long as you need me’ ended when his holy highness calls.”

  “Shawn, please, he’s a good man and he and I share the same strong faith in God. I’m already tor
n between the two of you, and I’ll be coming back.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. And he had better be a good guy. I don’t give a shit about the religious stuff. And dammit, he better treat you as well as I would, ‘cause if he doesn’t, I’ll have to get all biblical on his ass.”

  He offered Sally his hand with a grin; she took it and they walked down the sand to join the brightly-dressed crowd at the barbeque celebration.