Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (36 page)

Abigail stiffened, “But- I need to tell my son.”

“
Of course, I'll get someone on it
right away. Can you tell us where to find him?”

“
But, that's just it. I don't know
where he is.”

Hashimoto inquired, “Where was he last?”

“
I don't know. He went to church
with a girl and her family this morning. I haven't heard from him
all day.”

“
Darren, check it out- see if he's
called the hotel, maybe the desk has a message or something. Don't
worry Mrs. Matthews, we'll find your son. Are you ready to
go?”

Chris gathered up the remaining chairs from the
courtyard, deposited them in their designated places inside the
house, and slowly walked back outside, savoring the warm, fragrant
air and its chorus of crickets as he gazed up at the Moon, now
rising through the trees, enormous on the horizon. He crossed to
Buddy, who sat quietly on a worn wooden bench, idly plucking and
strumming a battered and stained ukulele.

Buddy looked up with a soft smile of contentment on
his face. He patted a place near him and called to Chris, “Hey!
Take a seat, bro. Relax.”

Alani emerged from the house, and crossed to sit
beneath the Chinese wisteria as Buddy segued from his idle
strumming into the traditional island melody- ‘Keyhole Hula’.
Noelani, Lei-lei and Kei-kei glided almost silently into the
courtyard, and at once Lei-lei was overcome by the music, closing
her eyes and moving in a loose, disjointed hula. Chris watched her
in silence, mesmerized by her movements, looking briefly to Alani,
who watched her grandmother in smiling reverence.

A moment into the song, Kei-kei leaned in on
tip-toes to Lei-lei, whispered something into her ear, and then
giggled and disappeared into another part of the courtyard. A brief
smattering of applause rang out as Buddy finished the song and
bowed, and then he launched into the rollicking ‘Kuhio Bay’, his
high tenor voice lilting and strong. Alani swiftly crossed to Chris
and pulled him to his feet, holding his hands with unusual
firmness, staring into his eyes and fixing his gaze with hers.
Alani smirked at her prisoner and said quietly, “Time for your hula
lesson.”

Before Chris could react, he was suddenly ambushed-
Lei-lei placed a fragrant crown of Maile leaves on his head as the
giggling Kei-kei fastened a cheesy tourist-issue grass skirt around
his waist. As Buddy launched into the second stanza-

The world around him suddenly shifted and
changed…

“
Now we dance.” Leilani
said softly, taking his hands in hers and lightly guiding them to
the first position…

As Leilani softly chanted, Jenkins closed
his eyes and let the sounds take over his movement. As he swayed
from side to side, his arms drifted almost languidly, waves and
breeze, ships and trees flowing from his fingertips as he let
himself be overcome by the moment.

And then suddenly he felt it- a soft,
glowing burn- a gentle warmth that flowed upward from the earth
into the soles of his feet, spreading through his groin and
striking his heart, then rushing into his mind and exploding
through his crown. He felt the warmth spread throughout his entire
being, filling his soul with a joy he had never before experienced,
an ecstasy he had only imagined were possible in the realm of
saints, not of mortal men- a connection to the divine that made him
almost weep in joy. And all at once, he understood…

…
the dance was not merely a pagan
ritual, not just a means of perpetuating a cultural heritage, or
propagating a race. It was a profound form of worship, a unique and
vibrant way to commune with the divine, and a flood of tears
suddenly coursed down his face as he realized the absolute travesty
of what he was sworn to do.

He comprehended with absolute clarity that
everything that he thought was true were merely stumbling attempts
to define the nature of God, that the true nature of the Universe
far outstripped the teachings in any of the books of man, that the
essence of the divine existed far beyond the grasp of man’s hubris.
And he suddenly shook with grief and fell to the ground as he
realized his intended actions were mortal transgressions far worse
than any notion of sin- he realized that he had been tasked with
destroying these beautiful creatures connection with God.

Chris’ eyes snapped open and he
gasped as he stared into Alani’s, who smiled softly back at him
with an almost painful look of acknowledgement, her eyes telling
him that this time-
she had been there
too
.

She gently steadied him, and then released his hands
and began to dance. Chris watched her in awe with a newfound
appreciation, and again he felt the gentle warmth and stirrings of
emotion he had experienced in the flower orchard flowing upwards
through his feet.

He began to move, slowly at first, fumblingly
mimicking her motions as she stood opposite him, encouraging Chris
with nods of her head as she demonstrated arms, hips and feet,
smiling brightly when he got it right, frowning with
mock-disapproval when he faltered. They danced what seemed to be
forever, the movements and music blending into a seamless whole
that caused the world to blur around him, his entire being suffused
with a wealth of joy that caused tears to form in his eyes and sobs
of rapturous laughter to bubble from his lips.

Buddy eventually finished the song with a flourish,
the entire group laughing as one, and he placed the tiny instrument
on the bench as Lei-lei leaned in to Chris and whispered, “You are
a good boy, you make my Alani sparkle!”

Buddy stood, stretched, and hauled
a huge boom-box from beneath the wooden bench, quickly scrolling
through the playlist and setting up the next song. With a satisfied
grin, he tapped a key and bellowed, “Awright, awright everybody,
move it! Now it's
my
turn.” He strode to Chris and extricated him from the throng
of surrounding women. “C'mon, I show you a 'man's'
hula.”

“
There
are
guy
hula
dancers?”

Buddy rolled his eyes, and then said to Chris, “Oh
man, you might be cute, but you still one stupid haole tourist, you
don't know nothin’- Come on. Watch me.”

The music faded in, and Chris’
scalp crinkled as he heard the powerful drumming, stamping and
chanting that he was now so thoroughly familiar with. The rhythmic
vibrant tones resonated from the speakers as Buddy demonstrated a
uniquely Hawaiian variation of the ‘Haka’, his motions dynamic and
masculine. This time, Chris caught on quickly, imitating Buddy with
relish, yelling and stomping with vigor, matching Buddy move for
move, because now he knew with certainty-
that he had done this before
.

On and on the men danced, dust eddies drifting up
from their dirty feet as they stomped and stepped, arms moving
powerfully and swift from one posture to the next. With a final
“HA!” the song ended, and the ladies applauded loudly as Chris and
Buddy panted in exertion, both smiling and sweaty, and Buddy
gathered Chris up into an eye-popping bear hug, lifting him off the
ground and then lightly dropping him back to earth. Buddy gathered
up both the boom-box and ukulele into his massive paws, and with a
smile and a wave, walked quietly back into the house.

Abigail shivered as she walked into the chilly room,
the cold light of a bare fluorescent tube flickering ever so
slightly, almost as if trembling in empathy for her. Hashimoto
crossed to the covered form of Walter with Abigail by his side, and
he slowly pulled back the shroud. Abigail’s face fell, a quivering
of lips and streaming of tears telling the silent Hashimoto all he
needed to know.

Alani led Chris around the side of
the house, slowly meandering across the graveled drive as their
shadows stretched long and blue in the moonlight. Chris stopped
their promenade and said, “Alani, I don't know how to thank you, or
your family, for inviting me this evening. It's been…” He smirked
with the memory of their shared experience, “…unforgettable.” He
took a long look around and continued wistfully, “I'm really
not
looking forward to
this being over, you know? All of this- being with you, your
family, your 'aloha'? For the very first time in my life, I almost
feel like I’m somewhere where I finally belong, like I'm…” He
paused, taking a short, choppy breath and choking back a tear,
“…home.” Chris’ gaze drifted almost shyly to Alani, his usual
self-confidence nowhere to be found, and he paused again,
struggling with how to phrase the next, “Alani, I- I just want to
say, to say that-”

Alani interrupted, shaking her head in sorrow,
avoiding the pain of the inevitable, “Don't. Don't say anything.
Just- be here, enjoy the moment, while it lasts. Live Aloha...” She
leaned in to still his lips with a kiss- a long, slow, tender kiss
that melted them both, bringing forth a soft stream of tears that
merged on their cheeks, both of them silently knowing that this
kiss might indeed be their last and unwilling to admit that it
was.

The moment was suddenly broken by the dull crunch of
gravel that preceded the arrival of a long, black limousine, its
headlights freezing them in a pool of light as they pulled their
faces reluctantly apart, squinting into the glare. The car
approached silently, almost- ominously and stopped a few feet away,
the solemn driver emerging and then quietly, reluctantly,
addressing Chris, “Mr. Matthews. You are needed back at the
hotel.”

“
What's up? Is something
wrong?”

The driver simply opened the rear door and gestured
within, “Please, sir- if you would…”

Chris hesitated, and then slowly climbed in, still
holding Alani’s hand. “I'm not sure what this is about, but it
can't be anything serious, if it was I'm sure I’d have heard
something before now. I'll call you as soon as I sort this out...”
Chris winked reassuringly to Alani and closed the door, and the car
began to slowly move off.

Alani stepped into the driveway that the car had
just vacated, raising her hand in a wave of realized futility as
she said to the night, “But you don't have…” And her hand fell
limply to her side as she said dejectedly, “… my number.”