Little Island Tales - Part 2

    Much to no one's surprise, Diego had yet to tire himself out by the time the pair crossed over the threshold of the village and into the comforting light of the crackling braziers.
    "Come onnnn, Ka'lani. You gotta tell me." he whined more to annoy her than anything else now.
    She, on the other hand, remained stoic short of a smirk that said it all.
    I don't have to tell you anything. the sly smile whispered to anyone paying attention.
    "Tell you what?" asked someone from nearby.
    Glancing over, he and Ka'lani saw Tula, Diego's mother sitting under the eves of a nearby hut.
    It was Koula's hut. The village elder, a shaman and medicine woman by trade, had lived there for as long as Diego could remember and was a good friend of his mother and practically a grandmother to him. She'd made it out of strong driftwood years before he'd been born, perhaps timber from a lost ship or something like that. And while it was relatively small the hut had never fallen to the waters of a storm or the winds of a hurricane.
    Still, it was one of the closest huts to the village fire-line and that single fact always made him shiver. Particularly on a moonless night like tonight.
    "Mom! Ka'lani won't tell me who she's making the flute for." Diego said loudly only to realize his complaint made him sound half his age.
    "Maybe she doesn't want to tell you, Diego. She certainly doesn't have to." Tula said, putting down the bundle of dried herbs that she had been tying together with bits of string.
    "Thank you, Tula." Ka'lani said graciously; the first she had spoken since the beach.
    "Of course, Ka'lani." Tula returned as she stepped down from the hut's meager patio and into the white sands.
    Diego glowered at his lifelong friend, but held no real contempt. He was just annoyed to be left out of the conversation.
    "What's with that sour face, Diego?" Remarked his mother as she ruffled his hair. "Maybe Ka'lani is making the flute for me. You know I've always meant to learn."
    "Maybe." Ka'lani said with a knowing smile.
    Diego just pouted harder.
    "Ka'lani." Tula said, her voice more stoic now. "Your mother is looking for you, dear. I think you're supposed to help her set up for the ceremony?"
    "Oh!" Ka'lani exclaimed in realization. "Thank you!"
    Clutching the flute in her hand, she started to take off running towards the center of the village when she only then remembered her manners. She skidded to a stop, turned, and bowed deeply towards Diego's mother, one fist balled and cupped by the other.
    "May the sun never set." Ka'lani said as she had a million times before.
    "And the light shine eternal." Tula responded in turn. "Now off with you."
    Tula waved her off and Ka'lani was gone, running through the sand towards the center of the village.
    Diego and his mother watched her go for a long moment before Tula turned to her son, leaned down, and kissed him on the head.
    "Hello, Nani." she said softly.
    "Hello, Mom." he responded and gave her a hug. "What are you doing at Grammy Koula's house?"
    "I was helping her bundle herbs for the smudge sticks, Nani."
    As if to confirm her story, Diego leaned forward and sniffed his mothers hands. He theatrically gagged after he did.
    "Blah! You smell like sage and garlic!"
    "White sage." she corrected him with a girlish laugh. "Among other things."
    "Guh!" he exclaimed again and shuddered.
    "I'd think you'd be used to the smell by now."
    "I guess." Diego said with a glance towards the center of the village where he could see some people starting to gather. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
    His mother narrowed her eyes and leaned down with a playful, yet suspicious face.
    "Does that mean something that I need to worry about?"
    Diego backed up, a smile crossing his face despite the 'threatening' stance his mother was taking.
    "No!" he shouted, barely containing a laugh of his own.
    "Is my own son..."  Tula suddenly dove for one of the bound bundles of herbs and jabbed it in Diego's direction. "An aka-akua?!"
    Diego, through fits of giggles, let out a practiced hissssssssssssss and fell face first into the sand, spasming in fake death throws.
    He could only contain himself for a moment before he started giggling at the silliness of the moment. The giggling quickly turned to full scale laughing when his mother dove on him and began tickling him relentlessly.
    "No!" Diego shouted through laughter. "Please!"
    "Maybe I need to....EXORCISE YOU!" Tula shouted and promptly blew a massive raspberry on his belly.
    "Mom! No!"
    Punctuating their play, a deathly, echoing screech filled the darkness outside the village. It rose up over the mountains, drowned out the waves, and seemed to wash away all sound from the burning braziers and the people in the village as everyone turned to stare out into the darkness of the island.
    A moment passed.
    Nothing.
    Another moment.
    Nothing.
    Just as quickly as it had come, the monstrous sound was gone. It didn't even leave echoes off the walls of the canyon.
    "...do you think...?" Diego began, all color and laughter drained from him.
    "Oh shush." Tula quickly stopped him before he could begin. "It's just that time. You should know that be now. Why don't you go see if they need any help setting up. It's nothing."
    Diego glanced up nervously at his mother and then out into the darkness past the fire-line. Tula nudged him before he could become to enraptured by it.
    "Come on." she said, slipping the dried herbs under his belt loop and picking him up off the sand. "Go."
    "Ok, Mom." Diego responded with a weak smile and a quick hug before taking off towards the direction of the village center.
    With his back turned, he couldn't see his mother begin to scatter the dried herbs along the fire-line before returning to her work on Koula's patio. He did, however, notice a few of the village warriors looking a bit more terse and begin checking their weapons as he ran by towards the Pyre.