The Unknown Zone
Page 15
‘Don’t try and take it all in at once,’ Hemi said quietly. ‘It’s an enormous thing to try and comprehend, being greeted by total strangers then finding out they’re all your aunties and cousins.’
‘It’s like I’ve been asleep all my life,’ she said. He let go of one hand and placed an arm around her shoulders.
‘It seems you’re someone special to them,’ he said, leaning towards her. ‘You are to me, as well.’
She flashed him her raised eyebrow look and whispered behind her hand, ‘You don’t think we’re related, do you?’
Hemi stifled a laugh and noticed that everyone was looking at them.
He rose to his feet.
‘Kia ora everyone,’ he said. ‘Tena koutou. The kai is nearly ready so I won’t take too long. I am Hemi Ratana, great-grandson of Tuapiro Ratana. I want you to know that this is my land, according to the law.’
‘We accept that,’ said Barney Reweti with an expression of sad resignation. ‘You have rightly inherited it from your ancestor who acquired it legally and legitimately, even though the titles are long gone.’
‘My great-grandfather purchased it from the Crown, paying for it with gold he had dug out of these hills, and with the timber he milled himself.’
‘He was a man of great wisdom and foresight,’ replied Barney.
Hemi looked around the gathering. They stood and sat on the sand and on the logs sensing their future in the balance.
‘You have arranged this hui here at Kaimiro to try to remedy the injustices that have occurred over the past two hundred years. That’s a big expectation.’
‘Our two tribes recognise you as a man of influence and honour,’ said Kohu. ‘We know who you are.’
‘The Ratana family have lived here for four generations,’ said Hemi. ‘However, there’s no doubt you are the original inhabitants. Even though I’m pleased to announce that the titles have now been found, there’s no doubt that you are tangata whenua. You belong here. Compared to you, I am just a visitor.’
He’d thought carefully about what he was going to do. Ultimately he knew it was his decision alone and knew what he was going to say. But he found himself following the leisurely flow of the proceedings. Bart had told him often enough, ‘Don’t beat around the bush, son. If you’ve got something to say, speak clearly and simply.’ But this was not the place for the cold concepts of the boardroom and time was given little sway. The hui was a meeting of hearts where the participants would arrive at an outcome together, however many words were spoken. That way they would remain as equals, neither side diminished nor disadvantaged.
Barney looked up at him with hurt surprise.
‘Hemi, you will never be manuhiri in our eyes,’ he said. ‘We accept you as our own. You know, we could easily have gone our separate ways. When you turned up at Kohu’s place the other day in your shiny off-roader, I said to myself, “Blimey, is this joker a wanker or what? Who does he think he is, with all his maps and plans and his big ideas?” But then you brought all the kai, and, oh boy, what a feed we had, eh! And so after that I said, “This fella’s okay. He might be a bit of a Flash Harry but he’s humble enough to come all this way and talk things over with us.” So we decided to give you the time of day, didn’t we, Kohu. And I’m sure glad we did.’
A small swell was running and the waves sluiced up the beach, almost reaching the small boats that had been dragged above the tide line.
From the darkness came the soothing hiss of the waterfall.
Hemi pointed to the dinghies. ‘These waka are plywood and fibreglass,’ he said. ‘Your tupuna pulled boats of totara and kauri up this very same beach. Your ancestor, Anatohia, died when she fell over this same waterfall. Your people grew crops and kept their cooking fires going in Kaimiro for three hundred years. You are right to honour your tupuna.’
‘This is exactly what we are saying,’ said Barney, with enthusiasm. ‘Our lives are entwined like rata with this land. For us Maori, our spirituality is embodied in the land. We don’t own the land, the land owns us.’
‘For myself, Kaimiro holds more sorrow than joy,’ said Hemi, surprising himself by the frankness of his revelation. ‘My father and mother were killed when I was young. I too have experienced injustice. I am no stranger to pain. I was forced away when I was a boy. Now my life is on the other side of those mountains. I have few pleasant memories of this place.’
Only the sounds of moving water disturbed the stillness. Even the morepork was silent, as if sensing an imminent alteration to the spiritual environment.
‘Here’s what I’m prepared to offer,’ Hemi said. ‘My company is planning to start planting pine trees on the block over the hill next month. We will give you priority when jobs become available and we will train your young people in useful trades and professions.’
‘We are grateful for whatever you can do,’ replied Reweti, delight in his face. ‘Anything we get will be more than we have now. Something is better than nothing and anything’s better than being on the dole.’
But Hemi had more to say. ‘And so that you don’t have to travel too far to work every day, I’m willing to sell the entire Kaimiro Valley to you, for the price of one dollar, with the requirements that the bush is protected by covenant, and that all mining will cease immediately.’
The people, open-mouthed with astonishment, looked at one another. Some began to weep quietly. Others rose to their feet and cheered and clapped and hugged each other.
Kohu stepped forwards, his head bowed. The crowd grew quiet.
‘Hemi, the generosity of your offer … if we can believe what we’ve just heard … far exceeds what we had ever dreamed or hoped for. We now know for certain that there is a God and that he can indeed perform miracles and answer our prayers. Our ancestors are rejoicing at the sound of your voice. However, our protocol requires that we give you something more than a dollar in return.’
Rachel had known what Hemi was going to do but the enormity of the generous act had her spellbound.
‘Your friendship and satisfaction are more than adequate repayment for me,’ said Hemi firmly. ‘I’m not yet thirty and I’ve done fairly well in life. There’s nothing I need now, apart from the affection and goodwill of people like yourselves.’ He paused for a moment, as he thought about his rough times with Baldy, Atawhai and Tamatea. But he felt free of them now. After witnessing the brokenness of his cousin, seeing how his own aggro seemed to have worn him down, left him spent, he knew he’d come through those hard years intact. He shrugged, looking at the gentler faces around him. ‘After all, we’re going to be neighbours in a way. We’ve still got to live together. Now, does anyone have that dollar, before I change my mind?’
Half-a-dozen laughing people plunged their hands in their pockets.
Steaming piles of vegetables and meat were being arranged on the tables and bottles were being opened under lighted lamps strung from the overhanging branches.
Someone was tuning up a guitar.
‘Kai is ready,’ called a voice.
After dinner the singing and speech-making resumed, this time with verve and passion. Dexter Bannister opened his briefcase and showed Kohu and Barney the ownership documents. They looked over the sale-and-purchase agreement, already drawn up and ready to sign.
Hemi took Rachel’s hand and led her to the fireside.
The talking rapidly ceased.
‘There’s something else I want to hand over tonight,’ he announced feeling slightly pompous. ‘A long time ago I dived in the taniwha’s pool over there and found a sacred object. A taonga pounamu. I have kept it safe ever since that day. I think you all know its name. Tonight I want to return it to its rightful ancestral owner.’
He reached into his jacket and took out a packet wrapped in green paper.
Attached to it was a card:
Dear Rachel,
I found this in the taniwha’s pool
that first day I saw you.
A gift for a princess.
&nb
sp; Aroha-nui,
Hemi
Like a child at Christmas Rachel carefully unwrapped the paper. It was a polished rimu box with inlaid paua shell.
She raised the lid and lifted out the greenstone pendant by its cord.
Moanawhakamana spun slowly, flashing in the firelight.
Every eye focussed on the pounamu, as it turned on its string like a dancer in a fairy-tale ballet.
Rachel looked deep into his eyes. Tears were running down her cheeks.
Hemi took the marakihau from her trembling hands. She gathered her hair up behind her head. He placed the pendant gently around her neck. Tied the thong. Kissed her lightly on the lips.
‘Kia ora, Rachel,’ he whispered. ‘Looks like the legend continues, eh!’
‘And the boy who climbs trees is a man,’ she said, wrapping her arms tightly around him. ‘A man of strength and courage.’
Copyright
National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Smith, Phil, 1945-
The unknown zone / Phil Smith.
ISBN 9781775532446
[1. Courage—Fiction. 2. Skeleton—Fiction. 3. Maori (New Zealand people)—Fiction. 4. New Zealand—History—19th century—Fiction.]
I. Title.
NZ823.3—dc 22
A RANDOM HOUSE BOOK
published by
Random House New Zealand
18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand
www.randomhouse.co.nz
First published 2005
© 2005 Phil Smith
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN 9781775532446
Cover and text design: Katy Yiakmis
Printed in Australia by Griffin Press