EPILOGUE
I didn’t wake up for two days. When I did, I was laying in my bed. There where hospital monitors dotted all around the room connected to me. Tristan was in the room along with a nurse. When they announced that I had come-to my dad and Alani came rushing in. They all told me how worried they were about me. When they tried to ask me what happened, I would always shake my head and clam up. I was not ready to talk about it. The doctor told them that I was in shock and that I would be able to come to terms with whatever happened when I was ready. He warned them not to push me, thankfully.
For the remainder of that day Tristan didn’t leave my side except for when my dad came in to check on me. My dad looks at Tristan in a compassionate fatherly way and says, “Why don’t you go and get something to eat. You will be no good to Emma if you pass out on her.” Tristan gets up and places a light kiss on my forehead before he leaves the room. Tristan has been so amazing, just sitting quietly reading his book in the room with me. Not forcing a conversation or hovering over me in any way. He was just there, lending his strength to me through his silent support.
When Tristan leaves and closes the door my dad takes a seat next to me on the bed. He pushes some hair that has fallen in my eyes out of the way and pats my hand. I can tell that it pains him to see me hurt and helpless. He clears his throat and says, “So, Kaylee has been calling every hour on the hour to check on you. The Kealoha’s paid for her to fly up here this weekend. That was the earliest we could get her here.”
In that moment I am full of gratitude. If there was anyone that I could talk to about what happened it would be Kaylee. “Thanks dad.” My throat feels so scraped up from screaming, that my words come out in a croak.
“I love you so much Emma.” My dad breaks down and allows some tears to escape from his eyes as I reach my hand out and put it on his. “I was so worried about you. I prayed daily for you and you know that I don’t pray often…I am so glad you are home.” He takes a deep breath then gets up and walks over to my bathroom to grab a Kleenex. When he comes back in he’s composed himself again.
“I love you too dad. I’m so sorry.” I say barely above a whisper. Now it’s my time to cry and I allow the tears to fall freely down my cheek.
“No Emma, don’t worry. The important thing is that you are safe.” He goes back into the bathroom and comes back with another tissue, which he uses to wipe my tears away. “Well I guess we are just a bunch of blubbering babies today.” He says with an attempt at being light hearted.
I give him a pitifully weak smile. My dad sighs and then says, “I’m going to let you get some more rest honey. I love you.” He gives me a kiss on the forehead and then turns to leave.
I yawn which makes my throat burn with fire. I guess I do need rest. Tristan returns a moment later with a sandwich in his hand and quietly takes a seat on the recliner that I guess they moved in here for him. Knowing I’m safe at least in this moment I allow myself to drift off into a dreamless sleep.
It’s another day before I’m allowed up and out of bed. The hospital monitors are all gone now. I still have a follow up appointment next week but as of right now they say I’m in the clear. The doctor said that my arm is healing at a miraculous speed. He has never seen anything like it before. He was truly puzzled when the results of my blood test came in. Apparently the calcium levels in my blood are alarmingly high and there is a strange magnetic quality to my blood that he has never seen before. He let me know that he wants to run more tests because as of right now they are inconclusive. His estimate is that it will be fully healed within a week. I wonder if the drink Kai had given me played a factor in this.
I spend the day with my Dad, Tristan and Alani. We just take it easy and eat Hawaiian food while watching classic movies all day. I only say a hand full of words throughout the whole day. I’m grateful for the movies that fill in the awkward silence. I know that everyone must want answers so badly. Out of fear of causing more harm, they don’t press me at all.
Even if they were to lay thousands of pounds of pressure on me, I wouldn’t fold. After all, I haven’t even processed all that has happened yet; how could I explain it to anyone else? I feel as if there is a giant gaping hole inside my chest. I try to will myself to not think about Kai but how can I not? He sacrificed himself for me. He is now a Night Marcher because of ME! I don’t pay attention to any of the movies that we watch; I just try to rack my brain to find a way to get Kai back. I can’t just leave him with them. I have to save him. I’m filled with the worry of who he is now. Is he evil now? I think back at how he looked at me after he turned. Our eyes met each other but he didn’t come after me or try to kill me like Kao did when we first locked eyes a week ago. I could see the sadness in Kai’s eyes not hatred like that of Kao’s. This must mean that Kai is not evil. I don’t think he could ever be bad anyway. The more I think about it, the more questions pop into my head. I wonder if it’s possible that not all Night Marchers are evil. Perhaps only if they were evil before they turned like Kao was. I wonder where Kao is now. I pray that I never have to see him again. My head starts to pound from all the questions running rampant through my brain. I do my best to shut them off and try to follow the story line of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ which is playing on the TV in front of me.
Audrey Hepburn’s rendition of Moon River is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Alani gets up to go get it and quickly comes back to let me know that I have a visitor. My heart starts racing as I hope that it might be Kai. Maybe he’s better! I mean, if he were still a Night Marcher, I’m sure Alani would be screaming or something. I rush to the door and am disappointed to find Mrs. Kealoha standing in the entry hall. I’m not sure why she would have come to see me and I’m not sure why she would ring the doorbell of her own house.
“Hello Emma.” Mrs. Kealoha says nervously. This strikes me as a bit strange since the last time we met, she seemed like such a strong and sure woman.
“Hi.” I say back a little uncertain.
“When I heard that you were injured I was so worried. I wanted to come and check on you sooner but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. How are you feeling?”
I can tell that her words seem sincere, like she is truly worried about me, but I can also sense that there is an underlining motive for her presence here tonight. “I am feeling better.” I reply.
“Good. Um. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”
“Honestly, I don’t feel ready to talk about it.” Ah there it is. She’s curious. Maybe she’s worried that my dad will move us out of here now. That thought makes my heart ache as I think about leaving Kai here to spend eternity wandering the island as a Night Marcher.
“Okay. I understand.” She says quietly and turns to walk away. There’s something in her look and her stance that makes me ache for her. It’s as if I let her hopes down when I told her that I didn’t want to talk about it. Her shoulders are hunched forward as she leaves through the front door.
I follow her outside and reach out to gently tap her on the back. “Mrs. Kealoha, what’s wrong?”
She turns towards me and there are tears in her eyes. My heart breaks a little when I see the sorrow there. “Emma, I just thought… I mean, I know you were gone for a few days… Tristan, he found you on the trail.”
She’s having trouble saying whatever she’s trying to say so I try to encourage her by saying, “It’s okay Mrs. Kealoha. What are you trying to say?”
“I guess I’m trying to ask you… Well, I’ll just spit it out. Did you see them? The Night Marchers?”
“What?” I barely manage to say. My head starts spinning as the image of the Night Marchers comes to my mind. How does she know? I have to steady myself by grabbing the front porch railing with my good hand.
She stares at me intently; I’m guessing she’s trying to find a way to get me to talk without causing me any emotional harm by pressing me too far. “I just thought, that maybe you may have seen them. I’m not trying to be pushy; I
just was hoping to find out if you did see them… What I’m trying to say is that if you saw them, the Night Marchers, maybe you saw my son.” She choked on the last two words. I can tell it pained her to say them. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a picture of a boy about my age.
Her hand shakes as she puts the picture in my hand that I’ve removed from the railing. I stare at it. I haven’t seen this boy before today. I wish I could give her better news. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t see him.” I say sadly.
“Emma, are you sure? He wouldn’t look like this picture. You see Noa, that’s his name, he’s one of them now. They took him, six months ago. He was out hiking with some friends and they told me that he locked eyes with one. His friends were scared so they ran. We sent search parties out for weeks looking for him. Nothing ever turned up. No body, no trace of him at all. My husband doesn’t believe what I believe. I think they took him. That’s why I made my husband hire your dad. I need to know. If I could just know, even if he is a Night Marcher now, maybe I will have peace. I have been left with nothing. He was my baby Emma.” Tears are spilling down her cheeks as she reaches out and places her hand on my arm. “Did you see him, at all? In the ranks of the Night Marchers?”
I reach up to my cheeks to wipe away my own tears, tears of sorrow for her lost son and for Kai. “I am so sorry. I didn’t see your son Mrs. Kealoha.”
She stands there and looks crushed, as if the weight of my words just smashed her to the ground. I feel utterly helpless staring at her. I wish I could have given her the news she wanted so badly.
I hear the door open behind me. Tristan walks out and looks at the two of us. He can tell that I’m hurting so he puts his arm around me lending me some of his strength. “Are you two okay?” He asks.
When I look up at Mrs. Kealoha I can see that she has composed herself again. She nods and says to me, “Thank you for talking to me Emma. I hope that you heal quickly. Have a good night.”
“You too.” I say back to her. After all, there’s not much I can say to her to give her any comfort. She’s lost so much; she’s broken, and so am I. I’m grateful to have Tristan’s arm around me holding me up. If he weren’t here, I’m certain that I would have just melted into the ground. We both stand there silently as Mrs. Kealoha slides into her limo. I look down and realize that I still have the picture of her son in my hands. The picture looks like one of those ones you take in school with the blue background. He is a rather handsome boy who looks so full of life. I wish I could help her find him.
Tristan turns me to him and looks into my eyes. “Emma, are you alright? Did she upset you?” I almost think that I can see a hint of anger inside him. It’s certainly a different side of Tristan that I hadn’t seen before.
I shake my head no. I feel a bit guilty. Tristan is here, standing by my side trying to hold me up and not pressure me through all of this. And here I am, accepting his comfort all the while thinking of Kai and how I can help save him. I turn into him and give him a long hug. Although, I feel guilty, I need this. I need to feel comfort and safety in the midst of all of this chaos that has come into my life. I breathe in the scent of Axe body spray all the while longing for Kai.
Around nine p.m. I say my goodnights and head off to my room for bed. I take the picture of Mrs. Kealoha’s son, Noa and place it on my nightstand. Reaching into my pocket I pull out the picture of my mom. I place it next to Noa’s picture. This life is so full of unanswered questions, injustices… the unknown. How can people be so full of life one day and gone the next? It seems so wrong, yet I know in my heart that everything has a purpose. I wonder what my purpose is. I close my eyes and offer a silent prayer to God asking that he take care of Mrs. Kealoha’s son… and my mom… and Kai.
Opening my eyes I register a movement in my peripheral vision on the patio. It was so quick and slight; I would have missed it had I opened my eyes any later. My heart starts racing with fear as I head towards the door to investigate. At first I don’t see anything but when I get closer I see that the person on my patio is half the size of a normal human. It’s a Menehune! My heart starts returning to normal when I realize that there’s no threat. I step outside and find Paul. It’s extremely dark outside so I flip the patio light switch on.
I gasp! I couldn’t tell in the dark but now in the light I can see that he’s hurt. He looks like he’s been beaten! He’s standing on my patio shaking like a leaf. He’s covered in scratches and contusions and he has a black eye beginning to form.
“EEeemma....” He says, shaking and stuttering.
“Paul, are you okay?!” I ask freaking out.
He starts shaking his head back and forth wildly. “Nooo... He’s ggot hiiim. He... liiike Kkkai bbuttt nnottt liiikke Kkaii.” I can barely understand him he’s stuttering so badly. “He won’ttt sstop till hee hass it...”
“Got who? Has what Paul?” I’m starting to get angry, not because I can’t understand him, but because something, someone, did this to him. An innocent Menehune boy!
“Tthe Chhieefs bbbones.” He says and then looks at me with tears streaming down his face. “Hhee hhas Aadamm!”
I suck in a quick breath. “No!”
Hoʻomau ʻia Mahope aku
Continued Later...
Night Marchers Page 22