When Words Die

by Jenni Francis

  Jess said to me, “I thought we were here for a holiday. Not to work!”

  “It’s only for today, Jess, and then we will be on holiday. Anyway, it’s a cool experience!”

  “I’ve had enough experiences in the last two years,” she muttered “I can do without any more for a while.”

  “Was it that bad?” I asked.

  I was surprised to see her tear up briefly. Then she shook her head.

  “What the heck!” she said. “If I can do that, I can do this.”

  Mereana came back just then. “Her name is Chloe, and she is really, really shy. Her sister Lily told me.”

  “How can someone be that shy?” I wondered aloud.

  Back at Nanny Anahera’s house there was a lot of activity. More food being delivered from people who weren’t able to go to the hui, apparently. Nanny was all dressed up and was shooing some children out the back door.

  “Go away!” she shouted. “This food is not for you until after. Go and get a piece of bread from your own home.”

  They ran off laughing as they saw us coming through the door.

  “Eh, girls, good, you’re back,” she said as we came into the kitchen. “Go and get dressed up into something tidy. Not shorts. Then we can walk back down together and take some more kai.”

  “Nanny,” I said. “That girl we took the pie to. Chloe. She seems really shy. Have they lived here very long?”

  “Ah, that family. They’ve been here about six months. The dad, he’s from around here, and he came back to work at a big project they’ve got planned for some new bridges. He’s a distant cousin of yours, Mereana. His wife, she doesn’t like living here. Neither does Chloe. The kids tease her because she doesn’t talk. And with that red hair, she’s like a beacon. Poor kid,” she muttered. “That makes her a cousin to you too, Mereana. You’ve got a big whānau up here!”

  “I sure do, Nanny! No hope of getting away with anything up here!”

  “What do you mean?” Nanny looked suspiciously at Mereana, who turned red.

  “No, nothing,” she laughed, embarrassed. “It’s just different to the city.”

  “Huh!” Nanny said. “I’ll say it’s different! It’s better!”

  She picked up two carrier bags and made her way down the hall and out the front door. “Get dressed, then bring the rest of the food in the kitchen,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Oh, what is the matter with me!?” Mereana slapped her hand to her forehead in frustration. “I seem to keep saying the wrong thing! I don’t mean to.”

  “Stop talking then!” I said in jest. “You need to be more diplomatic. She’s obviously upset at all the people moving away.”

  “Yeah, I know. Alright, I will. I’ll keep it zipped.”

  We raced through changing and makeup and doing our hair. Well, as fast as three girls sharing one bathroom and mirror could. It still took about an hour. By the time we got there the bus load of visitors had arrived and were making their way to the gate.

  “Here, give me those bags,” Mereana hissed. “Go to the back of that group of people and follow them.”

  Laden down with four bags, she tottered quickly through the gate, while we stood there, bewildered.

  “What just happened?” Jess asked.

  “I think we just got conned into something. Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

  We made our way to the back of the group and shuffled in behind them.

  Chapter 13

  Chloe

  The girl, Mereana, seemed nice. She came up to Chloe and her family as they made their way to the marae.

  “Hi Chloe, how are you?”

  Chloe managed a smile, and might have intended to say ‘Hi’, but Lily interrupted her.

  “Hi, my name’s Lily. Chloe doesn’t talk to people she doesn’t know. But I do. You can talk to me.”

  “Lily! That’s rude. And mean!” her mum said. “Hello, I’m Katie, Katie Hemana, Chloe and Lily’s mum, and this is their dad, Robert. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Mereana. I’m staying with Nanny Anahera. She’s my dad’s nana. She said we might be related. Distant cousins or something.”

  “Oh, is your dad John Wrightson? Hoani?”

  “Yes, he was. He died a long time ago.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. He was a bit older than me. Nanny Anahera is my nanny’s sister. That’s how we are related. Hoani and I went to the same school for a long time.”

  “Wow! I’d love to talk to you more about that. But I’d better go. We’ve got more things to bring over. But I’ll see you later.” Mereana smiled at Chloe and headed back to her friends.

  Briefly, Chloe felt a small flame of hope that this was someone she might be able to talk to. But as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Especially as Wiremu, Hemi and Walter snuck up behind and pulled her hair. Before she could do anything, they had gone. No one even noticed. She followed her parents onto the marae where they greeted friends and family, while they waited for the hui to start. She stayed close to her mum, while Dad and Lily laughed and talked and greeted everyone they met. Not for the first time she envied her little sister.

  Chapter 14

  Keri

  Being at the back had its advantages. Some of the visitors were clearly as lost and uncomfortable as we were. They smiled nervously at us, and we smiled nervously back. We could follow what everyone else was doing and not appear stupid.

  Until I turned around and realised there was a film crew right behind us. I motioned to Jess. She looked around, opened her eyes wide and proceeded to edge her way through gaps between people in front of us. I followed her, and as we slowly moved forward we found ourselves very close to the front. Beside the visitor who was leading our group I noticed Mereana’s cousin Pani was quietly explaining what was happening and what we all should do next.

  It was very quiet in our group. We could hear the calling, the karanga, from a woman welcoming us onto the marae. It was quite spine-tingling. We shuffled forward and finally we were through the gates and were able to spread out a bit more to see what was happening.

  In front of our group, another woman was calling a reply and this went on for a few minutes. Then an older man from the tangata whenua started to speak in māori. He spoke for a few minutes then translated into English. Then the whole welcoming group started to sing. It was a song, a waiata I knew from school.

  As they finished, someone from our group started to speak, also in māori. When he had completed the translation a few people from our side started to sing. I realised I kind of knew the song, so I did my best. Jess, beside me, stood stony-faced. Away in the back of the other group I could see Mereana standing with Chloe and her family. She was grinning at me.

  You just wait, I thought.

  There were a few more speeches and waiata, and then the last speaker of our group moved to the middle of the ground and placed an envelope on the ground. He moved back to his place, and someone from the other side moved forward to pick it up. Pani and the older lady who had helped lead our group turned around to the rest of us, to explain that we should now move forward in single file to be greeted by each member of the welcoming group, with the men going first.

  Pani saw Jess and me. She must have known who we were. She slitted her eyes at us and turned her head away.

  No help there, then, I thought.

  The older kuia smiled at us as we went past her. “You can hongi if you like, or kiss the cheek of the women, but put your hand out first to shake hands. Then be guided by the person you are greeting.”

  “Thank you,” I said gratefully to her.

  Most of the old men, the kaumātua, shook hands and greeted with the hongi, pressing noses in greeting. Some of the kuia did the same, while others kissed my cheek. By the time I had reached the end of the row I was feeling more confident. I’d done it before at school. This was different. Much more serious and meaningful. Jess, I noticed, just shook hands, although a few times she was pulled in with a stron
g arm to be more face to face.

  Finally, we all moved off to the wharekai for the promised meal. Everyone relaxed and started chatting to each other. The noise level rose. We edged our way around the crowd to where Mereana stood. As guests, we were encouraged to fill our plates first, but I wanted to be a non-guest and get back to the kitchen, where I felt more comfortable.

  “Ae, girls, good to have you back. Are you ready for some more work? Have you had some kai?” Auntie Trina was still in the kitchen. We shook our heads and immediately three plates of food arrived into our hands. We sat outside in the sun with the plates on our laps.

  Oh, the food was so good. We each had a piece of kūmara and pumpkin, a lump of meat that turned out to be lamb, and a small quantity of cabbage. It was smoky and earthy and a blend of all the foods that had been cooked in the same pit. I ate everything, including the cabbage. Then we were really ready to work.

  For the rest of the afternoon we washed dishes. As soon as one pile of plates were washed, another appeared at my elbow. I must have filled and emptied the sink about seven times, as the water cooled and started to look like cold soup. But it was fun. Lots of joking and laughing and fooling around. Outside, the kids were running around having a great time, guitars were playing, and people were relaxing in the sun. Even Jess relaxed and chatted to the lady she was helping. I could hear her telling the lady about living in New York, and what a culture shock it was.

  Good, I thought. Could be just what she needs, to talk about it.

  By the end of the afternoon, when everyone had left and the kitchen was tidy again, Nanny Anahera came to find us. She had been busy with other tasks, as kaumātua. She was smiling broadly.

  “You girls have done very well. Let’s go home now. I’ll walk back with you. Why don’t you go and have a swim before dinner?”

  I groaned. “I don’t think I’ll ever eat again!” All afternoon, as we worked, we had been plied with food. “But a swim sounds great.”

  Sonny came into the kitchen at that moment. “I’ll give you a lift down the beach if you want, but you’ll have to walk home. I’ll come along to Nanny’s in about ten minutes.”

  “Sure, Sonny,” Mereana said. “That would be great. I’ll just go and see if Chloe would like to come with us.”

  As we walked out to the road with Nanny Anahera, Mereana and Chloe came up behind us, Mereana chatting away. We turned and smiled at Chloe and she gave a small smile back.

  Nanny asked, “Did you enjoy your day, girls?”

  “I did!” I said. “It was different to what I’ve experienced before. We went to a marae in the city, but it was nothing like this.”

  “I kind of did,” Jess admitted. “I just wasn’t expecting anything like this when I came away.”

  Nanny patted Jess’s hand. “It’s always hard the first time. Good girl.”

  We walked back to the house chatting easily about what had happened during the day. It was all very comfortable. Chloe headed off to her place to get her togs, and we continued to Nanny’s place to collect ours. Sonny was waiting by the time we came out, but there was no sign of Chloe.

  “You might need to go and get her, Mereana,” I said.

  Just then Chloe’s mum came out of her gate. She motioned Mereana over. They spoke for a moment, then they both went inside the house. We waited for a bit, with Sonny getting a little agitated. “Come on,” he muttered. “Hurry up. I’ve got things to do.”

  Eventually, Mereana and Chloe came out the house.

  Chloe’s mum yelled from the front door, “Chloe, have you got sunscreen on?”

  Chloe turned back to her and nodded, her face turning bright red at the interruption. If it wasn’t for Mereana having her arm around her as she got in the van, Chloe might have shot back to the house. She looked like a scared rabbit, eyes big and anxious. I smiled at her, she relaxed, and we all climbed in the van and headed to the beach.

  Sonny dropped us off at a carpark area.

  “See you, girls,” he said. “Watch out for those lifeguards!” He giggled.

  “Shouldn’t they be watching out for us?”

  “Oh, they will be, good-looking girls like you!” He was laughing loudly as he took off, churning up clouds of dust from the stony ground.

  We waved goodbye and walked down a sandy pathway to the beach. It was hot at that time of the day, with very little wind, and the smell of the lupins and the pine trees was reminding me of other summer holidays. Especially the one when Mereana and I, Sando and Jordan foiled a burglary ring. That had been memorable. In fact, the more I thought about it, a lot of my holidays had been an adventure, one way or another. What was going to happen this time, I wondered.

  There were still a lot of people on the beach. As we walked past the lifeguard stand, I heard some giggling and scuffling. A lifeguard looked over the railing and whistled at us, as we headed for the water. Jess giggled, looked back over her shoulder and did a little wiggle.

  “Jess!” I said. “Are you kidding me? You don’t even know who those boys are!”

  “Yes, I do. I was talking to one of them at the hui. He’s nice.”

  “Yeah, but shaking yourself at him.”

  She tossed her head and stalked off. “Don’t be so straight!” she called back.

  Chapter 15

  Chloe

  Older girls! Asking if Chloe would like to go to the beach with them. Her nerves were shredded to pieces. She could barely look at them, her anxieties were so uncontrolled. If it hadn’t been for Mum coming to get her, and Mereana smiling so nicely, she would not have been walking down to the beach now. The girls were talking around her, over her, and sometimes to her. She’d managed a few smiles and nods.

  When Jess did a little flirt with Tyrone, one of the lifeguards, Chloe giggled. She knew what Tyrone was like. She’d seen him at school, with a different girl every week, walking around at lunchtime. All the girls talked about him, and they all liked him, but they also knew it wasn’t really girls he was interested in. Jess would find out soon enough.

  They put their towels on the sand, took off their shorts and tops, and ran down to the waves. The waves were not too big, and great for bodysurfing. Chloe felt better right away. She stood for a moment to let her body adjust to the temperature then ran in further and dived under the next big wave. It was wonderful to cool off. The girls were shrieking and giggling behind her.

  “Hey, Chloe, wait for us!” Mereana yelled.

  But the next good wave was forming and she moved forward, leapt up and started kicking like mad. The wave took her, and arms in front, she rode it almost to the sand, passing the girls as she went. Grinning hugely, she jumped up and turned to head out for another. The three girls were standing facing her, eyes wide and mouths open.

  “That was amazing!” Keri said. “I’ve never been able to do that. Can you show me?”

  Suddenly the good feeling evaporated. How could Chloe show her, if she couldn’t talk to her? She shook her head and turned to go and sit on the beach.

  The three of them were talking heatedly. About Chloe there was no doubt. Mereana came to sit beside her.

  “Keri is sorry she stopped you from what you were doing. She was really envious of how you did it so easily. But she won’t ask you again. We just want you to have fun down here, and you sure were doing that. Will you come back in?”

  Chloe sat for a moment. There was nothing she wanted more. Eventually she nodded her head, and stood with Mereana, brushing sand off her legs. They walked back into the sea. But the joy had gone, and it turned into just a swim, which was okay.

  Later, they walked home in the warm evening. Jess and Keri seemed to be arguing about something, and Mereana walked with Chloe.

  “It’s so cool, us being related,” Mereana said. “Cousins. Well, distant cousins. And your dad knew my dad!”

  Chloe turned and smiled at her. She liked having her as a cousin, too.

  Chapter 16

  Keri

  As soon as I saw
the look on Chloe’s face I knew I had said the wrong thing. But she looked so graceful, slicing through the wave like a dolphin. I’ve always wanted to be able to bodysurf properly, but I’d never really got the hang of it. Not like that. Mereana managed to get her to come back into the water, but she wasn’t smiling much after that.

  We walked back home, and Jess got stuck into me about being insensitive. Boy, she had a nerve. I’d been on the end of her insensitivity. Not to mention the way she was on the marae. Barely being courteous. And flirting with a boy because he whistled at her. Didn’t she know how that looked? We argued all the way home, while Mereana and Chloe walked behind us.

  Dinner was subdued on our part, but Nanny was full of chatter and smiles and stories about who she’d spoken to that day, what had gone on behind the scenes and some funny stories about some of the visitors. Thankfully she was very complimentary about our efforts. Auntie Trina must have said something to her.

  After dinner we went for a walk around town and stopped to talk to some of the locals we now recognised. We felt like we were part of the community. We also called in to see a relative of Nanny’s so Mereana could use the phone and make arrangements for us to go horse riding the next day. We’d talked about it together and as Mereana and I were fairly good riders after our last summer holiday and a few treks we’d done the following year, we said we’d teach Jess what to do. She’d never been on a horse before. I wondered, yet again, if bringing Jess along had been the right thing to do. She and I seemed to have grown apart more than I could have imagined.

  Mereana came back to where we were sitting on the wall outside.

  “Okay, all fixed. Uncle Mohi will have three horses ready for us at about nine tomorrow morning. I said we’d be better with saddles, and that’s okay with him. We can take them for the day, so we’ll take lunch, togs and drink bottles in some saddle bags.”