“What’s this all about?” she said.
“Who died at my old house?” Heeni asked.
“Oh.” Nanny looked down at the floor. “It’s been so long,” she said. She sighed. She was quiet for a while. Then she started.
“After you left, that husband of yours, he was very angry. He went around the whole whānau trying to find his boys, but it wasn’t hard to hide them. Even Hoani. We cut his hair short, and bought him nice clothes, and said he had come from Auckland, that we adopted him. That man was drunk a lot of the time, so he wasn’t really looking right. After a while he gave up, but he was drinking more and more, and he took a young girl to that house, and something happened we don’t want to talk about. But she pushed him down the stairs and he died. The police decided he fell down when he was drunk. There was an inquest and it came back ‘accidental death while intoxicated’. They sent the girl to Christchurch, to family down there, and we heard she got married and had children. She’s okay now. The elders put a wahi tapu on the place, and no one went near it again.”
“We went there today,” Mereana said. “We wanted to find out about the house, and then Heeni came, and we were looking at photos and stuff from the house, then Pani and Wiremu were yelling at us to get out.”
Nanny went white. Heeni wasn’t looking too good either. “I never knew all that,” she said. “I’m so glad I gave my boys to good people. They had a better life.” She started to cry again, and Nanny got up and put her arms around her. Two old ladies comforting each other. Chloe felt so sad for them both, but words of comfort were completely absent from Chloe’s mind. She looked to Mereana for help, and they both got up and put their arms around the two old ladies.
Eventually, Nanny and Heeni stopped crying. Nanny made some more tea and put out some scones with butter and jam. They looked at the photos and Nanny and Heeni laughed about how they used to look. Stories were told and things were remembered and at last Heeni seemed comforted.
She put her hand out to Nanny, then to Mereana and Chloe.
“I haven’t got much time left,” she said quietly. “Maybe just a week or so. My doctor gave me strong pain medication, but it’s not working much now. Today I can feel everything, and it’s not good. I can’t eat and I can’t sleep, but I just had to come here and find my mokopuna. They are all good mokopuna, but these two here,” she smiled at Chloe and Mereana, “Well, they have been so accepting and understanding. I couldn’t have asked for better.
“Tomorrow, at the hui, I don’t want any of the mokopuna around. I just want to talk to the adults. I need to make my peace with the people who knew me.”
“That’s ka pai, Heeni. There’s always older kids around who can babysit. Maybe you girls can help out?”
“Of course,” Mereana said. “Let’s get back to Chloe’s place and see who needs looking after. Then we’ll go for a swim. After that we’ll come back here and help you with dinner.” She looked at Jess and Keri. “Is that cool?”
Jess shrugged.
Keri said, “Sure.”
They helped clear the table and left the two old ladies talking about the past.
Chapter 30
Keri
It was uncomfortable, sitting there watching the old ladies cry. I felt right out of place, totally useless. I didn’t dare look at Jess. This was not the holiday she had been looking for. Even though she had solved the puzzle of the tapu house. I know she had imagined lying on the beach or swimming in someone’s pool. It couldn’t have been further from that. We’d found ourselves in the middle of a family intrigue.
At Chloe’s house, her mum got on the phone and rang around to see who needed kid-sitting. Turned out only Lily needed looking after, and she wanted Arona to be with her. We arranged with Uncle Mohi to let us have the horses again. Just three horses, and we would take them down the beach and teach the younger kids how to ride by themselves, to give them confidence.
Not that Arona needed any more confidence on the horse. On the beach the next day she showed us just what she could do. It was quite impressive. We spent most of the morning there, stopping for a swim when we got too hot to ride, then we headed back to the farm after eating a few sandwiches Nanny Anahera had made for us.
Uncle Mohi was arriving back from the hui to do some work on the farm as we arrived. There was haymaking to be arranged. It had to be done before the weekend as rain was coming.
“The meeting is still going on,” he said. “Why don’t you leave the horses with me and go for a swim at the river.”
“No, Dad. No! I want to ride over there ...” Arona pointed to a part of the beach that was protected by a curve of rocks and a small clay cliff.
“Alright. But be careful over there, if you go for a swim. The tide is just on the turn and it can get a bit rough sometimes.”
“I know, Dad,” Arona said scornfully. “I’ve swum there heaps of times. I’m okay.”
“She probably will be fine, he told us. She swims like a fish. Okay, bring the horses back when you’ve finished, and you can help me rub them down and put them away.”
“Okay, no problem. We’ll do that. Thanks Uncle ...”
Chapter 31
Chloe
With the horses tied to nearby trees, the girls headed into the water. Shrieking and leaping over the waves the older girls played with the smaller ones, pushing them in front of a wave to bodysurf it into the shallows, letting them jump off their shoulders, and giving them a two-handed lift to flip them back into the water. It was the best fun Chloe had had in the water for a long time. She laughed and dived and swam with the others.
Until a motorbike tore along the beach, unsettling the horses.
One of the horses reared up at the noise, tore its halter loose and charged off down the beach. The other two were neighing and tugging on their ropes. Keri, Jess and Mereana raced out of the water to calm the horses. Jess called back to the younger girls.
“Lily, Arona, get out the water right now. We’ll go back in soon, but right now you have to get out. We can’t be watching you!”
Chloe headed to the sand, but not Lily and Arona. They splashed on regardless, shrieking and screaming as the waves hit them and knocked them down.
“Chloe, can you get them out, and keep an eye on them?” Mereana called over her shoulder as she ran up the beach.
Chloe ran over to them, waving at them to come out the water. They weren’t looking her way at all, so she waded into the water and tried to catch hold of Lily. “Come on Lily, we have to get out the water,” she said quietly to Lily.
Lily squirmed out of Chloe’s grasp and headed out to where Arona was jumping and diving into the waves, leaving Chloe to stand helplessly in the shallows. Her voice was leaving her, in her anxiety. She felt her throat close up.
The two little girls raced past her, kicking and splashing water at each other, out onto the sand and back into the shallows. Chloe ran to them, trying to corral them away from the sea. She managed to chase them up to the dry sand, but they shot back to the water, leaving her standing on the beach. She turned to where the older girls were calming the horses. Mereana had leapt onto one of the remaining horses and turned it quickly, kicking it up to go in the direction of the absconding horse. Jess and Keri had just managed to calm down the other horse.
Chloe stood, unable to make a decision - or a sound.
Then Lily screamed.
A strong wave had pulled her over, and she was struggling to get back up. Chloe watched in horror as Lily was dragged out into the deep water, her little arms flailing about as she tried to save herself.
Seconds later Arona was tossed about by the waves, which in such a short time had gone from being fun to being dangerous. Arona started to scream.
Chloe couldn’t save both of them.
She turned back to Jess and Keri, and with every nerve straining she screamed, “Keri! Help me!”
She ran to the water and headed to where Lily was struggling in the surf, just as Jess raced past her a
nd headed for Arona. An undertow had developed and made wading in the water difficult. Chloe was pulled off her feet and found herself being tossed around under the foaming waves. With a huge effort she swam up and over the churning water. She put her head down and focused on swimming with strong even strokes, but after a few meters found she was herself exhausted. She looked around and saw Lily was lying face down in the water, out beyond the wave break. Chloe swam out to her and grabbed her .
Chloe reached the flat water past the wave break and was able to swim to Lily who was face down in the water. She grabbed her around the chest, turned her over onto her back. Lily struggled and flailed, hitting Chloe in the face. For the first time Chloe felt there was hope. She held on to Lily and using her legs and her free arm, swam sidestroke back towards the beach.
The outgoing tide and the undertow fought against her. She felt she was running out of energy. Then Lily moaned and Chloe lost all her fear and was now filled with a strength and a desire to win this fight.
It wasn’t easy. She kept talking to Lily, to calm her and to keep her from losing consciousness. Lily was becoming a dead weight. The surf was still strong, but Chloe was gradually winning the fight against the sea.
Lily was completely limp in her arms now, the fight having gone out of her, and Chloe was only just able to carry her the last few meters out of the crashing waves.
She collapsed onto the beach just as Jess reached out to take Lily, her legs and arms giving way under her. Jess laid Lily on the sand on her side, to allow any water to empty from her lungs. Lily was breathing ragged. She gave several coughs and the sea water flowed from her mouth along with some vomit. She started to cry and tried to sit up, but Jess held her down gently and talked to her calmly.
“Stay there sweetie, we just need to make sure there is no more water in your lungs.”
Chloe could barely open her eyes, but she became aware of horse’s hooves coming closer. She forced her eyes open and could see her mother riding along the beach towards her. Keri was running towards them. Chloe sat up as her mother reached them. She slid off the horse and ran to Lily.
“Lily!” she cried. “Are you okay?”
Lily reached for her mother and cried as her mother wrapped her in her arms. She coughed and coughed.
Chloe lay on the sand in the warm sun, unable to move. Jess gently wrapped her in the towel and gave the rest to Mrs Hemana for Lily. Lily was swaddled tightly as she began shivering uncontrollably.
Her mother was talking. It was a while before Chloe realised she was talking to her..
“I am so proud of you, Chloe. You were wonderful. That was a very brave thing you did.”
The dots weren’t connecting in Chloe’s brain. She sat up a little.
“How ... why ... but why are you here?”
“I came down to join you. The meeting is over,” she said.
Chloe nodded, but stopped when she found herself getting dizzy. “Ohh,” she complained. She sank back down onto the sand.
“We should get them back to the car, and I’ll take them to the hospital,” her mother was saying to Jess. “I’ll carry Lily and if you can help Chloe?”
“Why don’t we put the Arona on the horse, and Chloe can walk alongside if she is strong enough,”
Chloe felt her mother’s arms around her, as she helped her to her feet. “I can walk now, Mum, you look after Lily.”
Chloe tried to stand up but was too weak. She sank back to the sand.
Keri had reached them by this time.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs Hemana. We shouldn’t have left them. We thought they were getting out of the water when we told them. The horses got a fright from the motorbike and we had to settle them down. Oh, I feel terrible! They could have drowned!”
“It’s okay, Keri. I saw what happened from back there. It happened so quickly. I don’t blame you.”
“I feel terrible! You’d think I would have learnt.” By now Keri was weeping. Jess put her arms around her.
“Come on, it’s okay. They’re fine. Let’s get Arona up on the horse, then you can help me support Chloe back to the car.”
It was all Chloe could do to shuffle along the beach between Keri and Jess, with Jess leading the horse and Mum carrying Lily.
Mereana was walking both horses back to them as they reached the carpark. The three girls helped get Chloe and Lily into the car, wrapped in the towels to keep them warm. Chloe was now also shivering and her Mum drove them off to town to the medical centre, faster than Chloe had ever known her Mum to drive ever before.
Chapter 32
Keri
You’d think I would have learned! Losing my little brother in the shopping mall was one thing. Nearly losing someone else’s little girl to drowning was another thing entirely. Both could have ended badly, both were as much my fault as anyone else’s, and both were preventable. I cried all the way back along the beach. I couldn’t stop shaking. Jess walked with her arm around me, while Mereana led the three horses, with Arona in the saddle of one. None of us spoke. Well, not quite. Arona kept up a chatter the entire way back to the farm, which was quite some distance.
Walking down the driveway to the house I pulled myself together. There was a great deal of activity, people coming and going. Chloe’s dad was there, having just dropped off some of the family who had been at the meeting. He was smiling. I realised he didn’t know what had happened to Lily and Chloe. Jess started to walk over to him, but I put my hand on her arm.
“I need to do this,” I said. As I walked up to him, he smiled even wider.
“Mr Hemana, I’m so sorry. Lily nearly drowned, and your wife has taken Lily and Chloe to the hospital to get checked over.”
His face drained of colour and his smile disappeared. “What happened!” he said hoarsely.
“We were all swimming down that end of the beach, by the groyne. Then a motorbike frightened the horses and we ran to calm them down. We told Lily and Arona to get out the water but they didn’t, and a wave took them out. Chloe managed to get Lily and Jess got Arona. They are alright, but it shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off them. I am so sorry. It was all my fault.” By now I was crying again.
“How long ago did they go?”
“About ... twenty minutes? We walked the horses back with Arona.”
She must have heard her name. She came running over and grabbed Mr Hemana’s hand. Looking up at him with solemn eyes, she said, “I nearly drownded too!”
“Did you?” he said to her, but he didn’t seem to have taken it in. He thought for a minute. “Okay, I’m going to go to the hospital. Will you come too?” he asked me. “We’ll try and call on the mobile as we go, but it’s not great cell phone coverage around here.”
I nodded. “I’ll just tell Jess and Mereana.”
“They can come too,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll check.”
Mereana was talking to her uncle by the barn out the back. I told them what Mr Hemana had said.
“No, that’s okay, yous go and see if the little one is okay. The boys can help with the horses, and Arona can help too. She should have listened to yous about getting out the water. Hoi!” he hollered. “Walter, Hemi, Wiremu, get your little backsides out here and give me a hand.”
As we climbed in the car, I could see the boys shuffling out to the barn, and heard Uncle Mohi say, “... and then you can help with the firewood for the hāngi. Which is what you were meant to do before you skived off, eh Walter.”
It was only a twenty-minute drive to the hospital, but it seemed longer. Mr Hemana tried the phone a few times, but we didn’t get a connection until we were nearly there. Chloe answered, and we heard her talking to her dad. Lily was okay, she said, but they wanted to do a scan to make sure there was no more water in her lungs. Her dad told her we’d be there in just a few minutes and to tell her Mum.
It was quite strange to hear her talking normally. She hadn’t realised we were in the car and could hear her. I hoped
that soon she would be relaxed enough to talk to us, too.
“Why doesn’t she talk to people?” I asked Mr Hemana. “She talks to you but not to anyone else.”
“It’s called selective mutism,” he explained. “It’s an anxiety disorder. No one seems to know why it happens, but there are a lot of people who have it. People used to think they were just shy, but it is much more than that. Sometimes it can be overcome, with time, counselling, intervention, speech therapy and so on, and sometimes it can’t. With your help and support and friendship I’ve noticed she is talking a bit more and is more relaxed. Thank you for being patient with her.”
We nodded and said we’d do whatever we could.
We drove into the hospital carpark and headed to the entrance. It was quite a large building, which surprised me. We were directed to a waiting room where Chloe was sitting. She looked pleased and surprised when we walked in with her dad. But when Mr Hemana questioned her about Lily, she clammed up.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said to her. “Let’s go and find Mum.”
They headed off down a corridor at the direction of one of the nurses. The three of us sat and waited. There wasn’t much to say. We were all feeling bad at what had happened. It had been such a good day before that.
It was a good twenty minutes later when the whole family appeared. There was relief, but also tension in the faces of the adults. Lily was limp but smiling, and Chloe was reserved. Mrs Hemana sat beside me and patted my hand.
“You are not to feel responsible,” she said to me. She looked at Jess and Mereana. “It was not your fault that this happened. I’m happy it has turned out okay and really proud of Chloe and Jess for going to the rescue.”
I couldn’t help it. The tears just flowed. “Thank you,” I said. “But I will always feel responsible.”
“Well, you shouldn’t. I told Lily she had to behave herself, but she didn’t. She ran away from Chloe to go back in the water, so she won’t be going to the beach in future unless it is with us, if she can’t be trusted.”
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