The sun had only just come over the horizon, painting absolutely beautiful images on the surface of the water.
The little girl had been there for several hours.
She had spent her time playing in the water; for being as small as she was, she was a very powerful swimmer. Her daddy had told her that this was because she was an island; all islands were very good at swimming, because they were surrounded by water.
So she had spent an hour in the water, only getting out when she realized that she would need time to allow her clothes to dry in the air.
The fact that there was nobody on the beach besides her and the person her boss had sent to watch after her made it easier for her to dry her clothes, as she was able to switch the wet clothing with a plain white dress her "babysitter" had brought for her.
She had told him not to bring any clothes and that towels would work just as well.
He hadn't listened and now she was grateful.
He had toweled her off quickly before allowing her to put the white dress on, and she was still getting bits of sand stuck to her arms and legs as she crawled on the sand, following a little crab.
"Miss…Why don't we wait for your father inside?' the man suggested.
She paused, allowing the crab to scuttle away, and turned to glare at him, a somewhat ineffectual move, considering she appeared to be about three.
"Daddy said he was going to meet me on the beach. If we go inside, he might think I didn't come out to meet him because I didn't want to see him," she explained, getting to her feet and wiping her hands together in order to remove the sand that had gotten stuck to them.
The man smiled, though it was the type of smile she'd often seen on parents of human children when they believed their children were being silly.
This upset her greatly, but because he was actually listening to her and not just pretending, she didn't say anything. Besides, he didn't insist that they go inside, so either he remembered that she was technically in charge and he was just supposed to make sure she was safe, or he truly respected her wishes to meet her father on the beach.
So, for another fifteen minutes or so, she continued to play on the beach, running along the shoreline and occasionally picking up a seashell that she found particularly beautiful. These she would place into the little cloth bag she hung by a string over her shoulder. The only time she didn't have this bag with her was when she went swimming, in which case she would give it to somebody, most often her boss, to hold.
As she placed another shell into the bag, she looked at her temporary guardian with a worried frown.
"Do you think something happened to him…or to one of the others?"
The others were her brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. Usually she didn't worry too much about them, because they were all pretty strong, smart, and brave, but not too long ago, New York had been badly hurt.
Ever since then, whenever something went wrong, she would worry about her far away family members who lived on the same land as her father.
The man was quick to try and comfort her, getting down to her level and telling her that he was sure her father and everyone else was just fine, that her father had probably just stopped to pick a little gift up for her and that was why he was a little late.
As he spoke, he stroked her long black hair, occasionally acting like he was trying to smooth down the lock of hair that stood up around her forehead.
No matter how hard he tried, that bit of hair refused to stay down.
She smiled at this; her hair that wouldn't stay down and her eyes were the only things her daddy said definitely came from him.
She was happy about that, not because she didn't want to look like her mother (whom she had never seen, but her daddy and everybody else always told her that she looked almost exactly like her, only with different eyes and lighter skin, plus her bit of hair that always stuck up) but because she knew her daddy was the best hero in the world and she wanted to be able to prove to everyone that he was in fact her daddy.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and held against somebody's chest.
She didn't even have to hear the familiar laugh to know who it was and quickly turned herself around so she could wrap her arms around his neck.
"Have you been good?" he asked, placing her back onto the ground and smiling at her. Though he was looking at her, she was certain the question was directed at the man who had been watching her, so she didn't answer.
"She was perfectly well-behaved, Mr. America" the man said, slipping on his sandals as he prepared to leave. "She didn't want to come inside, but the weather was nice, so no harm was done".
Her daddy nodded and thanked the man, who walked off the beach, before holding out his hand. She was quick to grab the open hand and begin pulling on it, leading him off of the beach and into the town located on the island. She knew he would most likely be leaving before the sun set, and there were a lot of things she wanted to show him.
No matter how hard she tugged, he never yelled at her; he just walked faster.
The first place she showed him was a school where little girls were learning to hula dance.
"I teach them sometimes" she told him, looking at him even though she was pointing at the small group of girls who appeared to be the same age as her. He grinned at her.
"That's 'cause you're the best dancer around" he told her, before getting to his feet.
"You get that from me, you know" he added.
He then began dancing, and rather badly at that.
The girls on the stage stopped dancing and started giggling at his antics, upsetting the woman who usually taught them, who wanted them to perfect the dance by the end of the month. She didn't care that the girls were laughing; she was laughing, too. That was why her daddy had decided to dance so horribly, because he wanted to make her and the other girls laugh.
After leaving the dance school, they went to get some ice-cream. They always got the same flavors, and as soon as her father gave the shop owner the money, he was handed a mint-chocolate-chip cone and she was given a strawberry cone with sprinkles.
They ate their ice-cream cones as they walked back to the beach, the last place she really wanted to visit before he had to leave.
In order to keep the ice-cream from dripping all over, they had to eat quickly, and even then, their fingers and faces ended up sticky with melted ice-cream. Not that this matter much; they just had to wash up in one of the washrooms that were near the beach.
Once they made it to the beach, they sat by the shoreline and took off their shoes, allowing the water to wash against their feet.
She showed him the new shells she had collected, and handed him the one that she thought was the prettiest. It was pale blue in color, and shaped almost like a conch, but with an end that looked almost like a blooming flower.
He thanked her, and then feigned being upset.
"You're making me feel bad, now" he said after she asked why he was unhappy.
"You gave me this amazing present, and I just got you this dinky little thing" he concluded, pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to her.
Her eyes lit up as she clutched the gift: a small golden charm bracelet. Hanging from the bracelet were a dolphin, fan-shaped shell, an ice-cream cone, and a tiny version of her father's flag, the flag that was shared by all of the States.
"California picked that one out" her daddy told her, pointing to the flag.
She giggled and promised to call her older sister tomorrow morning and thank her for the charm. Her giggle was punctuated by a yawn, which caused him to chuckle slightly as well.
"You wanna ride on my shoulders?" he asked. He wasn't asking because he thought she was tired, she knew. He was asking because she always loved riding on his shoulders before he had to go back to the mainland.
So, she said she did and he helped her up onto his shoulders.
He walked slowly to her boss's house-which was also her house-occasionally saying farewell to someone they had seen that day, from the hula teacher to the owner of the ice-cream shop.
However, soon enough they had arrived at their destination and it was time to say goodbye.
"You'll have to come back a lot sooner next time" she told him, giving him a tight hug.
"I will…and next time, I'll bring New York with me" he promised, not only returning the hug, but also kissing her forehead.
His promise made her smile; not only would her daddy be coming back soon, but her favorite uncle would be coming, too. He said goodbye to her boss, then gave her a final kiss and hug goodbye before he actually left.
As soon as she was in her room, she looked out the window, watching him walk until he was so far away she couldn't see him anymore.
Once he was really gone, she climbed into her bed and took the charm bracelet off her wrist.
She placed in into a small wooden box. This box had a lock on it, and only she had the key. She used the box to hold her most important treasures. That was why she placed her charm bracelet inside the box and made sure the lock worked.
A gift from her daddy was the most important treasure she had, and she wasn't going to let anything happen to it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, nor do I own the United States of America. Hetalia is the property of Hidekazu Himaruya and Funimation Entertainment, while America belongs, more-or-less, to itself. I own only the plot of this story and this particular version of the personification of the state of Hawaii.
This is actually just a little gift for one of my best friends, both on this site and in general, Italia Deu. Hope you like it, Italia, and don't worry, I will get you one of the other gift options by your birthday. However, for the other, you still have to make a trade, so don't think you'll get three new stories or chapters dedicated to you for nothing.
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, this story doesn't really have a set date, besides taking place after September 11th, 2001 and before the current date.
Also, before anyone says anything about Hawaii's appearance, I just wanted her to look a little like her father, not only because I figure even personifications follow genetic laws somewhat (meaning the offspring gets traits from both parents), but also because I always imagined the state of Hawaii's personification with blue eyes and an "antenna", for some reason.