Chapter 1 - Alone

Moana would never forget the first time that she crossed the reef. There was a sense of urgency mingled with excitement. She had been watching the waves crash on the reef her whole life and finally satisfied her curiosity about what was on the far side of it. Here she was, fifteen years later, and the reef no longer intimidated her. She had led countless voyages past the reef in search of new lands. They now had small villages on multiple new islands and they were thriving in every way. Te Fiti had truly been watching out for her and her people.

Moana was in the middle of inspecting the coconut grove in preparation for her upcoming absence. They were getting a group ready to head out on another voyage in search of a new island. Pua Jr. was, as always, right beside her as she was walking around the village. Above her, Toa, her pet hawk, was circling the grove, keeping an ever-watchful eye on her. She passed a group of girls who were braiding each other's hair and singing of the exploits of the demi-god, Maui!

"Moana!" one of the little girls called out. "Come and tell us again about Te Fiti and how you took Maui to return her heart."

Chuckling, she walked over to where they were all gathered and sat down on a boulder facing them. She pulled the smallest one into her lap and recounted her adventures with the mischievous Maui. The girls laughed as she told about shark-head Maui, they held their breaths as Moana replayed the battle with Te Ka, and they cried tears of joy when Te Fiti's heart was fully restored. As she was finishing up her story, she saw her mother coming up the hill. She looked at the sky and then turned to her friends.

"Alright, ladies. It is getting late so you all need to head back to your houses."

"But Moana, we want to hear more stories!" protested one little girl.

"Yeah, you tell the best stories ever!" chimed in another.

"Sorry, little ones. But the hour is late and it is time for dinner. Go to your mamas and help them and tomorrow I will tell about our first voyage past the reef."

"Moana," her mother said, "you are truly your Grandmother Tala's granddaughter. She used to always tell the best stories and now that position has fallen to you. I am so proud of the beautiful woman you have become."

"Mama, I still miss her so much. I know that she is with me here," she said pointing to her heart. "It does not mean that I do not still miss her."

"Something more is bothering you. What is it?"

"What makes you think that something is bothering me? Things have never been so quiet on the island, father is in great health, what is there to be bothering me?"

"It seems to me that you are lonely!"

"Mama, what are you talking about?"

"All of your friends are either promised or married now. Your best friend is heavy with child. You have every reason to be lonely."

"I am the next chief of Montonui. I am too busy to worry about finding a husband. Besides, the young men here are intimidated by me. None of them are even interested in me in that way. Who would want to be the husband of a very independent chief who has saved the world by restoring the heart of Te Fiti? I will never be happy submitting to a man and trying to make him happy. I want to be free to be me, Moana of Montonui!" As she said her name, she broke down into sobs.

Her mother reached for her and drew her into a tight hug. As she stroked her hair, she hummed the lullaby that used to comfort Moana when she was a young child. "Moana, you may be a very strong and independent woman, but you are still a woman and you still have needs. Everybody deserves to be loved. I am your mama and I will always know when something is bothering you."

Moana felt herself start to relax even more as she felt her father come up on the other side of her and take both her and her mother into a family hug.

"Chief Tui! Moana! Come quick!" a voice called from the shore where the boats were kept.

Moana pulled away from her parents and barreled down the hill to the beach. As she pushed through the wall of bushes, she saw what had caused the commotion. There, just beyond the reef, was a storm, the likes of which Montonui had never seen before. The winds were blowing so that the water was rising out of the ocean. The lightning was almost constant in the middle of the storm.

"Everyone run to the caves!" ordered Chief Tui.

Moana started running back up the hill to the center of the village so she could get the word to the rest of the villagers and help the elderly to the caves. The village banded together and managed to get everyone to the safety before the storm arrived. The children all seemed to hover around Moana. She looked at her mother, wondering what she could do to calm the children. Her mother merely looked at her and she suddenly knew what she had to do.

"Have I ever told you about the time that Maui and I fought the treacherous Tomatoa to get Maui's magical fish hook back?" she asked them as she sat down in the middle of the group. Gathering the little ones close to her, she proceeded to tell them how she and Maui had tricked the great Tomatoa so that they could retrieve the hook of Maui. As she told her story, the storm raged outside of the cave with all the fury of Te Ka before she was returned to her true form. As she was talking about how shiny Tomatoa was, she stood up and began to create a new dance for the children. Despite the howling of the storm outside the cave, the children forgot their fear as they were transported to the cave of Tomatoa with Moana.

The great storm lasted for three days without letting up. Moana spent most of her time with the children, telling them stories, teaching them new dances, and playing games. Anything to keep them calm. Her mother was kept busy attending to the needs of the elderly and her father was busy being the chief. Her family worked together so well under difficult circumstances.

Finally, her father came up to her as she was dancing with the children.

"Moana, the storm has passed and we need to leave to see what of the village has survived. As the future chief, I would like for you to join me, please."

Together, father and daughter walked to the entrance of the cave, hoping that they would be able to give a good report. They were not to be so lucky though. The great storm had been so severe that there were no longer any trees, or buildings left on the island. In fact, much of the island was under water. It only took a matter of a few seconds to determine that they were going to have to find a new home. It was a good thing that the canoes had been stored away in the caves. They had survived the storm and were still stocked for the voyage that had been planned.

Tui and Moana turned back to the cave with heavy hearts. This was one of the times when Moana did not like being the next chief. She and her father had to tell their people that their home was gone.

"Great people of Montonui," began chief Tui. "The great storm has passed and our people are safe. But our beautiful island has not been so fortunate. We have lost everything on the island, except for what we were able to seal away in the caves. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that we must leave our island and hope that our sister islands have survived the storm better than we have. Chief Moana will be leading our voyage. Please begin preparations immediately to set out. We must go, and soon to ensure that we have enough food for everyone until we arrive."

With that, the people of Montonui began working together, as they always did, to get everything ready. Moana oversaw the readying of the boats and getting them out to sea. She still had her canoe that Te Fiti had given her and she led the way for the others with it. Pua Jr. was sitting on the deck and Toa was perched on the top of the mast as they set sail.

As they headed for the reef, Mona took one last look at her home that was no more. She suddenly wished that Maui was there. He could have flown ahead as the great hawk to find a place for her to take her people. She turned her attention to the fast-approaching reef and guided her canoe across with no difficulty.

"Toa, fly ahead and find us a place to make landfall."

Toa immediately took off toward the sun and Moana turned her canoe in the same direction. Toa was her favorite traveling companion. He had accompanied her on many voyages through the years and had never steered her wrong. She had found him as a hatchling on one of her voyages and took him with her, a decision that she never regretted. He kept her safe and guided her around storms. He was going to be very important on this particular voyage, when the whole village was following her lead.

She settled down in her canoe to the task at hand. She had no idea how long they would be traveling before finding a place to make land fall. The weight of responsibility on her shoulders felt almost too heavy to handle. Everyone was counting on her. They were not worried. She was the great Moana who had delivered Maui to Te Fiti and made him return her heart. She was a hero! What nobody knew was that she could have never done that without Maui there to help her.

Where was Maui? She had not seen him in more than ten years. He used to check on her all the time but then one day, he left and never came back. She thought about him a lot, especially when she was on a voyage.

"Moana?"

Moana turned in the direction of her mother's voice. "Come on over, Mama."

"You seem like your heart is heavy. What is the matter?"

"I can't lead these people! This is not like my other voyages where I was exploring beyond the reef. This time, the whole village is relying on me. I am not as great as they think I am!"

"You are better than you think you are. You were born to be the next chief and your father and I agree that you will lead our people and be a great chief when the time comes. They all respect you and it is not just because of what you did for Te Fiti. They love you for your heart!"

Moana sat thinking about what her mama was saying. She would lead the people with her heart. She was Moana of Montonui! She knew who she was and she knew what she could do. She would protect her people at any cost.

They sailed for three days before finally coming to an island that sat untouched by the storm. They disembarked from the canoes and set to work making shelter for the night. Moana was exhausted! She had only taken a couple of naps since the beginning of the storm. Wayfinders cannot sleep. Thankfully her mama guided her canoe so she could nap. But any time she slept, all she could do was dream about the devastation that was her home. As soon as all of the canoes were safely on the shore, Chief Tui came over and told Moana to go find a place to sleep.

"You have tirelessly led our people across the ocean. I am still the chief and will make sure the people are safe. And that includes you. You are to go and sleep and your mama will bring you food when we have something ready."

Moana leaned over and gave her father a hug. "Thank you, Papa." She tiredly turned toward the small forest that was off to the side. There was a stream of fresh water. She took a nice long drink and then laid on a pile of palm leaves, Pua Jr. curled up against her.

It was several hours later when, thanks to the help of Toa, her mother found her sound asleep.

"Moana, dinner is ready."

Moana sat up slowly, looking around and trying to figure out where she was. Slowly, she realized that she had not been dreaming about her home being gone. She turned to her mama who was looking at her with great concern in her eyes.

"I am fine, Mama. I just need some time alone if that is ok with you."

"Take some time, Moana. You have been through a lot and you do not have someone to share it with like everyone else does. Your father and I are here if you need to talk. We both love you very much."

Moana leaned over and hugged her mother. She was right, Father and mother had each other to take comfort in. Her friends were all married and had their spouses to confide in. There would be a lot of taking comfort in each other tonight, and Moana was alone. She stood up, hugged her mother one more time, and headed to her canoe. Her mother did not need to ask where she was going. She knew her daughter better than anyone. Moana was going to find comfort in the ocean.

Moana did not know where she was going, just that she needed to get away from the island. She knew where everyone was and her father would see that they were taken care of. Pua Jr. and Toa followed her and took their positions on the canoe. Moana cast away from the island, not knowing where she was going or what she was looking for. There was simply one thought that kept replaying in her head.

Where is Maui?