Always Ohana

Nani looked out the window at her house, waiting for her parents. It was stormy outside. Where were they? They should've been home by now. Is the storm making them late? She was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Finally! She went to greet them.

But, she was shocked when she didn't see either of her parents outside, but a police officer instead.

"Can I help you, officer?" She asked her.

"Do you know Nina and Alvin Pelekai?" She asked. "Are you their daughter?"

"Yes." She was confused. What was this officer talking about her parents for? The officer showed her a photograph of her, Lilo, and her parents at the beach, having a picnic. Nani recognized it instantly.

"Hey! That's the photograph in my father's car." She grabbed it. "What are you doing with it?"

"It saddens me to have to tell you this. Your parents were in a car crash. They didn't make it." Nani looked at her, not wanting to believe it.

"What?"

"The roads are really dangerous out there. I found this picture. I'm so sorry." Nani shook her head slowly.

"No, no, you don't understand. They can't be dead. I have a little sister. I can't take care of her by myself."

"Well, where is she? We'll take her off of your hands then. She'll get sent to a nice orphanage if no one wants to take her."

"No; don't take her!" The officer looked at her like she was crazy. She laughed nervously. "I mean, she's sleeping."

"Well, tell you what?" She pulled out a pad and pen, and wrote something down. "It's late. Tomorrow morning, you and your sister come to the police station, and this will be discussed further, okay?" She ripped out the paper when done, and gave it to her.

"Okay, thanks."

"See you when you get to the station."

"Yeah, see you." Nani closed the door as the officer left. She looked at the address on the piece of paper, not believing that this was happening. It couldn't be happening! It was all a bad dream. Yeah, that's it. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, waiting. Her parents didn't die, and she and Lilo aren't orphans. Her parents are going to ring the doorbell at any moment now, and everything will be okay. She then heard a soft, little voice.

"Nani?" She looked up, and saw Lilo, holding Scrump, her homemade doll. Nani walked to her as Lilo rubbed at her eyes.

"Lilo, what are you doing up?

"It's stormy out, and Scrump is scared. Can we sleep in your room tonight?"

"Uh, sure."

"Are Mom and Dad home yet?" Nani was suddenly caught off guard with this. What is she going to tell her? If she tells her, she'll never get back to sleep, so, Nani will just have to tell her in the morning, or hopefully if this is a dream, she won't have to.

"No"

"Do you know when they'll be home?" She didn't know what to tell her, so she didn't answer. "Nani; when are they coming?!" Nani got angry.

"Let's just go to bed! It's very late."

"No; not unless you tell me!" Nani hated doing this, but she didn't know what else to do, so this'll have to do for now.

"Lilo, Mom would kill you if she sees you up." Lilo looked at her like she was going to say something more, but, ultimately, gave in.

"Fine; but I don't think I can get any sleep. I'll be too busy worrying about them. Scrump too."

"Just try."

"I will, for Scrump." Nani wanted to scream and pull her hair out, but anything to make Lilo go to bed was good enough for her.

"Fine; whatever!" Lilo smiled. Nani took her little hand, and they went upstairs.

"Lilo, sleep!" Nani said in her bed, sensing her little sister was still up. "You said you would."

"No; I told you. I can't. Not until…" She shot a look at her.

"I mean it, Lilo!"

"Shhhhh; you'll wake up Scrump." Nani groaned, wanting to scream in her pillow at loud as she could.

Later, Nani smiled as she woke up, and saw her sister sleeping peacefully. With that, she went back to sleep herself.

The next morning, Lilo woke up. Surely, her parents would be home by now. She got out of her sister's bed in a hurry.

"MOM, DAD!" She called, running out of the room. Nani woke up. Realizing what her sister was doing, she stumbled to the floor. She got up, and ran after her.

"LILO, NO!" She yelled.

She just got to what used to be her parent's bedroom with a very confused Lilo just staring up at her.

"They're not here." The little girl said. "Their bed is empty. If they're not here then where are they?" Nani took a deep breath, dreading to have to have to tell her little sister.

"Lilo, listen; Mom and Dad…" Lilo got excited.

"That's it! They must have been so exhausted driving in the rain, and coming home late, that they both slept downstairs on the sofa."

"Lilo, no, they…" But, it was too late. The small girl took off again. "Lilo!" Once again, Nani chased after her.

The sisters ran downstairs. Nani stopped in her tracks as she saw Lilo looking at the vacant sofa.

"They're not here either." She heard Lilo say. "Are they in the basement?" She was about to go, when Nani took her arm. Lilo tried to get away, but Nani held a strong grasp. "Let go, Nani, I have to find Mom and Dad!" Nani sighed.

"Lilo, they're not in the basement. They're not in the house at all." Lilo looked at her, confused.

"How do you know? Do you know where they are? Come on, Nani; tell me!" Nani didn't answer. This angered her. "Fine; I'll go find them by myself!" She was about to go when Nani spoke up again.

"They're dead." Lilo was confused again.

"What?"

"They died in a car crash because of the storm last night. We are now orphans, Lilo. They are never coming home again." Nani saw in Lilo's face that her whole innocent childhood was shattering before her, and her sister was only six years old. She saw a tear on Lilo's cheek.

"No!" The little girl protested, shaking her head. "You're lying! They can't be dead; they just can't be!"

"But they are Lilo. A cop came by last night and told me." She showed Lilo the photograph. "She gave me this from Dad's car." Lilo looked at it, then back at Nani.

"Then she lied to you!"

"Lilo!" Too late, Lilo ran off again. But, she didn't get up, and chase her this time. She just let her run off, calling for their deceased parents.

Nani was sitting on the sofa when Lilo returned. She looked at her sister.

"I can't find them, Nani. I looked and looked. They're gone."

"I told you, Lilo." Nani told her. "They're dead."

"And I told you that was a lie."

"Lilo." Nani got down, and took her sister's hand in hers. "I know this is very hard to take. This is your very first tragedy that happened to our family in your lifetime, and it's not fair. But, bad things happen to good people, even in wonderful, tropical paradises such as Hawaii. You know that, but no matter what we're ohana. We'll get through this. Trust me. It'll get better." She changed the subject. "Now, let's have some breakfast, then we'll go to the police station. Down there, they'll decide what'll happen to us."

"How can you think of food now at a time like this? What about our schools? Didn't you have to be in your first class a long time ago? And isn't my bus going to be here soon?" Nani felt like a fool. With all of the stuff that has been going on, she completely forgot about their schools.

"I'll call them, and tell them we're not going in." She changed the subject. "You have to eat, Lilo. You're a growing girl."

"I'm not hungry." Her stomach growled. She was mad at it. "Stomach, why do you betray me?" She sighed. "Fine; I'll eat. But, I won't like it."

"I wouldn't expect you to, as long as you eat. It's what Mom and Dad would've wanted."

"But you have to eat too."

"Deal."

Nani tried to cook up some pancakes for them. When she couldn't, the sisters got into the car, and Nani drove them to a restarant

When they wore done, they got back into the car. Nani told Lilo that they were going to the station right away.

"I can't go to the station." Lilo told Nani.

"Lilo," Nani began. "We've been over this. We have to. They're going to…"

"Not without Scrump. I left her on the bed."

"What? Oh, Lilo. The cop said in the morning. We'll be late if we stop for your doll."

"Scump's not just a doll. She's my friend. Please, Nani? It'll give me great comfort." Nani sighed.

"Fine; we'll go get Scrump." Lilo cheered.

"Yay, thanks Nani. You're the best sister in the world!" Nani sighed again. Oh Lord, please help me.

When they got Srcump, they were on their way to the police station. Elvis Presley's version of Hound Dog was starting on the radio. Nani was about to change it when Lilo stopped her from the back.

"No." She said. "Don't change it. This is Dad's favorite."

"That's exactly why I'm changing it." Nani told her. "It'll be painful listening to it now."

"No, it won't. This will be how we'll remember him, and Mom. They loved Elvis, and so do I. Remember? Whenever this song comes up, he turns it up, and we all sing at the top of our lungs. Let's do it right now!" She began singing loudly.

"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog!" She sang. "Cryin' all the time!" She urged her sister to sing along.

"No, Lilo." She said. "I have to pay attention to the road."

"Come on, Nani. Sing!"

"Lilo, I…"

"Sing!" Nani sighed, and sang along.

"You ain't caught a rabbit" They both sang the next part.

"And you ain't no friend of mine!"

The song ended, so Nani turned the volume back down to normal. She smiled to herself. Although, she didn't want to at first, she was glad she did. It was fun singing along with her sister. It made her imagine her parents were in the car singing along with them. But as the song ended, her parents vanished, and that made her sad. At least she was happy for almost three minutes.

Nani parked the car when they got there, and she held onto her sister's hand on the way in. They went to a front desk, and waited for the receptionist to get off the phone. Lilo held onto her sister's hand tighter.

"Nani," She began. "I'm scared. Scrump and I don't like it here. This is where bad people are." Nani looked at her sister

"It's going to be alright." She assured her. "And remember, we're ohana. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Lilo held out her pinky, and Nani shook it. "Pinky swear."

"Okay." The receptionist said when she hung up. "How may I assist you?" So, Nani told her.

"Oh no, that's terrible!" She said when the tale was done. "You two have my deepest condolence."

"Thank you." Nani said back. "It's been hard on both Lilo and I. We appreciate it."

"No problem. I'll call Officer Elaine for you. Why don't you two have a seat?" The sisters sat down on the chairs, and waited.

A few minutes later, Elaine showed up. Nani saw that she was the same officer from last night. She got out of her chair, and walked up to her. Lilo did too.

"Sorry, we're late." Nani apologized. "You can't imagine how hard it was this morning."

"Oh, I imagine. Death is a hard thing to cope with, even with police officers who see it almost every day." She looked at Lilo, and bent down to her level.

"How old are you?" She asked. Lilo looked up at Nani, unsure of what she should do.

"It's okay." Nani assured her. "Tell her your age." Lilo looked at the officer again.

"Six." She replied.

"Ah, six! So, you're in first grade or Kindergarten?"

"First grade."

"Aw, I see." Next, Elaine looked at Scrump. "I really like your doll."

"Thanks, the recep…rece…. the lady at the desk liked her too. I made her myself."

"You made her quite well." She stood up, and looked at Nani.

"Come with me." Nani nodded. She bent down to Lilo's level.

"Lilo." She began. "I have to go. Stay here until I come back."

"What will I do while I wait?" Lilo asked. Nani stood up, and shrugged.

"I don't know, but just stay here. Talk to Scrump."

"You can talk to me." The receptionist said.

"Even better. Talk to the receptionist."

"About what?" Lilo asked. "She's an adult. I'm a kid. Kids and adults don't have a lot in common you know."

"Sure you do. You're both human, and you both need oxygen to breathe." Lilo scowled at her. To her, this wasn't funny. "You're a smart little girl. You'll find something to talk about, or not. I don't care. Just wait for me. I'll be right back." Nani left with Elaine. Lilo looked at the receptionist.

"You're human, right?" She asked. The receptionist laughed. "Well, are you?"

Nani and Elaine went into Elaine's office. Nani saw a bald man with rimmed glasses on.

"Nani," Elaine began. "Do you know this man?" Nani studied him, but didn't have a clue.

"Sorry." She said. "No, I don't." The man offered Nani his hand.

"I'm Matt Michaels." He started. "I'm your parents' lawyer." Nani shook it.

"How do you do? You know my name I see."

"I do, and I'm fine." He frowned. "I'm sorry about your parents."

"Thanks."

"They mentioned you, and Lilo. Do you know why I'm here?" Nani looked at the paper in his hands, then back up at Matt.

"Is that one of my parents' will?" Matt nodded.

"Your mother's to be exact. Now, sit down." Nani sat down in a chair. Matt sat in the desk chair, but not without asking permission first.

"I'll leave you two be, and check up on Lilo." Elaine said, and then left.

"Now," Matt began. "The last time I talked to your parents you graduated high school, and is now of age to be Lilo's guardian.

"I'm 19 now," Nani told him. "And I go to the university."

"Well, your parents agreed to have you take care of Lilo until she's of age, if you want to. But, Elaine said you can't. Is there any more relatives, or should I call an orphanage?"

"No!" Nani found herself saying. "I mean, sure I said I couldn't handle it with school and all, but I changed my mind."

"Are you sure?" Nani nodded.

"I'm sure. I'm her sister. I understand her more then anybody. She needs me, and I can't imagine her in an orphanage."

"Taking care of her will cost you a lot of money."

"I can handle it. I'll get a job, drop out of school if I have to."

"Are you really sure this is what you want?"

"Not really, but I'll do anything to keep Lilo safe and happy."

"Okay then. I'll reach out to your other family members, and tell them what their part in the wills are." Nani stood up with a start.

"Oh, I'm such a stupid head!" Matt looked at her confused.

"Excuse me?" Nani looked at him, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just forgot to tell someone about the accident."

"Well, I'm sure they like to know, even if its news that no one wants to hear. It's best they know."

"Yes, I agree. I'll call as soon as we get home."

"You better. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye." Nani then left.

"Lilo, we're going home." Nani announced back in the lobby. Lilo got out of her chair.

"But, Aloni was telling me about her one-eyed cat."

"Who's Aloni?"

"The recep…the rece… the lady at the front desk. Elaine got her after the cat's owner got arrested, and gave it to her because she's allergic. Isn't that cool?"

"That's interesting, but, I have to call Uncle Joe about the accident." Lilo was confused.

"You didn't tell him?" Nani shook her head.

"I didn't tell any of our relatives. They all think that Mom and Dad are still alive."

"Wow, that's an irresponsible thing to do. You're an adult now Nani, shouldn't you have known that?"

"Adult life is complicated, alright? And I haven't been one as long yet. Now, come." They left the station.

Nani hung up the phone after talking to her and Lilo's Uncle Joe When she looked up, she saw Lilo's hand reach up for the doorknob. In her other hand was a peanut better and jelly sandwich in a zip-loc bag.

Oh-no! She thought. She looked at a calendar on the wall. It said Wednesday, which she was relived. But then she remembered she forgot to change it to Thursday. She knew what her sister was going to do with the sandwich Quickly, she blocked the door before Lilo could open it. The little girl looked up at her sister.

"Nani!" She said with joy. "Care to drive me to Pudge's grotto? It's Thursday, and Mom usually drives me, but since she's gone, I was going to walk. But since you're here, do you want to do it?"

"Lilo," Her older sister began. "Pudge is a fish. You have to stop feeding him PB and J. It can't be healthy to him. You'll kill him."

"No, I won't. Now, move it; Pudge is counting on me to feed him every Thursday."

"No, he's not Lilo. He's just a stupid fish." Lilo got angry with her.

"Don't call him stupid, and you know I hate the S word. Now, I have to do this. It's important then ever now."

"Why? Why do you feel like you have to?"

"Because since he controls the weather, and since Mom and Dad died in a thunderstorm, maybe if I please him, he would not do it anymore, and hurt any more people."

"Lilo, that's loco! A fish can't control the weather, no one can. What happened happened. It's nobody's fault."

"Okay, but he's still expecting me. I better do it just to be sure." She was about to go again, when Nani stopped her again.

"Lilo, listen to me. I can't let you do this. You have to learn that…" Lilo got angry again.

"I'll just walk there by myself like I was going to!" Nani sighed.

"Fine; I'll drive you. Get in the car." Lilo smiled, and hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! If Pudge could talk, he'll thank you too. This means so much to him, being fed like this." She left for the car. Nani sighed again. She couldn't believe that she was really about to do this.

"Thanks for contacting the funeral director, Grandma." Nani thanked their grandma at the funeral. "I completely forgot with all the stuff that's been going on" "Oh, don't mention it, sweetie." Her grandma replied. "I know you have a lot on your plate, and I feel bad that you and Lilo are now orphans. My daughter married the right man. They were both wonderful people." Nani smiled.

"Thanks, and I couldn't agree more. They were both pretty terrific."

After the funeral, the extended family and friends all sat and ate a feast, and talked about the deceased Pelekais. They then had them buried the next day. The sisters still couldn't believe that this was happening, and that their lives were changing forever. But, they knew that their parents were and will always be their ohana, and that they'll never be forgotten.

Nani did what she said that she would. She dropped out of school, and started a job at a local restaurant. She signed up Lilo for hula classes. Lilo still fed Pudge on Thursdays.

The next few days, Nani and Lilo visited their parents at their gravesite. They both brought Leis, and put them on their graves. Nani put hers on her Mom's and Lilo did the same with their dad.

Lilo left for the car first. Nani stayed behind, and looked at the graves. She wiped back a tear.

"I promise Mom and Dad that I'll look after Lilo." She said. I'll protect her, and let nothing bad happen to her, and make you both proud. "

"Come on, Nani!" She heard her little sister shout.

"No matter what happens, we will always be a caring and loving ohana." And with that, she went off to the car.