this is a raw uncorrected chapter so i do apologise in advance for the mistakes if you find some.
enjoy... :)
"MOANA!!!!"
That's the last thing Moana remembered as she walked the street smiling. Maui screaming to her.
'By Te Fiti I must have looked stupid at the time' Now walking here three years later, on her way to teach the group of kids for the day, at the museum about Polynesian Culture, one she knew all too well if she said it herself.
She had woken up here, all alone. She had tried looking around, but when there ruptured a load ROAR from the sky she had sought refuge in a small cave near the beach. Luckily, a nice couple had found her and gotten her some food.
After some time she had gotten home with them.
They seemed like nice people and she had a good feeling about them. They lived in a HUGE hut she later found out, was called a house. Stepping in, she came into where they made food, they called it kitchen.
The way they got water was amazing, they didn't need to go all the way to a river for fresh water, they just simply turned a handle and water was streaming out with such force that it had scared Moana. With a shriek she was gone behind a big plant, peaking over curiousness filling her eyes. Coming back out, when it felt safe again, she saw a big tree that had been cut down so it was flat. You could still see the lines that ran inside of it. Underneath it there were four sticks that ended on the ground so it wouldn't trip or fall, on what they called floor.
They also had something in a similar version tucked in under the plank, but only smaller and more narrowed. As Moana placed her hand on it she could feel how soft it was, running her hands it over the cloth, she enjoyed the softness of it. The man showed her that she could sit on it. Moana hesitated at first but then her curiosity got the better of her. She sat down, a smile spread all over her face. She had seen how they did not sit on the floor, but on those small wooden thingies. The nice lady had put a pot on the bigger tree plank. Moana had reached out for it and burned her hands. They said something to her but she couldn't understand what they were trying to say. Waving her hand, the nice lady told Moana to come to her. She did. The lady gentle took Moana's hand and brought it under the water, Moana could feel how the burn mark got better, and she relaxed even more. While Moana stood and enjoyed the cold water, the lady came with a dishtowel to get soaked in the water and swung it around her hand.
Rest of the evening went without any more accidents.
They show her a room she could sleep in, she gladly took it because she was soo tired from all that had happen to her that day. It had been rough to see all this new stuff going on around her. She still didn't know where she was, but hoped that time would tell her.
Later that week.
Moana came down from her room, she saw the man (later found out his name was Taih'i) holding something black against his ear, talking to someone she couldn't see. But what had caught her ears was the fact that she understood what he said. Jumping from happiness she ran over to Taih'i, grabbed his arm. "You speak my tongue?" Moana nearly cried out to Taih'i. Confused he looked at Moana then gave her a big smile while saying to whomever he talked to that he had to go.
'Go where?' she looked around. 'Who is he talking too??'
He then put the thing down, made an arm gesture for her to come and sit down with him in the couch. What she had learned that night had brought her so much joy. It turned out that he was from Polynesian islands too and it was his mother tongue he had spoken with, but from another Island, a long journey away from Motunui. She found out that the black thing Taih'i had hold against his ear, was called a Cellphone, with that you could talk to a person without being able to see them.
After that they had spent many nights talking about where she had come from and who she was. Moana hadn't talked about Maui in the beginning. Later on, Taih'i's girlfriend Julia had taught Moana their tongue, which was normal to speak here in these parts.
Two years later Taih'i had introduced her director at their local museum, to be a guide and of course the specialty in Polynesian. On their way there she saw for the first time a big thing coming at her with high speed. Curios about it Moana had stepped out to look at it coming to her. Julia had grabbed her and pulled her to the side. Moana had only seen them move, jump and exploded on the flashing picture box that stood in their Livingroom.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Julia screamed at her, concern written all over the face. "You can't get out in front of a driving car! It could kill you." Moana felt like being scolded by her mother again.
"I'm sorry" Moana had whispered back to her.
In the beginning it had been tough at the museum. She had got so overwhelmed that she had dropped to her knees and tears escaped her wide eyes, seeing her culture displayed behind big thick glass so no one could touch it ever again. She sat there on her knees so that many people had looked weird at Moana when she had her mental breakdown, so Julia had giving them a lie about how it was a lot to take in, when you only had study and research it your whole life. But as the time went it had gotten better.
"Now kids if you look here. You see women are sitting here weaving some cloth out of the coconut fibers? Of that cloth they made mats, skirts, tops, sleeping blankest to cover you at night. They also made nets from those fibers and they also used the leaves to make fire. I know it sounds weird, but they would wrap up the thing they would make and cook it inside the leaves. They would use all they were given from the island. To build huts, the cut down some trees, not all at once, but what they would need to make the hut."
The kids looked at the drawing at the hut from above. "Where did they sleep, can't see a bed in the house? Where's the TV or the play station??" a small grin came on the guide's mouth. "Well you see, they didn't have all that at the time." "WHAAAT!!" all kids looked disbelieving at her. "It's true." *Lifted a finger.* "NO way! How did they kill the time before dinner? Or in the weekends, when there's nothing to do??" One kid dared to ask. She turned her head to look at the kid. He was a little choppy, but not fat. He had a white shirt on, a logo of a green dragon and some orange balls whirling around it. 'So he's not much for the outside. That a shame.' "They played outside all day, with what they could find in the woods or at the shore. They also got a story or two, if they had been too much for the working people."
"Anyway, to color the cloth as you see on their skirts and tops they would go out and get some flowers in the color they wanted and from them the color of their choosing, they might wanted to dye."
Moana really did try to make it interesting for the kids. But it was a bit hard. She knew that it would be more fun to try it out then hear about it.
"What is she doing?" One of the kids asked.
"Her? She is making a basket, from the leaves of the coconut tree. I can show you how to make one the next time you come here. How about that?"
A loud cheer rumbled through the halls and the adults nodded at Moana in appreciations while looking just as exited to try it.
"Now on with the tour. We are going to my favorite place in this museum. The Room Of God and Monsters" yeah Moana did try to sound like Tamatoa when he had said "In the Realm of Monsters"
Another cheer came from the kids as they ran, Moana couldn't help but chuckle at it.
When she came to the entrance she stopped. No matter how many times she walked into to the room she stood in awe. All the gods on the right, Te Fiti as she laid down in her slumber with a smile on her face, Te Kā (Te Fiti when she had lost her heart.) ready to fire a lava ball at someone, then Pele, the fire goddess, Hine-nui-te-po the guardian of death and underworld and the water God Tangaroa. Then to the left were Tamatoa, the Kakamora's, Poukai (Moana had only heard that it was a monstrous bird that had killed and eating humans but never seen it) and then Wa'lu.
She could help but giggle at the memory of Maui get a blow dart in his butt cheek from the ocean, she moved on. There in the middle of the room stood Maui.
With his arms out from his body, slight backwards, with his hands clenched in fits. Head sticking forward and his tongue sticking out of his mouth to the crowd. They had changed his features a lot. He had tattoos on his face, a bone through his ears and they had made him bald. She could almost hear Maui screaming in disgust
"Outrageous. SCANDAL. They have taken away my hair. My beautiful soft silky hair. *whimper* And and and I SOOO do not look like THAT *pointing at the statue* they made me look ridiculous." If she ever saw Maui again she would defiantly take him here to see it. It would make her day tenfold times better for the look on his face.
The hook was placed to the side, leaning on a rock. Of course a copy and she had noticed that the carvings weren't the same as she remembered, but she did not dare to tell that to the director of the museum. For where was the proof for her to say it was wrong?
God she missed Maui. His banting, face, his voice and the relaxing aura he gave away whenever he had been near her. True she could be more relaxed with Julia and Taih'i but it had taking her three years to get there.
"Yeah who wouldn't miss the hair and this bod?" Giggling over the so obvious Maui comment she shook her head.
"Now we only have time for one story I can tell you about. So who would it be about?"
"MAUI!!!" All the kids shouted in their mouths.
"Okay okay settle down" ' of course it would be about him'
"Then tell me. What story of Maui's do you want to hear?"
A moment passed as the kids gathers around and in whispers talked of which one they would hear. Taking this time to look back at Maui, still with a smile on her face, Moana had a pretty good idea of what story it would be.
'Wonder if he is still around, maybe on a great adventure.'
Keeping them safe and sound from all the monsters she hasn't learned about, or if he had gotten new tattoos to brag about in some village.
'Wonder if he got the love from the human he so much longed for?'
When she had stared to work at the museum she had made a search on how long it had been since her time had existed. And what she had found was shocking. 2500-3000 years had passed. 'Yep he forgot all about me'
She felt like nothing more than a drop of water in the big ocean that connected all the islands around. Running a hand through her hair she came back to the waiting kids. 'It seems like they had made up their mind'
"We want to hear the story about Te Fiti's heart"
Moana think it was one of the oldest kid said that. Smiling 'not a surprise' Moana walked and found some mats behind the statue of Maui and laid them out for the kids and the adult to sit down and make them self comfortable. Moana began the story just the way her grandmother had once.
"In the beginning there was only ocean, until the Mother Island emerged.
Te Fiti!
Her heart held the greatest power ever known. It could create life itself and Te Fiti shared it with the world.
But in time some began to seek Te Fiti's heart, they believed that if they could possess it the great power of creation would be theirs.
And one day, the most daring of them all, voyaged across the vast sea, to take it.
He was a demigod of the wind and sea. He was a warrior! A trickster!
A shape shifter who could change form with the power of his magical fish hook.
And his name ... was Maui."
"Uhhhhhhhhh" ruptured from the kids, already enchanted by Moana's way of telling the story.
She moved with such grace as she told them her and Maui story, leaving out the part of actually being her in it. Using her body she showed how Maui he shifted into a hawk as he tried to escape the island as it crumpled. She told them about a little girl who had been chosen from a young age to find Maui and how she did so, years later.
Moana told them about her suicidal companion chicken, Heihei. How she had found him in the storage room on her waka.
When she had falling asleep, only to be woken up by the ocean, whipping her on the back. How she had gotten to the piles of pebbles. Moana even preformed the song, as Maui had to her, but told them that she had come up with it for making the story more interesting after some research, even if it was with a bitter taste in her mouth, to tell them that as a lie, so she kept going on until the end of the story. Weaving her arms as in showing them all the life coming back after the heart had been restored, ending it with the classic "The End."
Moana got a loud applause from her crowd, sitting down on the edge of the statue of Maui, Moana tried to catch back her breath with a huge smile plastered on her face. She watched as they absorbed the story.
"Now can you all say thank you for the wonderful story to the guide. So we can go back to the school and your parents can pick you up." The female teacher proclaimed. Moana couldn't help but get a little offended of how they had waved her story of as a bedtime story, but tried her hardest not to show it.
'They weren't there.' Moana calmed herself. 'So how can they know what the truth?' Moana let a sad sigh slip.
The other teacher noticed it.
"You alright?"
"Huh what me?" the teacher confirmed it with a nod.
" Yeah I'm fine." Smiled back to the adult.
"Just took my breath away."
"Yeah I get that too when I have told a story. You're simply drained after it. No one seem to know just how much energy it takes to tell one. By the way can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, ehm sure."
Moana had turned to the kids, seeing them running around, she couldn't help but smile. Remembering how the village kids had done the same.
"How old are you?"
Whipping her head so fast around it almost looked dangerous.
"Excuse me. But I thought you were gonna ask me of something related to this room or from the tour." Moana said in a very much surprised voice.
"Right. Sorry, it kinda is and I don't want to offend you in any way dear."
Letting go of a heavy sigh she waved her hand to the teacher that she could ask her question.
"Well you seem to know alot about the gods in this room and I see on your name tag that Polynesian culture is your specialty and to me you look like a young woman in her twenties. So it got me thinking how old you were and how many years you'd been study to gain such knowledge. No offence of course."
"None taking." Moana grumbled. "It all started when I was two years old. My grandmother told me the same story I have told today and I was hooked from that moment. And ever since then I have been a big fan of them." Looking around in the room.
"Do you have a favorite?" Blushing Moana nodded back.
"Who?" The teacher pressed on.
"Maui, Demi God of the wind and sea. Hero to all!" Moana proclaim in a proud voice.
Chuckling the teacher when on.
"You say it like you know him. Like if you have spent a great deal of time with the God."
Moana snorted at the God part. The teacher gave a surprised look. Thinking fast Moana came up with a lie.
"Well growing up with the stories about him from your grandmother, you get to know him. Not in personal but you know."
Buying the lie the teacher looked at the kids with a smile.
"Yeah didn't think of that one. You did say you that you first had heard of him when you had been two."
'Phew that was close.' Moana let out a breath of relief. 'Wouldn't be great if I had told "yeah it was me that sailed with the self-centered demigod and I was the one who saved him from being killed by the shiny crab Tamatoa." It would have been PRICELESS expression on her face to be honest.' Moana thought in amusement.
"Well, we have to go back to the school so their parents can get them. Tomorrow they will be painting pictures of the story from today."
She smiled at that. Moana remembered her own drawing she had done when she had been a toddler.
"Well you have a safe trip then."
Saying it so the kids also heard it, they had finally been gathered in the group they once were in, when they had entered the room, as they had said their goodbyes, some of the kids waved at Moana and left her all alone in the great room to her own thoughts.
She had thought about going to Te Fiti and asks her of what had happen, but it was more complicated now than before. Like now she is not a couple of days away, now she is weeks away and she didn't have the money to get there, plus she was not registered anywhere of her existing. So that would be a big problem if she even ever tried. The other thing was that she would have to fly on those big circular, metal machines. *Goosebumps went over her body of that thought* She had seen how it could be on that box, with moving pictures. Nope she was more for solid ground under her feet or on a waka and then there was the thing. Would she even like what she was going to know if she ever got there? Sighning she headed out of the room to end her day. She was exhausted.
'It'll be good to come home and take a long bath. Maybe I should go to the ocean, haven't been there in years.'
Moana hadn't been there since she was found. It had reminded her too much of her family and of course of Maui, but tonight she would go there. Cheering up from the thought she headed towards her colleagues room to clock out.
When she entered through the door Taih'i was walking out of the kitchen.
"Heey Moana. Welcome home."
Smiling at the warm welcome she got. She put down her bag.
"Heey Taih'i and thanks, good to be home."
She walked over to the kitchen sink to get a glass of water.
"Taih'i. When is the dinner ready? I was hoping for a swim in the ocean before it's done."
Taih'i ears peaked at this.
"You sure?" Concern filling his voice.
"Yeah I'm sure."
Moana' s smile dropped a little. She was glad to hear her newfound friend was worried about her.
"I need to face it at some point, instead of watching it from afar or on the balcony."
"Good point."
Taih'i was not a stupid man. He had realized fast that Moana was not from here and when she had told her story (After some tries of telling her that they only wanted her the best) he almost didn't believed her. But when he had looked into her eyes they only shown honesty and he thought back in what he had been told as a kid, it all clicked. She had even shown him her Malus as proofing him her story more. It had surprised him to see them on her legs and hips. The detail on it was telling him that she was the chief of her village and therefore had a high status. Not that Moana beamed of status, like other girls of today would. He decided then and there, that he would help her as much as he could and keep her secret to themselves. He had gotten her the job in the museum, it really had its peaks to have a way of using words in the right order plus that he sorta knew one of the guides there so that had helped a lot too.
Julia, his girlfriend, had been helping Moana to get into this confusing new world, getting some modern clothes and stuff.
Julia had seen the explorers glint in her eyes as she saw all the new stuff around her, getting some very weird looks from others. Julia hurried excused Moana's behaving and told them that she came from the country far away, not a total lie in fact.
So she, Taih'i and Moana all agreed to keep the talking about where she was from to a minimum when they were out sightseeing together and Moana tried to keep her excitement down so she could bomb them with questions when they got home again.
Moana had kept her skirt and her red top, it was now hanging on a model in her room so she could see it and never forget her linage. He had sometime snuck up and had looked at it, envy of her to have lived in that world, free of all the technology they had today. He had from a young age always wanted to travel back in time to live like Moana had in her village. He soon had trashed the dream, because it would never come true.
So when Moana had told him all about her world he had sucked it to him as a sponge.
"Well to answer your question, dinner is ready in a couple of hours. Waiting for Julia to get home, so we can begin."
Smiling while turning his back to Moana Taih'i walked off to the living room.
"So just head of to the beach and have fun."
Weaving while he left, Moana sat down her now empty glass.
"Thanks Taih'i. I'll take care of the dishes when we are done eating."
Getting her bag from where she had put it. Moana rushed up to her room, turning to the right. Opening the door and walked in. Tossing her bag on her bed after putting a towel in, she went off to find her swim suit. Changing quickly into it, put on a thin skirt and tied it with a knot on her left side.
She headed fast towards the ocean like a little kid who couldn't keep away from it in just excitement, grinning from ear to ear. Dropping her bag, with a towel in it, she headed off to her friend. As she walked down the water she looked a bit around. It reminded her a little of Motunui. Just with lesser palm trees here. Stepping into the water she closed her eyes and sighed in relief.
"Been a long time old friend." Running her hands across the water
Almost immediately she could feel the water stirred as if the ocean knew Moana had been on her way to it. Whirling around her legs happy to see her again and came up like the wave she had first seen as a kid. It buzzed like it was angry at her for not coming sooner. Moana raised her hand and trailed her hand over it.
"Yeah missed you too, but I needed time to adjust to this whole thing. It's a pretty big deal, you know."
Dropping its head like it was sighning, nodded back at her. Going back in the water Moana got a jet of water right in her face.
"Heey I know okay."
Chuckling she removed the water from her face. Took a deep breath dived down. Instantly feeling her tensed muscles, coming up for air. She floated in the water for a bit. Relaxing as if, the ocean was giving her a much needed massage.
'Didn't think I was this tensed, well I need to go back to the house, dinner probably done soon.'
"I need to go back ocean. But I promise that I will come back soon."
Moana slowly made her way back to the beach while running her fingers through the surface. The water whirling around her, like a happy puppet for the promise. It then made a clear path for her to walk on so Moana could rinse of the remaining water. Not that she needed it now, when she had the towel, but did it for old time sake.
"You know what?" I'll come back later and dance like I used to."
She then got up, dried her hair as much as she could, she waved to the ocean and headed back to the house. As she got closer she could smell the food being made. It made her teeth water and her stomach growl, running as fast as she could to get home, bursting through the balcony door with a wild eyes and drool dripping down from her mouth, scanning the room searching for the source of what smelled so good.
Taih'i and Julia had stopped in what they were doing when they saw Moana with the crazy hungry look plastered on her face. They had been carried a pot if spaghetti and the meat sauce. What felt like hours, they just stood in complete silence. Taih'i broke the it by bursting out in laughter.
"Oh my god Moana, I have never known a person who has such a wild face, when it comes to food."
He put down the pots of food and wiped away a tear that had threatened to roll down his face. Embarrassed Moana hurried in and wiped her own mouth from the drool that had escaped.
"Sorry. I just like your food a lot, okay"
Julia couldn't help but chuckle at the comment.
"Happy to hear that hon. Don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that. Unlike someone else in this room" eyes now turning to Taih'i
"Heey I like your food too, but if I said it too much it would lose it meaning." Taih'i shot back at Julia.
"I know I know. But it's still nice to hear it a little more often, you know." Giving him a wink as Julia said it.
Grumbling Taih'i sat down at the table.
"But I really do like the food you are doing. It's so different from what I grew up with."
"And what was that kind of food?"
"Oh you know, banana bread, mangoes, coconuts milk and chicken and pork meat roasted over the fire and dried fish."
"Sound so doll, only eating the same thing over and over again." Julia couldn't help thinking about not being able to taste the chili, curry or other ingredients.
"Nah you get used to it. We didn't have those fancy things you put in so we'd manage. We sometime roasted the mangoes too. Ohhhhh *drool* by the sweet mother island you need to taste it. Taste sooo good." *drool dripping*
It had sometimes been hard for Julia to picture Moana from another time. When Taih'i had told her she had waved it off as a bad joke not believing him for a second, that had quickly changed when she had in secret, made some research on the mythology. Julia's mouth had dropped. In the text it didn't say who the girl had been, but only that she had been chosen from a young age and years later had set sail to find the demigod Maui.
Julia had been Moana to the museum and in whispering voices they had talked about Te Fiti and the other Gods around them. It had been after the mental breakdown of Moana's, that they had come back. Moana had told her that some of the tattoos had been wrongly places on the statue of Maui. Here he had his hawk form on his back and not on his right upper arm. Julia had been quite intimidating by how he looked like, but Moana had ensured her that he was not like that at all.
Julia had noticed how the islander girl had a sad expression on her face as she stood and looked at the statue of the demigod, but never said anything to it.
"So tomorrow we are gonna try some Indian food if you're up for it? Or do you have any ideas of what you would like?"
Brought back to reality by Taih'i's question Julia looked at him.
"Yeah what kind of Indian are you thinking about?"
"What if we simply dropped the cooking part and went out eating instead? Been thinking about it for a while and I have heard of a place called 'Indian restaurant' hahahah I know kinda sad that that haven't come up with a better name, but it's been quite popular."
Julia answered in a happy tone, at the idea.
"Yeah let's go the tomorrow. It really has been some time since we last were out eating together."
Putting her finger on her chin, she thought for a moment.
"Almost a year if I remember correctly."
"You guys go and have fun. It's been a long time since the two of you have some time alone together. So go. Have fun."
Moana looked at them softly when she said it. She really was happy for the two of them, taking such good care of her. So now she wanted to let them have some time alone.
"Come on Moana. We really wouldn't mind having you with us at all."
"Nah you go. Remembering how my parents needed a night for themselves when I was younger, so once again." Moana now had a chief voice on. "Go have fun and I expect you home at least home by midnight."
Taih'i chuckled at the commanding voice
"Yes chief." Was all he said as he revived a glaring from the former one. She began to laugh at how she had sounded and Julia joined too with a small laugh. It had simply just come natural to her when she had said that. They needed a night without her hanging in their tails.
To make things worse Taih'i had joined in the laugh with his mouth full of food. He then felt a tickling and sneezed so that a single spaghetti, where tingling out of his nose. Moana had stopped for a sec, to see what had happen, before bursting out with more force, once again. Tears were streaming down, like a river she clung to her stomach
"Hahaha *whimpering* by the shiny shell of Tamatoa. You are killing me here."
"HAR HAR, very funny."
Grumbled, Taih'i as he cleaned his nose from the dangling spaghetti, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand Moana went on.
"Haven't seen that before."
"Glad to be a service to you oh great chief" *bowed over the table*
When they came down from the laughter that had roared after the bow Moana had taking care of the dishes and bid them a goodnight. She headed of once again to the ocean for the dance she had promised. The dance she had learned so many years ago, came to her easily. Time flew by like a snap of two fingers, it was dark before Moana headed back to the house. Snuck in, afraid of waking the sleeping people in the house, went up to her room quickly crawled under her blanket and tugged herself in and drifted off to sleep.