Chapter 3: Family Memory

One early morning, Rookie is sitting in the beach, playing guitar, just to enjoy a little peace and a sight of the morning. The sound of the guitar woke Cody up and listens to the guitar for 5 minutes. Cody stood up and said, "That sounded awesome!"

Rookie looked around and said, "Hey, man. Thanks. I just do it every morning when no one's around, just to get my music chops in.

"It must be nice to live in California." said Cody.

Rookie sighed and said, "It is. It's like, you're in a place where you can be yourself and do what you like to do, even if it's your own way you feel like doing."

"Yeah. I think it's cool." said Cody.

Megan, Claire, Mickey, Bubba and Dakota came around with Joe and the Pen Guans on the beach to see Cody and Rookie. Rookie looked at the Pen Guans and said, "Why are these guys following you?"

"I'm their king. They're supposed to follow me." said Joe.

"Okay, then. How do they get you to understand you?" asked Rookie.

"They'll see if they're friend or foe." said Joe.

"Just curious." said Rookie.

"Anyways, it's awesome to see how you have grown to be a little older these days. The last time we saw you was, I think, about, what 3 or 5 years? You'd think we'd never saw you again." said Mickey.

"I know." said Cody. "It takes so long, you hardly see each other."

Rookie sighed as the sun rises up on the horizon and embraces the beauty. Then, Mickey asked, "We heard about your mom."

Hearing that, Cody felt a warmth in his heart and reminisces his mom. Mickey asked, "You miss her, don't you?"

"Pretty much. I still think about her everytime her name comes up, though, I still miss her." said Cody.

"Dude, I know what it's like to lose a mother. Me and my sibs have been through the same thing 5 1/2 years ago. We got over it, but, everyday, we always mourn and keep thinking about her all the time and it still hurts." said Bubba.

"I really just wanted to see her one last time, and then, maybe, we'll still be okay." said Cody, then he sighed heavily and said, "I don't know, man. I guess I should've said goodbye or anything. Man, this just really sucks." Two tears fell into his eyes and sighed again.

"I realized the same thing." said Lani.

The boys looked at Lani and said, "Your mom died, too?"

"About 10 years ago, same as my dad. I was about 7 or 8. After they died, Uncle Z took me in for a while and we've been close, almost. Though, he's always like a father to me, one who will never leave me, things like that. So it's very easy to have him be there for me like a real dad." said Lani.

"Yeah. I don't know so much about a dad. Ours died when he fell out of a tree within 10 feet off the ground about 18 years. Very tragic, you know?" said Mickey.

"It's really complicated to know about your dreams, then all of a sudden, before it happens, someone you know passed away and you don't much about them and it's hard to deal with the pain and loss of your loved ones." said Claire.

"I guess. It's really complicated when we're older, we start to forget all about our family members we're so close to, but there's one good thing about it: We get to be around the people we still love to be around with." said Rookie.

"I think I understand how you guys feel. My dad died when I was, I think an egg. It's, um, it's kind of hard to talk about it, basically, so I've been a loner most of my life, but more of a easy-going loner. I don't care what they say to me, I'm used to that. When I met Cody, I figured we're going to be friends until the end of time, so we're always going to be friends for life. And that's radical." said Joe.

"Man, that was deep." said Rookie.

"So deep." said Lani.

"How do you keep it inside of you all these years?" asked Cody.

"I try not to think about them." said Joe.

"So it's cool for you?" asked Claire.

"Definitely." said Joe.

Rory and Tatushi came around the island and sees Cody, Lani, Joe, Rookie, Mickey, Claire, Dakota, Megan and Bubba talking. Rory greets them by saying, "G'day, mates."

"Hey, Rory." said Cody.

"What you guys doing here?" asked Lani.

"We thought we came and see what you guys were doing." said Rory.

"Just talking." said Joe.

"Can we join you?" asked Tatushi.

"Sure. I don't see why not. You guys are welcome to stay." said Cody.

Rory and Tatushi sat down and began to socialize. Dakota asks, "So, Rory, what's it like in Australia? It is a good place to live? A good place to catch some waves, you know, all the good stuff? "

"Honestly, Australia's a great place, because it's a little closer to Antarctica. Like I said, it takes about 300 miles from there. I reside in Bells Beach. A little closer towards either Sydney or the outback. I don't know much, but it's cool to have a little piece of home along the way. I got into surfing by the age of 8 or 6 and got inspired by Big Z. He's been my inspiration for all this and it became a reality for me. So Australia, has been my cove whenever I feel like coming home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a few summer days. So, yeah, it's really cool." said Rory.

"Nice. Must be nice living in Australia." said Rookie.

"It is. Somehow, my family has always been a little cooler and a bit more subtle. By childhood, I've seen a little more painful yet tragic sense in my youth. I've faced different challenges in my life, so. But, between all the issues, you know, um, we always get trough it because we're family and we always have each other backs all the time. We seem to get along, and we like surfing. My friends, cousins and siblings like to surf. It's kind of like a hobby or activity. We always get along as friends. So, it's awesome." said Rory.

"I bet that's amazing." said Claire.

Rory nods his head and gives one of his cousins a noogie. Rookie laughs and says, "He does that a lot, doesn't he?"

"Sometimes. We're used to it." said Cody.

"Alrighty." said Dakota. "So, Tatushi, what's life in Japan?"

"Japan is really amazing. I live in Kugenema. You should see everything. The cherry trees, the mountain. It's cool. My family is like any other family. We always get along, like crazy and we honor ourselves, like the sun and rain. We help each other, do things for each other and hang out with each other. I give them much honor, dignity and respect." said Tatushi.

"How awesome is that?" asked Megan.

"So you guys feel like catching a few waves?" asked Cody.

"Of course. I haven't surfed in so long." said Dakota.

"Let's go for it!" exclaimed Joe.

Everyone got their surfboards and surfed for a few hours until breakfast. As they get along, they realized that they should be more than just friends. They're like family.