I do not own the rights to Moana.
Live
I have lived a long life—far longer than I should have lived, to be honest.
It was not a coincidence that I collapsed when I gave the stone to you. The stone is old and powerful magic, capable of creating life—as well as extending it.
Please forgive me, I should have given it to you long ago. Though I wish to be a stingray in the next life if the gods see fit, I will admit I was selfish and clung to life far longer than I should have.
You see, I wanted to see my son, my little Tui, return to the boy he once was. Don't get me wrong, he is a fine chief just like his father. But that's the problem, he's too much like his father. He no longer has the spark inside of him, the yearning of adventure, the longing to explore the ocean.
He gets that from me of course, and passed it on to you. But ever since that faithful night he's lost it, and I'm afraid it's for forever. I have tried to remind him over the years, get him to dance with me and the stingrays like he used too— I know you wouldn't believe of your father, but he was a lot like you once. There was many the day he would sneak off from chief lessons with his father to dance with the stingrays with me and frolic in the ocean. His father would then be forced to track him down and drag him away, much like how Tui does now to you.
Long gone is that spark and instead, he and the rest of the islanders think I'm the crazy village lady. I don't mind that too much really. I'm happy with my stingrays, and I got to stick around long enough to watch you grow up.
But that's the thing Moana. You're all grown up now, and ready to be chief. I can't let you though, not yet, not when you have so many things to do. That day when the ocean choose you and gave you the Heart of Te Fiti, I knew you'd have to leave the island someday, and while I hate to see it happen, that day has come.
You're ready for the stone—have been ready for years even if I haven't been—and it's time for me to stop holding onto it for you, fooling myself into thinking it still needed to be protected for you, when really it's been more about protecting myself and you from your fate.
It's time for me to die, and for you to live. Go find Maui, force him to return the Heart to Te Fiti, and save our people. Never lose the spark in your eye, or your love for the ocean like your father did.
Don't worry about this old woman. I have the stingrays to keep me company.
Author's Note
First, I'd like to thank Mason Topi for the kind review, along with the few of you who favorited/followed this story. I realize it may not have the biggest audience, so it's nice to see some interest.
I enjoyed Moana, but how her grandmother literally goes from giving her the stone to collapsing and dying in a few minutes irks me. There's no explanation, other than the writers needed to distract her father from burning the boats, getting Moana to leave, and setting up the ending. This is what my brain came up to explain the suddenness, that the stone's magic had actually been keeping her alive for years.
Next chapter deals with Moana's mother, Sina, and how she could so easily let her daughter leave. It also answers the question: Why would Tui, who's so afraid of the ocean and leaving the island, name his daughter after his biggest fear?