A couple of days later, one late morning, Keoni was working on assisting Lasalo and his buddies near the shore, the four of them working hard and chatting amongst each other. Keoni was quite impressed with himself that he actually managed to gain genuine friends here, and they enjoyed his company! It was a huge win for him, and he had expressed his personal pride with Moana of course.
As he focused on securing the roping on some traps, his ears picked up on the sound of someone calling his name. Swiveling his head, he turned towards the village, expecting to see his sister or Moana coming towards him, but much to his pleasant surprise, it was Enele.
Keoni and Lasalo shared a quick glance at each other.
"Your sister's sweetheart?" The older fisherman teased. Keoni just rolled his eyes, putting the trap down as Enele came by his side.
"What's up Enele?"
"Mind if I steal your buddy for a moment?" Enele asked, directing it to Lasalo, who just shrugged.
"Eh," came the reply. Keoni remained in perplexed silence as Enele pulled him away from shore, mumbling something to himself.
"Mind indulging me in your thoughts before you steal me away from working? Better be important." Enele just patted Keoni's good shoulder, eventually coming to a stop.
"Okay, bear with me a moment," the older man said, to which Keoni said nothing, "I'm only doing this because it's tradition and I know your sister would want me to do this just as a formality, but…"
"What is it, Enele?" Keoni interrupted impatiently.
"I'm asking for your permission to marry your sister."
Oh.
Keoni blinked a few times, having not expected that to be the reason Enele needed to talk to him so urgently.
"Wait, you're asking… me? Why?" Enele paused awkwardly.
"Well, I mean… you're Huihana's only family left… and her only male family member. It's custom to ask-" Keoni held his hand up, cutting Enele off.
"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there." Now it was Enele's turn to blink in confusion.
"Wha- what do you mean?"
"While I appreciate what you're doing, you don't need my permission."
"What?"
"For Laka's sake, I'm her little brother, I'm in no position to be dictating her life. She's as independent as one gets, as long as she's happy, I am too." Keoni explained. And Enele's surprise was evident, having not expected Keoni to be so forward-thinking.
"So… I can marry your sister?"
"I mean, yes. Obviously. I can see how much she adores you, and you complete her. I'm happy to be a part of your family." He remarked, giving Enele a warm smile, which was returned with a beaming smile.
"Cheeehoooo!" Enele cheered, to which Keoni couldn't help but feel like he wanted to just shrink. He was not a fan of random attention on him from strangers.
"Alright alright, go be with her," Keoni said, playfully shoving his soon-to-be brother-in-law back in the direction of his house, to which Enele just gave him two thumbs up as he headed off, and Keoni just chuckled to himself.
Shortly following Enele's request, he and Huihana went looking for Keoni, who they found with Moana chatting with some villagers. Upon seeing the couple, both of whom wore beaming smiles, Moana paused her conversation and turned to Keoni's sister and Enele.
"Well hello, you two! You guys look like you're in a great mood!"
"We have every right to be! We're getting married!" Huihana exclaimed, grabbing Moana's hands.
"Oh! Oh, my gods! That's wonderful!" Moana replied, bringing the older woman in for a hug, "I'm so happy for you!" Huihana then turned to her brother, who was evidently equally happy for her.
"I'm over the moon for you guys! It's awesome you're taking the next step together." Unable to stop herself from tearing up just a little, Huihana gently pulled her brother into a hug, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Feeling the teardrop on his shoulder, he pulled away, giving her a brotherly love-type smile.
"Hey, save the happy tears for the big day," The four of them happily chatted together, Huihana rambling about all her plans for her wedding, and her excitement was contagious, as Huihana saw a friend of hers, waving them down and sharing the news. This led to Enele and Huihana being led away by their friends to start planning, their chorus of cheers and laughter echoing as they made their way through the village.
Moana and Keoni remained in the same spot, both equally overwhelmed and thrilled.
In addition to the wonderful news from the young couple that rapidly spread through the village, Alaula sent a student of hers, Heitiare, to locate Keoni to give him some good news as well. The teenager was a few years Moana and Keoni's junior, and he had met her several weeks ago, learning that Alaula saw promise in her and brought her on.
"Keoni!" Heitiare called, spotting the two. Hearing his name, Keoni turned to her.
"Heitiare!" He replied, pleasantly surprised, "What's going on?" Heitiare gestured for him to come with her.
"Guess what day it is!" She said, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
"What?"
"Alaula said it's finally time for your sling to come off!" Keon's eyes widened and his jaw went slack for barely a moment, quickly containing his shock.
"Wait, really?" Heitiare rapidly nodded her head, maybe a little too overly enthusiastic for Alaula's most frequent patient to finally free his arm. She'd only been working with the healer for a few weeks, but she was driven, which was one reason why Alaula chose her. But Heitiare also couldn't deny her little crush on Keoni, after all, he was quite handsome.
Moana echoed the same surprise Keoni felt but was genuinely relieved that it was time, he could finally start the next step in his healing process.
"Thank goodness! Would you like me to come with you? I don't have any commitments for the time being." She offered, knowing Keoni would accept.
"Absolutely." He accepted. And so, the pair followed Heitiare back to the healer's fale, where Alaula and Onosa'i were waiting.
"Here he is!" Heitiare announced with a beaming smile on her face. Alaula just shook her head but couldn't hide her amused smile as she brought Keoni over to the small stool for him to sit. It wasn't just about removing the sling permanently, she wanted to test his motor function and his strength and see what needed to be improved.
The sling removal was quite anti-climactic, but Keoni rotated his head, stretching his neck muscles. Gently turning his neck to face his left shoulder, he ever-so-carefully rotated his shoulder, gauging to see if he still felt any pinching. He rolled it again, feeling stiff and sore, wincing slightly.
"Is it painful?" Alaula asked. Keoni grimaced, one of his bottom lids twitching for a split second.
"Painful… not in the way it was… more or less…" he paused, gathering his words, "It feels… just incredibly stiff, and sore. Though, it doesn't feel heavy…? If that makes sense?" Alaula nodded.
"It does, having worn the sling for as long as you did. But that's to be expected. The next step for you is physical therapy, as I mentioned a while back. It's going to be a slow process, or it may not, depending on how fast you adapt to it. We will help you regain function and use of your arm again, but not full capacity, I'm afraid."
"What will I not be able to do?"
"No heavy lifting or strenuous activities with your shoulder. While we can get you to regain strength, you will be limited. If you continue to work with the fishermen, I'd strongly encourage lighter duties, such as doing net repairs or moving light loads. But moving full loads or working with large fish is out of the question, as you could overstrain yourself and cause further damage, which is what we want to avoid, yes?" Keoni nodded slowly, hesitantly accepting the new reality of being disabled. Alaula did see his face, and she hated having to give this prognosis, but it was better than having to lose his arm entirely.
Sensing his emotional distress, even if he barely expressed it, Moana rushed to his side, assuring Alaula she would support him every step of the way as she always had.
"Thank you, Moana, you and his sister are what he needs."
"I know, thank you Alaula. Is there anything else we need to do before I take him home?"
"Yes, actually. Here," Alaula went to one of her baskets, retrieving a coconut bowl filled with a creamy-white concoction.
"What is it?"
"It's a balm that will help relax his muscles and soothe any aches. The skin will absorb it, so not much is needed. Use a small amount and rub it in until it disappears. Use it in the morning and evening."
With Alaula's instructions, Moana took Keoni home, and she offered he stay with her to get used to the new routine, which he quietly accepted.
"You've got this." She assured, helping him settle down for the evening, wanting him to take it easy. She promised herself she would not be overbearing, as hard it was not to be at times, but he needed the space to recover, but now the question was; what would he do to cope with it?