Chapter 8: Know the Way

While Anna was watching Merida's possible suitors from a distance during lunch period, there was some activity going on in the school's pool area. After the previous Swimming instructor Mrs. Ursula vanished, it was revealed that she was a Sea Witch by Ariel who was tricked into temporarily giving up her voice as part of an elaborate scheme to get ahold of a magic trident that Ariel's father had. So a new instructor was called in to replace Mrs. Ursula by the name of Nani Pelekai, and with her came a new student named Moana Motunui.

From an island that her surname was derived from, Moana's main features included her curly brunette hair tan skin and determined-looking eyes. Instead of her Disney Academy uniform, she currently wore a two-piece orange bathing suit that she had bought for herself and was swimming laps in the pool while Kida timed her wearing the Disney Academy's standard golden one-piece bathing suit. Nearby, Nani surveyed the entire pool area from a small lifeguard tower though she was always checking her phone in case any trouble came up with her younger sister Lilo which frequently happened. Once Kida stopped the timer, Moana had reached the end of the lane and surfaced.

"Excellent timing!" Kida smiled. "You're almost as fast as Ariel."

"Yeah, but she's a Mermaid," Moana pointed out between breaths.

"Not anymore, though," Kida said. "Apparently, her father managed to give her permanent legs with his trident so now she's fully human."

"Well, that's nice I guess," Moana remarked, climbing out of the pool. "Though I wish I was born a Mermaid."

This made Kida raise an eyebrow. "How come?"

Resting on the edge of the pool with her feet partially submerged, Moana responded, "I've always had a strong connection to the ocean, though I can't explain why. Like, my Gramma told me that the ocean moved on its own when I was living on Motunui Island as a baby."

"But the ocean moves all the time," Kida replied.

"I know, though my Gramma said the tides of the ocean moved outward from Motunui's shores instead of inward when I was walking along the sand," Moana explained. "Apparently, the ocean wanted to show me something before my father picked me up. You probably think I'm crazy, right?"

"Not at all," Kida assured. "I…had a strange experience when I was a child too."

"Like what?"

Before Kida could answer, the warning bell rang to alert everyone that lunch period was ending soon. So Moana and Kida left the pool to quickly shower and get dressed in their school uniforms.

"Now why don't you consider joining the school Swim Team?" Kida suggested as she and Moana walked out of the locker-room area fully dressed. "You're clearly a talented swimmer, and with Ariel graduating soon we could use another member."

In response, Moana sighed. "As much as I would love to, I don't think my father would approve. He never wanted me to go near the ocean back on Motunui, though that didn't stop me from leaving to attend Disney Academy. But he made me promise not to get involved in any water-related extracurricular activities including Swimming, and not go out to sea for any reason."

"Did he say why?" Kida asked.

"He said it was for my own protection, but I'm not sure if I believe him. He could be letting my Gramma's old stories about demons in the ocean spook him, and a spreading darkness from something called Te Kā."

Kida looked down at her crystal for a moment. "I wouldn't completely dismiss the idea of ocean demons. After all, Mrs. Ursula was a Sea Witch."

"Witches and demons aren't the same thing, though," Moana claimed, when she heard her cellphone vibrating. Reluctantly, she picked up her phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Moana…" replied an older female voice on the other end.

"What is it, mother?" Moana asked. "You sound sad."

"Gramma…" Moana's mother said slowly. "She…passed away last night."

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Because Moana was emotionally distraught over the news of her grandmother's death, she was allowed to take the rest of the school day off with Nani supporting the notion having lost her parents not too long ago. So Moana went back to her one-room apartment where her pet chicken Heihei sat in his cage and attempted to arrange a flight back to Motunui. Unfortunately, there weren't any flights available until next week which upset Moana even more. Then she went to check her mailbox and noticed an envelope addressed from her grandmother. Opening it, she found a letter but also a blue necklace inside.

Dear Moana,

I sense that my time is coming to an end soon. Hopefully, I will come back as a manta ray spirit or else I got the wrong tattoo. But before I leave this world, there is something you must know. The Island of Motunui is dying, with crops drying up fish disappearing and strange black marks appearing along the shores. Your father doesn't know what to make of it, but I know it is a sign of the growing darkness spread by the demon Te Kā. There is a way to stop this, though, and you are the only one who can do it.

Remember that time when you were a baby, when the ocean tried to show you something? It was showing you the Heart of Te Fiti, which I kept inside the necklace after you dropped it accidentally on the beach. You must find the demigod Maui, who stole the heart from Te Fiti long ago, and strongly persuade him to take it back to her. Follow the star pattern shaped like a hook to its bottom, and that's where Maui will be. Make the ocean proud, for it chose you to fulfill this task, and may our ancestors guide you as they were sea-faring voyagers before they settled on the Island of Motunui.

Forever yours,

Gramma Tala

Putting the letter down, Moana examined the blue necklace till she noticed the central part had a locket which opened up revealing a green pounamu stone with a swirl carved in the middle. Yet what surprised Moana more was that it seemed to glow in her hand. She then walked over to the window just as the stars were coming out and saw a hook-shaped constellation on the horizon.

"Don't worry, Gramma," Moana muttered, clenching the stone tightly. "I'll find Maui, then pull on his ear and say, 'I am Moana of Motunui and I demand that you return the Heart of Te Fiti!'"

End of Chapter 8