Page 11 of Ghosts and Ginger Tea

Keanu… I placed my hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up. Keanu… my soon-to-be-husband, and the man who took the remainder of my days.

My fists clenched. I had one month to live, and oh, I would figure out a way to break this curse.

I would.

CHAPTER FOUR

TWENTY-FOUR DAYS LEFT

Itold Kiki everything, much to her despair, but we both vowed not to tell mother about the bargain. Instead, we waited until Keanu’s messenger arrived…

Part of me kept debating whether the whole thing was a nightmare, but when a young white man showed up on our shores in a large ship, with treasures one could only dream of, I knew I had, indeed, bargained with the dead.

And I’m dead for it, I thought as we approached Keanu’s kingdom. Through his messenger, a captain by the name of Peter Wittingham, we found out that Keanu was the chief of the most coveted kingdom in all of O‘ahu island, ‘Anolani. It boasted pristine, crystal-blue waters, lush forests, and mountain views that other kingdoms would die for.

Mother was coughing so severely, and she was so frail, she couldn’t grasp anything we told her.

“You’re marrying a king?” she asked between coughs. “How? When?”

Kiki and I exchanged looks, then I finally placed a cool cloth on mother’s forehead. “Don’t worry mother. All is well.”

Kiki added, “Kāne is looking out for us, mother.” And that was ‌explanation enough for mother.

She relaxed and closed her eyes. I swallowed hard, knowing I would never explain it all to her. Especially not in this condition. Were she to learn my sin of not prostrating myself to the night marchers, she’d probably have a coughing fit.

Furthermore, if she found out I bargained with a night marcher, she’d have yet another coughing fit.

I hated leaving her in ignorance, but I wanted her to get better and heal more than anything else.

I also worried the journey would wear her out, but I lightened at the fact that once we reached the kingdom, we might find even better medical care for her here than in our little village.

My betrothal to Pulu was canceled, much to my relief. Peter met with the local chief and resolved all issues.

But my marriage to Keanu loomed ahead of me. My emotions were like the pendulum of a clock, swinging back and forth. I felt a mixture of relief and anxiety: relief that my family would be well cared for, but anxiety because I didn’t know if I could break Keanu’s curse in a month. And if I didn’t… well...

“Oli, look!” Kiki tore my thoughts away from my impending death. She grabbed my arm and pointed to a building in the distance.

A lump formed in my throat, and a heaviness settled in my stomach.

The palace. It was nestled into the mountainside, overlooking the beautiful white sandy beach below. I’d never seen a palace before, so the dark walls and pointed roofs looked truly grand and intriguing. Palm trees and forests grew around the palace, adding to its charm and grace.

“Welcome to your new home,” said Peter, approaching us as we stood overlooking the ship’s railings. Mother wanted to come out and see the kingdom, but she was too weak to rise from her bed. The doctor onboard warned Kiki and me that the voyage would significantly weaken mother’s already frail body.

“It’d be a miracle if she made the journey,” he confessed. I tried not to think too much about it. Mother would be fine, especially now that we were here.

We’re here. I sighed quietly in relief, though I still felt nervous…

“Our kingdom boasts the kindest people and the best kalo in all the islands.” Peter, or Captain Wittingham, said. He couldn’t have been much older than our age, with bright blue eyes and hair the color of dark sand.

Kiki and I had seen foreigners before, but not this close, so we couldn’t help but stare at him and the other foreigners aboard the ship sometimes. Sure, we had adopted many of the foreigners’ ways, from the way we dressed to travel on the ships we sailed on, but we weren’t used to seeing so many of them. It proved to me that Keanu’s kingdom was more involved with the outside world than ours.

In a way, it was intimidating. I felt so small in this new world… and worse; I did not know what the arrangements for myself and my family would be like. Would they stay with me in the palace? Would I stay in the palace? It was still shocking to me that Keanu agreed to marry me, someone of the lowest status, and a woman that wasn’t even from his kingdom.

I did not expect any affection from him or for him. This was just a bargain, yet I hoped I would have time to speak with Keanu about our arrangements. Would I, at least, be able to spend time with my family? Or was I expected to pretend to be his wife for a month? And would he help me figure out a way to break his curse? Who was I kidding?

If he had time or care for me, he would have fetched me himself. Instead, he sent his captain, a man whom Kiki was staring at a little too much.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to a flat spot of land close to the edge of the beach. Peter rubbed his chin.