Page 54 of Ghosts and Ginger Tea

Keanu sighed. He wore a simple shirt and trousers, but his shirt was open quite a bit, revealing his chest and all the white hair-like scars across it. I had never seen so many muscles on a man.

Stop staring. I quickly looked away.

The chief didn’t answer for a moment, but I waited patiently too. He twirled the spear in his hand before holding it at his side and saying, “I ignored Kāne, especially after my parents died. I felt as though he asked me to keep the foreigners in the land because they’d help us learn so much and we’d advance as a society. So when my parents got sick, because of the introduction of diseases, I was mad at Kāne. Not for long, but I did something.”

“What?”

“I had his heiau torn down.”

I gasped and looked in the direction of the pile of rocks I’d seen on the first day I arrived here. My suspicions were right, and it was not a coincidence that the rocks were there. Keanu had, indeed, taken down a sacred site, one where anyone could go for refuge, a temple where people could worship Kāne.

“I do not judge you if you consider me lower than the dust of the earth,” Keanu said. “I am ashamed of what I did, but I was angry at the time.”

“You tore down the heiau, but you still obeyed Kāne and didn’t cast the foreigners out.” I frowned. “Why?”

“Because I care for my people. More than anything else.” He sighed. “And the foreigners have become my people just as much as any others who live here. I don’t even call them foreigners anymore, but family. Peter is just as much a brother to me as Malakai.”

I hesitated. Should I tell Keanu my suspicions about either of them? One of them spilled tea about Keanu’s bargain to Kalani. But who? And why? What would it benefit either of them to betray Keanu?

Before I could say something, Keanu said, “What would you do, Oliana, if you did what I did?”

“I’d make amends with Kāne by rebuilding the heiau, but making it bigger and putting the utmost care into it.”

He smiled at me, and, for a moment, it seemed like he was rather… proud of me. Color rose in my cheeks.

Tell him about the betrayers, Oli… He trusted me, I could see it in his eyes. He trusted my counsel. He didn’t even know me, yet he trusted me.

“I’ll do it for you.”

For you. I was melting…

He then changed the topic. “I’m looking forward to this.” Keanu examined the sharp pointed ‘ō. “Would you care to show me how this is done?”

As I took it from him, my healing shoulder wound caused me to wince a little. It was taking longer to heal than I anticipated.

“Are you alright?” Keanu touched my arm, his eyes on the bandage. “Would you like the doctor to look over it again?”

I laughed. “I’m not fragile, Keanu.”

He didn’t laugh though. “You saved my life, Oliana. It could have been much worse.”

Not knowing what to say, I shrugged.

“I’m glad I didn’t lose you,” he said.

I swallowed hard, then couldn’t believe myself when I said, “It was worth it.”

The smile that touched the king’s face was so radiant, I quickly changed the subject. I was not the one to flirt with him, and there I was. Flirting. It was so unlike myself, but I kind of… liked it. To see that smile was priceless.

I changed the subject and started showing Keanu how I used the spear. It was hard not to get close to him, our hands touching at times. And whenever I thought he was paying attention to something I showed him, I found him watching me. It made my stomach go crazy.

After briefing him on all the things I could think of, we took small canoes out into the deep. I kept my attention on the water, mostly to avoid staring at him. Keanu had removed his shirt, and it was difficult to think around him like that.

For the rest of the day, I showed him how to find the best kind of fish, how to sink with the pōhaku kōi, where to look for the fish, and where to aim once one got close enough. My shoulder made it a little more challenging to aim accurately, so I couldn’t help but feel disappointed at times.

We also couldn’t go too deep, because Keanu did not have the experience or training like I did, but we still managed to catch a few colorful fish.

Keanu showed nothing but patience and compassion, especially with my shoulder wound. He was a natural at diving and fishing. Of course.