The Hawaiian Quilt (7 page)

“I understand what you’re saying. Oh my, I wonder how it all came about.” Slowly, Barbara shook her head.

“It was formed from the steady process of erosion, due to a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kauai millions of years ago. At least, that’s what it says here.” Sadie lifted the brochure she held. “When Kauai was still continually erupting, a portion of the island collapsed. It then formed a deep depression, which became filled with lava flows.”

Barbara sucked in her breath. “All I know is, what we are looking at is gorgeous. I see it as the handiwork of God.”

Sadie nodded. “Well said.”

Spouting Horn

“Watch now! Watch real close, ‘cause it’s gonna blow.” Mandy lifted her camera in readiness to see water shoot upward through an opening of lava rock, as she’d read about.

Ellen stood beside her, holding tightly to the rail. “I don’t see anything, Mandy. When is it supposed to happen?”

“I don’t know the exact moment; that’s why we need to watch.”

A minute later, it happened. As a huge spray of water shot upward through an opening, it created a great moaning sound. “I got it!” Mandy shouted as she snapped a picture. “That was absolutely incredible!”

“And it never ceases to amaze me.”

Mandy’s head jerked at the sound of a deep voice close to her ear. Startled, she turned to see a young man with tousled sandy-blond hair hanging almost to his shoulders. He stood right beside her and wore a pair of dark blue cutoffs and a white T-shirt.

“You’ve seen it before?” she questioned.

“Oh yeah, many times.” His cobalt-blue eyes twinkled as he gave her a dimpled smile. “I live on the island, so I can come here whenever I have time. The spray from Spouting Horn can shoot as high as fifty feet in the air. Oh, and you might also like to know that the original name for this natural wonder is ‘
puhi
,’ which means, ‘blowhole.’”

“It sounds like you know a lot about it.” She tossed the ties on her head covering over her shoulder to keep them from blowing in her face.

“Sure do. According to Hawaiian folklore, a giant lizard protected this area, until a young man named Liko challenged it. Of course, this threatened the people who came here to fish or swim.” He paused, his thick lashes brushing his cheeks as he blinked. “During the battle, Liko plunged a sharp stick into the lizard’s mouth.”

“What happened next?” Mandy felt drawn into his story.

“Well, Liko leaped into the water, luring the lizard in, too. Then he swam into a small lava tube in the rocks, leading to the surface. The lizard followed and got stuck in the tube. So today, what you witnessed when the water shot up was the lizard’s roar. And he does it every time Spouting Horn blasts into the air.”

Mandy giggled. “What a great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.”

“Us?” He tipped his head, looking at her curiously.

She glanced to her left, thinking Ellen was still there, but her friend had wandered off and was kneeling beside a mother hen and her baby chicks in the grassy area. Mandy had read about all the chickens roaming free on Kauai, but these were the first she had seen. “My friend is over there.” She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. “This is our first time to Kauai, and I’m impressed with what we’ve seen so far. There’s so much colorful foliage and beautiful flowers—even more so than the other two islands we’ve already seen.”

“It is beautiful here.” His hands made a sweeping gesture of the landscape. “That’s why it’s known as ‘The Garden Island.’”

“I’d heard that, and it makes sense to me now.” Mandy took a picture of Ellen and the chickens. She would surprise her with it when they got home.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“We live in northeastern Indiana.”

“Amish country?” He slipped his sunglasses on.

She nodded.

“I figured you were Amish by the way you’re dressed.” He kept his focus mainly on Mandy, glancing briefly at Ellen as she watched the mama hen and her chicks.

“Have you ever been to Indiana or met any Amish people?” Mandy asked.

“Nope. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, but I’ve read about the Amish and seen some shows on TV about them.”

Mandy frowned. “Don’t believe everything you read and especially what you see on television. Not everything people say or think about us is true.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Figured as much. Not everything people say about those who live on the Hawaiian Islands is true, either.”

Ellen returned to Mandy’s side and tugged her sleeve. “Should we go look at some of the souvenir booths now? I’d like to see if there’s anything I might wanna buy to take home.”

“You’ll find some nice locally-made items,” the young man said.

Mandy smiled. “It’s been nice talking to you. Thanks again for the information about the blowhole—even the story you made up.”

“Oh, I didn’t make it up. The legend’s been around a long time.” He lifted his hand to wave. “Enjoy your time here on the island.”

As the girls made their way toward the booths, Ellen leaned close to Mandy. “Do you always talk to strangers?”

“I do when I want to learn something.” Mandy giggled. “I thought what he told us about the blowhole was interesting.”

“Told
you
, don’t you mean? I was looking at the chickens.”

“You should have been looking at the water shooting up. It was much more interesting.”

“I did see it blow, but when the stranger engaged you in conversation, I let someone else take my place at the railing.”

“If you’d stayed, you would have heard an interesting folk story about a lizard and a man doing battle in the ocean.”

Ellen rolled her eyes dramatically. “Really, Mandy, I’d never have believed something so
narrisch
.”

“It wasn’t foolish. It was fun.” Mandy gave Ellen’s arm a gentle tap. “You need to relax and be more outgoing. A person can learn a lot from talking to strangers.”

Lihue

After stopping for a late lunch and doing a bit of shopping, Ellen suggested they start back to their ship.

“I’m sure we have plenty of time.” Mandy reached into her purse to retrieve her cell phone and was surprised it wasn’t there. “That’s
fremm
.”

“What’s strange?”

“I thought I put my cell phone in my purse after we were done eating, but it’s not there.”

“Maybe you laid it down somewhere. Could you have left it in your seat or on the table at the restaurant?”

“I’m not sure. I suppose it’s possible.” Mandy started moving in that direction. “We need to go back and see.”

When they entered the restaurant, Mandy told the hostess she’d lost her cell phone and thought it might be there, but she was told no cell phone had been found when their table was cleared.

“Okay, thank you.” Mandy felt her heart beat faster. She needed her phone to keep in touch with her family, not to mention keep track of the time.

“Where else could you have left it?” Ellen’s gaze flitted around the area.

“I have no idea.” Mandy took several deep breaths to calm herself. “I need to find it, Ellen. Help me think where it could be.”

“Let’s retrace our steps.”

“Okay.” Fear clutched Mandy’s heart. Losing her phone was much worse than if she’d lost her camera.

After looking in several places with no luck, Mandy finally gave up. “Guess we’ll have to discontinue our search. We need to get back to the ship.”

“You’re right.” Ellen rested her hand on Mandy’s arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t paying closer attention. If I had, I may have seen where you laid the phone down.”

“It’s not your fault. I was careless.” She turned away from Ellen and bit her lip.

They were several blocks from their cruise ship, so they had plenty of walking to do. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, reflecting off the water’s surface. Hot and cool colors swirled in the sky and waves. It looked like something one would see in a painting, but this was even better because it was real.

Mandy and Ellen walked at a fast pace, yet Mandy’s heartbeat slowed while she gazed at the sunset.
I wonder if there are any legends about the sun in Hawaii
, she mused.
If there are, I’d love to listen
.

As they approached the dock, Mandy’s eyes widened, and her stomach churned. She turned to Ellen. “Where’s our cruise ship?”

With a trembling hand, Ellen pointed.

Mandy saw it then, some distance away. The boat had already headed out to sea. She gasped. “Oh, no! We missed it!”

On the Cruise Ship

S
adie squeezed her purse handles so tight, the veins stood out on her L/hand. “Oh, dear. I’m getting nervous, Barbara. The ship’s on its way to the Big Island, and we haven’t seen any sign of Mandy or Ellen.”

“I’m sure they’re somewhere on the ship,” Barbara said. “We must have missed them on our way to dinner. This boat is enormous, and a lot of passengers are milling around, so at this point, let’s not worry.”

“I realize that, but it’s time for supper. Mandy and Ellen should be sitting here beside us at the table.” Sadie looked around, hoping their friends were on their way and would join them any minute.

Barbara shrugged. “Maybe they couldn’t find the dining room.”

“It doesn’t make sense. As many evenings as we’ve all come up to this deck, they surely would be able to find their way here by now.”

Barbara drank some water. “Perhaps they ate too much for lunch and decided to skip the evening meal. I remember the time Mandy mentioned she’d like to visit the exercise room on the ship. Maybe she and Ellen are there, working out on one of the machines.”

Sadie’s brows lifted. “And miss dinner? I don’t believe it.”

“If they’re too full to eat anything right now, I can understand them not wanting dinner.” Barbara leaned forward. “Or maybe they went to the ship’s library and became lost in a novel.”

“They should have been in our room when we went there to change before coming up to dinner.” Sadie pursed her lips. “I hope you’re right about why they’re not here, but I have a horrible feeling they didn’t make it back to the ship before it pulled away from the dock.”

Barbara coughed, nearly choking on her water. “Ach, that would be
baremlich
! If Mandy and Ellen didn’t get to the ship on time, they’re stranded on Kauai!”

Lihue

Ellen clutched Mandy’s arm. “What are we going to do? The boat left without us, and now we’re stuck here for who knows how long and without our luggage.” For the first time since they’d begun their journey, she sounded desperate to go home.

“Calm down.” Mandy spoke softly, hoping to ease her own fears. She had to admit, even with her friend standing right beside her, it was a lonely feeling being so far from home in an unfamiliar place. “It won’t do us any good to get
umgerrent
.”

“How can we not be upset?” Ellen’s voice rose while she twisted her head covering ribbons around her fingers. “We’re stuck here, with no place to even stay the night. And remember, you don’t have your cell phone anymore. If you still had it, you could at least call Sadie and Barbara and tell them what’s happened. Imagine how worried they are by now. I sure would be if our roles were reversed.”