

### AYLA SPEAKS

TO

DOLPHINS

~ BOOK 2 ~

SAVING SANTO

SEALOVE

### PUBLISHER INFO

Text copyright © 2013 by SEALOVE

Illustrations & Cover copyright © 2013 by SEALOVE

All rights reserved. Copyright 2012 AudioVisualize Media - Smashwords Edition

AVM, AudioVisualize Media, Ayla Speaks to Dolphins and associated logos, names and terminology are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of AudioVisualize Media, LLC.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition - License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Audio Visualize Media, LLC

PO Box 223661

Princeville, Hawai'i 96722

Publisher@AudioVisualizeMedia.com

eISBN 978-0-9822194-2-3

Summary: On a remote Hawaiian island, a young girl discovers that she can communicate with dolphins.

First Edition, February 2013

Find Your Paradise!

AudioVisualizeMedia.com

### DEDICATION

For the Children of Hawai'i

and

All their Brothers and Sisters

on Planet Earth!

Mahalo, Mahalo

and

ALOHA!

### PART ONE

### PART ONE VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### ONE

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

Unwilling to leave Kaleo to drown in this metallic prison, Ayla knew she had only one chance.

She looked at him, stole three deep breaths of air and dove back down into the cold, murky depths.

She had no idea what she was going to do, but Ayla knew one thing.

I'm not leaving him here!

The reason Kaleo was trapped in this underwater maze was still a mystery to her. Ayla had only known the courageous boy for a few short weeks and he had always made good decisions. She had no idea why he chose to follow that lobster into such a dangerous place, but that was the least of her questions right now.

As thoughts of the dolphins, the island and the boy raced through her mind, Ayla dove deeper into the ominous ghost ship.

The dolphins had helped her get this far, but now she was on her own. Her little lungs were burning before she had even dropped ten feet.

What do I do?

On the outside, the sun was kissing the horizon, turning everything darker and darker. The building waves were now slamming against the hull in violent motion. All too soon, Ayla was out of breath, out of time and almost out of hope.

Just then, she heard something.

Tap, tap, tap... Tap, tap, tap.

Spinning around trying to locate the source of the sound, only increased her disorientation. Ayla tried desperately to focus all of her attention on the tapping.

Tap, tap, tap.

Three taps, repeating over and over.

Just then she remembered the words of the old Man...

Open your mind.

She closed her eyes and reached out from deep within the steel fortress.

Let go, Ayla! she thought. Just let go!

In that brief space of time there was stillness in Ayla's mind.

Sound and light seemed to merge together as one.

Suddenly, she could feel, she could see, she could hear so much more. Then, out of the darkness, came the sound.

Delphina! Ayla cried out through the watery depths.

The dolphin began firing sonar beams through the holes in the hull. Her powerful waves of sound were lighting the area as they searched for the needle in a haystack... the hidden knife that was buried deep within the years of sediment upon the ship's floor.

But Ayla was out of breath. She had no choice but to race back to the surface.

"Pwaaahhh!"

Breaking the surface, she inhaled the life force.

Immediately, her eyes searched for the boy.

"Kaleo!"

As her eyes focused in the dim light, she smelled the scent of seaweed and salt mixing with fear.

"Ayla! I told you to—" he coughed, sputtering seawater from his mouth. "Go!"

Kaleo could hardly turn his head. His nose was pressed up against the ceiling of the ship.

"G-g-get... get out of here!" he shivered.

"No Kaleo! I'm not leaving you!"

Ayla's eyes held a fierce look. It was a look that he had never seen in her blue eyes before.

"Ayla. Leave. NOW!" he shouted, sputtering through the rising water.

There was no time to argue.

She pulled her body close, wrapped her arms around Kaleo and kissed his cheek. A cheek that was cold and barely above the surface.

"Hold on, Kaleo! I'm going back down to get the knife and I'm coming right back for you! Just hold on!"

Before the frantic boy could say a word, Ayla was gone.

I can do this! she thought, as she dove deeper and deeper into the darkness, tapping into a well of energy she never knew she had.

She passed nets and glass and all sorts of forgotten dreams.

When Ayla finally made it to the bottom, she hovered above the muck. She tried to slow the beating of her heart as she opened her mind and reached out for the dolphins.

Where are you? she called out through the void.

All of a sudden, Ayla heard Delphina's voice.

Here!

Then she heard the tapping against the ship.

Tap, tap, tap.

She kicked toward the source of the sound.

The moment she arrived, she plunged her hand into the muck. Her arm sunk into slime up to her elbow as she grasped frantically about for the knife.

Ouch!

Her hand paid the price.

A huge gash on her palm opened up and blood began spilling from her flesh. It was an old iron hook and not Kaleo's knife.

Ayla closed her eyes and reached out from deep inside.

Help me! she called out. Where is it?

Suddenly, Ayla could feel the dolphin's powerful sound waves pulsing through her body. Tingling sensations traveled all the way up her spine, erupting inside her head and forming a three-dimensional picture of color and sound.

What Ayla experienced next went beyond her human senses and submerged her into a place that existed somewhere between a hologram and a dream.

The sonic image appeared out of the darkness, projecting behind her closed eye lids.

Oh my God!

In her mind's eye, Ayla could see what Delphina was seeing.

That's my hand!

She could see it moving through the dark muck.

I can see it! she marveled. I can see Delphina's sound!

Ayla's human mind began wrapping around the dolphin's perspective, coordinating the placement of her hand according to the sonic picture in her head.

Riding those rainbow waves, Ayla finally spotted the black handle of Kaleo's knife.

A little further... just a little further.

Delphina's projection continued to guide her, but the girl's breath grew thinner and thinner.

Almost... almost...

The carbon dioxide was pushing against her lungs, struggling to break free.

But she could sense the knife sticking upward in the muck, beckoning to her like King Arthur. Like Excalibur, Ayla could feel the cold steel of Kaleo's blade, waiting to be freed from its prison and brought back to life from the edge of darkness.

Ayla followed Delphina's sound as her hand grew closer and closer.

And then...

Yes!

### TWO

"Pwaaahhh!"

Every cell in her body exhaled as Ayla's lungs drew deep from the oxygen still remaining in the dark cabin.

But her relief was short lived.

"Kaleo!" she cried out. "NO!"

With only three inches separating her and the metal ceiling, Ayla struggled toward Kaleo's lifeless body.

His face was underwater now and there was no movement at all from the boy. He just floated in the liquid lit by the setting sun that poured in through one of the tiny holes that time and the Pacific had worn away.

"Kaleo!" Ayla shouted with all of the emotion left in her body.

Unable to bear the sight, she dove beneath the surface and started cutting away at the ropes with a fury.

I got it Kaleo... I got your knife! Everything's going to be alright! I'm going to cut this rope off your leg and get us both out of here. Stay with me. Just stay with me!

These desperate thoughts were for her as much as for the boy.

But the cutting was not easy.

The thick rope was wrapped around his leg so many times and in so many different directions that Ayla didn't even know where to begin. Every slice of the blade was taking longer and longer as her little hands grew numb from the cold. Mixed with the loss of blood, they grew more and more raw with each frantic cut of the steel blade.

Come on, Ayla! Think... think!

But it was not helping.

Just as hope began to fade, she heard the voice.

"Let go, Ayla."

Releasing her frantic thoughts once more, Ayla opened her heart and tapped into the Mana of her soul.

Suddenly, the girl could feel her spirit take over. And with Spirit as her guide, her mind received instructions and her body began to move with renewed focus and awareness.

Her hands knew exactly what to do and exactly where to cut.

Within seconds, the knife had sliced through the monstrous strands like a Samurai.

But that was just the first one.

Kaleo's lifeless leg was still tangled in a matrix of smaller ropes.

Ayla's thoughts kept trying to creep back in.

You're out of time!

He's out of breath!

You're too late!

But once more, she refused to give in.

She refused to give up.

She stayed open, allowing Spirit to guide.

Once more, her hands knew what to do.

Suddenly, the leg was free.

Without a moment to lose, Ayla swam for the surface.

Another gasp, another glance.

But still, the boy was not moving.

"Come on, Kaleo!" She reached out and grabbed him.

With one inch of life left in the cabin, Ayla snatched a final breath from the jaws of death. She tucked the knife in her bikini, wrapped her arm around the lifeless boy and plunged back down into the abyss.

On her way down, she sent out one single message.

Help!

By the time they reached the jagged portal near the bottom, she could already see the shadowy figures swirling outside the circular opening.

Thank God! she thought, as a glimmer of hope returned. The Dolphins!

But as Ayla peered through the tiny window, she was met by an entirely new set of horrors.

Those shadowy figures were not dolphins!

### THREE

Sharks.

Ayla's eyes took in the horror waiting on the other side.

My blood!

She scanned her body from head to toe.

Crimson liquid was seeping out and swirling up into the water like a blooming rose.

She heard her father's words echoing throughout her panic stricken mind.

"Sharks can smell blood in the water!"

Ayla looked out again and saw another, then another of the hideous beasts swirling on the other side of the dimly lit portal.

Her father's words kept swirling through her mind.

"Sharks are nature's perfect predators."

"They can sense blood up to three miles away."

"And once they catch the scent of blood..."

Desperate for breath, Ayla was paralyzed by the sight of the predators circling faster and faster, the smell of the little girl's precious blood intoxicating their veins.

WHAPPP!

A twelve foot Tiger Shark slammed its tail against the portal, knocking Ayla back.

We're out of time!

Kaleo hasn't had breath for far too long.

There's no way we can make it through the sharks.

They'll rip us apart the moment...

The frantic thoughts were back, threatening to take control, once again.

Help me! she sent out into the abyss.

ManaPono!

On the other side of the Pacific, as the last rays of sunlight disappeared into the west, there was an ominous feeling surrounding the endless blue of the ocean.

"I hate sharks!" the man said, as he peered over the side of the ship into the dark water below.

There he saw the unmistakeable silhouette of a shark's fin. A prehistoric fear that gave this hardened mariner a moment of pause... a gut check as his stomach twisted from the inside out.

"They make me sick!"

Suddenly, an accented scoff broke the eerie silence.

"Hah! I wasn't aware we let scared little girls on this ship!"

Given that this was not a direct order, the first mate chose not to respond.

"Hah, hah, hahhh..."

The insulting laughter spilled over the fat, sausage lips of his old captain. "You no like the sight, but I bet you much like the gold we get for their fins," the wrinkled relic proclaimed with his greedy eyes and broken English.

Is he really going to start killing sharks, too? The first mate wondered.

"Shall I give you the honors?" the captain said, mocking his first mate and handing him his prized pistol.

Santo stared at the ten thousand dollar custom made weapon. The Carrara marble grip glistened in the light of the setting sun, calling to him.

You could end it right here, you know... he thought.

Just one pull of the trigger. And he'll never...

Still, First Mate Santo chose to remain silent.

"Well, what is the matter, girl?" Captain Basso barked, spitting his accent into the wind. "Shark got your tongue?"

With over a decade upon the high seas, the first mate might not have developed the stomach of his grizzled commander, but he had learned more than enough.

Let it go, Santo told himself. Just let it go.

"Hmmmph!" the captain snorted, disappointed not to get a rile out of the man. "Sometimes I wonder why I don't just throw you overboard," the man barked, glancing over the side at the circling sharks below. "Put you out of your misery once and for all."

The captain's insults went on for awhile.

Sizing up the crusty barnacle beside him, Santo clenched the cold fists at his sides. But that's as high as they ever rose.

I ought to... Santo thought as his nails dug deeper into his flesh.

"No, Sir!" was his only reply.

"Aye... we'll see!" the captain said. "Now, continue with the preparations. This is going to be our biggest operation yet."

Captain Basso and his first mate headed back up to the bridge and unrolled three laminated maps upon the control desk.

"Sir..." Santo began reluctantly. "Are we really adding seven more capture zones?"

"Ah... my young apprentice," Captain Basso said eyeing the first mate. "Don't you know what is the sweetest smell upon the high seas?"

"No, Sir."

"Hah hah!" he cackled like a hungry hyena. "Money!"

"ManaPono!"

Somewhere deep below the surface, that one word and its powerful waves of sound echoed off the sea floor.

Instantly, every member of the pod stopped moving.

There was a tense moment where nothing was said.

Even the babies were quiet.

"That can only mean one thing!" a mother said to her partner.

"But that wasn't a dolphin..." he replied.

"Could it be?" she asked, looking at her baby and recalling the dream.

The dream they all shared.

The dream of the humans.

The dream of the Child.

Suddenly, a single call issued forth from the elder in the center.

"ManaPono!"

Then, all at once, seventy three voices replied as one.

"MANAPONO!"

### FOUR

The swarm of sharks now numbered over thirty.

Every last one of the hungry killers was ready for the feast that was about to begin.

With blood swirling about her body and the breath all but gone from her lungs, Ayla took one more daring glance out the jagged portal.

Please... she called out in desperation. Help us!

Suddenly, Ayla saw one of the sharks zip away.

They had been doing that. Darting back and forth.

Then she saw another dart away. Then another.

What are they doing?

Suddenly, another silvery figure zipped by the portal at top speed, passing within inches of her eyes.

Wait! That wasn't a shark!

Another rocket raced past.

Dolphins!

A third, fourth and fifth appeared.

Lots of dolphins!

She grew dizzy watching the frantic zipping of dolphins and sharks in this predator's dance.

It's... it's the pod!

Every dolphin in the clan had come to their rescue and began driving the sharks off with a vengeance, kicking and slashing with their flukes.

Kai, Delphina and Dorsi were at the center of the pod, moving toward the portal and clearing a path with their ferocious tails.

You came! You all came!

It must have been a dream, because inside of seven seconds, the dolphins had cleared the entire scene.

Ayla watched the sharks speed off, retreating into the shadows.

But Ayla still had another problem.

He's too big to fit!

Kaleo was not as big as Aslyn, but he definitely couldn't fit through the way that Ayla had.

How did you get in here, Kaleo?

Then another image flashed in her mind.

It was from Delphina.

Right! Ayla thought. The knife! Of course!

She reached into her bikini, praying it was still there.

Grabbing the plastic handle, she flipped it over and took hold of the sharp end. Ayla began using the butt end of the knife to bang at the remaining shards of glass that time had left clinging to the portal.

It's working!

But her hand was paying the price as fresh streams of blood began pouring out of her once more.

Without time for that thought or anything else, Ayla pushed Kaleo's unconscious body through the portal with all the might she had left.

Inch by inch, he came closer to the dolphins waiting on the other side. Ayla slipped through quickly this time.

AIR!

Delphina and Kai positioned their bodies, allowing Ayla to place the lifeless boy on top of them.

With one arm on Kaleo and the other grabbing hold of Dorsi, Ayla screamed through the water.

GO!

### FIVE

Three days into the operation, everything was going as planned.

"Captain," the first mate said, "Rendezvous with Sea Serpent in twenty minutes."

"Good!" came the harsh accent. "Let's see if they actually make their quota this time!"

Captain Basso was pushing his men and their schedule beyond what most would think possible. The entire crew was beyond weary with their double shifts and lack of sleep.

Christian Santo was beginning to wonder if his captain hadn't finally gone over the deep end chasing his own greed.

"Captain," one of the crew members called on his hand held radio. "We have sight of The Serpent approaching."

"Good. Prepare for the transfer," the captain ordered.

In the stillness of the night, all the crew members stood ready on deck, watching the approaching lights of the expected boat.

Wait a minute... the first mate thought. That doesn't look like...

The size of the Sea Serpent looked strangely different than Santo remembered.

Is that...? he wondered, squinting into his binoculars. Oh no! Captain is not going to be happy about this.

All of sudden, the quiet of the night was broken by an amplified voice thundering over the water.

"Captain of the ship...! This is the Sea Guardian."

Flood lights lit the water with intense beams to match the sound.

"You are engaging in ILLEGAL activities! Cease your actions IMMEDIATELY!"

"Arrgh!" the bitter captain exhaled. "Not those sea-hugging imbeciles again!"

The Sea Guardians had a mission.

"These damn environmental terrorists have been pestering me for years!" the captain said, rising up from his leather throne like an emperor from ancient Rome. "No matter what they try, they can never stop 'Basso the Brilliant'!"

"Captain," the first mate asked, trying not to snicker at the captain's self appointed title. "What are your orders?"

"Stay the course! Let's draw them in as close as possible. I have a surprise for these damn Sea Slugs."

"Pwaaahhh!"

By the time they broke the surface, Aslyn was beyond panic.

"Ayla! I saw sharks! What did—"

But as soon as he saw Kaleo's body, limp and unconscious, Aslyn stopped asking questions.

Not good!

As a lifeguard, Aslyn had been here before.

Memories of that day at the pool and that little five year old boy still haunted Aslyn's dreams at night. That terrible afternoon where nothing he tried could change the boy's fate.

"Ayla!" Aslyn shouted. "We need to get to shore, fast!"

But by the time he screamed the last word, the dolphins were already in position.

"Hold on!" Ayla said.

It took less than sixty seconds, but to Ayla and Aslyn if felt like hours before they finally reached the shore.

The light was all but gone and the temperature was dropping fast.

As soon as they reached the shallows, Aslyn lifted the boy's limp body and carried Kaleo ten feet up, laying him as gently as he could upon the sand.

A quick check of the boy's vitals told him that Kaleo was not breathing. Aslyn launched into the life-saving procedures, one by one.

Check for pulse.

None.

Check for respiration.

Nothing.

Check for obstructions in the mouth.

"Aslyn! Do something!"

"I am!"

Aslyn's worst nightmare continued playing out before his weary eyes. His shivering hands didn't help. He kept flashing back to the lifeless body of that five year old boy, laid out on the chlorinated concrete.

Aslyn kept hearing the cries of the boy's mother.

"Aslyn! Help him!"

"I'm trying!"

Pushing those deathly images out of his mind, Aslyn tilted Kaleo's head and neck back, pinched his nose and breathed a stream of air into his open mouth.

Nothing.

"Aslyn?" Ayla's voice was desperate now.

"I'm trying!"

Aslyn searched the corners of his mind, recalling anything that might help. Anything that he hadn't thought of yet.

"Ayla, rub his legs and feet. We've got to keep his blood circulating."

Aslyn shifted himself over Kaleo and started pushing on his chest, both hands planted firmly on his sternum. He knew not to break any ribs with his frantic compressions, but Aslyn also knew that if the blood stopped moving through Kaleo, his brain would die within minutes.

"Come on, Kaleo!" Aslyn shouted.

"Breathe!" Ayla cried.

As Aslyn finished the first thirty chest compressions, he moved back to the boy's mouth for two more breaths of life.

Thirty more chest compressions.

"Anything?"

Aslyn shook his head.

Two more deep breaths.

Another thirty compressions.

"Dammit!"

Aslyn was starting to tire now. Both his body and spirit were waining. But he kept going.

Ayla kept rubbing Kaleo's legs. Anything to keep the circulation going through his cold body.

Anything to keep their connection from dying.

When she turned her head, Ayla saw the three dolphins.

They were in the shallows, as close as their bodies would allow.

They remained still, their heads above water and watching the children. Every so often, Ayla could hear a single whistle. It was a mournful call from her friends. Friends who had done so much. But here on land, they could only watch.

"Come on!"

Aslyn kept at it, determined.

"Breathe dammit!"

He was shouting now.

"BREATHE!"

He began to pound on the boy's chest. But it was pointless. Kaleo's body just absorbed the blows in stillness.

Death was coming for the boy and there was nothing that this fourteen year old lifeguard could do about it.

### SIX

By this point, neither Ayla nor Aslyn had any sense of time.

It was as if the entire Universe had stopped and nothing existed except for the lifeless boy splayed out on the sand in front of them.

Finally, after what felt like an hour of pumping and praying, Aslyn was spent. His arms felt like lead. His energy was all but gone. And his hope wasn't far behind.

"Aslyn! Don't stop!"

"Ay... Ayla," he sputtered, gasping for his own breath. "There's... there's nothing else I can do."

"No, Aslyn. No!"

"Ayla... I'm sorry. I... I can't..."

"NO!" she screamed.

In one motion, with strength that Aslyn never knew his sister possessed, Ayla threw her brother off of Kaleo and jumped on top of the lifeless boy.

"Come on, Kaleo!" she shouted at the corpse. "Don't give up on me! Breathe!" she screamed, as she began pounding on his chest.

"No Ayla... not like that. Like this!"

Aslyn showed her how to clasp her hands, lock her elbows and use the weight of her body for the downward thrust.

"Okay, good. Do thirty compressions. Then two breaths!"

Ayla did as her brother said.

One round of thirty to two.

Nothing.

Another round. Thirty pumps. Two breaths.

Still nothing.

By now, Ayla was oblivious to everything except Kaleo. But like her brother, her strength was fading fast.

Compressions. Breaths.

Compressions. Breaths.

Thirty. Two.

Nothing.

"Come on!" she shouted into the boy's face, willing him to open his hazel eyes. "Breathe, Kaleo! BREATHE!"

Without realizing it, Ayla's tears began to fall, just as the rain began trickling from above.

Soon, Ayla could taste the salt of her tears each time she reached down to give Kaleo another kiss of life.

She searched her mind for any prayers she knew.

She tried to remember the special words her grandfather always used, his deep Hawaiian chant in times of dire need.

But all words seemed far from her now.

As the rain started falling harder and harder, hope seemed to drift further and further away into the darkening skies above.

I can't do this alone. I need help! Help me!!!

She had nothing left... but to believe!

That's when she found it... the one word she needed.

Ayla raised her head and called out to the heavens, through the portals of time, lifting her cry into the water-filled sky.

"ManaPono!"

"E Mahalo Ke Akua, E Mahalo ke Kai...

As the flames rose higher and higher into the night, the mystical sounds grew louder and louder, matching the power of the primal fire.

"Mahalo ka Aina... Mahalo Kalihikai!"

As the magic of the ancient words lifted into the heavens above, the lone Man with the staff stood in silence. His eyes closed and hands upheld, he called out to the Great Spirit.

Just then, the Woman turned, lifting her right arm toward the west, up and into the deepening indigo sky.

Behind her, the sisters were chanting a sonorous tone into the falling rain... one single note, resounding from many lips, yet all the same.

No houses... just huts.

No boats... just canoes.

No light... just fire.

And the moon, still hidden behind the layer of darkening skies.

As the old Kahuna lifted his staff high into the air, he let forth a single call.

"ManaPono!"

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!"

The sound of man and bird filled the sky, spiraling together and wrapping within each other's sonic vibrations outside of time.

In the space where these two sacred sounds became one, Spirit met them there spiraling around. Together, this triple sound began to open the divide... the divide between space and time.

"Ea!"

As if answering the cry, the heavens began to part. Tearing open a portal of color and sound, a wormhole was born into this sacred night.

Color began to form in the darkness.

Sound erupted across the heavens.

Then, they lifted a single breath of life.

The Man and the Woman.

The Woman and the Man.

Together, they knew.

This is her destiny!

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!"

"ManaPono... Ea!"

The fading sunset colors were gone.

Night had come for them all.

Only the faintest light of the rising moon was pushing through the growing clouds on the horizon.

For a moment, Ayla just closed her eyes against the tears.

In the darkness behind her eyelids there was a stillness.

As she opened them again, she felt as if all sound had disappeared and time itself stood still.

Then suddenly, out of the corner of her tears, Ayla could see something.

She could feel it.

A presence of something above.

What is that?

As she squinted through her tears and looked up into the heavens, her eyes locked upon a stunning phantasm in the sky.

Softly at first, then brighter and brighter, the dream-like presence began to grow out of the rain and mist clinging atop the mountain peaks in the distance.

An ethereal light, the likes of which Ayla had never seen before, was growing before her very eyes.

"What!" she gasped.

As Aslyn looked up, he must have seen it, too. "What is that?"

Mystical colors began pouring out of the night sky.

The Nighttime Rainbow!

She had always thought it was more fiction than fact.

But there it was, spilling out of the sky and lighting everything around them.

As Ayla's eyes traced its arcing path downward, she saw it alight upon the spot where the jungle met the sand.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, as her eyes beheld the two.

The... the Man, she thought. And the Woman!

"What man—"

But as Aslyn's eyes caught hold of the brilliant sight for the first time, the boy went quiet.

The two ghostly figures stood there, bathed in the light of the Moonbow. A solemn expression covered both faces, as the light bathed them from head to toe.

Then suddenly, Ayla saw the Man lift his staff into the Moonbow-filled sky.

The Woman followed, lifting her right hand into the light.

The aura around the two of them began to grow brighter and brighter.

Then, both staff and hand shot down toward Ayla, streaming immense beams upon the lifeless boy beneath her trembling body.

"E Mahalo Ke Akua... E Mahalo ke Kai."

The sound waves echoed loud and far, washing over Ayla and the boys with a power that was palpable... a feeling that was warm and deep!

"Mahalo ka Aina... Mahalo Kalihikai!"

As these words drenched the night, the light grew even brighter until...

"Manapono... Ea!"

Suddenly, the sound of the man's voice stopped echoing through the night, but continued inside of Ayla's head.

"ManaPono! Believe... Ea!"

She stared in disbelief as these words sank deep into her soul.

Ayla looked up once more and saw the woman's solemn face slip into a familiar smile.

It was a warm smile. An angelic smile.

It was the smile of her mother.

Then she heard it.

For the first time Ayla heard the heavenly voice of that Ancient Princess!

"Ho'omaikai kou mana... ho'omaikai kou aloha!"

It was like a choir of voices spilling forth from this angel's mouth. As if many women were speaking through the one.

"Send your Mana... Send your Love!"

Ayla's ears weren't the only thing receiving the woman's melodic sound. The sonic waves seemed to flutter through her entire soul.

"Believe! ManaPono... Ea!"

With these last words, there came a flash of brilliant color erupting from behind the waves of sound. It looked as if they had been hiding behind the sound since the beginning of time, leaping forth into existence at this exact moment divine, alighting upon her and the boy.

Without another thought or sound, Ayla looked back down at the lifeless boy.

Summoning all her courage, all her strength and every ounce of belief within her soul, Ayla opened her mouth, inhaled one deep breath and placed her lips gently upon Kaleo's mouth.

Breathe!

As her lips kissed his, she breathed for them both.

Breathe, my Love!

As Ayla's body and soul reached into his, she could feel power surging into her from another space and time.

Manapono... Ea!

The dolphins started firing off their sound, as their symphony of clicks and whistles and warbles echoed off the surface of the water.

"I Believe!"

"What?"

"I Believe!" she repeated, whether to herself or some unseen force, Aslyn wasn't sure. But his sister's words helped shake him back to reality. Back to the moment.

"I BELIEVE!"

This time, it wasn't for her brother. It wasn't even for Kaleo.

This time it was for herself and for the Woman... for all the mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers spanning back through the pages of time.

For any woman who had ever loved and lost a child.

"Return to me," Ayla whispered into the boy's ear. "Ea!"

As if on command, the dead boy's chest began to twitch.

"Come on!"

She saw him move again.

"That's it! Come on, Kaleo!"

Suddenly, the boy heaved, expelling a lung full of salty liquid into the air.

"Whuuuuuuuggghhh!"

As the boy coughed and sputtered back to life, the night was filled with sound from above.

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!"

Pueo! she thought.

This time, as she heard the raptor's call, Ayla didn't flinch in fright, nor duck for cover. She just looked up with serene eyes and watched as the Hawaiian owl, Kaleo's beloved 'aumakua, flew under the Moonbow and out over the distant sea.

"Wheeeeeeerrr clik clik clik. Wheeeeeeerrr clik clik clik."

The dolphin's sounds of celebration followed Pueo out into the night sky.

"Ayla!" Aslyn exclaimed. "You did it!"

Aslyn jumped up and pushed himself back into action, rolling the stirring boy onto his side as Kaleo coughed up more and more of the putrid saltwater from his lungs.

Exhausted and relieved, Ayla pulled her legs up to her chest hugging them as she closed her eyes and rocked her petrified body back to life.

When she finally opened them again, Ayla looked to the heavens just in time to see the glorious colors of the mystical moonbow fade into the western sky.

Thank you! she sent along with the retreating light.

Mahalo Nui Loa, Ke Akua!

### SEVEN

"Captain of the ship!" the megaphone called again. "I repeat, stand down! Your actions are illegal!"

"Captain?" Santo asked again.

"Ready the water cannon!" Basso ordered.

"Sir, we've tried that before—"

"Do not question Basso!"

First Mate Santo obediently gave the order to the men.

"Ready the water cannon."

"You better hold on, you Sea Cucumbers," the captain hissed at his enemies. "Or you will be swimming with your friends in the sea."

Evil flashed behind the greedy man's eyes.

"You will not keep me from my payday!"

Watching the opposing boat getting closer, Captain Basso murmured, "Almost... almost..."

As the environmental crusaders entered the line of fire, the captain gave the order.

"NOW!"

"We have to get him warm!"

Aslyn was back in action and leading the charge to get them back to the safety of the house.

Ayla's body was shivering with a chill that went deeper than her bones. With everything that she had experienced within this single hour of time, the girl's body was as spent as her mind.

But her soul was a different matter.

Ayla's soul was alive in a way that only dreams could convey. But this was no dream.

She had done it.

She had breathed Spirit back into the world of the flesh.

With a lot of help, she remembered.

By this time, Ayla knew better than to look back.

Wherever they had come from, she could feel that they had already returned.

Secretly, Ayla couldn't help but wonder when she would see them again.

"Do you think you can make it, Kaleo?"

Aslyn's voice brought Ayla back to the moment. Back to the wet sand between them and the house.

"I... I... think so-o-o," the boy said, shivering back to life.

Good! Ayla thought. He's coming back!

"Mahalo," she whispered again.

"What are you thanking me for?" Kaleo's thin voice replied.

As she looked into the boy's hazel eyes, it was all she could do not to tear up again. All she could do not to throw her arms around him and kiss him until the warmth of her soul became the warmth of his young body once more.

"I'll tell you... later," she said, flashing a smile and a wink to this friend she had nearly lost to the sea.

As a trace of a smile lit Kaleo's eyes, he coughed again and stumbled up the sand with Aslyn on one side and his beloved sister on the other.

As the three caught sight of the safe haven up ahead, they had no idea what they were going to tell Grandma and Grandpa.

As they made their way carefully up the stairs and through the lanai door, the house seemed oddly quiet. The lights were all on but no one was home.

"Looks like we lucked out!" Aslyn said.

"No one home. No one home."

"Oh, Pico!" Ayla said, with a smile that helped neutralize some of the powerful emotions still coursing through her veins. "Where is everyone?"

"Home alone. Home alone."

"Perfect!" said Ayla.

"Come on! We gotta get him warm and dry!" Aslyn said, bringing the moment back, then disappearing into the laundry room.

Ayla sat Kaleo down on the couch and wrapped her arms around the boy who was still shivering and more than a bit purple around his lips and eyes.

"You're gonna be okay," she said, trying to reassure the resurrected warrior.

I can't imagine what this is going to do to him!

More than a few thoughts of death and beyond had been spinning through her mind. She could only imagine what was going on in Kaleo's po'o at that moment.

For a long time, the shivering boy just looked at Ayla.

Words were still far from his lips.

As Aslyn returned with some of his clothes, still warm from the dryer, he went to work.

"I'll go get a blanket," Ayla said, running up the stairs.

Aslyn helped Kaleo out of his wet shorts and into the warm pair of sweatpants.

Just then, Ayla returned with the fluffy blanket from her bed, the one her mother had made for her all those years ago. She wrapped her favorite comfort around Kaleo as she and Aslyn helped him lie down on the couch.

The relative warmth of the cozy living room, with all of the colors and familiar images surrounding them, seemed to work their mana on the boy... on all three of the children, for Kaleo was not the only one who was numb by now. The presence of Tiki and Kula purring on the love seat and Bobo curled up on his little doggie bed, helped make the world seem normal again, if that were possible.

"How are you doing, buddy?" the older boy asked, still in first responder mode, reaching over and checking Kaleo's pulse, then examining his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm... I'm pretty cold," Kaleo managed through his chattering teeth.

"We need to get you warm," Aslyn said, "And hydrated."

"I'll heat some water for some tea!" Ayla said, jumping up again. Anything to keep moving.

"Yeah, go ahead and start the water," Aslyn began. "But first, he needs electrolytes. His blood sugar has got to be really low. The best thing for him right now is a coconut."

"Coco. Coco!"

Ayla smiled at the bird as she headed to the kitchen.

"You got it, Bird," Aslyn said, begrudging his feathered nemesis a bit of respect. "Way better than Gatorade! I'll be right back, Kaleo. Just stay there. And don't fall asleep. Understand?"

Kaleo nodded as Aslyn took off out the lanai door.

As Ayla returned to Kaleo's side, she could hear the distinct 'thunk, thunk, thunk' of Grandpa's old machete hacking away at the tough nut.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, as her eyes scanned his face.

"Okay..." Kaleo replied, as his eyes gazed forward at the living room walls. "I mean, considering that I just died."

"Yeah," she said, feeling the truth of those words.

"Ayla..." he began. For a second, Kaleo's voice got real quiet. Almost a whisper. "I saw... I saw the light."

"The... light?"

"Yeah," he continued between his shivers. "Ayla, I... I..."

"What?" she asked. "What did you see?"

"It was so... so beautiful," he said at last. "And there were colors. And... and... I heard sound!"

Ayla saw something stir in the boy's eyes.

"Such incredible sound!" he said, as his gaze drifted out the window.

Ayla wondered if this was 'the light' people talk about surrounding near death experiences.

Or maybe... his spirit saw what was happening around his dying body. Like the Man and the Woman, she thought, as her mind flashed back on the scene. And the Moonbow!

Just as these images were sinking in again, Aslyn tore open the screen door carrying an open coconut in one hand and a papaya stem in the other.

"Here, buddy," Aslyn said, sliding the hollow papaya stem into the open hole at the top of the coconut. "Drink this. You might have to sit up a bit."

Kaleo didn't say anything.

But his eyes locked onto the coconut and he reached out his hands. For awhile, he just inhaled the vibrant water through the straw until the living room was filled with that familiar slurping sound.

"Thanks," the boy managed, dropping the empty nut on the floor then pulling the blanket around his own empty shell.

For a moment, all three were silent.

No one knew what to say.

What do you say to someone who has just...?

Thankfully, the whistling sound of the kettle brought them all back to the world of the living once more.

Ayla jumped up. Returning moments later, her trembling hands balanced a steaming mug of peppermint tea.

As she set the hot cup down on the little table, Aslyn grabbed his sister by the arm.

"Ayla! You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" she replied.

In all of the intensity of reviving Kaleo and getting him back to the house, Ayla's blood went unnoticed.

The girl looked down at her hands.

Then at her legs.

"I'm okay," she said. "It's just some... I mean, they don't hurt that much."

"Ayla, you hate the sight of blood!"

Remembering this truth, Ayla shrugged and said, "Yeah... I guess I used to."

For the first time in her life, the sight of her own blood didn't phase Ayla at all.

God, how did all of this happen?

Ayla's eyes drifted out the window, looking for answers from the ocean and the night sky. She felt like a completely different person now.

What happened to me down there?

And on the beach...

Everything's different now, isn't it?

Whether Ayla was speaking to herself, the dolphins or...

"Ayla, sit down!" Aslyn's command brought her back from the abyss once again. "Put pressure on this one. I'll be right back!"

Ayla sat down on the floor in front of the couch and was still.

From this vantage point, her mystical blues were on the same level as his mysterious hazel eyes, lying on her grandmother's couch. For the entire time it took Aslyn to get clean towels, his first aid kit and an aloe vera arm from the pot on the window sill, Ayla was content to just stare into those enchanting eyes. Eyes that were still distant, stealing glances out the window. Eyes that Ayla wasn't sure she would ever see again.

As she closed her eyes, different images of those hazel eyes flashed through Ayla's mind. So many different shades in one single day.

The excitement they held heading out to sea.

The relief they flashed when she appeared inside the ship.

The love, the fear, the defeat...

And the death!

She shuddered at the sight of death behind her eyelids.

And then you opened them again!

Of all the powerful images flashing through her mind's eye, that look in his eyes, that look as he returned to life, would always remain as one of the strongest... burned deeply, along with the others, into her long term memory.

With all these emotions flashing through her, it was like Ayla was watching a time-lapse of life and death. Spring and winter.

Then thankfully, back to spring.

Mahalo Ke Akua... Mahalo Nui Loa!

As Ayla's overtaxed brain cells continued firing off at random, the vivid images they recalled were all too precise. They came surging like the tide once more, flooding her system with all the chemical power of the actual event.

There she was, living it all over again.

And soon, the girl's tears would no longer be denied.

As the water fell like the gentle rain outside the window, neither of the two children said anything. They just stared into each other's tears.

Many thoughts were passing between them now.

Far too many for words just yet.

But through the misty fog of these thoughts and memories, in the center of the electrical storms and chemical reactions of their bodies and minds, the young boy had the presence to do one thing.

One simple thing that made everything a little bit better.

"Ayla..."

It took an extreme effort of will, but somehow, the blue boy found a way to extricate his trembling hand from deep within the safety of the girl's blanket. As Kaleo reached out with all his remaining strength, he took Ayla's shaking hand into his and said...

"Mahalo."

His voice almost steady.

"Mahalo nui, ku'u ipo!"

And their tears fell together with the rain.

### EIGHT

"Hold on!" the man steering the small boat yelled as they were blasted with a force of water that could rip the paint off a house.

Captain Basso laughed from his high perch as he watched the inferior lifeforms below struggling with all their might.

"Turn! Turn!" shouted one of the men. His white knuckles were the only thing keeping him from an icy blue grave.

With some quick maneuvering and a little luck, the tiny boat skirted out of the blast zone just in time.

"That will teach them to get so close to my boat!" Basso said, watching the small boat retreat. "Full speed ahead!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" the first mate replied as he pushed down the throttle.

Before they reached top speed, they saw the Sea Guardian changing course.

"Oh, what are those Sea Snails up to now!" the captain scoffed. "Don't they ever learn! Just run them over!"

"Let me see those hands."

Aslyn had bounded back into the living room with his first aid supplies in his right hand and two dry towels in his left.

"We need to get you cleaned up, Ayla."

As Aslyn draped a green towel around his sister's shoulders, he began ministering to her wounds.

Gently wiping the smeared blood from her hands and legs, his eyes continued scanning her body to determine the extent of the damage.

Upon completion of his examination, he looked into his sister's eyes and said, "I guess you'll survive."

"You'll survive. You'll survive! Braaawck!"

"Thank you, Doctor Pico!" Aslyn said, as a smile spread across his face. Like Ayla and Kaleo, it had been a few intense hours since Aslyn's face knew the joy of a smile.

But unlike his sister, Aslyn wouldn't allow himself the healing release of tears... the water to flush the wave of emotions out of his body.

Instead, he began packing his sister's wounds with some sort of salve.

"Oooh!" Ayla exclaimed as the cooling sensations set in. "It's taking away the burn! What is this stuff?"

Ayla watched her brother smear what looked like gray mud into her wounds.

"It's Calcium Bentonite Clay. It's an old trick Dad learned in the Navy," Aslyn said, as he packed more and more into his sister's cuts.

"He told me soldiers use this stuff on the battlefield when there are no medics around. It stops the bleeding and starts healing on contact. I always keep some close by," he said. "This stuff works wonders on just about anything."

"What did you say this stuff was called?" she asked.

"Magic Clay. Magic Clay!"

"Well," Aslyn began, giving the bird a sideways glance. "Silica-Calcium-Magnesium-Oxide is the scientific name, I think... but it's really just clay! You know, volcanic ash condensed over millions of years."

Aslyn had used this stuff on more than a few occasions.

"There are only two places you can still get the pure stuff. One is from a mine deep in The South of France and the other is buried underneath a hundred million year old volcano in Death Valley. I guess that's how Dad and his SEAL buddies in San Diego found out about it. He says all the SEALs swear by the clay. They would know with all the messes they get into! He told me they even drink it."

"They drink it?"

"Drink it. Drink it!"

"Yeah," Aslyn continued, not even bothering to look at the bird. "Dad says it absorbs poisons and toxins that try to attack the body. He said when you drink it, it's like hitting the reset button. It must be a lifesaver on their operations with all the stuff they come across in the swamps and jungles."

At the mention of her father, Ayla couldn't help but think of her parents just then.

"How come you never told me about this stuff before?"

"You never asked," Aslyn replied with a sarcastic grin. "Besides... I seem to recall that prior to an hour ago, somebody didn't even want to talk to me."

Aslyn was never one to hold a grudge for long. But even with his comical tone, the truth of how she had been treating her brother the last few weeks suddenly caught up with Ayla.

Oh... she thought. I guess I have been kind of...

"Anyway," Aslyn said, wiping the past away along with the last of the blood. "I think that's all of them. Why don't you go get some dry clothes on, Ayla."

She nodded and stood up. As she started up the stairs, Ayla turned back to her brother and said, "Aslyn... thank you." There was so much she wanted to say to him at that moment, but the look in her eyes said it all.

Aslyn just nodded as a new respect passed between these two siblings.

When Ayla came back down, wearing her favorite blue hoodie with the big heart on it, she handed Aslyn his swim team sweatsuit. "Here Brother... your turn."

Aslyn had been so wrapped up in taking care of everyone else that he had completely forgotten that he was still wearing nothing but his wet swim trunks.

After the boy changed, all three just sat in the living room for awhile in silence. The aroma of peppermint tea drifted through the air, mingling with the soothing sounds coming from Grandma's old radio in the kitchen. The gentle ukuleles could just be heard over the crickets and raindrops through the open windows.

Finally, Kaleo propped himself up on one elbow.

"Thank you," he said. "I don't know what you two did... or how you did it, but..." He looked at each one in turn. "Mahalo!"

"Don't thank me. I thought you were a goner!" Aslyn said, as he smiled to ease the heaviness in Kaleo's voice. "It was Ayla! She wouldn't give up on you."

Kaleo's eyes turned back toward the girl.

"Well, it wasn't just me. I had a lot of..." but Ayla paused.

She still wasn't sure what had really happened.

"How much do you remember, Kaleo?" Aslyn asked.

"Well, I remember chasing that big lobster into the ship. I almost had him too, but then I ran out of breath. I must have got caught in the net on my way up. I remember reaching for my knife and starting to cut away at the net. But then a big wave slammed against the boat and..." the boy paused. Both Ayla and Aslyn saw his eyes return to the ship just then. "Well, that's when I dropped my knife."

His eyes drifted out the window.

"I don't know how long it was, but... but then Ayla showed up," he said, looking at the girl. "And I remember the water rising and telling you to go. And then..."

Ayla and Aslyn watched Kaleo's eyes go some place entirely different now. A place neither of them had ever seen before.

"Anyway... I don't really remember anything else until I woke up puking my lungs out on the beach. Except..."

Ayla and Aslyn looked at each other for a moment.

"How did you..." Kaleo tried to form the question in his mind, but it wouldn't come.

Ayla filled both Kaleo and Aslyn in on the part that neither were present for.

The knife.

The net.

The blood.

The sharks.

Oh God... she thought. The sharks!

"But you guys won't believe what the dolphins did! The entire pod showed up!"

"Dolphins. Dolphins. Braaawck!"

As she was telling the tale, it all continued coming back to her. What had really transpired down there.

Whoa... Delphina! she remembered, as her memory traveled to that distant land inside the dolphin's mind.

"I was inside Delphina's mind! You guys... they can see sound!"

Kaleo and Aslyn just stared at her with eyes and mouth agape.

"I don't know how to explain it, but..."

As Ayla heard herself recount the part of being inside the dolphin's mind, it was still difficult to believe.

"It was like... like..."

"Dolphins. Dolphins!"

"Thanks, Pico!" Ayla said, managing a chuckle. "Yes... it was like dolphins!"

"They're here. They're here!"

"What?"

Three seconds later they all understood, as the familiar sound of Grandpa's truck pulled down the driveway and Bobo bolted up from his own coma, tail wagging as he ran to the door.

Ayla and Aslyn looked at each other wide-eyed. They didn't even have time to get their story straight when they heard the door open and Grandpa's voice call out.

"Hello... anyone home?"

### NINE

"Time for plan B."

The rag-tag environmental group wasn't going to back down so easily.

"Prepare the prop foul," the boat driver said to his partners.

One of the women on the boat quickly started releasing the steel-core line that was coiled neatly in the stern.

"Let's see how far you get without a working propeller," the leader said.

If watching Animal Planet and Whale Wars had taught these activists anything, it was that the bad guys ceased their operations only when their boat stopped working.

"Captain," the first mate said, "They're attempting a prop foul."

"I see that you idiot!" Basso barked.

The Sea Guardian released the full length of line at the precise moment, hoping that the ship would run over the prop foul and entangle their propeller.

"Reverse! Reverse the engines!" Basso shouted.

Once again, Captain Basso's ship escaped the line by inches.

"Damn!" the small boat driver cursed. "That was our only line."

"What should we do now?" asked one of the crew. He was drenched from head to toe and shivering uncontrollably.

The leader considered for a moment. It seemed that they were out of choices. But with their mission running so deeply in their souls, they refused to give up.

"Head straight for them!" he said, determined as ever.

"I just don't understand why they let those big corporations run our island," Grandma said, continuing her conversation with her husband as they came down the hallway. "I mean, especially on such a small island like this. Those companies and their chemicals don't care about the damage they do. It's all about money to them."

"Now, Kate," Grandpa said, "There's two sides to every story."

"Yeah, dumb and dumber," she said.

"Dumb-n-dumber. Dumb-n-dumber!"

"Pico," Grandpa Duke said. "How's my old friend tonight?"

As Duke came around the corner, he was startled by the scene. "Oh, hi kids. What's going on?"

"Oh, hey Grandpa," Ayla said, thinking fast. "We're just hanging out."

"Sounds like a lot more fun than where I was this evening!" Duke said.

Yeah, if only you knew.

"Darn GMOs and big box stores. That's all they ever talk about at the council meetings anymore."

"That's because it's serious, Luke," Grandma's voice scolded from the kitchen. Contrary to popular belief, it seemed as if Grandma Kate's hearing was actually improving with age. "I'm going to ask Lei and Jordan when they get back. I bet they've seen this same thing on all the islands in the Pacific. I'm serious Luke! Corporate greed is going to be our undoing if we don't take a stand. Hey, who left this mess on the counter?"

"Um, sorry. That was me Grandma," Ayla said. "I'll clean it up as soon as I walk Kaleo home."

Grabbing a flashlight, Ayla pulled Kaleo out the door as quickly as she could.

The moment she stepped outside, Ayla felt the warm air still dripping with moisture in the moon-drenched night.

The two children walked in silence down the sandy lane, inhaling the jasmine and tasting the rain.

Neither of them had a clue what to say.

But it didn't matter. They were together.

Finally, Kaleo took a deep breath, stopped walking and turned to the girl by his side.

"Ayla..." he began, unsure of his words, but certain of his heart all the same. "You... you saved my life, Sister. I..."

"You don't need to say anything, Kaleo," Ayla replied, looking over at the boy.

Kaleo looked away for a moment, somewhere out into the mysteries of the night. He had that distant look again.

Where are you? she wondered.

But Ayla said nothing. She just watched as Kaleo's eyes continued to slip away into the night. It was as if he were looking for answers in the stars. Stars that burned like fire in the heavens that night.

When his hazel eyes finally returned, Ayla could see a tear threatening to fall.

At that moment, she did the only thing she could.

Wrapping the boy in her arms, Ayla felt electricity flowing through them both. She could feel the warmth like a long, slow strike of a match, destined to ignite a fire. A fire that she prayed would never go out.

The two children stayed this way for a long time, as their embrace spoke all the words their hearts could not.

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!"

The sound of Pueo brought them back down to Earth.

Slowly, Kaleo took one arm from Ayla and lifted it up into the starry sky. Every celestial body in the heavens was looking down upon them now.

"E... Komo mai, hoaloha. Welcome, my friend. Where were you tonight?" Kaleo's words chided his guardian 'aumakua of the sky.

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!" the owl responded.

"Well, good thing Ayla wasn't off hunting tonight, too!"

"Scrrreeeeeeetch!"

"Ha!" Kaleo shot up to the bird. "I told you, Ayla. Your 'aumakua always shows up at the most incredible moments."

You're telling me!

Ayla wondered if Kaleo knew how much she understood now. Does he know that Pueo was there... that moment between life and death?

She wanted to ask him.

She wanted to find out how all of this was happening.

No, not tonight... we've both seen enough tonight.

Kaleo had a few more choice words for his 'aumakua. He was rapping freely now, sending his sound up toward the owl perched in the old Koa tree that towered above their heads.

After a few playful jests and some Hawaiian phrases that Ayla couldn't fully understand, Kaleo's grin grew wide.

That's when Ayla heard it.

For the first time, she heard the sweet sound of Kaleo's laughter ringing out into this auspicious night.

"Kaleo," she finally asked. "Are you... are you actually communicating with Pueo?" Ayla was more curious now than ever. "I mean, when you speak to him, does he..."

"Ah, Pueo!" Kaleo replied. "I can say a lot about Pueo, but..." The boy gave one more playful smirk up to the owl perched overhead. Then he took her hand gently in his and said, "... Later."

And the two walked down the path toward the light of the familiar tiki torches in the distance. As they reached the orchid covered fence, Kaleo looked at Ayla one more time.

"Well, I guess I better go."

"Yeah," she replied. "I guess you better go."

"Ayla..."

There was a long moment where the two just looked at each other. Then, Kaleo put his hands on Ayla's shoulders and brought his face to hers.

As his forehead touched hers, Ayla could feel his breath exhale into hers, sending that life force back her way.

"This is how we say Aloha. The 'Alo' is the front of our face, the front of our being. And the 'Ha'..." he said, exhaling warmth across her lips once again. "The 'Ha' is the breath. The breath of life."

Kaleo took one more deep breath.

"Alooo... Haaaaaaa!"

Ayla inhaled the breath of life. Then, sent it back.

"Alooooooo... Haaa!"

They held each other's faces there, intertwined in the breath of life, for what was an eternity. A space that existed outside of time.

"Thank you, Sister!"

Kaleo's eyes were filled with light once again.

"Mahalo nui loa, ku'u ipo!"

Those words drifted through Ayla's soul.

And with them, came the feelings.

Feelings about Kaleo.

About the dolphins.

About the old Man and the young Woman.

About life and death and everything in between.

"Kaleo?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"One more thing..."

"Anything!"

"Here..." she said, as she reached into her hoodie and pulled out his knife. "Hold on to this. You're going to need it."

Without waiting for a reply, Ayla turned and ran down the path disappearing into the moonlight.

But before she got too far, she stopped and turned back.

As she inhaled the night blooming jasmine once more and relished the rain still dripping from the mango leaves, she drank in the sight of Kaleo as he drifted down the path toward the old plantation house.

As Kaleo opened the front door, Ayla heard the unmistakable sound of Grandpa Kali's laughter spilling out into the night.

As she watched the boy disappear into the house, the girl shed one more tear.

"Aloha... ku'u ipo."

### TEN

The small boat looked like David going up against Goliath in a game of 'Chicken'.

It continued full speed toward the monster ship.

"Captain!" the first mate shouted. "They're coming back."

"Do you think I cannot see that!" yelled the angry villain. "Okay, you little pests," Basso murmured. "You got just out of reach of my water cannon, but I have many weapons."

His laughter seemed to get more and more devilish with each passing moment.

"Put on your ear protection!" Basso ordered "And fire the LRAD!"

I think I'll take the long way home.

There were still so many unanswered questions swirling through Ayla's mind, that she wasn't quite ready to walk home and face Grandma and Grandpa just yet.

I'll walk the beach.

The moment her feet hit the sand and her eyes beheld the stars, a sense of peace washed over her. A peace that she needed after this crazy day.

Ayla exhaled deeply into the salty air, releasing all the lingering emotions still swirling inside her body. She looked up to the star filled heavens and sent out one more thank you.

Mahalo.

Before heading home, she pulled out her iPod from her pocket. Stealing one more glance up at the luminous moon, she hit the shuffle button and started her trek down the beach.

As trance-like strings filled her ear drums, Ayla began to enter into a dreamlike space once again. Lack of sleep and over-exertion made the transition all the easier, as the sound from her iPod began to pulse in rhythms with the surf and the full moon overhead.

I wonder... she thought. Will I see it again?

Ayla couldn't get the image of that mythical moonbow out of her head. Looking up and down the beach, the brightness of the full moon was spectacular, illuminating the still night. The ocean seemed to be dancing in ribbons of light and the scene was so peaceful that Ayla just sat down on the sand and took it all in.

After staring out at the moonlit sea for awhile, she laid back and stared up at the huge moon overhead.

Just then, a new song began.

The sultry sound of a soprano saxophone began wailing into the night. Then came the unmistakable tenor voice of a well known Englishman.

"Sister moon... will be my guide.

In your blue, blue shadows... I would hide.

All good people asleep tonight...

I'm all by myself in your silver light.

I would gaze at your face,

The whole night through...

I'd go out of my mind but for you."

Ayla sat up and examined the device in her hand.

"What is it with this iPod?"

Just then, the Universe replied.

As she watched the shooting star blaze a fiery path across the night, Ayla had only one word.

"Wow!"

### ELEVEN

With everything this young girl had been through in the past few hours, her body and mind were spinning somewhere between complete exhaustion and a raging excitement.

I wonder what Mom would say about all of this, she thought, as she continued down the beach, looking out toward the west.

Where is she anyway?

Ayla wished her mom was here. She wasn't sure how to share all of this with Grandma or Grandpa just yet.

As she took the first few steps up to the house, Ayla took a deep breath and regained her composure.

"Welcome home. Welcome home. Braaawck!"

"Thanks, Pico!" she said, as she reached the top step and found her feathered friend waiting for her on the lanai.

Pico jumped onto her shoulder and gently pecked at her ear as the two of them tip-toed inside and snuck upstairs.

Ayla closed the door to her room and collapsed onto her bed with a huge exhale.

All of a sudden, she heard a knock at the door.

"Hey," Aslyn said, peeking in. "I guess you got Kaleo home alright?"

"Yeah. I think he's going to be okay."

There was a moment of silence where Aslyn was deciding if he should say anything or not.

"Okay," he finally said, "I'll let you get some sleep. Here's a little more clay for your cuts."

He started to close the door behind him.

"Hey Aslyn..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for everything you did today. I'm sorry I've been so...."

"Ayla," he said, holding up his hand, "Don't worry about it. You did pretty good yourself. Just make sure you check those cuts before you go to bed, okay?"

"Okay."

The two siblings exchanged a nod and a smile before Aslyn closed the door behind him.

Ayla didn't even take off her hoodie before falling fast asleep.

All of a sudden, Ayla was underwater again.

As she floated past the colorful coral formations, she saw fish of every imaginable shape and size surrounding her.

She moved effortlessly with the grace of a jellyfish. Ayla began to notice the multitude of lifeforms in the ocean as a serene peace enveloped her.

Whoa! she thought, as a huge figure appeared before her eyes.

A sea turtle!

The serene being floated by then stopped and locked his eyes on hers. For a moment, these two were suspended in time.

Staring into this creature's ancient eyes, Ayla's gaze slowly traced along his head all the way down to his enormous patterned shell.

That's when she saw it.

The large scar on the turtle's shell.

It formed the shape of an 'S'.

Wait... I've seen you! she thought. You've been in my dreams before!

Ayla's eyes returned back to the turtle's gaze. He nodded his head once then swam off toward the light, joining up with two more silhouettes in the distance.

Whoa! Ayla thought, as the light enveloped the three.

As she floated through this delicious dream, Ayla let all of her thoughts wash away with the tide.

She was enraptured by what she was experiencing.

The colors.

The weightlessness.

The serenity.

And then she saw it again...

That angelic light, beckoning her to follow.

She began drifting toward the light, mesmerized by its enchanting beauty.

Then came the sound.

It was like crystal glass upon the strings of a thousand violins.

Closer, closer she came as the magnetism of both sound and light pulled her in.

Just as Ayla was reaching out to touch the ethereal source, everything shifted in the blink of an eye.

The light was snuffed out by an ominous darkness.

The sound was extinguished into a vacuum of silence.

Suddenly, Ayla could hardly see anything around her, only the faintest trace of a dismal haze remained.

Then she heard a new sound.

A desperate sound.

"Help! Help me!" the voice called out through the liquid darkness.

With those two words, Ayla's serenity had vanished.

Anxiety and fear quickly replaced it.

Ayla turned desperately in all directions, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Finally, she spotted the writhing figure of something just ahead in the darkness.

She raced into the shadows toward the cry.

Ayla felt her heart constrict when she saw him... Kaleo was wrapped in nets from head to toe.

He was suspended underwater with only his eyes exposed from the entangling net.

Just like that, her dream became a nightmare once more as Ayla was plunged back into the depths of the Endeavor.

Ayla looked frantically for something, anything that could help.

But all she saw were sharks circling outside and waiting for her to give in. Waiting for her to lose her courage. To lose her faith.

Searching for the only thing that made sense in this dream, Ayla's eyes turned to Kaleo and the net. But all of a sudden, the boy and his hazel eyes began morphing into something else.

Her mind tried desperately to make sense of what she was seeing, as her eyes watched the boy's form shift and transform.

As the mercury shape settled, her eyes finally focused.

There, instead of the boy, Ayla found the giant sea turtle trapped in the nets, the scar visible even through the tangles.

"Help! Help me!" the voice cried again.

Ayla felt the balance of life and death once more.

A feeling that was all too fresh... all too real.

And just as that feeling began to flood her dream, flood the bloodstream of this new nightmare, the whole thing turned even darker...

A dolphin! she screamed. A baby dolphin!

"Help! Help me!" the voice cried into the night.

### TWELVE

"Whoa!"

Ayla's eyes squinted against the light of the sunrise streaming through her bedroom window.

"Rise-n-shine. Rise-n-shine!"

"Oh, Pico... don't you ever sleep?"

"Early bird. Early bird!"

"What time is it anyway?" she asked, fumbling for her alarm clock.

Seeing that it was only six thirty, Ayla rolled back into bed and pulled the covers over her head.

"Sleepy head. Sleepy head!"

Ayla knew it was no use. Between Pico and her electrified dream, she wasn't going anywhere near sleep again.

"Arrgh!" she exhaled, throwing the covers off.

She stumbled over to her window and gazed out at the morning light. As she inhaled the plumeria flowers drifting through the air, her eyes took in the colors shimmering off the lagoon.

"Whoa!" she said out loud. "Did all that really happen? I don't even know what was real or what was..."

"Dolphin dreams. Dolphin dreams. Braaawck!"

In the distance, Ayla could see the pod lifting into the morning mist.

Dolphin dreams... she remembered. Man is the dream of the dolphin.

Ayla grabbed her iPod and headed downstairs in the hoodie that she was still wearing from the night before.

As she tip-toed down the stairs, the aroma of fresh Kona coffee told her that Grandma was already up and preparing Grandpa's morning fix.

Ayla moved like a cat to the lanai door.

"Good morning, sweetie," Grandma called from the kitchen. "Be safe out there."

"Oh... good morning, Grandma," Ayla said, trying to play it off. "I will. Thanks. Bye."

Stealth was something Ayla was still working on, especially around Grandma's super-sonic hearing.

When Ayla's feet finally hit the sand, she looked down at her iPod then paused.

Let's see... she smiled at the little Apple device. What's it gonna be this time?

As her toes reached the water's edge, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled and opened her eyes, Ayla looked up and down the deserted beach. Then down to her iPod.

Here we go...

Once again, the strings began singing slowly.

Then another and another joined in.

Finally, the words and the swirling symphony brought Ayla back to the edge... the edge of reality and dream.

"Ave Maria...

Gratia Plena!"

How Franz Schubert and his nineteenth century masterpiece ended up on her iPod, she had no idea.

But it didn't matter. Even if she didn't know what the words meant, the symphony had the desired effect on Ayla that morning, setting her into a space where only angels tread.

She couldn't miss the words of the next random song.

"If you understand or if you don't...

If you believe or if you doubt...

There's a universal justice...

And the eyes of truth...

Are always watching you."

Great... she thought. What am I supposed to do with that?

She almost hit stop after that enigmatic 'Enigma' tune.

But the next song was already streaming through her ears.

"There's a natural mystic flowing through the air...

If you listen carefully now you will hear."

As the sound faded away, Ayla hit pause on her iPod and stared out at the ocean.

"What am I supposed to be listening for?" she asked the Pacific.

"Pooosh. Poosh. Poosh!"

Ayla threw off her hoodie and dove straight into the lagoon.

The instant her body pierced the water, all her questions vanished, as every cell in her body sprang to life.

It felt wonderful to play again.

When their game of tag came to an end, Kai, Delphina and Dorsi swam up to Ayla and just floated there for awhile.

For a moment, the looks in their ancient eyes said it all.

But then, the memories started flooding her bloodstream again.

Watching scene after scene in her mind's eye, she could still hardly believe what these dolphins had done for her... for Kaleo.

"Mahalo," she said. "Thank you for everything you did. We would both be dead without you."

Clicks and whistles filled the air.

"Good... Ayla!"

With those two words, the two dolphins headed for open water.

But Dorsi wasn't so quick to leave.

"Ayla..." Dorsi sang through the lagoon. "Good!"

Just before turning and heading for home, the baby dolphin flashed Ayla a smile to die for.

"Mahalo, Dorsi!"

Ayla watched the little dolphin make one more quick pass, brushing gently against her torso, then leaping high into the air. As the baby dolphin splashed back down into the lagoon, he looked into her blue eyes one more time then sped off to join his family.

Ayla turned to swim for shore. She had just launched into a speed stroke of her own when something caught her eye and slowed her stride.

In stark contrast to the three comets, this body of color glided slowly through the turquoise waters, moving in slow motion.

Ohhh... Ayla thought. A sea turtle!

As her eye's traced his enormous body, she could hardly believe what she saw. Right across the center of his shell was a big scar.

The same 'S' scar she had seen in her dream.

You're... you're the same one!

Ayla's eyes focused on the ancient turtle.

But just then, two more figures appeared out of the shadows. The graceful creatures formed up on each side of the large one.

They're... they're a family!

There was no mistaking their familial bonds as Ayla watched the sea turtles' graceful ballet, synchronized to perfection.

As her wide eyes focused on the slow moving patterns of their multi-colored shells, she began to discern the subtle differences between the three.

Beyond his enormous size, the giant 'S' gave the first one away.

Ayla noticed the subtle striations of the second one.

That one's just a baby, she thought, noticing the size difference of the third.

Father, Mother and... Child! she thought. Just like the dolphins.

She couldn't help but smile at the scene passing slowly before her eyes. Ayla surfaced for a breath of air and when she dove down again, they were gone.

Where did they go? she wondered. Wait... am I still dreaming?

One quick glance at the wounds on her hands, brought everything back into focus.

Nope... definitely not dreaming.

### PART TWO

### PART TWO VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### THIRTEEN

Being hit by an LRAD was a first for these activists.

"AHHHHH!" came the cries from the small boat, as their hands cradled their ears.

This weapon known as a 'Long Range Acoustic Device' inflicted immense pain and damage to the human eardrum.

"Hah hah hahhh!"

The weathered old captain was laughing as the crew of the small boat writhed in pain from the sonic blasts.

"That'll teach you to interfere with my operations. Now be gone, you filthy Sea Urchins!"

The captain's plan seemed to work, as the small boat began to quickly retreat from the destructive sound waves.

As Ayla headed back to the house, she felt rejuvenated.

But her mind wouldn't stop spinning.

How crazy! I dreamt of that turtle and then...

Pushing aside the question as she opened the lanai door, Ayla dashed upstairs to her room.

A moment later she was startled by a knock on her bedroom door.

"Ayla?"

"Yeah?" she replied, wrapping a towel around her.

"Someone left a present for you!" Grandma Kate called out through the thick Koa door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, Grandma."

"This was at the front door," Grandma said, as she opened the heavy door and handed Ayla a small package.

It was wrapped in brown paper and old twine.

'Ayla' was printed neatly in flowing cursive across the top.

Kate's eyes remained locked on Ayla, as she watched her granddaughter inspect the package. Grandma didn't say anything but Ayla could tell that, as usual, she knew something about something.

"Who's it from?" Ayla asked.

"I don't know but I guess there's only one way to find out," Grandma said, as she headed back out the door. "Come on down after your shower. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"Um, thanks Grandma," Ayla said.

The moment the protective door was closed, Ayla pulled her towel off, sat down on her bed and began examining the mysterious package closer.

"Braaawck. Makana. Makana."

Accustomed to Pico's riddles by now, Ayla reached for her Hawaiian dictionary. The little book from Grandpa Duke had grown invaluable over the past few weeks. With Pico's continual jests, the old book had found a permanent home by her bedside table next to the picture that she had reclaimed from her parent's old box in the attic. It was an image of her laughing in her mother's arms, surrounded by the mural of the three dolphins that her mother, Leilani, had painted when she was pregnant with Ayla.

"M... M-A..." she said out loud, searching through the myriad 'M' words in the Hawaiian dictionary. "Oh! Here it is. Makana... Gift!"

She frowned at the bird.

"Lots of help you are, Einstein."

"Smart bird. Smart bird."

"But a gift from who?"

"No'eau. No'eau!"

"Who's No-ee-ow?"

"Braaawck!"

"Thanks, Pico!" Ayla said, rolling her eyes one more time before returning them to the mysterious package on her bed.

For a moment, the girl's fingers just traced the twine and old paper. They felt dry and brittle in her hands but thick somehow. It was definitely not wrapping paper that one would buy in a store. In fact, the fibers of twine looked as if they were made of braided vines of some sort.

Coconut fronds? she wondered. No. Ti leaves.

As Ayla continued to examine the unique wrapping, she realized that it wasn't really paper at all. It reminded her of the framed Kapa cloth on Kali and Kamaile's living room wall.

Maybe it's from Kaleo, she thought. Who else would know where I live.

As Ayla pondered this new question, her mind began calculating again. But her curious fingers went on ahead, unwilling to wait a moment longer before unwrapping this latest mystery.

What they uncovered was a box of enigmas so mysterious they would occupy Ayla's mind for years to come.

"A book?"

Ayla's brain continued racing as she held it up to the morning light flooding into her room.

The brown leather cover was worn and cracked but still felt firm in her hands.

"Wow!" she exhaled. "This thing must be really old."

The sheer weight of the old book was not to be denied. But it was heavy in more ways than she yet knew.

"Kahiko. Pico kahiko."

"No, not you. The book. The book is old."

"No'eau. No'eau!"

"What?" Ayla still had no clue what Pico was trying to say.

Still in her damp bathing suit, she pulled her blanket around her shoulders, the one that still smelled faintly of Kaleo, then slowly opened the mysterious book.

"'Ōlelo No'eau," she read, taking in the extraordinary details on the cover page. "Oh! No'eau. Wait... how did you know that?"

Ayla looked curiously at the old bird for a moment.

She had often been baffled by the words of her colorful friend. But lately, Pico's comments were entering into a whole new stratosphere.

Ayla thought of at least three things to say just then, but decided the feathered enigma could wait. The leather bound riddle she held in her hands was calling for her full attention now.

Examining the page closer, she realized it was covered with hand written Hawaiian lettering. But this was not just any handwriting. The person who wrote this had remarkable penmanship and the strange words were laid out as one would format a printed book. Someone had obviously taken great care in the curious markings and flowing depictions that accompanied the ancient 'ōlelo.

Then she saw it.

Just below the printed title, ' 'Ōlelo No'eau', Ayla's eyes paused on a name that looked all too familiar.

"Mary Kawena Pukui," she read aloud. "Kawena? That's my middle name."

Her mind was off to the races again.

I've never heard of anyone else with that name before! she thought. You know, I never really asked Mom or Dad where they got that name from.

She tossed that memory anchor onto the growing pile of questions to ask Leilani and Jordan when they finally returned home.

Turning the cover page carefully, she scanned over the many foreign words on the page.

"Oh, good!" she said, relieved. "It's in English, too!"

Ayla's impatient fingers began flipping through the yellowing pages. They soon stopped on a random leaf, as if they possessed a mind of their own.

Glancing over the thick ink, Ayla began to read.

"Number two hundred and three..."

" 'A'ohe pau ka'ike i ka hālau ho'okahi."

What is that supposed to mean? she wondered.

" 'All knowledge is not taught in the same school.' "

She paused to think about this English translation.

"Oh, I get it!" she said, reading the words that followed. " 'One can learn from many sources.' Yeah, you're telling me," she said, chuckling and looking over at Pico, who was wearing a particularly smug look for a parrot.

"Many schools. Many schools."

"What do you know about schools, Bird?" she said as she thought about the first day of school that was fast approaching.

"Braaawck! Smart bird. Smart bird!"

"Yes, Pico," she said. "A little too smart sometimes."

"Cookies! Cookies!"

Ayla reached over and grabbed two treats. She had started keeping a jar on her bedside table. As she tossed one in the parrot's direction, Ayla wasn't even surprised to see his talon reach up and snatch it out of the air.

Ayla could only smile as she watched the parrot flip the cookie up and into his mouth in one fluid motion.

"You're getting good at that."

"Mahalo. Mahalo!" Pico replied.

Her eyes drifted from the book and focused on the Pico show for a moment, as the colorful macaw began prancing back and forth on the windowsill.

"Chocolate chip! Chocolate chip!"

### FOURTEEN

Once the smaller boat was a safe distance from the sonic blasts, they finally slowed.

"Caleb, we can't back down now!" the girl called from the back. "This is our last chance to stop them. After this week our funding runs dry and we'll have no shot until next year."

"I know, Amelia," Caleb replied. "But, we don't have the man-power to stop them yet. Every season I've been out here, Basso has come up with more and more devious schemes. That LRAD must be one of his new toys. Until we have more resources and public support, there's only so much we can do. But this video we got tonight should help spread the word about what they're really doing out here. And they have the nerve to call themselves a research vessel!"

"I say we just shoot him!" Colby shouted. "I mean, if he's going to do this to our brothers and sisters of the sea, why not give that Basso a dose of his own medicine."

"Colby, I love your passion. And we know they're breaking about a hundred international laws, but we can't lower ourselves to their level. Besides..."

Caleb was thoughtful for a moment.

This dedicated mariner knew these issues far too well.

He had often thought as Colby did. But he also knew the truth.

"... Only love can overcome evil!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, as they watched the enormous ship escape into the distance. They all knew what this meant.

More and more animals would suffer at the hands of these greedy men.

"Come on you guys," Caleb finally said. "We did our best. Let's head back to base and regroup."

Mesmerized by the mysterious book, Ayla's fingers continued jumping through the pages.

With each new page, both her fingers and her mind began to realize that this wasn't just any old book. This was a book filled with ancient Hawaiian proverbs... wisdom that went back for generations. How long, Ayla had no idea.

She read at random for awhile and came across entries that were somewhat cryptic. She also found some that seemed blatantly simple at first. But then the more she thought about them, the more she realized there was a double meaning hidden beneath the surface.

As it turned out, the three that spoke to Ayla so far, all happened to be underlined by someone.

"266 - E ao o pau po'o, pau hi'u ia manō."

"Be careful lest you go head and tail into the shark."

"A warning to be on one's guard."

"1086 - Ho'okolo aku i ka nui manu."

"Go inquire of the other birds."

"Go and consult others."

"1614 - Kau ka 'ōnohi ali'i i luna."

"The royal eyes rest above."

"A rainbow - a sign that the gods are watching the chiefs - is now visible."

Huh, she thought. What's this?

At the bottom of the rainbow page, Ayla saw three interesting markings.

The first had one vertical line with a spiral starting at its base and wrapping around it several times.

The second one had three vertical lines and a smaller spiral twisting from its base.

The third one had five marks. The tightest spiral of them all, was drawn from its base.

Ayla noticed that all three spirals intersected at some point in their paths.

"I wonder what they mean?"

"Mele. Mele!"

"Oh, Pico. Are you going to make me go to the dictionary again?"

"Smart bird. Smart bird!"

Ayla laughed then stood up to stretch her legs.

"Alright, but later!" she said, as she caught a whiff of something good coming from the kitchen. "I'm hungry."

"Hungry. Hungry. Braaawck!"

She placed the 'Ōlelo No'eau gently on her shelf and headed downstairs with Pico bringing up the rear.

"Oh, Ayla," Grandma said, smiling, "You're just in time."

Ayla slid into a chair at the table across from Aslyn. One look at her brother's hair and puffy eyes and she could tell he had just woken up.

"Hey," Ayla said.

"Hey."

The two exchanged a look over the breakfast table just then. The look said more than they could at the moment.

"Okay kids. Eat up!" Grandma said, setting down a platter of steaming eggs and taro fries.

"Grandma," Aslyn said, reaching over for a piece of toast, "Do we have any jam?"

"Here you are," she replied, handing him a jar with a handwritten label on it.

"No, Grandma. I mean the kind from the store."

"Not in this house," she said, eyeing Grandpa Duke. "That stuff is all fake sugar. This here is pure fruit. The real kind of sugar."

"Personally," Grandpa whispered to Aslyn, "I like the stuff from the store, too."

"Duke!" Grandma said, giving him an eye. "You know what they said at the meeting last night. That GMO corn syrup is the problem. They add it to everything so your taste buds get addicted to it. You only think it tastes good because you've been eating it for so long."

"Yes, dear. We'll be sure to get plenty of fruit at the Farmer's Market today," he said, winking at the grandchildren.

"Farmer's Market?" Ayla asked. "Are we going?" The excitement of possibly seeing Kaleo began erupting from inside of those blue eyes.

"Every Saturday," Grandma replied.

Finishing his last bite, Grandpa took his plate to the kitchen and said, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Picking up his musty straw hat from the kitchen counter and grabbing his keys off the hook, Duke was half way to the door before anyone else had a chance to say anything.

"Market. Market!"

"No way," Aslyn said. "Don't even think about it, Pico!"

"Aslyn!" Ayla started to protest.

"Come on, Ayla! Can you imagine the riot that Pico would cause in an open field full of fruit? There would be farmers chasing him with pitchforks before you could even say Mango, Mango, Braaawck!" he said, flapping his arms up and down.

"Mango. Mango. Braaawck!" Pico said, mimicking the boy, as everyone shared a good laugh.

"Sorry Pico," Ayla said, stroking the bird's feathers. "I'll bring you back a mango. I promise."

"Promise. Pico's Promise."

As the four of them headed down the front steps, Ayla and Aslyn started heading for Grandpa's old truck.

"Hey, where are you kids going? Come on, over here," Duke said, holding up his keychain and pressing the magic button.

The mechanized creaking of the garage door opening caused Ayla to jump back a step. As she peered inside the inner sanctum, she could see it shimmering with a fresh wax shine.

As the scent of motor oil and citrus degreaser filled her nostrils, Ayla realized she had never really spent much time in her grandfather's fortress of solitude.

As the door came all the way up she was reminded of what lived in there.

### FIFTEEN

"Oh! Good idea, Duke," Kate said, as the sight of the cherry red 1959 Thunderbird convertible came into view.

"Whoa, Grandpa!" exclaimed Aslyn. "You mean, we're taking the T-bird?"

"Sure are."

"I didn't think you ever took it out of the garage," Aslyn said, eyeing the immaculate reflection of Duke's prized convertible.

Grandpa just laughed. "Yeah, there's not too many of these beauties left on the road anymore," Duke said, beaming with pride as the family piled into the oversized boat on wheels. The whitewall tires and red leather interior looked as clean as the day they came off the showroom floor.

"Cool!" said Aslyn, wide-eyed. "Can I drive?"

"Boy, you got a ways to go if you ever hope to get these keys out of my hand."

With a long practiced flick of the wrist, the old V8 engine roared to life and the Kaimana 'ohana rolled out the driveway and down the sandy lane.

They passed many sights on the way. Images and colors that seemed so much more real with the top down. Ayla felt as if she could reach out and touch every leaf... smell every flower they passed.

They rolled by a place where seven humongous trees grew in a wide semi-circle grove.

I never noticed those before! Ayla thought, wondering where she had been this past month and a half.

Then they drove by a level field with twelve huge pohaku. She missed the name of this circle of stones as Grandpa shouted them out from the front seat, but even her young eyes could feel the mana of these old stones.

But the next site they passed got Ayla's attention for a different reason.

"There's the old school house!" Kate said, "I remember dropping your mother off on her first day of school. She wasn't half as scared as I was on my first day."

"You went there too, Grandma?" Ayla asked.

"Sure did. You two will make it four generations of our family to attend Rainbow's End." Kate said, as she closed her eyes and inhaled the fragrance of freshly mowed grass and guava blossoms drifting through the mid-morning light.

With one glance, Ayla could tell it was nothing like the playgrounds they made these days. This one was strewn with flowers and gardens and jungle gyms that were more jungle than gym.

The entire field was bordered by ancient mango, kukui and kamani trees that gave the place a serene presence.

"Great."

Ayla may have liked the look of the place from a distance. But she still wasn't ready to accept the idea of starting up at a new school. And like it or not, D-day was approaching fast.

"Look kids," Grandma said, "You see those gardens there, next to the playground? I helped put those in with your mother's class back when she was in the fifth grade."

"That was..." Duke said, trying to recall the memory, "Ms. Lizama that started that garden, wasn't it?"

"That's right," Kate said, as her eyes trailed off into the past. "Ms. Lizama had all the kids and most of us parents digging and planting the entire spring! I'm so glad to see it's still there."

As Ayla's eyes focused on the soccer field, her memory flashed upon scenes of her old team back in San Diego. But even the memory of scoring her first goal wasn't enough to overcome the apprehension she had about starting at a new school.

As the Thunderbird rolled onto the grassy lot in front of the open air market, it was already more than three quarters full. Locals and tourists were milling about behind the yellow line, waiting for the conch shell to blow... the signal for the beginning of the Saturday festivities.

As Ayla's eyes looked beyond the yellow rope, she could see farmers from all over the island making their last minute preparations and displaying their weekly harvest.

Even from a distance, Ayla could see shades of every color imaginable and smell exotic flowers and fruits that came in shapes and sizes that were both familiar and alien at the same time.

Bvoooooohhhhhhh!

The resounding call from the conch shell signaled that the market was open for business.

Ayla could tell that some people thought it was the starting gun for a race, as she saw some people sprinting for their favorite tables, looking for that perfect find. But most were content to lazily mill about.

Strolling through the crowds, Ayla saw bananas lined up next to longans. Watermelons sitting beside breadfruits. And the pineapples, papayas and passion fruit were all nestled together, looking for good homes.

As the Kaimana 'ohana strolled through the crowds, Ayla couldn't help but notice that just about every person they passed waved or threw shakas at Duke and Kate.

"Aloha Mo! Aloha Sid!" Grandpa called back. "Howzit Rodney. Aloha Juny! How's it going, brother. Looking good. Looking good! Give my Aloha to Auntie Tisa!"

Grandpa knows everyone! Ayla realized, as the smiles continued with every step. She couldn't help but be proud of the way her grandparents were regarded in their community. A community that they had helped shape over the years. Their smiles grew brighter and brighter with each friendly wave.

"Aloha, Duke. Aloha, Kate!" came the next greeting, as the four were trying to make their way to a table full of island greens.

"Hey, Jake. Aloha!" Duke said. "Let me introduce you to my grandchildren. This is Aslyn." Duke put his big hand on his grandson's shoulder. "And this is Ayla. They're Leilani's children. Kids, this is Ranger Brinlee."

The man in the brown uniform shook each of the kids' hands with a firm and sandpapery grip. "It's really nice to meet you two. You know, I went to high school with your mother."

"Jake and your mother were high school sweethearts," Kate said.

"Well..." Ranger Brinlee said, turning red. "That was a long time ago."

As his skin returned to its usual tan, Jake asked, "Is Lei still doing marine mammal research?"

"Yep," Duke nodded. "She's out on the boat right now with her husband, Jordan."

"Ah, that's great!" Jake replied.

Ayla could see something flash behind those green eyes.

Mom never told me about him.

"Next time she's in town," Jake said, "Uh... I'd love to talk with her and go over some of the research we've been doing on the island."

Yeah, I bet you would, Ayla thought. I'm sure Dad would love that.

"I'll let her know," Duke said. "They're scheduled to be back next week."

Only one more week! Ayla remembered.

"Kids," Grandpa Duke began, "Jake here works for the Department of Fish and Game. It's a little bit like what your mom and dad are doing, but Jake's department focuses on the island."

"Cool," said Aslyn. "I bet you know all the good fishing spots."

Ayla said nothing. Her thoughts were still trailing off toward her mother's boat, somewhere out at sea.

They chatted for a little while longer. But just as they were saying their goodbyes Jake turned and said, "Oh, hey Duke. I need to talk to you about..." he paused, looking over at the children. "Well, can I drop by sometime?"

As Ayla saw the fire behind the man's intense eyes, she had a strange feeling about this Ranger Brinlee.

### SIXTEEN

"Ha!" Captain Basso said, seeing the small boat finally give up and limp off into the distance. "Be gone, you little parasites!"

"Captain?" Santo asked, "Shall I radio The Serpent?"

Basso looked down at his watch then out toward the horizon.

"Yes!" he finally replied. "Radio The Serpent! We should have no problems with the transfer of cargo now that those Sea Sponges have been dealt with."

"Thank you, Maria," Grandma Kate said. "Your avocados have been sweeter than ever this year."

Grandpa was eyeing one table over as his nostrils inhaled the fresh malasadas. The warm Filipino doughnuts managed to hold even more sugar than American doughnuts, if that were possible.

"Grandpa," Aslyn said.

"Hmm?" Grandpa replied, momentarily shaken out of his sugar coated daydream.

"I'm gonna go check out the guy at the flute stand."

"Oh, that's Flute Ron. Tell him Duke says Aloha!"

Ayla watched her brother make his way through the crowd toward the stout man with the long white beard. He was whittling a piece of bamboo and humming a strange tune.

Just a short distance from the bamboo flutes, Ayla caught sight of a group of teenage girls. They were wearing bikini tops and had colorful sarongs wrapped around their slender waists. She watched for awhile and noticed that all they seemed to do was giggle and point at the cute boys as they passed by.

I wonder if Kaleo's here? Ayla thought, as she looked the local girls up and down, checking her own fashion statement of faded hoodie and denim shorts against their stylish island attire.

As she examined them closer, Ayla thought the girls looked to be about her age, maybe a little older. As she scoped their over-tanned skin and highlighted hair, Ayla couldn't help but wonder.

I bet all the girls dress like that at school.

As she watched the gaggle of girls ridicule their latest victim, she wasn't sure if she was ready for island social life.

"Ayla, sweetie." Her grandfather's voice broke her out of her daydream. It was just as well, for the first day of school she was imagining was fast becoming a nightmare. "We're going to go over and talk to our friend, Ken. Do you want to come?"

"Um... no thanks, Grandpa," she said, starting to feel a little queasy. "I'm gonna wander around for awhile."

"Okay. Have fun. Go make some new friends."

Not with that group, she thought, dreading the idea of being 'the new girl' at Rainbow's End.

As Ayla began drifting through the crowd, luscious smells and vibrant colors surrounded her in all directions.

Suddenly, something caught her eye.

"What is that?" she asked, looking curiously at the magenta flesh and bright green spikes of some strange fruit.

"That's a dragon fruit," said the smiling man on the other side of the table. "Here, try a bite."

"Oh, um... okay."

Ayla had to admit that it was beautiful on the outside, although the spikes on its skin and its name alone made her wonder if she should actually put it in her mouth.

Watching Ayla turn the dragon fruit over and over in her hand, the old man said, "Here, let me show you."

He cut the brightly colored sphere in half and revealed the inside of this mysterious dragon fruit.

"Whoa!" Ayla exclaimed. "That's not what I though it would look like." Hidden inside of a magenta scaled skin, Ayla saw a pure white flesh speckled with hundreds of tiny black seeds.

She took a tentative bite.

"Wow! It tastes like custard or pudding or something."

"That's exactly what I thought," said a voice from behind.

Spinning around, Ayla found the last person she expected and the only person she really wanted to see.

"Kaleo!"

Ayla threw her arms around him and buried her face in his scent. The same scent that had been haunting her blanket and her dreams.

For a moment, all time seemed to stop. She squeezed Kaleo as if the boy had just returned from the dead.

Finally, she released her hold, took a step back and looked into his eyes.

"Ah... young love," came a foreign accent of a middle aged man. "What a picture," he said, winking at the two as he strolled by. The dapper gentleman was holding a purple orchid in one hand and a tall blonde in the other.

"Aloha, my boy!" the handsome man called out over his shoulder, as he sauntered through the crowd, parting the sea of people as if he were Moses out on a Saturday stroll.

"Eh, Aloha B!" Kaleo replied, throwing the man a warm smile.

Ayla couldn't help but notice the looks this foreigner was attracting as he moved deeper into the crowd. She could almost make out some of the whispers she heard trailing after him.

"Dude!" Aslyn exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere with a flute in his hand and a starstruck look on his face.

"Kaleo!" he asked, wide-eyed. "How do you know James Bond?"

"Who?" Ayla asked.

"James Bond... Hello!" Aslyn was awestruck. "You know... '007'. 'License to Kill'." Aslyn shook his head. "Come on Ayla, everybody knows Bond!"

Kaleo couldn't help but chuckle.

"I guess so," she lied. "It's a movie, right?"

"Girls!" Aslyn scoffed, shaking his head and following in the wake of the movie star.

Once her brother was gone, Ayla's attention turned back to Kaleo. "So, who was that?"

"Who, B? Ah, he's just an old friend of the family," Kaleo replied. "You see that purple orchid in his hand?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's one of Grandma's signature orchids. The one he bought today is one of my favorites. It's called the 'Makana o Ka 'Aina'," Kaleo said, turning around and gesturing toward the little table full of delicate orchids in the distance.

Sure enough, Ayla spotted Kaleo's Grandmother and her beaming smile chatting up a customer. Sitting next to Kamaile on a little wooden stool was Grandpa Kali, picking away at his old ukulele.

As if the elder could feel her eyes upon him, Kali lifted his gaze at that exact moment and smiled at Ayla, nodding to her across the crowd.

"I told Grandpa what happened," Kaleo said.

"You did?"

"Yeah... I had to. He knew something was up the moment I walked in the door!" Kaleo said, as a look flashed deep inside his eyes. "Pueo must have told him."

Ayla wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"Well, remember that story he told us about the time the dolphins saved him and your grandpa?" Kaleo said, as they saw Duke and Kate wandering over to Kali and Kamaile's table. "It's a long story, but he did say he needs to talk to us about it."

As Ayla watched the four hug and catch up, she realized how closely knit this community was.

"Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa have had a booth at the Farmer's Market for years. I help them on Saturdays when I can. Grandma's had me in the garden ever since small-kid-time. You know, when I was little... back when I first came to live with them."

I wonder what happened to his parents?

For a moment, Ayla considered asking Kaleo.

No... another time.

"So, that Double-O-Bond guy... how do you know him?" she asked, trying to get it straight. "Is he really famous?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kaleo replied bashfully. "But one of the nice things about our little island is that nobody takes anyone else too seriously. We've got tons of celebrities living here, but it's all mellow. If you knew half the famous people that I've delivered orchids to..."

"Like who?"

"It doesn't matter. They're just people. Like everybody else," he said, gesturing to the crowd. "That's one of the reasons they like to live here, I guess. They get to be kinda normal again and everyone just treats them like 'ohana after a while. It's usually only tourists from the mainland that ever mess with B," Kaleo said, looking over toward the movie star. "Well, except for your brother over there!" he said, laughing with Ayla as they both watched Aslyn jumping up and down, trying to get a twenty on 007.

Then suddenly, there was another sound that captured the crowd's attention.

It was the sound of Hawaiian ukuleles. They began to waft over the market, filling everyone's ears with their graceful tones. When Ayla turned to look, she was pleasantly surprised by what she saw up on stage.

"Hey, isn't that...?"

"Aloha everyone! Mahalo for coming out and supporting the Farmer's Market. We hope you all enjoy the music. We're the J-Boys. Alooooooohaaa!"

Ayla watched as Johnny opened his little mouth and began to sing. It was a striking tune sung in melodic Hawaiian.

Ayla only recognized one out of every ten words, but those that she did recognize touched her and added to the emotion of the moment.

" 'Upu a'e, he mana'o...

I ka wēkiu, o Kōke'e.

I ka nani o ka 'āina...

O ka noe, pō'ai'ai."

As Johnny and the other three J-boys launched into the chorus, their voices were full of colorful harmonies that were unique to this chain of islands.

As she listened, Ayla began to realize that almost everyone had stopped what they were doing and turned their attention toward the stage.

They all know it!

This was one of those songs that everyone seemed to love.

Scanning the crowd, Ayla noticed more than a few people joining in on the chorus. And when the singing gave way to the solo, she got another pleasant surprise as a single ukulele began to drift above the crowd. Its crystalline sounds started kissing the sky with their melodic grace.

As Ayla peered closer, all she could see was a little boy with eyes closed and head down. But the sound his fingers were making was breathtaking.

As Ayla examined the young prodigy closer, she almost couldn't believe what she saw.

"Kaleo... is that—"

"Yep. Kawika."

"Kawika?"

"I told you Ayla. That boy is deep!" Kaleo said, with a look of pride in his eyes. "He's unreal on that tenor ukulele. Like I said, there's a lot going on inside of that po'o of his."

As Ayla recalled the night she met Kawika, she remembered thinking there was something different about this young boy.

I wish I could do that.

Kaleo and Ayla stood there for awhile, side by side, enraptured by the sounds emanating from the boy and his ukulele.

When the song finally ended, the crowd erupted into applause. This was not the polite kind. This was the full-on raucous kind.

"Whoa!" Ayla said. "He's really good!"

Before the applause died away, the four J-boys launched into a new tune.

"Ah... Hawaiiana! This one is based on an old Carlos Santana tune," Kaleo said. "Wait until you hear how Kawika turns that old melody on its ear. I love this song!" the boy said, looking longingly at the stage. "I usually play with them but..."

"I didn't know you played!" Ayla looked deeper into those mystical eyes for a moment.

There's still so much I don't even know about you, she thought.

As if sensing her thoughts, Kaleo reached down and took her hand.

His hand was smooth and his touch was surprisingly gentle for such a strong boy. As Ayla felt this boy's electricity flow through her palm and tickle her arm as it traveled through her body, she realized that she was only beginning to discover Kaleo's secrets.

### SEVENTEEN

"Sir," the first mate said, "All cargo transferred successfully and secured."

"Good!" Basso replied. "What was the final count?"

"Sir, the report reads," Santo paused to look down at the paper. "Yes, eighty total. Fifty mammals, twenty rare and ten exotic."

"Good! That should bring in a pretty penny. But I'm still looking for my million dollar baby!"

Captain Basso looked down at his maps one more time. As his eyes traced the lines of longitude and latitude, he finally looked up and smiled.

"Set course for Hawai'i!"

All eyes and ears were back on the young boy and his Koa ukulele.

Unreal, Ayla thought.

Kawika was picking Hawaiiana's melody line with a passion that would have made Santana proud... the type of sound that stirs even the most jaded souls.

For a while, all Ayla and Kaleo did was listen.

Both sets of eyes were locked on the stage, while their hands remained intertwined.

After Hawaiiana released them from its trance, Ayla turned shyly toward Kaleo. She knew it was time to ask.

"So... how are you feeling?"

Ayla reached out and placed her other hand on the brown skin of his shoulder.

"I mean... since last night?"

"Well... I'm alive," Kaleo replied softly, smiling back into her blue eyes. "Thanks to you."

Ayla smiled back at the boy.

As she stared into his hazel eyes, the chemistry flooding Ayla's veins caused her cheeks to flush as her mind drifted back to last night.

For one surreal moment, in the middle of the Saturday crowd, Ayla was transported in time.

Back to the Endeavor.

Back to the drowning boy.

Back into the mind of the dolphin.

God... she thought. Was that only last night?

Her eyes began scanning the tree line, half expecting the Man and the Woman to be there... watching.

"Oh, and Ayla," Kaleo said. "Before I went to bed last night, I had another visit from Pueo! And then, I had the craziest dreams."

"You did?" she replied, snapping back to the present once more. "What happened?"

"I was swimming through the water and there was this—"

But just then, the moment was interrupted by a tall lanky boy.

He bumped into Kaleo's shoulder, then looked the girl straight in her eyes.

"Aloha, Ayla," he said, fixing her with his beady eyes.

Ugh! she thought. What is he doing here?

"Hey, Lenny," Kaleo said, managing to keep his cool. "Do you mind? We're trying to listen to the music."

"Ha! You call that music?" Lenny scoffed, nodding his head toward the stage. "You wait. My band is going on after The Gay-Boys are done. We're going to rock this crowd!"

Lenny adjusted the guitar case over his shoulder and turned back toward Ayla. "Don't miss it! I'll be looking for you out there."

Lenny shot Ayla a wink and slid off through the crowd.

After the two watched Leonard disappear into a group of teenage girls, Kaleo said, "Come on, Ayla."

He took her hand again and led her off in the other direction.

The warm tingling sensations kept flowing up Ayla's arm and were now reaching back down into her toes. These new sensations made Ayla blush all over again. She didn't mind one bit as they passed another group of teenagers, gawking at the new haole girl holding hands with Kaleo.

"Who's that?" Ayla heard from somewhere in the group.

"I've never seen her before," another one whispered.

"What's she doing with Kaleo, Lani?" a girl in a red bikini asked.

"I don't know, but that haole better learn her place," Lani answered, loud enough to cause Ayla to look over her shoulder. What her eyes found was a beautiful, muscular girl, sporting a bright green tank top that had 'Hawai'i Canoe Champions' stenciled across the front.

Seeing the intense glare, Ayla finally understood.

So that's what they mean by 'stink-eye'.

Ayla had heard the term before but had never seen it in action.

"Hey, Ayla!" Kaleo said, pulling her to another table. "Check these out."

It was a booth that wasn't filled with fruit or produce. This man's table was strewn with beautiful wood carvings.

"Whoa!"

As Ayla's eyes scanned over the beautiful wooden animals, she reluctantly let go of Kaleo's hand to reach out and touch one.

Looking up from his carving project, the man said, "Aloha Kaleo! Nice to see you."

"Hey, what's up Eddie? Pehea 'oe?"

"Maika'i no au, mahalo Kaleo," the man replied to the familiar Hawaiian greeting. "Who's this beautiful young lady with you?"

Ayla was still running her fingers over the smooth polished wood of one in particular, when Kaleo said, "Ayla, let me introduce you to my good friend, Eddie. Best carver on the island!"

"Well, I don't know about that," the man replied. "Your grandpa taught me half of everything I know." The man's grin grew wide as his soft Hawaiian laugh washed over Ayla.

"Nice to meet you, Eddie. I'm—"

"Ayla..." he said. "Of course you are. You have your mother's eyes. And your grandfather..." the man said, looking over toward the gentle giant in the center of the crowd. "Well, it was your grandfather who taught me the other half of everything I know. Lot's of mana in the Kaimana 'ohana."

All three chuckled at the sound of the rhyme.

Ayla couldn't help but smile at the laugh lines etched deeply around the man's eyes. But her hands soon went back to stroking the smooth wooden carving in front of her.

"Ah..." Eddie said, "I can see you are drawn to the Honu."

"Huh?"

"The Honu," he said. "The Hawaiian Sea Turtle."

"Oh! Yeah, the Honu," she said, a little surprised she hadn't learned that word yet.

As her hands continued caressing the smooth, dark wood, Eddie said, "I can see the Honu is calling to you." He lifted the beautiful carving and said, "You have an affinity for the sea, Ayla. I can see it in your eyes. Here, this one was made for you."

"But—"

"No buts. It is a gift of Aloha. That's how we do it here."

"Wow! Mahalo, Sir," she said, receiving the gift with wide eyes.

The man couldn't help but laugh at being called Sir.

"Na'u ka hau'oli. The joy belongs to me," he said.

As Ayla and Kaleo turned to walk away, Eddie called out one more time.

"Oh, hey Ayla!"

"Yeah?"

"There is something you can do for me."

"Uh, sure," she replied, with no clue what he was going to ask.

"Spread the Aloha!"

### EIGHTEEN

"Sir," the first mate said, already knowing what the captain's response would be. "Some of the live cargo is... well, they're not doing so well."

"They are still alive, no?" questioned the greedy captain.

"Yes, Sir. They are all still alive, but—"

"Well!" the captain barked. "What's the problem then? As long as they are still breathing when we get to shore, we will be paid."

"Yes, Sir," Santo replied with a sinking heaviness in is heart.

He turned to leave but Basso stopped him just before his escape.

"While we're at it," the captain began, "We still have three days until arrival in Hawai'i."

Santo knew where this was going.

"Seems like wasted time if we are not bringing something in, no?"

Here he goes, Santo thought.

"Let's give our new weapon a try, shall we? There's so much money swimming around in this ocean, just waiting to be collected."

Santo saw the captain's eyes grow wide with greed.

"Call the men and ready the weapon."

After returning from the Farmer's Market and presenting Pico with the promised mango, Ayla took a walk along the beach.

Pico wouldn't let her go alone, so the two drifted down the sand together with no particular destination in mind.

Before they had gone too far, the clouds rolled in and the light began to change.

Suddenly, the air around them became charged with electricity and the scent of rain began drifting on the wind.

As Ayla's eyes scanned the horizon, they went wide as she spotted a rainbow pouring out of the sky and alighting upon the green canopy behind her.

Just then, Ayla saw a flash of golden light.

No way!

The Woman stepped out of the jungle with surfboard in hand and hair glistening in the afternoon sun.

She was poetry in motion.

As Ayla watched her move to the water's edge, she saw the familiar tattoo on the small of her back. The way the light reflected off of her bronze skin made the colorful twin fish come to life, like two soul mates intertwined in an eternal dance.

The very air seemed to bend out of the Woman's way and in one smooth motion, she was on top of her board and gliding through the water toward the breaking waves in the distance.

Watching the Woman pop up on her first wave and drop down into the barrel, Ayla was hooked.

I gotta learn how to do that!

"Soul surfer. Soul surfer!"

Ayla's eyes were riveted on the waves as she watched the half woman - half ghost carve up the Pacific like it was her own personal liquid canvas.

Ayla's eyes were transfixed on the surfing scene in the distance, watching wave after wave roll by, inhaling the salty mist hanging in the air after each set.

"Whoa! Watch out!" Ayla exclaimed, just as a fifteen foot wave was cresting. As the massive wall of water began to curl over, Ayla watched that golden streak rise up to the top then drop down into the depths of the liquid tunnel.

GABOOOM!

The massive wave thundered and shook the sand beneath Ayla's feet.

When the white water had finally settled out and the misty rooster tail had returned back to the ocean surface, the Woman was gone.

As Ayla and Pico walked back down the beach they saw Aslyn heading their way with a full bag of fish over his shoulder.

"Wow Aslyn! You're getting good at that!"

"I guess I'm getting the hang of it," he said. "I'm gonna go clean these fish. See if you can keep that feathered fish fiend out of my way for awhile."

"Fish fiend. Fish fiend!"

"Watch it, Bird!"

"Hey... be nice to Pico!" Ayla said. "He's a lot smarter than you think!"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Aslyn replied, flashing one more kolohe grin before heading for the house.

Ayla sat down with Pico in the sand.

The warm sun was baking her skin and bathing the placid lagoon in its golden light. Instead of putting on her headphones, Ayla reached for the old book instead.

Up to this point, she had been flipping to random pages to see what the 'Ōlelo No'eau had to tell her. But this time, she decided to start from the beginning.

"Introduction," she read. "E lei kau, e lei ho'oilo i ke aloha."

"Love is worn like a wreath through the summers and the winters."

"Oh, right... Love is everlasting."

"Yes it is!" came the voice.

"Huh?" she said, lifting her eyes from the book. Her surprise quickly turned to joy as she spotted those hazel eyes.

How does he do that?

"Aloha, Kaleo!"

"Aloha, Ayla!" he said, coming closer. His eyes were fixed on hers now, too. Ayla watched his every move as he tossed down a towel and sat next to her in the sand.

"What do you have there?" he asked, gesturing to the old book in her hands.

"Oh, um..." she said, not sure what to say.

"The 'Ōlelo No'eau?" Kaleo exclaimed, as his eyes fixed on the cover. "Can I see that?"

As Ayla handed the mysterious book to Kaleo, she watched as his hands delicately traced its edges. As he opened the leather cover, she saw his eyes get real big. "Whoa, Ayla! Where did you get this?"

"I... I thought," she searched for the words. "You mean, it's not from you?"

"From me?" Kaleo looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Ayla began, "Somebody left this for me at our front door a few nights ago."

"Ayla, do you know what this is?" the boy asked, as his hands smoothed over the old leather cover again.

"Well... no, not exactly."

"This is hand written! It's gotta be an original."

"Original?"

"Wisdom. Wisdom!"

"Yeah, Pico's right. 'Ōlelo No'eau roughly translates to 'Words of Wisdom'. This book is famous in Hawai'i! It's a collection of all the old proverbs and sayings."

"Wow! So, people know this book?"

"Yeah! But mostly it's just the scholars and kahuna elders who read it anymore. Grandpa Kali has a copy, but his is printed and it's still like fifty years old," Kaleo said, inspecting the old manuscript closer. "I've only seen something like this once before, but it was in the museum. Ms. Lizama showed it to our class once when we were on a field trip. But they keep it under glass and only touch it with white gloves on. Where did you say you got this?"

All of a sudden, this strange book got even more mysterious.

Ayla wondered what Pico knew about all of this, but as she tore her gaze away from Kaleo, she spotted the bright ball of feathers disappearing into the jungle.

When she looked back at the boy, Kaleo was flipping through the fragile pages. He had an intense look on his face as his fingers seemed to dance over the old leaves. Then suddenly, they stopped.

"Oh, I know this one!" he said. "Grandpa used to read this one to me. I can still hear his deep voice singing it to me before bedtime."

"Singing it?"

"Well... it's kind of like a mixture of singing and chanting. Hawaiian words were never written before the Europeans came. Our entire language and history was all memorized. These sayings were passed down from generation to generation. And they were always spoken aloud. Grandpa says that's where the mana lives... in the sound."

"In the sound?"

" 'Ae! Pololei!" he said, as a powerful presence washed over his face. "Like this..."

Kaleo closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a most glorious sound came out of his mouth, erupting from somewhere deep within.

"He 'Elele Ka Moe Na Ke Kanaka."

Whoa! Ayla thought, completely enraptured in the sound.

She had never heard Kaleo speak Hawaiian like that before.

His dreamy, yet powerful voice began to awaken the butterflies in her stomach.

As she reached out to steady herself, Ayla saw the boy's hazel eyes open and fix upon her.

A moment that Ayla could have lived in forever.

But then, just as suddenly, the boy's eyes shot back to the book as he read the translation.

"A dream is a bearer of messages to man."

### NINETEEN

That night Ayla had more strange dreams.

Dreams about the Dolphins.

Dreams about the Sea Turtles.

Dreams about a Father, Mother and Child.

Ayla found herself back in the serene underwater world.

She was swimming through rainbows of fish when she came upon an underwater cathedral made of coral.

There was red and blue and orange and purple everywhere she looked. The reef was alive and pulsating with radiant light as she swam under arches and over pinnacles of color.

Then came more dreamy figures.

First it was the dolphins. She watched as Kai, Delphina and Dorsi... Father, Mother and Child swam by, disappearing into the shadows.

Next, it was the sea turtles. Again, Father, Mother and Child swam by then disappeared into the shadows.

She started to follow them, but soon found herself transported back into dark murky waters again.

"Whoa! What is that?"

Ayla's eyes could just make out a large metallic shape in the distance.

"It's... it's coming closer."

As the man-made form finally snapped into focus, Ayla was shaken by what she saw.

"A ship!"

This was not the sunken Endeavor but a huge ship, floating toward her in the dark, with one eerie spotlight shining from the bow.

As it came closer, she noticed something large, mounted to the right of the spotlight.

"Is that... is that a gun?"

What her eyes saw looked like some sort of huge weapon. As she continued focusing on what it was, Ayla noticed four large block letters painted in white on the dark ship. They stood there ominously, just beneath the weapon.

"H-A-W-K?"

But just at that moment, like a ghost, the ship vanished into the sea. All that was left in its wake were terrible sounds.

Sounds of men shouting.

Sounds of animals crying.

Then a loud piercing sound she had never heard before.

But Ayla's heart began racing as she heard the next sound.

"Help! Help me!"

Bolting upright in her bed, Ayla sucked in a breath as her eyes scanned her room, desperate for something real to cling to.

They went straight to the wooden Honu.

Its life-like gaze was staring back at her.

Next to the Honu sat the worn leather book.

Ayla reached for the mysterious 'Ōlelo No'eau.

Opening it up, her eyes found number 802.

"802- He manu hānai ke kanaka na ka moe."

"Man is like a pet bird belonging to the realm of sleep."

What is that supposed to mean? she wondered.

"Dreams are very important," she continued reading. "By them, one is guided to good fortune and warned of misfortune. Like a pet bird, man is taken care of."

"Braaawck! Pet bird. Pet bird!"

Sometimes I think I'm your pet human, Ayla thought.

"Braaawck! Human. Human!"

"How do you do that, Pico?"

"No'eau. No'eau!"

Ayla closed the book in her hands, grabbed her iPod and took both of them with her.

Before she had even opened the lanai door, Pico had already caught up.

"Dolphins. Dolphins!"

"There!" Captain Basso barked at the sight of a breach in the distance. "Over there!"

As he picked up his spotting glass, the captain bumped the first mate in the back of the head.

Accident or not, Basso had never apologized before and he wasn't going to start now.

The captain rifled off something in his foreign tongue, but it didn't matter. A lump on the head was as good as a proper maritime order any day.

"Now!"

"Captain, are you sure we should—"

The look from the captain and his one good eye said it all.

"Aye, aye Captain."

The first mate clicked his hand held radio and began barking a few commands of his own.

The four paramilitary operatives began running up on deck. As they reached the front, the tall one stepped up and manned the new weapon attached to the bow of the ship.

The short one stood behind him at the ready.

The other two stood at attention with binoculars in hand and death in their eyes.

From the set of their shoulders, the first mate could tell...

They won't miss.

"Good!" said the captain. "If I had four more of them instead of girls like you..."

After enduring a few more lines of insults spewing forth from the captain's twisted lips, the first mate knew what was coming next.

Lifting the radio, his shaky hand clicked the button three times.

"Operation Go. On my mark. Three... Two... One..."

Ayla chased Dorsi through the water until she was out of breath.

Since neither Kai Leo nor Delphina offered her any clear answers, only strange images throughout the session, Ayla's mind was spinning out of control again.

When she finally stepped out of the cool liquid and onto the warm sand, Ayla brushed Pico off her towel and wrapped it around her head and tried to rub some sense into her brain.

What does any of this mean?

The dolphins?

The turtles?

That ship?

The Father, Mother and Child?

"And where did this thing come from?" she said out loud, looking down at the book.

"No'eau. No'eau!"

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Wisdom. Wisdom!"

"Yeah, but... Arrgh! Why can't anything be simple?"

"Because life is a mystery!" The voice came out of nowhere.

"What?" she said, tossing off the towel and searching for the source.

"A mystery just waiting to be discovered by the 'Great and Wise Communer of Dolphins'!"

Aslyn!

"Ha, ha!" Ayla replied, wondering why humor ran so deeply in the male line of her family.

"So..." Aslyn began, unfolding Grandpa's old fishing net. "The dolphins have anything interesting to say today?"

"If they did, I couldn't figure it out."

"Well, Mom will be home soon," he replied, "You should ask her. Between growing up here and spending her whole life studying marine mammals, she's bound to know something."

As Aslyn made his first toss into the bounty of the lagoon, Ayla wondered if she should tell him.

"Um... Aslyn?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh... if I tell you something, will you promise not to think I'm crazy?"

"Ha! Fat chance, Jacques Cousteau."

"Who?"

"Never mind," Aslyn chuckled. "Wiki it, sometime. At the rate you're going, 'Ayla Christina Kawena Speaks' is going to be right next to Jacques Cousteau someday."

Yeah, right, she thought. Whoever Jock Koostow is.

"No seriously, what's up?" Aslyn asked. "You can tell me."

Should I?

Ayla took a deep breath then dove into the deep end.

"Well, I've been having these strange dreams..."

"No, you idiots!" Captain Basso shouted. "Higher!"

Apparently the captain's new mercenary soldiers weren't so perfect after all.

"Too far! Too far!"

The first mate lifted his radio again and barked a few more course corrections.

God, why did I take this job?

The faded picture in Santo's wallet told the tale. This man, like so many others upon the sea, would do almost anything for the loved ones he left on land.

In less than seven seconds, both Captain Basso and First Mate Santo witnessed the precision of this new weapon in action from their lofty perch on the bridge.

"YES!" the captain exclaimed.

NO! the first mate thought.

After what seemed like an hour, Ayla looked up at her brother.

With the funny look on his face, she was almost certain that he was working his next joke.

"Well, Sister. You have to ask yourself one simple question."

Ayla grimaced as she waited for the punchline.

"Isn't that where it all started? With the dolphins speaking to you in your dreams."

"Yeah, I guess so. But what does it mean?" she asked.

"I guess you should ask them that."

This line sounded oddly familiar to Ayla. It might not have helped at the moment, but at least she knew that she and her brother were swimming in the same ocean now.

As Aslyn continued tossing his net, Ayla continued asking her questions.

With each pull of the net, more and more of the answers seemed to arrive.

"So... you think my dreams are trying to tell me something?"

"Right," Aslyn replied.

"And the dolphins are definitely trying to tell me something?"

"Yep!"

"So... what is it?"

"Ha! Beats me!" Aslyn couldn't help himself. "You're the dolphin communicator."

"Big help you are, Brother," she said, laughing. "But, at least you're not half the punk you used to be."

"And you're not half the psycho-girl you were three days ago."

Ayla flashed one more grin at the Great Fish Warrior, then put her headphones on and walked down the beach. As usual, Pico wasn't far behind.

But I still don't understand, she thought, as the music began.

" 'Listen my child,' you say to me

'I am the voice of your history'

Be not afraid, come follow me

Answer my call, and I'll set you free"

With the words of this song and the 'Ōlelo No'eau still present in her thoughts, Ayla traced the shell line with her eyes, picking out random shapes and patterns.

As her eye caught a swirling shell, something about the symmetry and the synchronicity of both color and form made her flash back to that night in the ship... back inside the mind of the dolphin.

The colors... she thought. They see such beautiful colors.

Everything's so different.

Brighter.

More intense.

The pictures in their minds are...

As she walked on, Ayla's eyes naturally strayed to the place where the jungle and the sand became one. That fine line where reality and dreams seemed to merge.

Where are you, old man? she wondered.

Ayla began to recall the various moments those two apparitions had appeared. There was still a lot that she didn't understand about them.

But the one thing she did realize about the mysterious Man and Woman was this:

When I believe, there you are.

### TWENTY

When Ayla finally made it home that afternoon, she found Aslyn almost finished cleaning his latest bounty from the sea.

"I see Pico didn't take all your fish!" she said

"Ha ha! Funny girl!" he replied with a silly grin. "Actually, I haven't seen that little Einstein in a while. But Bobo and the cats didn't waste any time."

That's weird... Pico can smell fish a mile away! Ayla thought, as she looked down at Tiki and Kula, rubbing up against Aslyn's leg.

As the two moved into the house, they both heard voices approaching from Grandpa's shop.

Who's that? Ayla wondered, as the voices came closer.

"Ayla, Aslyn," Grandpa said, as he and another big man came around the corner. "You two remember Jake, from the Farmer's Market?"

"Yeah," Aslyn said. "Hey."

"Hello, Aslyn," Ranger Brinlee replied. "Nice to see you again."

He looked at each child in turn, sizing them up as was his custom with all newcomers to his island. This little island he was sworn to protect, even if it was mostly just fish he was protecting.

"So, your grandfather tells me you're becoming quite the fisherman," Jake said, his eyes pinned on Ayla.

"Me? Don't look at me!" Ayla replied. "Fishing is Aslyn's department!"

"Of course it is!" Jake replied with a jovial chuckle. "Actually, your grandfather told me something about you too, Ayla!"

"He did?"

"He did indeed!" the ranger continued, lifting his notebook from his back pocket. As Ayla watched his hand go for a pen, she felt her jaw tensing.

Uh oh, she thought.

"Well, he told me two things actually. First, he told me about Pico!"

Pico?

"You know he's the only Macaw on the island, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Ayla replied.

"Well as it turns out, not only are Macaws not native to these islands, but because of Hawai'i's strict enforcement of exotic animals..."

With the words, 'strict enforcement', Ayla had a terrible feeling about what the ranger was going to say next. She hoped it wasn't why she hadn't seen Pico.

"...Well, he told me that you're the only one Pico has befriended in years. So, you're a lucky girl. You've got a very rare friend there."

Relief washed over Ayla's face.

Wow! The only one. He really hasn't had any friends in forty years? she thought. Where is that bird?

"Your Grandfather also told me that you walk the beach almost every morning. Is that right?"

"Um, yeah... so?" Ayla said.

"Well," the man replied, sizing her up with his inquisitive green eyes. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor?"

"Um... sure. What?"

"Well, you may have heard," Jake began, "Hawai'i has recently been raised to the top of the list!"

"The... list?"

"That's right. The very top!" he said, as his face grew grave. "With the official numbers out of Washington, the Hawaiian Islands are now known as the 'Endangered Species Capital of the World'."

"Wow, that sucks!"

"Ayla!" Grandpa scolded.

"Sorry," she said looking at her grandfather. "But, what can I do about it?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked," Jake replied. "One of the tasks that my department oversees is the endangered species list. And I sure could use your help with one species in particular!"

Dolphins aren't on that list! she thought. Are they?

"Monk Seals."

"Monk Seals?" she asked.

"Exactly!" Ranger Brinlee replied. Ayla watched as a fire lit somewhere behind his eyes. "The Monk Seal is one of the rarest marine mammals on Earth. And this stretch of beach out here is one of the last remaining sanctuaries for them on the island. Any time we see them coming ashore, we try to send a team out to rope off the area and keep people out of the way so that the Monk Seals won't be disturbed."

"Okay..." Ayla said, still unsure what the ranger was asking of her. "So, what do you want me to do?"

Between Hawaiian and Cetacean, Ayla wasn't sure how much more she could handle. The Universe had enrolled her in some tough courses this summer.

"Oh, not much," Jake said, as he opened his brown leather notepad and began scribbling something with his heavy pen. "But, if ever you happen to come upon a Monk Seal on your walks," he continued, handing her the torn paper. "Just call this number, okay?"

Ayla took the cool parchment from Ranger Brinlee's thick hand.

"Um..." Ayla shot one more look at Grandpa. He was wearing his usual pride. "Sure. I guess so."

"Great! That will help us a lot. Mahalo, Ayla," the ranger said, giving the girl an appreciative smile.

Ayla was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Hawai'i was at the very top of the endangered species list. She didn't even think there were really that many different species on this small island.

I wonder which animals are on the list, she thought.

Not the dolphins... she was trying to think of what animals she had actually seen here, besides roosters and pigs.

Then she remembered one in particular.

"Hey, um... Ranger Jake? Are Sea Turtles on that list?"

"Ahh... we recently got some good news about the Honu. They have just been moved off of the 'Endangered' list and knocked down to the 'Threatened' list."

Being on the 'Threatened' list didn't sound like good news to Ayla.

"You must see some turtles out there, don't you?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I have seen some. In fact, there's this one I've seen a few times... he's huge! And he's got this scar that—"

"Looks like a big 'S'?" Jake said.

"Exactly! How did you know?"

"Everybody knows Santo," Jake replied.

"Santo?"

"Oh yeah," Grandpa said, "Santo's been around since I was a kid. Always had that scar. That's how he got his name."

"Whoa, Grandpa! Since you were a kid?"

"Well," Jake said, "These Honu here can live to be over fifty years old. And they can grow to be almost four hundred pounds... if they're fortunate enough to live that long, like Santo."

Jake looked at Ayla for a moment, then said, "But the strange thing is, ever since the Honu got moved off the endangered list, their population numbers have been going back down. We're trying to figure that one out down at the department. It doesn't make any sense."

This got Ayla wondering.

"Well, I better be heading on. Thanks for your help, Ayla." Jake said with a smile and a nod. "Duke... always a pleasure! Give my love to Kate!"

"Yeah, I will. And give our Aloha to..." Grandpa paused, searching for something. Ayla could almost see the mental gymnastics going on inside his head. "To everyone down at headquarters!"

Nice save, Grandpa.

Apparently, Duke had been searching for a woman's name, before he remembered that there wasn't any woman in Jake's life. Grandpa couldn't help but wonder why no young lady had captured this handsome young man. Living on the island for over sixty years, Duke knew that men with solid jobs and decent haircuts were hard to come by.

"Sure will, Duke!" Jake replied, as he headed for the door. "And hey, one more thing..."

"Yeah, Jake?"

"Let me know if you hear anything else about..." Jake paused, looking at the children, "You know, that thing we were talking about?"

"Oh..."

Ayla watched as Grandpa's eyes went someplace else.

Someplace far away.

What thing? Ayla wondered, as she looked over at Aslyn.

What scared Ayla most about Duke's eyes just then was that she had never seen those eyes on her grandfather before.

Whoa! she thought, exchanging another look with her brother, What's that all about?

### TWENTY ONE

Ayla's dreams were magical that night.

The Man and the Woman were there.

But this time, they weren't so cryptic.

They spoke to Ayla as all three of them walked down the beach... a beach from an older time.

"So..." Ayla asked. "Are you... real?"

"What is real, Ayla?" the Man replied, as the Woman laughed a melodious song.

"Well..." As Ayla began to think about it, she realized she didn't have an answer. "I don't know."

Her mind started sifting through all the possibilities.

"I'm real, right?"

"Yes," the Man replied.

"Is she real?"

"Yes."

The Woman's laugh rang out once again.

"The world's real."

"Yes..." the Man said.

"And no," the Woman added.

"Wait... yes and no?" Ayla asked, confused.

The three paused in the sand.

Ayla watched as the Man's eyes strayed toward the horizon.

His hand was wrapped firmly around his staff and as he looked to the west. Ayla could see that the sun was still an hour from the horizon. Even so, she could already smell the fragrance of mango wood burning in the distance.

"What does that mean, yes and no?"

The Man and the Woman looked at each other for a moment.

It seemed to take a while as their eyes became one. Then slowly, Ayla saw the Woman nod then turn and walk into the water.

"Part of this world is real and part of this world is dream," he said, as the two of them watched the beautiful young Woman dive beneath the water.

"But, how do I know the difference?"

"That's for you to decide, Ayla!"

"Me?"

"It's up to you," the Man said, piercing her soul with his gaze. "It's up to you what you do with your Destiny!"

As Ayla bolted up in her bed, she had only one thing to say.

"Whoa!"

"Rise and shine. Rise and shine!"

"Pico..." Ayla thought of at least three things to say to the bird at that moment, but she settled for, "What time is it?"

"You decide. You decide."

"What?"

"Destiny. Destiny!"

What is going on around here? she wondered, looking around her room for any signs.

"Braaawck! Dolphins! Dolphins!"

Ayla smirked at the bird then leapt up to the window.

As soon as she spotted them, she grabbed her iPod and the book and headed to the beach.

I've got a few questions for you!

"She is still so young!"

The elder always spoke the truth. Ikaika had led this pod for nearly twenty years. Twenty long rotations around the sun.

"Yes... just a child!" Irina replied. "And still..."

Ikaika's partner didn't need to finish her thought. The entire pod was aware of what was riding on the outcome. Even the babies seemed to understand.

"True." Ikaika could not deny. "She is learning fast!"

"We have been watching her since the beginning," Merina said, as she looked to the two elders, then back to her partner, Molakai and their daughter, Mari. As she did, Merina's memories recalled all the years in sonographic perfection. "We have always known she would progress quickly. Our sound has ensured it since she was in the womb."

Her partner, Molakai, still had questions of his own. "But is her human mind ready for this?" he asked, as he and Merina looked at their child, swimming playfully with Dorsi. "Would you trust the life of Mari or Dorsi to this human Child?"

"I have seen her mind," Delphina replied, her sound was as adamant as ever.

"And I have seen her heart," Kai Leo replied. "And it is everything that we have dreamt of... and more."

"More?" Ikaika asked. The elder had seen many dreams in his years. And many disappointments when it came to humans and their choices.

"Yes," Dorsi said, doing a 360 around his elders. "More!"

"Yes..." Mari added, mimicking the older child's sentiments with a spiral of her own, awkwardly bumping into Ikaika's dorsal fin. "She has more!"

Regaining both his balance and his composure, Ikaika snorted and said, "We shall see."

As the pod did their usual dance, they tossed these questions of human intelligence back and forth... an ongoing conversation that had spanned the millenniums.

Still, it was a conversation they never grew tired of.

"She must learn to control her thoughts," Irina said.

"The Man and the Woman will help her," Delphina said.

"But will it be soon enough?" Molakai asked.

The pod was silent for a moment.

Each of them knew how much was riding on the Child.

"We shall see, my Love..." Merina said. "We shall see!"

"Indeed..." Delphina said. "We will help guide her."

"Yes!" Dorsi sang out, bolting through the middle of the pod. "Here she comes now!"

"Ayla!" Mari exclaimed, leaping out of the water and into the air.

With a few strong stokes, she could already see the silhouettes of the three approaching in the distance.

Ayla didn't wait a second before firing off her first round.

"Why do I keep dreaming about the Sea Turtle?"

"And the Man and the Woman? Who are they?"

"Ayla," Delphina's voice rang out through the water. "Slow down. Calm your thoughts."

Ayla closed her eyes but the whirlwind would not die down.

"You must open your mind," Delphina said. "Do not let your emotions get in the way."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she barked through the water.

Delphina winced at the sound of Ayla's frustration.

"Easy Child," Delphina said, calming the girl with her sound waves. "Just breathe," the mother said.

Ayla closed her eyes and drew a deep breath through her snorkel.

"That's it," Delphina replied. Her sound felt like a soothing lullaby now. "Open your mind... ready?"

"Yeah."

"Here we go..."

### TWENTY TWO

"Yes, Sir!" the man on the other end of the radio replied. "We will have full shipment ready for delivery."

"Good!" Basso replied. "We will rendezvous at nineteen hundred hours tomorrow."

"Copy that. Nineteen hundred hours. Dragon out."

"Now," Basso said, "We will see if those pirates are worth their gold. Set course!"

Santo relayed the orders. He had no other choice.

God, what next?

"Can you smell it, my young apprentice?" Basso asked, sniffing at that air.

Yeah, I can smell it alright.

Wow! Ayla thought. I had no idea!

Delphina said nothing, just smiled her dolphin smile.

There was no drowning boy to confuse this experience.

No riddles hidden in the murky waters.

This time, Delphina's projections were crystal clear as her dolphin thoughts dove deep into Ayla's consciousness.

"No way!" Ayla exclaimed, as she returned from this second trip through the dolphin's mind. "So... dolphins and whales use a part of their brains that we don't?"

"Yes."

"That's amazing!" Ayla exclaimed. "I mean, I wouldn't even call that 'thinking'."

Ayla looked at Delphina again.

This time, as she looked deeply into those ancient cetacean eyes, Ayla had a whole new found respect for Delphina and the others.

"It's more like..." Ayla began, searching for the words, "More like dreaming!"

The dolphin just nodded.

"So then..." Ayla tried once again. She found it difficult to formulate the question in her mind. "You dream it, and then... and then you do it?"

The dolphin just nodded.

"And... you're saying that we can do it too?"

Once again, Delphina nodded, but this time she added clicks and whistles.

"Oh my God!" Ayla exclaimed. "This changes everything!"

"E Mahalo Ke Akua, E Mahalo ke Kai..."

As the Man lifted these words of thanks to the heavens, the reply was instantaneous, as a glorious rainbow spilled from the sky.

"E komo mai, ānuenue!" the Woman said. "You know what this means... it is all as the prophecies foretold."

"Yes..." the Man said, lifting his gaze toward the west. "The dream of the Dolphin."

"Yes..." the Woman said. "The dream of the Child."

As the sun set into the western sea, and the rainbow lifted into the opening portal once more, time and space seemed to disappear.

And there, in the space between, was the place where dream became reality.

As Ayla stepped out of the water, she didn't even bother to go for her towel.

She just stood there dripping in the warm Hawaiian sun and staring at the line where sand and jungle became one.

As the light fell down from the sky in a glorious arcing rainbow, it didn't even surprise her this time.

There they are! Ayla exclaimed at the sight.

Right! You dream it and then...

Wait... did I just make them appear?

Or are they really there?

Can I make anything appear? Ayla wondered.

Anything I think... I mean, dream?

Ayla's mind was going wild with this new concept.

So... if I dream of....

"Aloha Ayla!"

As Ayla turned her head, she knew who she would find there.

"Aloha, Kaleo!"

As she turned her head and gazed upon those hazel eyes, drinking in his scent and basking in the glow of his smile, she already knew.

They'll be gone when I turn back, she thought. But you'll still be here.

The smile that Ayla gave the boy just then was like nothing Kaleo had ever seen from this young girl.

"Ayla?"

"Kaleo!"

"The Girl and the Boy are growing closer," Ikaika said.

"Of course they are!" Irina said. "We have always dreamt that they would."

There was a moment where jubilant sound waves filled the water. So many different shapes and sizes of sound were floating around. To the pod's dolphin eyes, the celebratory waves appeared as rainbows of light, spilling out in every direction.

These colorful conversations went on for a while.

"It is time," Molakai said, nodding his spotted rostrum through the water.

"We always knew this would be," Merina replied, eyeing her baby playing in the distance.

"Is he ready?" Sheyna asked.

"Is she?" Sorran asked.

"Of course she is!" Larena replied, flipping her scarred fluke at the younger couple.

"He will learn fast," her partner added, as Morro kicked into formation with Larena.

"He always has," Merina said. "But what about their mothers?"

"Do we tell them?" Molakai asked. "Or will they sense it on their own?"

"And what about their grandmothers?"

"Who asked that?" Irina called out through the pod.

"Well... isn't it obvious?" Mari replied, pausing her game of tag long enough to ask.

"Nothing in their human world is ever obvious!" Ikaika reminded the youngest member of the pod.

"Is it any wonder we chose water?" Obyn said, with his ancient eyes and his philosophical grin.

"The question is why did they choose land?" his partner, Sheera asked.

"Oh stop this incessant bickering!" Ikaika said. "How long will we ask that question, Sheera? Another fifty million years?"

The sound of dolphin laughter resonated through the liquid sphere. It is one of those indescribable sounds that defies the human imagination.

But suddenly, an entirely new sound vibrated through their watery atmosphere, paralyzing the entire pod with its destructive force.

ZWHAAAAAAAMMM!!!

Whoa! What was that? Ayla wondered, feeling a shudder course through her body, breaking the dreamy stare between her and Kaleo.

"Ayla?" Kaleo asked. "Did you just—"

"Hey guys! What's going on?" Aslyn's arrival broke the spell.

"Uh... what's up, Brah?" Kaleo asked, managing to tear his eyes away from Ayla.

"Hey," Aslyn said, "I was just thinking that—"

Aslyn stopped as he noticed the look in his sister's eyes.

"Ayla?" he asked. "What's up?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, as her eyes scanned the horizon. "The dolphins—"

But just then, three silver streaks erupted into the sky.

The children turned to look for the sound just in time to see the three dolphins diving back into the lagoon.

"No way!" Aslyn exclaimed. "You're getting good at that, Ayla!"

Kaleo just stood there frozen as the most perplexed look spread across his face.

Dolphin chatter filled the air, all directed toward Ayla.

"What?" she asked, looking at the dolphins. "What do you mean?"

High pitched whistles issued from the three, sounding more like screams than anything else.

"Ayla..." Aslyn began.

"Wait! Shhh!" Ayla replied, focusing both her ears and eyes on the three.

"DANGER!"

### PART THREE

### PART THREE VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### TWENTY THREE

"Danger?"

This word was all too familiar to the girl.

"Danger?" Aslyn asked. "What danger?"

Kaleo said nothing, just focused his hazel eyes upon Ayla.

"The boat!" Ayla replied. "Something about the boat."

"What boat?" Aslyn asked.

"The boat at the—"

"At the harbor!" Kaleo said, as his lips finally started working again.

As he looked at Ayla, she looked back at him. Then at Aslyn.

"Come on!" Ayla said. "We gotta go!"

"Wait!" Aslyn said. "Go where?"

"Don't ask questions, Aslyn," Kaleo said. "Just trust her!"

"But..." Aslyn started protesting.

"There's one stop we gotta make first," Kaleo said.

And without another word, the boy took off down the beach.

Aslyn looked at his sister.

She looked back and said, "Come on! Let's go!"

"Go?" Aslyn asked. "Where are we going?"

"They have heard the call," the Woman said.

"Yes," the Man replied.

"What will they do?"

"We shall see."

"They will need our help," she said.

"We have set her on the path," the Man replied, as his eyes drifted over the ocean. "It is now up to her what she chooses to do."

Ayla and Aslyn were sprinting down the jungle path now.

Neither of the Speaks children knew where this island boy was leading them.

As Kaleo threw open the back door to the old garage he said only one word, "Inside!"

In less than thirty seconds Kaleo found what he was looking for.

"Here, take these!" he said, as he shoved camouflage wetsuits into Ayla and Aslyn's hands.

"Ayla," he said, handing her the waterproof case. "Put this over your iPod. We might need a camera."

"Aslyn," Kaleo continued, "Take this!"

As Kaleo reached into the bin, he pulled out more and more of his grandfather's diving gear.

"Kaleo," Ayla asked, "Why do we need all this stuff?"

"Trust me," he said.

"Hey! Who's in here?" the old man's voice echoed through the dark room.

With the flick of a switch, light was shed upon the scene.

"Oh... hey Grandpa."

Kaleo did't know what to say.

"Busted. Busted!"

"Pico!" Ayla exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

For a moment, everyone just looked at one another.

"Braaawck. On a mission. On a mission!"

"I knew something was going on the moment Pico showed up on my window sill," Grandpa Kali said, as he eyed the three children with his steady gaze.

"Um, yeah Grandpa... um," Kaleo tried, but it was no use.

"Um what, Grandson?"

"We're ... we're..."

"On a mission. On a mission!"

The old man looked at the bird for a moment. What was exchanged between those ancient eyes is still a mystery. But when they were done, Grandpa Kali said, "You're going with them, Bird!" Then he looked at Kaleo and said, "You kids watch each other's backs, you hear me?"

Kali fixed each of them once more with those Grandfather eyes, then said, "Ayla!"

"Yeah?"

"Here... take this," Grandpa Kali said, as he handed her his trusted fishing knife.

"Oh, I can't..." she began, but then realized his eyes said it all. "Thank you, Kali."

Grandpa Kali barely had time to nod at the girl before the three were out the door.

"On a mission. On a mission!"

"You watch out for them, old friend!"

"Promise. Pico's promise!"

### TWENTY FOUR

As they sprinted through the jungle, Pico pulled into the lead.

"Are you sure this is a short cut, Kaleo?" Aslyn asked.

"Trust me, Brah," the boy said, leaping over a fallen coconut tree.

"What did they tell you exactly, Ayla?" Kaleo asked over his shoulder.

"It's... kind of hard to explain," she replied. "It's different when I'm not in the water with them. The pictures aren't as clear."

"So, what did you get?" Aslyn asked.

"Something about a ship and a weapon and..."

"And?" Aslyn asked, as he leapt over a boulder in the middle of the jungle path.

"And, a turtle!"

"A turtle?" Aslyn asked. "What the heck does any of this have to do with a turtle?"

"All I know is that the night after the Endeavor I started having these strange dreams about a sea turtle."

"The Honu?" Kaleo asked, slowing his stride long enough to look back into her eyes.

"Yeah," she said. "Something about Father, Mother and Child."

That shut Aslyn up for the moment.

The three of them moved in silence for a while with Kaleo on point as the three moved deeper and deeper into the unknown.

"Okay you guys, in here!" Kaleo said.

"In there?" Aslyn asked, as his eyes searched the thick patch of jungle the island boy was leading them into.

"Yeah. Just up over that ridge," Kaleo said, pointing.

As they got deeper into the jungle canopy, the sound of the surf was replaced by other sounds. Spooky sounds.

And the light... it had changed, too.

"Where are we going?" Aslyn asked after a few more minutes, wading through the muddy path, as the evening shower left great drops of moisture covering every green leaf and frond in sight.

"Not much further. Watch out for that—"

"Owww!" Aslyn cried out, as his toe caught the hard edge of an ancient lava stone. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Kaleo?"

"Trust me!"

"Trust me. Trust me!"

"Shhh, Pico!"

"On a mission. On a mission!"

That got a little chuckle from the three detectives. A well needed respite from the growing intensity.

"There it is!" he finally said, pointing to an old sign post riddled with age and bullet holes. Ayla could just make out the few remaining words.

"No Trespassing. Violators will be..."

"Kaleo... where are we?" she asked.

But just then, Ayla had her answer as they emerged from the shadows of the jungle and into a clearing about five hundred yards above the small boat harbor.

"There it is!"

As three children and a lone bird moved closer to the dock, they could see it all happening before their eyes.

An ominous looking boat made a hasty landing and four men in black jumped off to secure the lines.

As the children moved closer, they took cover behind an old wooden sailboat three slips down.

"What are they doing?"

But Aslyn got his answer, as all three watched a lone silhouette saunter down the old dock with a flashlight in one hand and a briefcase in the other.

"Shhhh!" Ayla said. "Listen."

"The Doctor is not pleased!" the man in black spat. "But he took pity on you this time. And he expects payment in full. And if I were you—"

"Shut up!" the man with the briefcase said. He was wearing faded brown slacks and a Hawaiian shirt that pre-dated Elvis. "I know my business. I've been doing this since you and your pirate buddies were in diapers. Don't tell me how to run my island."

The two men exchanged more words in some foreign language, but within minutes, the briefcase was handed over and two carts were wheeled out from inside the boat.

The first was loaded down with a series of crates and cages that the kids could only guess at. But by the sounds that came issuing out, their guesses became more accurate.

"Are those...?" Ayla asked.

"Yeah," Kaleo said. "Smugglers."

"But those cages... It sounds like—"

"Shhh!" Aslyn said. "Hand me your iPod."

"My iPod?" Ayla asked, but then remembered. "Oh right... the camera."

"That's not all this thing can do," Aslyn said, as he checked the fitting of the waterproof case and started recording.

The kids listened closely, but try as they might, they could only make out bits and pieces of the men's harsh accents in the distance.

Just when it sounded like their business was concluding, a new character entered the scene.

They all watched this new silhouette move down the dock. He was backlit by the setting sun and hard to make out, but all three could tell that the newcomer displayed none of the stealth or guile of the other men.

As Ayla focused on the new arrival to the party, she noticed something familiar in that swagger, as his careless feet stomped down the dock.

No way... she thought. It couldn't be!

"Come on, Pops!" the lanky boy whined. "I got to get to my gig!"

"Boy!" the man spat back over his shoulder. "What did I tell you about interrupting me when I'm doing business!"

"But Dad! I gotta—"

SMACK!

The sound of the man's hand connecting with the boy's cheek echoed throughout the harbor.

Ayla could almost taste the blood that began seeping from Lenny's upper lip.

"Now, get these cages into your damned hot-rod and keep your mouth shut!" the man swore at the shrinking teenager.

The children watched as Lenny just stood there for a moment.

It wasn't much, but it was all Leonard had.

One brief moment of defiance.

Lenny was many things, but he was no dummy. As the three watched him drag the cart full of cargo back toward the shadows of the parking lot, Ayla had a strange sensation.

Wow! she thought, as her stomach turned over. That explains a lot.

"Now," the man continued. "You tell the Doctor that he'll have his money. But make sure you tell him this..."

The kids could almost see the twisting wrinkles in the man's eyes, even through the deepening shadows of this ominous eve.

"I have a special package for him. Even better than the last one. You tell him!"

"Tell him yourself," the smuggler replied. "I never speak to the Doctor unless I have to."

"What's the matter?" Lenny's father said. "You scared of the good Doctor?"

"Dealing with Basso is bad enough," the man in black said as he looked down at his watch. "He's expecting me and I'm late as it is. We both know what happens if delivery is not on time."

The two exchanged a few more foreign words.

"Ayla, what does this have to do with the dolphins?" Aslyn asked.

"I don't know, just keep recording."

"Basso. Basso!"

"Shhh! Pico!"

"What was that?" the man in black said, as his head swiveled toward the sound. All three children suddenly reconsidered the wisdom of allowing Pico to tag along.

"Ahhh, it's just some seabirds," Lenny's father said, as several Shearwaters raced overhead. "You've been too long at sea, my friend. You're starting to lose your nerve. Now you tell the Doctor what I said, or I'll have more than words for you the next time. You hear me?"

The children watched as the clandestine affair broke up and both men headed to their respective corners of the approaching night.

As Aslyn panned the iPod, following the man back into the boat, all they could see now was the outline of the dark vessel against the twilight sky.

As the man climbed aboard they heard him shout some obscene orders to his crew. And then, there was something else.

They began to hear strange sounds coming from deep within the hull. None of the three had the stomach to guess what those sounds could be, but even more disturbing was the silhouette they could see mounted on the bow.

"What is that?" Aslyn asked. "The camera can't pick it up. There's not enough light."

As Ayla focused her eyes, she couldn't quite make out the silhouette, but the white letters painted on the bow were easy enough to read.

The Dragon? she thought. The boat in my dream was The Hawk.

Before Ayla could say anything, they all heard the man yell once more.

"Untie the lines! We still need ten more or Basso will have my head."

Ten more? Ayla thought. Ten more what?

Suddenly, Ayla had a bad feeling about this, as images from her dreams came flooding back with a vengeance.

As the rumble of the diesel engines roared to life, Ayla's mind continued spinning.

Could it be...? she wondered. Is this what my dreams have been trying to tell me?

"What do we do now?" Aslyn asked.

All eyes turned to Ayla.

The harder she thought, the more confusing it all seemed.

What are we supposed to do?

Her mind continued to spin with images of sea turtles trapped in nets and mysterious weapons lashing out into the abyss.

"Dolphins. Dolphins!"

"Pico!" Aslyn was just starting to shush the bird again when the boy's eyes grew wide.

As Ayla and Kaleo watched his face twist in surprise, they spun around just in time to see the three familiar silhouettes break the surface of the water.

There was a quick burst of sound emanating from Delphina.

Suddenly, Ayla's mind was filled with images.

The knife.

The net.

The sea turtle?

The harder and harder she thought, the more the images just melded into one another.

The colors became so abstract that she wasn't sure what were her thoughts and what was coming from the mind of the dolphin.

Just when she thought her brain would surely burst from all the pressure building from within, she heard a voice.

Do not think, Ayla. Let go of your mind and open your heart.

As Ayla looked at the dolphins then at the departing boat racing into the distance, she calmed her mind and opened her senses.

As her eyes scanned the horizon, she saw them.

Two glowing silhouettes floating just above the water.

The Man and the Woman!

With mind open, she spun back to Delphina.

This time all the confusing images morphed into one crystalline picture in her mind's eye.

Of course! Ayla thought.

"Let's go!" she said, slipping off the edge of the dock and into the cool water. "Grab on!"

"On a mission. On a mission!"

### TWENTY FIVE

"Ready... Aim... FIRE!"

As the titanium net came hurtling out of the catapult mounted on the bow of the Dragon, its twenty foot radius enclosed around its target, rendering its victim helpless.

"That's one!"

"Sir, two more spotted off the port bow!"

"Well, what are you standing there for? Reload!"

"But, Sir?" the first mate asked. "You want us to leave this one?"

"No you fool! He's not going anywhere. We'll come back for him."

"Yes, Sir! Loading up on target two now!"

Before they knew it, the three were zipping through the water, holding on to the dorsal fins, with Pico flying just overhead.

"Whoa!" Kaleo cried out, being pulled through the water at high speed. As Ayla looked at the boy, she remembered that this was his first time.

The first time he was conscious anyway.

"Just hold on, Kaleo!" she called out over the sea spray.

"Hold on. Hold on!"

As Ayla and Delphina led the charge through the saltwater, the boys could only hold on and squint against the sea spray assaulting their eyes.

Neither of them had any idea where they were going, but the dolphins seemed to know. Aslyn gulped down hard as he realized their dolphin guides were leading them further and further out to sea. Further from shore and closer to the pirate ship in the distance.

"Ayla... what... where...?" But there wasn't many words that got out between the water and the wind, rushing through them at odd angles.

For Kaleo, this was an indescribable whirlwind, riding on the back of a Bottlenose dolphin.

"On a mission. On a mission!"

Looking up and seeing their feathered lookout, flying in formation above the six torpedoes in the water, Aslyn had a strange feeling about all of this.

Ayla was still well ahead of the boys, streaming through the water with Delphina as if she were born for this. The two made a perfect partnership, gliding through the liquid with ease. A far cry from the progress Aslyn and Kaleo were making. They looked more like bobbers being drug through the surf.

Suddenly, Ayla and Delphina stopped cold in their watery tracks.

As the boys caught up to the girls, Kaleo asked, "What is it, Ayla?"

"The dolphins..." she began. "Wait, hold on!"

Kaleo watched as Ayla reached her hand forward and placed it gently on the top of Delphina's melon just in front of the dolphin's blowhole.

"No! Are you sure?" she asked, with eyes half closed.

The boys watched as Ayla's eyes scanned to the right.

"Oh my God! Over there?"

She seemed to ask this question to the wind. But she must have got her answer. For at that moment, Delphina and Ayla were off again, heading in the new direction.

"Ayla!" Aslyn called out, but that was all he could get out, as his mouth shut just in time. Like missiles streaking toward their target, the two boys and two male dolphins shot through the water, trying to keep up with their female leaders.

When Delphina finally came to a stop, Ayla's heart sank to the bottom of the ocean.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Santo!"

The old sea turtle was completely entangled in a massive net. As Ayla looked closer, she gasped in horror as she realized how bad it was.

Without thinking, she immediately set about untangling the elder turtle.

"Whoa!" Aslyn said, as he and Kaleo arrived on the scene, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the ensnared turtle.

Ayla already had Grandpa Kali's knife in hand, slicing away.

But no matter how hard she tore at the strands, she wasn't making any progress with the titanium net. This new technology was designed to capture and not let go.

"Here... Ayla, let me try!" Kaleo slipped off the dolphin and into the water, his fishing knife already in hand.

Kaleo noticed that the netting had small, reflective floats woven into its matrix. In all his years of fishing, Kaleo had never seen anything like this net before, but one look told him what its purpose was.

"This is not good!" the boy said. "Look you guys."

In the distance, they saw a puff of smoke then heard a loud noise erupting from the pirate ship.

Ayla tore her eyes away from the net in time to look up and see the weapon firing.

"What is that thing?"

"It's some sort of hi-tech net thrower!" Aslyn said, pointing to the boat in the west.

At that moment, Ayla felt a shudder of fear stream through the water.

The dolphins responded as Dorsi, Delphina and Kai Leo began sounding off distress signals of their own. Images flashed through the liquid too fast for Ayla's brain to process. But she understood one thing.

"They got another one!" she said. "This was all in my dream!"

"Your dream?"

"Yeah... I told you I—"

But suddenly, the sea turtle started bucking and twisting in the net. Within moments, three of the titanium strands had wound their way around his neck and had pinned his right flipper to his enormous shell, making it almost impossible for him to surface for breath. In his panic, Santo would not stop thrashing.

After three failed attempts with the knife, Ayla had no choice but to surface for another breath.

"It's no use! He won't stay still. He's scared. And the dolphins!" she cried, looking at the three, swimming in quick circles of their own. "They keep flashing images of something else... a Mother and Child!"

Ayla looked back at Santo.

The turtle's neck and left flipper were being strangled in a metallic choke hold.

As she dipped beneath the water again, all she could feel were waves of panic streaming through the liquid from all sides of the ocean.

Santo was still thrashing about trying to breathe.

This only made the tangle pull all the tighter.

"It's not cutting!" Kaleo yelled, as his face kept dipping above and beneath the surface.

The light was almost gone now.

Soon, there would be only darkness.

Even the moon wouldn't come to their rescue for another three hours.

But finally, it was Kaleo who made sense.

"Ayla... speak to him!" the boy said. "Tell him what you're doing."

Right... she thought. Of course!

Without another word she slipped beneath the surface once again.

As her eyes slowly adjusted, she drifted quietly toward the trapped turtle, this elder who had seen almost seventy years in these waters.

As she neared him this time, Ayla let her thoughts go still and focused on one message.

Gentle... gentle... she sent out through the water. We're here to help!

She watched as the turtle's thrashing slowed, then finally halted all together. And then, there was a moment that Ayla would never forget.

Santo opened his eyes, turned toward the young girl and said... Please! Save them!

Ayla's heart caught somewhere deep inside her chest. She didn't know what to do, as she received the message loud and clear.

Mother... Child!

They were in trouble, too.

Trapped by the same marauders of the sea.

As Ayla's head leapt out of the water and peered into the distance, she could see the lights of the boat. She could feel the panic streaking through the water.

Turning back to Santo, she said, I have to help you first. Stay still!

Ayla watched as the old master nodded his prehistoric head, then closed his eyes to his fate.

### TWENTY SIX

"Captain, thirty minutes until rendezvous with The Dark Dragon," Santo said.

"Yes! I see them out there scurrying about to make their deadline."

"And Captain..."

"What! What is it?" Basso shouted.

"Sir, if the Dragon is to make their full quota—"

"They better!" the captain spat. "Or so help them! They do not want to see the wrath of Basso!"

"Yes, Sir. So, if they are to fulfill their quota... we might have some holding tank issues."

Santo knew it was no use, but he had to bring it up.

They were already well past their capacity, but the greed of the captain seemed to have no end.

"They will fit!" Basso shouted. "As long as they have enough room to stay wet, I do not see a problem!"

"Yes, Sir," Santo said, his heart and stomach sinking deeper and deeper.

Come on, Ayla! she commanded. You can do this!

On point, her senses went numb opening to everything surrounding them in this murky abyss.

Yes... open your mind!

And suddenly, Ayla saw it all.

She heard it all.

She felt it all.

Everything that her dreams had been saying.

Everything that the dolphins had been speaking.

Everything that was anything in this one moment in time.

"I know what to do!" she said.

"Wait, Ayla!"

But she was already gone.

Underneath the surface once again, Ayla could see it all clearly.

Three strands around his left flipper.

Three strands around his neck.

Suddenly, Aslyn and Kaleo saw a bright spot light from the boat scanning across the surface of the water until finally stopping on its target.

"Hurry! They're heading for another turtle!"

As Ayla looked up at the boat, it was all she could do to concentrate back on Santo's net.

Then a strange mechanical sound made her look back at the boat again. The sight of a big crane hoisting a little life form out of the ocean and into the air was enough to make anyone panic.

Ayla fought to keep her thoughts under control. She struggled to keep her emotions from spinning wildly through her body, as her adrenaline was reaching a fevered pitch.

As the crane hoisted the turtle higher into the air, Santo began thrashing all over again.

Please... you must stay calm! she called out to the elder sea turtle. But Ayla knew this was like asking an avalanche to stop.

She fought with her fingers.

She raced against the clock of death, as she pulled and pulled, then pushed and pushed the cord from around his neck, then began working on his flipper.

In the middle of all this chaos, Ayla heard a voice...

Believe! The voice came through the liquid loud and clear.

Believe! he repeated. Manapono!

And suddenly, Santo was free!

"Captain, ten minutes until delivery."

"Yes, yes!" Basso said. "That is if these dark Dragons can get their act together."

The entire crew of Basso's ship had been watching the smugglers scrounging around hastily, as they neared the rendezvous point.

All of a sudden, Santo saw a pod of dolphins in the distance.

Outside of his duty and job, he could truly embrace the beauty of the sight.

Don't say anything. Maybe he won't see them.

Watching the playful jumps and zips in the distance, Santo had a momentary escape from the life he was living. The life that was starting to feel more and more like a prison.

Christian Santo had a moment of feeling the exhilarating freedom of swimming unencumbered through the water and leaping in joy through the air. Sadly, this was one of the most serene and blissful experiences of his entire life.

But his brief escape was cut short by one word.

"There!"

### TWENTY SEVEN

"Pwaaah!"

As Ayla exhaled, she savored a moment of relief.

But when she saw the ancient turtle heading straight toward the ship, its crane swinging back for another catch, she knew they were in trouble.

She could see the truth.

In the dying light, she and the boys could just make out the unmistakeable silhouette of another sea turtle being hoisted up and into the boat.

"What do we do!" Aslyn cried out. "We can't let them get away with this. We have to do something!"

His words echoed the feelings of everyone in this unlikely group.

"Follow me. Follow me! Braaawck!"

"There!"

It was a rookie crew member who shouted, probably hoping for some sort of bonus. "Captain! I see a dolphin! Lots of dolphins!"

I knew it couldn't last, Santo thought, ripped back to his dismal reality.

"Ah! Yes!" Basso said. Something beyond greed flashed behind those eyes. "Well, we do have a few moments, seeing the pace that the Dragon is going. Let's try our new sonic toy again, shall we?"

Santo knew that their new weapon was capable of many things. And of those many things, only a few had yet been tried. But of those few tried, they were very successful and very accurate.

In theory, this underwater sonic weapon would send out a piercing blast of sound undetected by humans. But for marine mammals it was capable of stunning them long enough to catch them.

"Yes," Basso smiled. "Let's send a little sonic message out through the water, shall we? I might just get my million dollar baby yet!"

### TWENTY EIGHT

Pico led the charge over the open ocean.

None of the children could have imagined that this is what they would be doing when they woke up this morning.

The sight of three dolphins, three children and one brightly colored macaw streaking after a foreign pirate ship in the middle of the ocean was a first in the long line of maritime history.

But history or not, it was all going down. And going down fast!

As they pulled within a hundred yards of the ship, none of the children knew exactly what they were going to do once they got there.

But Ayla knew one thing...

We have to do something!

Just then, the boat slowed and positioned itself for its next pickup. This gave the children the chance they needed.

"Grab on that ladder," Aslyn said, as they pulled silently up to the hull. "We gotta get up there!"

"But we gotta be quiet!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Pico.

The parrot just stood there, perched on the railing, not saying a word.

Ayla reached out and took hold of the first rung and began climbing up onto the ship.

The cold metal felt evil to the touch, but she pushed through the pain and the slippery surface, followed closely by Aslyn and Kaleo.

When she made it up on deck, Ayla got a surprise she was not expecting.

There's... hundreds of them!

Ayla saw cages upon cages stacked on top of one another.

And it wasn't just turtles.

Those are birds!

As she looked closer, she realized that turtles and birds were just the beginning.

Exotic animals of all shapes and colors peered out from behind their metal prisons.

These aren't from Hawai'i, she thought, as she saw iguanas, snakes and other strange amphibians and reptiles.

But it was the tell tale sign from the next cage that made Ayla pause.

"You guys..." she whispered to Aslyn and Kaleo. "That's a monkey!"

All three sets of eyes scanned the deck, taking in the dark reality they had just stepped into.

"Look! There they are!" Kaleo said, pointing to a tank that held nine sea turtles.

"Come on!" Ayla whispered, leading them on.

Up to this point, the children hadn't seen any of the smugglers, but they could hear gruff voices coming from the bow of the ship.

Without a moment to lose, the three crept over to the holding tank and set about freeing the turtles.

But on Aslyn's first try, he quickly realized that this was not going to be so easy.

"They're huge!" he whispered. "I can barely lift this one!"

"There's the baby!" Ayla cried, pointing to the smallest one in the tank.

She grabbed the little turtle's shell and hefted him up with all of her might. For a moment, she held the baby in front of her and looked into his eyes.

Don't be scared! We're here to help you.

With that, she tossed him gently overboard.

Splash!

"Hey! What was that?"

The sound of the turtle hitting the water caught the attention of the men on the front of ship.

"Ayla!" Aslyn whispered as loudly as he could. "Quick, hide!"

Ayla dove behind a stack of cages just as two sets of black boots came stomping by. Flashlight beams started playing off the metal of the cages.

"You locked these cages, right?" one man said.

"Of course. I'm not an idiot!"

"Ha! You better not be. You know what happens if we lose one!" the pirate replied.

"Ahh," grunted the big one. "It was nothing. Come on, we only have one more to pick up. And Basso will be here in fifteen minutes."

All three children breathed a sigh of relief as the men in black stomped back to the front of the ship.

"What do we do now?" Aslyn asked. "We can't possibly get all of those turtles out of the tank."

"Aslyn," Ayla began, "You and Kaleo keep working on the turtles. With both of your strength, you can lift them enough to get them over the lip. I'm going to work on those other cages," she said, eyeing the monkey again.

Neither Kaleo nor Aslyn had time to say anything. Ayla was already gone around the corner and into the maze of cages.

A quick peek over the edge down to the water told her that Delphina, Kai and Dorsi were following just behind the ship in the shadows of the wake.

Thank you, she sent to them.

Yes, Ayla, came the reply. We are here.

Turning her attention back to the multitude of metal prisons stacked upon each other, she knew that this went far beyond sea turtles.

Oh my God! There's so many of them!

Flashing back to her dreams, it was all continuing to make sense.

The nets.

The turtles.

The weapon.

Father, Mother... Child, she thought.

Ayla felt an overwhelming flood of fear washing over her from every direction.

Everywhere she looked, she was met with a pair of pleading eyes looking back at her through the metal bars.

They're so scared!

She could feel each and every one of the trembling bodies.

There was only one thing she could think to do at that moment.

She began unlocking and opening cages as fast as she could.

Just then, a flash of color caught her eye.

Startled, she looked up and was relieved to see Pico arriving on the scene.

Instantly, he went to work on the cages that were holding other birds.

Seeing Pico's agile use of his beak, Ayla was all the more impressed by her friend.

Splash!

Ayla froze for a moment, relieved that the splash meant another turtle was free, but waiting to see if the sound had blown their cover.

Hearing the muddled conversations from the bow of the ship, she knew they were still safe.

Good Ayla! she heard from the dolphins, still following closely behind.

She looked over and saw Pico unlatching more cages and was relieved that he seemed to understand the need for stealth.

Basso had killed, captured and sold many lifeforms in his years on the seas, but he was always on the look out for his elusive million dollar baby.

Armed with this new weapon and seeing a pod close by, the captain just couldn't help himself.

"Is the weapon ready?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. Just awaiting your order."

"I'll do the honors myself," Basso said.

With his fat finger hovering just above the red button, sixty years of greed culminated into one putrid stew in his soul and it all came down to a little push of a tiny red button.

"FIRE!"

### TWENTY NINE

ZWHAAAAAAAMMM!!!

All of a sudden, Ayla grabbed her ears in pain as an ear splitting sonic blast ripped through her entire being.

Whoa! What was that?

When she caught her breath and opened her eyes, she peeked around the corner and saw Aslyn still going about the mission as if he hadn't heard anything, but Kaleo's eyes were pinned on hers.

Ayla swore she could hear Kaleo's voice in her head.

What was that?

Delphina? Kai? she called out to the dolphins.

But there was no response. Just silence.

Ayla heard one of the men up front say, "Okay, this is the last one. Rendezvous in five minutes and we can finally unload all these stinking animals and get our money."

We've got to hurry! she thought. Only five more minutes!

Ayla managed to open up seven more cages while the pirates were picking up their final catch.

With time just about out and several more cages still to go, Ayla saw the approaching lights of a huge ship heading toward them.

That must be the ship that's going to take the animals!

"Wait! Hold on boys!" she heard one of the men say. "I think we might have one last prize to pick up."

"But we got our turtle count, boss," another said.

"I'm not talking about a turtle. This one should make old Basso very happy!"

Just then, Ayla heard the mechanized sound of the crane reaching out for one more pick up.

She crept from cage to cage trying for a better look.

As she peered over the edge of the pirate ship, she could hear the motorized sound of the winch and see the cable lifting.

As it continued to rise, the encapsulated body of its latest victim came into view.

Ayla's heart stopped.

Her stomach dropped, as the rising net gave her a full view of its latest catch.

"Oh my God!" Ayla exclaimed. "No!"

### THIRTY

There it was, right before her eyes.

The unmistakable form of a baby dolphin thrashing in mid-air. It was screaming and struggling as the metal crane lifted it up and out of the water.

"No!" Ayla screamed again, unable to hold it in.

"Hey! What was that?" came a voice from the bow of the ship.

Ayla froze. Her eyes looked back toward Kaleo and Aslyn. They were statues, too.

"It came from the back, by the cages," another voice shouted over the crane. "You two go check it out!"

Ayla shot a panicked look at the boys, then looked over the side of the boat, but there was no sign of the dolphins.

"Braaawck!"

Ayla looked at her friend.

Pico held the strangest look in his eyes.

She heard heavy boots approaching.

"I know I heard something this time," one of the men said.

What do we do? she thought.

The footsteps grew louder, then two bright beams of light began scouring the back of the ship.

"Where are you?" one of the men said. "I know I heard you."

They were so close now that Ayla could smell their foul stench.

Holding her breath, not moving a muscle, she watched the flashlights sweep across the deck.

She shot a panicked look at Pico.

The bird looked back at the girl and the two of them held each other's gaze for a moment.

"Promise. Pico's promise!"

Pico! Ayla couldn't believe it.

"Braaawck! Pirates. Pirates!"

Suddenly the bird lifted into the air. He began squawking and flapping his wings, drawing the attention of the boots and the flashlights.

No! Ayla thought. Pico, No!

But it was too late.

"There it is!"

Ayla watched as Pico took center stage under the spotlights.

Amidst the colorful distraction, Aslyn and Kaleo had crept over to her side and all three looked up helplessly at their friend hovering above the deck.

"What is that bird-brain doing?" Aslyn whispered.

For a second, the crane came to a stop and the ship's attention focused on the parrot. Ayla could see the baby dolphin swaying back and forth, suspended high above the water.

"Pirates. Pirates!"

Pico flew toward the front, flapping his colorful wings and drawing the men's attention away from the children and the open cages.

"Whoa," Aslyn realized. "Maybe he's not so dumb after all."

"Ah, it's just a parrot," said one of the men. "He must have gotten out. I thought you said you locked the cages, Ting! Go get him and put him back."

Everyone watched as Pico landed on the railing closer to the bow.

Pico looked up at the dolphin then back at the approaching man.

"Nice birdie... nice birdie. Hold still," the pirate said as he crept toward the bird. "Hold still now."

The Pirate lunged forward, but Pico lifted off the railing just in time.

"Braaawck! Too slow! Too slow!" he said, taunting the man.

"Ahh, stupid bird!"

Laughter rang down from above.

"That bird is smarter than you, Ting!"

More laughter followed.

"Shut up, Wang!"

"Smart bird. Smart bird!"

The man made another lunge for Pico, but this time his boots gave way on the slippery deck and Ting went down hard on all fours.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Derisive laughter rained down upon him once again.

"Hurry up you fool!" Wang shouted from above. "Basso's almost here!"

The children looked over the water and saw the lights of an approaching ship.

"That thing is huge!" Aslyn whispered.

"Hurry up. Fool! Hurry up. Fool! Braaawck."

That was the final insult.

"You stupid bird!" Ting growled, reaching for his holster. "I'll show you. No one makes a fool out of Ting!"

SHICK - SHICKK!

BANGGG!

Pico lifted into the air just before the gun went off.

"Too slow! Too slow!"

BANGGG!

The second shot went wide to the left and the men kept laughing and insulting their comrade in arms. Some of them even started cheering for the bird.

"Made you miss. Made you miss!"

Ting's anger and frustration hit the boiling point and Ayla could see his eyes narrow upon his target.

BANGGG!

"Braaaw—"

All Ayla could see were colorful feathers raining down from above.

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

END

OF

BOOK TWO

Find out what happens to Pico

and the Baby Dolphin!

Download a Free Sample of Book 3

Now on the Smashwords

### FINAL VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### AYLA'S NEXT ADVENTURE

AYLA SPEAKS

TO

DOLPHINS

~ BOOK 3 ~

PICO'S PROMISE

###

Download a Free Sample of Book 3

Now on Smashwords

### AUTHOR'S NOTE

To Our Dear Readers,

Mahalo Nui Loa... Thank you for joining us on Ayla's second adventure. It is a continuing honor to share these stories with you... the second of many adventures to come!

You may be wondering...

Did Pico's sacrifice cost him his life?

What will happen to Ayla, Aslyn and Kaleo?

What fate awaits the baby dolphin?

And who, if anyone, can stop Basso?

Be sure to tune in next time...

Mahalo, Mahalo and ALOHA,

SEALOVE

P.S. Thank you for being a loyal reader. Ayla would like to send you a special gift to say Mahalo

### ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Sealove comprises two soul mates who live and write in Hawai'i. When they are not writing or composing, they are often traveling, exploring and caring for the land and sea of this beautiful planet we call home.

Sealove believes that dreams are the most important thing in life. Inspired by writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling and George Lucas, Sealove believes that the power of stories can change the course of human history.

Sealove has dedicated their lives to bringing the ancient art of storytelling to a new digital generation, inspiring children both young and old to live their dreams and share them with the world.

If you would like to receive an automatic email when Ayla's next book is released, CLICK HERE. Your email address will never be shared as we respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Word of mouth is important for Ayla! If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review. Even if it's only a line or two, it would make all the difference to Ayla and the Dolphins and would be very much appreciated. Mahalo, Mahalo and Aloha from Hawai'i!

~ Smashwords Review

~ Goodreads Review

### CONNECT WITH AYLA

Please Say Hello... and Aloha!

AYLA and SEALOVE would love if you said Hello and would be happy to send YOU a personal reply.

~ Email Ayla & Email Sealove

~ Like Ayla & Like Sealove

~ Follow Ayla & Follow Sealove

### ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to thank all of the children... all of our friends and family who have inspired us over the years, including the best parts of these characters and the many adventures of Ayla and the dolphins. It's you who remind us to continue to share great stories for future generations to come!

For the Children...

Maya, Elan, Brooke, Ryelee, Ross, Ryan, Maya, Orion, Isis, Abe, Kalina, Bodhi, Shia, Mila, Teva, Farli, Ian, Taya, Jeremiah, Christian, Dylan, Alex, Silver, Kiara, Julia, Lauren, Josh, Isabella, Jean-Marc, Santiago, Maria, Wilson, Samuel, Kanyon, Stefan, Elise, Mark, Brooke, Klover, Jake, Naja, Lucas, Joey, Kerry Lynn, Ivan, Chester, Kula, Paul René, Isaac, Rachael, Catlyn, Lina, Emma, Yvonne, Gabriella, Trevor, Brady, Chase, Westin, Caleb, Luke, Jackson, Dakota, Erin, Alaya, Tanner, Chloe, Koa, Zen, Zion, Kaya, Gabriella, Rachel, Grace, Lahella, Kamaile, Amber, Oliver, Finn, Deleyna, Aiden, Melaina, Conner, Alyssa, Payton, Kennedy, Natalie, Nicolas, Bella, Sebastian, Madeleine, Sophia, James, Roger, India, Sandi, Amie, Holly, Ronnie, Annie, Leilala, Ainalani, Cody, Caden, Josh, Drew, Kekoa, Tamar, Ayelet, Ikaika, Jenaé, 'Ale'alekai, Juniper, Paul, Christine, Steven, Daniel, Sun, Todd, Burt, Devin, Tierra, Lilly, Talia, Alita, Baba, Robyn, Paul, Jill, Forrest, Michael, Thalyn, Laka, Mikael, Elijah, Amber, Orus, Surama, Cristina, Oliver, Candice, Ra, Danny, Elsa, Bibi, Andrea, Kisa, Iris, Eli, Kanoe, Kapono, Collen, Todd, Will, Joele, Ben, Gabe, Kylee, Baylee, Kyle, Sarah, Bailey, Ty, Benj, Solan, John, Benicio, Scout, Leah, Andrea, Marit, J-Dub, Rick, Jeffi, Jordan, Jaden, Wyeth, Giuseppe, Gian-Rocco, Isabel, Miriam, Marika, Alessia, Pierre-Paulo, Nadia, Sveva, Federico, Marco, Andrea, Luigi, Cenzo, Fede, Tiziano, Beatrice, Cinzia, Monica, Ronald, Ryan, Jamie, Krystal, Robert, Noah, Norma, Tatra, Rebecca, Aaron, Wren, Holly, Heather, Jonathan, Rebekah, Daniel, Thomas, Samuel, Benjamin, Alesis, Stephen, Gian, Su, Jeremy, Easten, Marie, Ku'uipo, Mario, Thaddeus, Evan, Hannah, Daniella, Jordan, Eve, Elijah, John, Malia, Michael, Sasha, Jaz, Zak, Miles, Abel, Ani, McKenna, Dylan, Charlie, Harry, Reid, Erin, Eve, James, Jeff, Gary, Erik, Johnny, Franck, Caden, Lily, Cleo, Ava, Miles, Ruby, Ezra, Madison, Andy, Sarah, Coulson, Riley, Coulter, Scotty, John, Titan, Selby, Rio, Ellar, Madelena, Patrick, Jasper, Melanie, Nic, Zoe, Mari, Amelia, Megan, Erin, Katie, Jason, Nola, Robin, Elias, Ryan, Andrew, Kawai, Lori, Sheri, Joe, Jimmy, Jack, Drew, Mike, Linda, Christie, Dom, George, Cam, Alexandria and the Micro-Mix....

And Their Parents

and

Grandparents too...

James & Anita, Charles & Debbie, Matt & Crimson, Gary & Bebe, Jim & Shaaron, Dan & Lynne, Jeff & Susanna, Captain Paul, Rob & Suzanne, Doug & Leah, Phil & Ashley, Luca & Ginevra, Gaia & Savi, Mo & Paul, Grey & Anya, Bob & Maria, Ralph & Sally, Dave & Carolyn, Dean & Melanie, Louis, Roko, Steve & Patritia, Willie, Tina B, Tui, Harvey & Phyllis, Mark & D'Ann, John & Amber, Donna, Keith & Robin, Jon, John & Erin, Joe & Almira, Scott & Meghan, Jordan & Shira, Ryan & Mindy, Adrya, Lisa, Anita, Angela, Paul & Linda, Jeff & Jennifer, Cary & Wendy, Nancy & Vince, Carol & Joe, Jeff & Chie, Judy, Ovram, Sasha, Craig & Veronica, Erika & Shawn, Fran, Jim, Kris, Cherie, Rick & Raquel, Ruben & Sakunie, Kenny & Janet, Jerry & Cheryl, Jody, Leslie, Jason & Julie, Tom & Elizabeth, Davey & Dawn, James & Kathleen, Jeff & Angela, Norm, Bernard, Dennis & Harriet, Ruby, Jerry & Roz, O'Neil & Nan, Tim & Janet, Allison & Pete, Jason & Victoria, Jessie, Tony & Judy, Steve & Laura, Marc & Ursula, Robb & Rachel, Rocco & Maria, Leo, Marisa, Michele & Marilina, Mario & Pina, Saverio & Teresa, Emilio & Lizzi, Eliseo & Vittoria, Nonna, Nonno, John & Sheila, Joe & Barb, Karen, Karin, Gian Carlo, Sid & Nancy, Dane & Jai, Ben & Sylvia, Steven & Patritia, Rod, Jennifer, Ernie, Jack, Dick, Paul & Ellice, Gail, Ken, Robert, Kate, Sheila, Dale, David, Roland, Pamela, Ken & Jan, Jim & Megan, Dan & Skylar, Kaia, Goran, Tara & Philly, Amber, Bernard & Dori, Andre & Steffi, Chad & Wendy, Wayne & Darlene, Juny & Theresa, Les & Donna, Michael, Rodney & Dotty, Keith & Gail, Sandy & Bill, Judy, Mo & Donna, Phil, Sid, Spencer, Jojo & Debbie, John & June, Al & Theresa, June, Helen, Malik & Monika, Melody, Vito, Maka'ala, Makanani, Nai'a, Tommy & Sonia, Mark & Dawn, Gerald, Brack, Jan, Andy & Sarah, Patti & Justin, John & Shannon, Jeff, Will, Shel & Del, David, Scott & Chantal, Easdon, Gail, John & Jan, Jim & Diane, Ray & Judy, Roy & Diane, Phillip & Wendy, Scott & Elissa, Luke & Steph, Wyatt & Lisa, Karl, Susan, Harrel, Rod, D, Bruce & Carolyn, Rick & Gerry, Alan, Jim & Pat, Michael & Elizabeth, Chris & Brenda, Tamara, Rik & Svetlana, Mark, Trudy, Kurt & Nicole, Christar, Joe, Wayne & Heidi, Gordon & Lisa, Mike & Lacy, Steve & Laurene, Jony & Heather, Paul & Ali, David & Morleigh, Adam, Larry, Paul, Henry & Heidi, Willie & Annie, Jack & Kim, Barry & Michelle, George, Steven, John, Butch & Nance, Stan & Kate, Mike & MJ, Phyllis, Mark, Knikki, Dave & Pam, Randy & Debbie, Teri, Heidi, Aldo, Br. Edmond, Albert, Colbert, Jim, Bert, Ed, Gian, Luigi, Tim, Beth, Audrey & Paul, Eric & Mary Ann, Bryan & Michelle, Jesse & Ariel, Mike & Merry, Ken & Nancy, Rob & Jane, AJ, Linda, Mike & Lacey, Holly, Dean & Ann, Gaylene & Ken, Rhonda & Dan, James & Barb, Ray, Kerry & Cary, Lou & Nancy, Ken & Laura, Steve & Bev, Rose & Joe, Joe & Judy, Larry & Jane, Jimmy & Peg, Rose Frances & Steve, Rob & Julia, Richard & Diane, Gary & Debbie, Blaine & Sandy, Mike & Marty, Pat, Jana, Alex & Anne, Paul & Amy, Tom & Heidi, Dan, Grace, Alyce & Dave, Don & Nan, Jaka & Thea, Josh & Laura, Ethan & Amber, Dave & Claire, Lata, Toni & Dave, Bob & Leslie, Mary & Amadeo, Gigi & Bud, Mema & Papa, Grandma & Grandpa...

And many, many more...

### SPECIAL THANKS

We wish to extend a special thank you to the Wordsmiths, Cultural Experts, Artistic Visionaries and Ambassadors of Aloha that have collaborated with us on these stories. We are so grateful for your time and care. Your passion, dedication and insights have been instrumental in making these stories come to life!

The Maestros in our Lives...

Anita, Debbie, James, Charles, Kali, Bebe, Captain Paul, Orion, Maya, Elan, Matt, Crimson, Silver, Dylan, J.T. Mathis, Sophia, Mary, Mark, Jake, Willie, Dan, Lynne, Suzanne, Brooke, Farli, Taya, Ian, John, Kalina, Phil, Ashley, Kyle, Sarah, Perry A., Donna, Dave, Jeff, Susanna, Jim, Shaaron, Kerry Lynn, Luke Naea, Tui Allen, Jean Auel, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, Sol Stein, Kaye Manning, John Neilson, Elsa Flores, Mikki-MU, +Elijah- and the Band of Light, J-Brave and the Luminaries, Ron Saya, Shanti, Lani, Todd Calfin, Maka'ala, Ikaika, Luke Naea, Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert, Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole, Rev. Dennis Kamakahi, The Anini 'Ohana, Kula Bee Honey, The Kilauea Social Club, The Artisans at Lanikai Ukuleles, The Sweetwater Group, Le Famiglie di Barone, D'Agostino è Rufolo, The Dement Family, Bob, Carlos Santana, Quincy Jones, Victor Wooten, Brother Franti, The Living Clay Co., The Maestros at Skywalker Ranch, and finally, to Jony, Brandee, Colleen, Suzanne, Tim, Steve, Woz and the entire 'Ohana at Apple.

Mahalo, Mahalo

&

Aloha!

### MAP OF HAWAI'I

### HAWAIIAN GLOSSARY

A hui hou \- "See you later", literal translation - "until we are gathered again"

Ahi \- Hawaiian Tuna, especially the yellow fin

'Āina \- Land, earth

Akamai \- Smart, clever

Ali'i \- Royalty, chief, chiefess, king, queen, noble

Aloha \- Love, mercy, compassion; greeting; loved one; to love; to greet

Aloha 'oe ku'u ipo -"Goodbye my sweetheart"

Ānuenue \- Rainbow

A'ole Pilikia \- "No problem"

'Aumakua \- Family or personal spirit guide

'Āweoweo \- Various Hawaiian species of Priacanthus, red fish, sometimes called bigeye

Brah \- "Bro" or "Brother"

'Da Kine \- The good stuff; used as a catch all, equivalent to using "what do you call the thing" when the common word escapes you

E Komo Mai \- Welcome, be welcome here

Ea \- Life

Haole \- Foreign, foreigner , caucasian person

Hoaloha \- Friend. Beloved companion.

Holo \- To go fast, to run , sail, ride

Honu \- Hawaiian sea turtle

I ke kai... hāwanawana \- On the whispering sea

Ikaika \- Strong

'Iwa \- Frigatebird

Ka Pule a Ka Haku \- The Lord's Prayer

Kahiko \- Ancient, old

Kahuna \- Priest, minister, sorcerer, expert in any profession.

Kai \- Sea

Kamani \- Native Hawaiian hardwood tree used in calabash making; also known as the gathering tree

Kapa \- Cloth made from pounded fibers of the wauke bark

Kapu \- Sacred, forbidden

Ke Akua \- The Creator

Keiki \- Children

Koa \- Warrior, Hawaiian hardwood tree

Kōkua \- To help

Kole \- Type of fish reserved for royalty in Old Hawai'i, renown for its alluring eyes

Kolohe \- Rascal

Kukui nut \- Nut of the Kukui Tree, Candlenut Tree, the oily nut was burnt to provide light. Its edible nut is used as a condiment

Kuleana \- Responsibility

Kumulipo \- Hawaiian genealogy and creation chant

Leo \- Voice

Lilikoi \- Passion fruit

Lolo \- Crazy

Mahalo \- Thank you

Mahalo Nui Loa \- Thank you so very much

Mahina \- Moon

Maka'i \- Good, fine, well, excellent. (Maka'i no au \- I am good, fine well, excellent.)

Maile \- Native vine renown for its fragrance and used in ceremonial lei

Makai \- Toward the sea

Makana \- Gift

Mālama \- To care for

Mālama Pono \- Take proper care, stay in balance

Mana \- Divine power, supernatural power

Mana 'o \- Thought, idea, belief

Manini \- Common Hawaiian reef fish, convict tang

Mauka \- Toward the uplands

Mele \- Song, chant of any kind, poem; to sing, to chant

Menehune \- Legendary race of pre-Tahitian Hawaiians who worked at night building fishponds, roads and temples.

Moana \- Ocean

Monk Seal \- Endangered Hawaiian Seal

Mu'umu'u \- Traditional over-sized Hawaiian dress

Nai'a \- Dolphin

'Ohana \- Family

Ohia 'ai \- Mountain apple

'Ōlelo \- Language, speech

'Ono \- Delicious

Pehea 'oe \- "How are you?"

Pali \- Cliff

Papio \- Common Hawaiian reef fish, grows to become an Ulua

Pele \- Volcano Goddess

Pōhaku \- Rock, stone, mineral tablet

Pono \- Excellence, goodness, righteousness, balance

Po'o \- Head

Pueo \- Hawaiian owl

Shaka \- Hawaiian hand gesture for greeting

Shoots \- Hawaiian pidgin slang for "can do", emphatic yes

Taro \- Is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the Araceae family. Taro is native to South India and Southeast Asia and was one of the most important foods brought over to the Hawaiian Islands by the first Polynesian explorers in their canoes. Taro is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants.

Tūtū \- Hawaiian pidgin slang for Grandmother

Uka \- Uplands

'Ulu \- Breadfruit

Ulua \- Species of Jack or Pompano game fish, (see papio)

Wahine \- Girl, woman, female

### RATE AYLA

