

### AYLA SPEAKS

TO

DOLPHINS

~ BOOK 1 ~

DOLPHIN DREAMS

SEALOVE

### INTRO VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### PUBLISHER INFO

Text copyright © 2012 by Sealove

Illustrations & Cover copyright © 2012 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 978-0-9822194-3-0

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

First Edition, December 2012

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

"This place sucks!"

At least that's what this little girl from the big city thought, as she stared out at the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean.

"There's nothing to do here."

It had been less than two months since Ayla and her older brother, Aslyn, had moved from California to this seemingly deserted beach in Hawai'i.

Even though most of her friends thought that Ayla was the luckiest girl in the world to get to move to Hawai'i, it didn't matter. She still hated this place.

"Don't you hate being stuck in the middle of nowhere?"

"What are you talking about, Ayla?" Aslyn replied, lifting his eyes from the old fishing net in his hands. "This place is awesome!"

"Yeah, awesome for you!" she said, sneering down at her brother.

This secluded paradise was home to the James Bonds, George Clooneys, Julia Roberts and Han Solos of the world, not to mention a collection of ordinary people who were anything but ordinary.

Millions of people around the world have always dreamed of living on an island like this. But at this moment, to this little girl, it was just some desolate rock in the middle of some stupid ocean.

This smaller and lesser known of the Hawaiian Islands was not completely new to the two children. They used to spend an entire month here every summer amidst the sand, sea and coconut trees of their grandparent's home.

Aslyn was born in San Diego but Ayla was born here on the island. Together, with their mother and father, they all lived in Hawai'i for the first three years of Ayla's life before moving back to California.

Ayla always enjoyed visiting Grandpa Luke and Grandma Kate. But now that she was twelve and living here full time, her feelings about this little island had changed.

"Arrgh... I hate this place!"

She was shouting to no one in particular, though a little sand crab zipped back into his hole before he became dinner for the angry haole girl.

"Who are you yelling at?" Aslyn asked, lifting his eyes from the fishing net once more.

"Never mind," she said, and returned to kicking sand. "When are Mom and Dad coming home anyway?"

That was probably the toughest part.

Ayla's parents weren't here.

In fact, they were often gone for weeks at a time.

"Don't ask me," Aslyn said.

Leilani and Jordan were marine biologists.

They had long ago dedicated their lives to the preservation of the oceans. Even though it was hard on the family, Lei and Jordan were often away on their research boat, following the migration patterns of sea mammals all over the world. When they were offered this new job based out of Hawai'i, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

"This sucks! Why would they leave us out here in the middle of nowhere, while they go out exploring the world on that big boat?" she asked bitterly, as her thoughts trailed out over the ocean. "I'm almost a teenager! Why couldn't I go?"

Ayla wanted to be anywhere that Leilani was. And she hated being anywhere her mother wasn't.

"Come on, Ayla. I miss them, too!" said Aslyn. "Besides, you know they would have taken us if they could."

"Then why didn't they?" Ayla demanded.

"Beats me," Aslyn said, paying more attention to the smelly old fishing net than to his little sister. "All Dad said was that they might not make it back before school starts."

"But that's like a whole month away!"

"I don't know... that's just what he said, alright!" Aslyn was starting to lose his patience. "They'll get here when they get here! Besides, they're probably having a great time. Dad said they got to swim with the Humpbacks when they were on Maui last time! And they got to dive in the middle of a whole super-pod of Spinner Dolphins the time before that," Aslyn said, returning his attention back to the task at hand.

Great! Ayla thought.

It was a dream job for Jordan and Leilani. The opportunity to move back to her childhood home and have her children grow up on the island felt like a blessing to Leilani.

Even though Ayla was less than thrilled about her current situation, Grandma Kate loved having the grandchildren back home. And Grandpa Luke, 'The Duke', was ecstatic. He was always saying how important it was for the children, the keiki, to connect with their roots.

In the minds of the adults, this was a perfect situation. Even Aslyn seemed thrilled at the mere mention of moving back to the island. But none of that mattered to Ayla at the moment.

It's easier for boys, she thought.

Looking back down at her brother, sitting in the sand with that old fishing net in his hands, it was easy to see that Aslyn was taking to island life. He was always out exploring caves, climbing trees or finding new fishing holes with Grandpa Duke.

"Hey Ayla, can you hand me that knife?" he asked, eyes still focused on his task.

"Get it yourself," Ayla grumbled, as she moped off down the beach.

She took a few steps down the hot sand. Then suddenly, Ayla froze in her tracks as an enormous shadow blotted out the sun.

"Kaaawww!" came the shrieking call.

Ayla screamed, then dove into the water just as a six foot wingspan zipped over her head.

When the girl finally came up for air, sputtering out a mouth full of salt water and looking much paler than before, Ayla turned to see her brother laughing and rolling in the sand.

"It's just an 'Iwa, silly. He won't hurt you! Unless he thinks you smell like a fish!" Aslyn said, bursting into laughter all over again.

As the giant frigatebird drifted away into the distance, Ayla's scowl turned back on her brother.

"Shut up, stupid!"

She ran off down the beach with sea water dripping in her wake.

Yes... Ayla hated it here.

With eyes cast down and her head in the clouds, this little girl was oblivious to the tantalizing fragrances and lush beauty of this island paradise.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Caught up in her own misery, Ayla was missing one of the most magical sights in the entire world.

Out in the distance, three dolphins were leaping high into the air.

### TWO

As the days passed, Ayla still found little to do.

For Aslyn, it was a different story.

"Wow! That's awesome, Grandpa!" the boy exclaimed, as Grandpa Duke showed him the picture of a Swordfish he caught last summer.

Grandpa Duke had been teaching Aslyn all sorts of things about island life. How to open coconuts, how to find the juiciest mangos and how to spot the tastiest kinds of fish in the lagoon.

Ayla quickly grew tired of watching Grandma and Grandpa light up every time Aslyn brought home his latest treasure.

Noticing Ayla's latest look of disdain, Grandma Kate smiled at her granddaughter and said, "Don't worry Ayla, you'll find your way here soon."

Unfortunately for Ayla, it wouldn't be soon enough, because today was all about fishing.

Grandpa and Aslyn had finally finished the repairs to Duke's old fishing net. That morning, over a breakfast of papaya and pineapple french toast, Grandpa was going on and on about the 'moon being right' for fishing.

"You know Aslyn, fixing this old net brings back lots of memories," Grandpa said, with all 6 foot 4 inches of him beaming down at his grandson. "I think you're ready."

"Really?" Aslyn asked, leaping up from the table.

Grandpa just nodded and smiled over at Grandma Kate.

"Hey Ayla, wanna come watch?" Aslyn asked.

With eyes fixed on her papaya, Ayla didn't even look up.

"No thanks," she said. "Fishing's not really my thing."

"Come on Ayla, it'll be fun! Besides, you really need to get out of the house. Look where we live!"

"Yeah, it's nice and all, if you like fishing!" she said. "There's not even a decent mall on the whole island! Don't you miss your old friends? And what about the swim team? You used to love going to the pool."

"Sure, the swim team was great, but look outside. There's an entire ocean out there just waiting to be explored. I'll take that any day over doing laps in a chlorinated pool with Coach Dooley yelling at me every five seconds."

That got a little smile from Ayla, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Come on," Aslyn said. "Just come out with us for a little bit. You don't have to fish, you could collect shells or something."

"Fine, whatever..." Ayla said, finally giving in to her brother. But as she looked down at her favorite pair of jeans, she added, "Just don't get any of your smelly fish on me!"

Grandpa chuckled and the three walked out the lanai door and down to the water's edge. As they walked, Duke began explaining the finer details about timing and technique, which meant nothing to Ayla. With little to do, she just sat down on the sand, put her headphones on and stared out across the open ocean.

Why me? she thought, as she hit play.

She went from Coldplay to One Republic to Michael Franti to U2, but none of them could mask out the sound of Aslyn and Grandpa. They kept bursting out into laughter every time Aslyn tossed the old net into the lagoon.

"You almost got it," Duke said. "Just lift your arms a little higher next time."

Looking over, Ayla watched one of her brother's failed attempts and let out a little chuckle of her own.

I guess fishing is harder than I thought.

All of a sudden, Ayla felt a dark shadow streak overhead.

She ducked quickly this time, with eyes darting in every direction.

Just when she thought she was safe, Ayla caught a flash of red fire as it disappeared into the green jungle behind her.

Her eyes scanned the tree line, but she couldn't make out anything through the thick canopy of Kamani and Coconut trees lining the beach.

Then she saw it again.

This time, Ayla was sure.

### THREE

Ayla got up to get a closer look.

As she pushed past the first row of trees, the light suddenly changed. It was spooky inside of the thick foliage. As she looked up, Ayla saw the tallest boughs forming a natural cathedral. Gigantic green vines reached almost all the way up to the tops of the ancient trees.

Just then, she heard a rustling in the leaves behind her.

"What the..." she said, looking up. "Is that a...?"

"Braaawck!"

Sitting on an upper branch and staring down at her, was a fiery ball of feathers, draped in reds, yellows and blues.

"A parrot!" Ayla exclaimed.

"Braaawck!"

"Where did you come from?" she asked. "I didn't know there were parrots in Hawai'i!"

Even more surprising, was what she heard next.

"Pico... Pico!"

"Whoa! You can talk?"

"Piiico!"

"Pico?" she asked. "Is that your name?"

"Pico... Piiico!" the bird replied, bobbing his head up and down.

"Well, aloha Pico! I'm Ayla! Aaayla!"

"Aaayla!" the parrot repeated.

"That's right, Ayla. You're a smart bird!"

"Smart bird. Smart bird!" replied the parrot.

Ayla couldn't help but giggle at the cute macaw.

"I can't believe I'm having a conversation with a parrot. I must be getting desperate."

"Desperate. Braaawck!"

Ayla laughed as she extended her hand out toward the bird.

"Here, Pico!"

The parrot lifted into the air and flew down from his branch, landing gently upon Ayla's arm.

"Aaayla."

For a long moment, the two of them just looked at each other.

It may seem strange, but Ayla felt like this was her first real connection with anything on the island.

Just as that thought was sinking in, Ayla heard another noise. It was coming from deeper in the jungle... and it was getting closer.

As her eyes peered into the thick green leaves, her mind began recalling stories about wild boar, mongoose and other scary things lurking in the jungle.

The sound grew louder.

What is that?

Her thoughts were racing almost as fast as her little heart.

Then, she saw him.

### FOUR

It was a boy.

A brown skinned boy with hazel eyes.

He was examining Ayla with a quizzical look on his face as he emerged out of the jungle wearing nothing but a faded pair of surf shorts. In his right hand, he carried a long spear with three sharp points on the end.

As he moved closer, Ayla noticed the carved Hawaiian fish hook around his neck and a black knife strapped to his muscular calf.

"Aloha!" said the boy, flashing a bright smile.

"Uh... Aloha," she finally managed.

"I see you've met Pico," he said, with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah... uh, is he your bird?" Ayla asked, a little flustered by this boy's sudden appearance.

"No, no," the boy replied with a soft chuckle. "Pico is nobody's pet. The jungle is his home. Has been for many years," he said. "What's up Pico? Pehea 'oe?"

"Maika'i. Maika'i. Mahaaalo!" the bird replied, bobbing and swaying on Ayla's arm.

"But, how does he know so many words?" Ayla asked. "Didn't someone have to teach him?"

"Oh, sure. A long time ago, Pico used to live up at the plantation house. You know the plantation house?" the boy asked. "The old abandoned house up on the hill? You know, the spooky looking one?"

"Um... I guess so," Ayla replied.

The boy noticed the hesitation in her eyes.

"You're Duke's granddaughter, right?"

"Yeah, Luke is my grandpa," she replied. "I moved here a few months ago. I mean, I did live here until I was three, but I just moved back."

"Oh, 'E Komo Mai then... welcome home!" said the boy. "Like I was saying, back in the old days, this was all one big plantation. You know, sugarcane and pineapples as far as you could see. And the plantation manager and his family lived up in that big house on the hill. When the plantation closed down about forty years ago, there was some sort of family tragedy or something and they all went back to the mainland. I guess they just left Pico here."

"They just left him?"

"Yep," the boy replied. "But I don't think Pico minds too much. He's got it pretty good here. There's no predators or anything trying to get him. And besides, this place is choke full of food."

"But, forty years ago?" Ayla asked. "How old is Pico anyway?"

"Beats me," the boy replied. "Shoots, I think he was around even before my grandpa. I heard those birds can live to be like a hundred or something."

"Pico. Kahiko. Kahiko!" said the bird.

"What?" Ayla asked.

"Pico. Old!"

Ayla and the boy laughed together at that one.

"Yeah, I've known Pico my whole life," said the boy. "He has quite the personality, as you can see. But I only ever see him deep in the jungle. And he's definitely never come up and landed on my arm before. You must have a way with animals."

"Who, me? No way. I had a goldfish once, but I think I killed him."

The boy chuckled with a melodic sound. As his smile spread across his face it seemed to light up the jungle around him.

"You're pretty funny. I like you. My name's Kaleo by the way," the boy said, extending his hand toward Ayla.

"Hey, Kaleo," she replied, reaching out with her free hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Ayla."

"Ayla," he repeated, as the two shook hands. "That's a cool name. I've never heard that one before. I like it."

This made Ayla blush a little, as she felt the warmth of his touch.

"Well, I'm going out fishing," the boy said. "The Ulua are coming in to feed."

Ayla had no idea what that meant, but suddenly, she thought that learning a bit more about fishing wouldn't be so bad after all.

The boy and girl stepped out from under the green canopy and walked along the sand with Pico perched on Ayla's arm.

It was a boy.

A brown skinned boy with hazel eyes.

He was examining Ayla with a quizzical look on his face as he emerged out of the jungle wearing nothing but a faded pair of surf shorts. In his right hand, he carried a long spear with three sharp points on the end.

As he moved closer, Ayla noticed the carved Hawaiian fish hook around his neck and a black knife strapped to his muscular calf.

"Aloha!" said the boy, flashing a bright smile.

"Uh... Aloha," she finally managed.

"I see you've met Pico," he said, with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah... uh, is he your bird?" Ayla asked, a little flustered by this boy's sudden appearance.

"No, no," the boy replied with a soft chuckle. "Pico is nobody's pet. The jungle is his home. Has been for many years," he said. "What's up Pico? Pehea 'oe?"

"Maika'i. Maika'i. Mahaaalo!" the bird replied, bobbing and swaying on Ayla's arm.

"But, how does he know so many words?" Ayla asked. "Didn't someone have to teach him?"

"Oh, sure. A long time ago, Pico used to live up at the plantation house. You know the plantation house?" the boy asked. "The old abandoned house up on the hill? You know, the spooky looking one?"

"Um... I guess so," Ayla replied.

The boy noticed the hesitation in her eyes.

"You're Duke's granddaughter, right?"

"Yeah, Luke is my grandpa," she replied. "I moved here a few months ago. I mean, I did live here until I was three, but I just moved back."

"Oh, 'E Komo Mai then... welcome home!" said the boy. "Like I was saying, back in the old days, this was all one big plantation. You know, sugarcane and pineapples as far as you could see. And the plantation manager and his family lived up in that big house on the hill. When the plantation closed down about forty years ago, there was some sort of family tragedy or something and they all went back to the mainland. I guess they just left Pico here."

"They just left him?"

"Yep," the boy replied. "But I don't think Pico minds too much. He's got it pretty good here. There's no predators or anything trying to get him. And besides, this place is choke full of food."

"But, forty years ago?" Ayla asked. "How old is Pico anyway?"

"Beats me," the boy replied. "Shoots, I think he was around even before my grandpa. I heard those birds can live to be like a hundred or something."

"Pico. Kahiko. Kahiko!" said the bird.

"What?" Ayla asked.

"Pico. Old!"

Ayla and the boy laughed together at that one.

"Yeah, I've known Pico my whole life," said the boy. "He has quite the personality, as you can see. But I only ever see him deep in the jungle. And he's definitely never come up and landed on my arm before. You must have a way with animals."

"Who, me? No way. I had a goldfish once, but I think I killed him."

The boy chuckled with a melodic sound. As his smile spread across his face it seemed to light up the jungle around him.

"You're pretty funny. I like you. My name's Kaleo by the way," the boy said, extending his hand toward Ayla.

"Hey, Kaleo," she replied, reaching out with her free hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Ayla."

"Ayla," he repeated, as the two shook hands. "That's a cool name. I've never heard that one before. I like it."

This made Ayla blush a little, as she felt the warmth of his touch.

"Well, I'm going out fishing," the boy said. "The Ulua are coming in to feed."

Ayla had no idea what that meant, but suddenly, she thought that learning a bit more about fishing wouldn't be so bad after all.

The boy and girl stepped out from under the green canopy and walked along the sand with Pico perched on Ayla's arm.

### FIVE

The next few days brought heavy clouds and endless rain to the little island.

Great... just my luck! Ayla thought, as she peered out the window of her bedroom, seeing nothing but dark clouds on the horizon.

Grandma Kate kept herself busy in the kitchen making all sorts of tasty delights that kept wafting up the stairs to Ayla's room. But no matter how sweet the mango cookies or coconut cream pies, nothing seemed to lift her dark mood.

Grandpa was holed up in his workshop, working away on some project or strumming his old ukulele.

During rainy days in California, Aslyn could usually be found online chatting with friends or trying to crack the latest video game. But ever since meeting Kaleo, all he could talk about was spearfishing. Aslyn's MacBook went untouched as he spent these rainy days down in the workshop with Grandpa, carving his own spear.

Once again, Ayla was bored out of her mind and didn't know what to do with herself, longing for the sunny days to return.

She wasn't completely alone. Pico would come to her window to visit everyday. The curious bird was staying longer and longer during these days of rain. He didn't seem to be deterred by Bobo, Grandpa's little Jack Russell-Terrier.

But Pico definitely had a few choice words for both of Grandma's cherished tabbies.

"Pussy. Pussy. Nice pussy cat!" he would say, every time the felines eyed the tasty looking intruder.

"Now, Pico," Grandma said, eyeing the bird, "there's enough room for everyone in this house!" Turning her attention to her languid felines, Grandma said, "Don't you two worry about a thing. Pico's an old friend. Now, come down to the kitchen. I have some nice Ahi for you both."

Grandma strolled out with both Tiki and Kula at her heels.

By the fourth day of non stop rain, Ayla was beside herself.

Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, scrolling through pictures of California on her iPod, she was feeling more than a little homesick. Seeing all of her friends staring back at her at all her old birthday parties, sleepovers and gymnastic competitions only made Ayla miss her old life even more.

Pico was sitting on the floor next to Ayla looking on.

"This was my 11th birthday party Pico. See the cake Mom made for me?" she said, holding up the little screen.

"Party. Paaarty!"

"Yeah. I used to get to have parties and friends over all the time."

"Friends. Friends. Braaawck!"

"But, I don't have any friends here," Ayla said with longing in her eyes.

"Pico. Ayla. Friends!"

"You just repeat stuff. You don't even know what you're saying, do you?" Ayla asked in a somber tone, wishing she could have a real conversation with someone, anyone at this point.

"Pico. Ayla. Friends!" he repeated, as he rubbed his beak against her shoulder.

"Thanks Pico. I know you're my friend, but it's just not the same. You wouldn't understand."

Pico looked up into the girl's eyes. Then he cocked his head sideways and said, "Ayla. Sad!"

For a moment, Ayla considered that maybe he did understand more than she thought. "Yeah. Ayla. Sad!"

Pico jumped up onto Ayla's shoulder and began gently pecking her ear. Ayla gave the bird a half smile and said, "Thanks, Pico. You are a good friend."

The bird starting bobbing up and down.

Ayla turned her iPod off and laid down on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Pico perched himself on the window sill and just stared out at the ocean.

At some point, Ayla must have drifted off to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she found herself in the middle of the most wonderful dream.

She was surrounded by glorious, blue light.

At first, everything seemed fuzzy, like she was inside of a liquid cloud.

Then suddenly, everything began to snap into focus. Blinking her eyes into the misty scene, she could hardly believe what she saw.

Ayla was under water, surrounded by a coral kingdom. The vivid greens, blues and golds were everywhere she looked.

She felt weightless, like she was floating in space.

That's when she realized that she could move around this dreamworld without having to kick or swim. Just reach out with her mind.

Ayla began to explore this wonderland.

Floating through this colorful scene, she came upon rainbows of tropical fish, dancing past her eyes.

She saw tiny sea horses and huge grouper fish, with heads that were bigger than hers.

Then she swam into a sea of electrified jelly fish. There were hundreds of them and they looked like floating clouds of light with long streaming ribbons dancing lazily behind.

Then she noticed something else.

This wasn't bright or natural. It looked foreign in this underwater kingdom. As she moved closer to get a better look, she began to make out the huge metallic structure looming in the shadows.

There were ribbons of dark green that seemed to be waving at her, inviting her closer.

Beyond their shadowy veil, Ayla could just make out a series of letters.

E-N-D-E-A-V-O-R.

She wasn't sure what that meant, but she hardly had time to ponder it, for just then a giant ball came streaming toward her.

"A sea turtle!"

It was a sea turtle, but not just any sea turtle. This ancient mariner had grown to the size of a small electric car and was shrouded in mystery as he came closer and closer.

When he was almost close enough to touch, Ayla could sea that the elder turtle had a striking scar etched in gold across his shell. The pattern of the scar looked just like a big letter 'S'.

The Honu's head slowly swiveled toward Ayla.

He looked at her with those big turtle eyes for a moment, then nodded once and drifted away into the distance, back into the shadows from which he came.

"Wow... this is unreal!" she thought to herself, lost in the wonder of this dreamy place.

All of a sudden, Ayla heard a voice.

It was a gentle voice, but it sounded strange and alien somehow, as it called out in the distance.

Then it hit her.

The voice was calling her name.

"Ayla... Ayla..."

She turned in every direction trying to locate the source of the sound.

It came again.

"Ayla... Ayla... Can you hear us?"

Then she spotted something in the shadows. It started moving towards her.

She still couldn't tell what it was but it was definitely getting closer.

Then, she heard the sound again.

"Ayla... can you hear us?"

The dreamy voice was louder this time.

Suddenly, three mysterious figures appeared right in front of her eyes.

"Dolphins!"

They stopped right in front of her, gazing into her soul with their dolphin smiles. Then she heard it again, much clearer this time.

"Ayla... can you hear us?"

Ayla bolted up in bed, eyes searching everywhere.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "That was crazy!"

"Dolphins!" said Pico. "Dolphins!"

"What?" she asked, staring at the bird on the window sill, "How did you—"

"Dolphins!" he repeated, then turned his head toward the ocean. "Dolphins. Dolllphins. Braaawck!"

Ayla shot over to the window.

As her eyes focused out over the water, she couldn't see anything at first. Just the same dark clouds, gathering in the west. They were full of the same gloomy rain that she had grown to loathe over these past few days.

"Silly bird! There's nothing out there."

"Silly bird. Silly bird. Dolphins!" Pico said, with eyes fixed on the horizon.

"There's no dolphins, Pico. Just a bunch of clouds and..."

But then, Ayla looked again.

In the western sky, the clouds began to part.

A small circular window was opening on the gray horizon, revealing a brilliant shaft of sunlight. Its golden rays cast downward, lighting the ocean below. And one shaft, one single ray of light beamed straight into the lagoon.

Ayla's eyes followed that ribbon of light all the way to the green of the jungle canopy where it met the golden sand. It lit those trees like a massive spotlight.

Then, from out of the light, there came a vision.

It was a woman.

It was a young woman with tanned skin and glowing hair that fell almost all the way down to her waist. She wore nothing but a bright yellow bikini. And she carried a long wooden surfboard under her arm.

Ayla watched transfixed as the woman seemed to float down to the water's edge. When she arrived at the shoreline, the mysterious surfer paused a moment. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Ayla could see sunlight refracting from every strand of her gorgeous locks.

And there was something on her back.

It was a distinct marking just above the waistline of her bikini. Ayla grabbed her binoculars off the bookcase next to the window to get a closer look.

It's a fish. Wait... it's two fish!

One light and one dark. And they're encircling each other.

Just then, Ayla watched as the woman lifted her right arm and pointed toward the west.

Everything up to this point seemed like an extension of Ayla's dream, but as she put the binoculars down and looked out to where the woman was pointing, Ayla could hardly believe what she saw.

From out of that western sea, three silvery figures jumped out of the water, leaping high into the evening sky. Golden light flashed through the water trailing in their wake and Ayla watched as the three dolphins dove beneath the waves, disappearing from sight.

Then her jaw fell open.

A glorious rainbow began spilling out of the sky.

All seven bands of light were bathing the lagoon in their ethereal colors.

"Oh my God!" Ayla exclaimed.

That woman... the rainbow... the dolphins?

Ayla's mind began spinning faster and faster.

Then, she heard a new voice calling her name.

"Ayla... dinner time!"

### SIX

Grandma Kate's cooking was the last thing on Ayla's mind.

She had so many questions.

What was that voice?

And who was that woman?

Where did she come from? Ayla wondered.

And how did she do that with the dolphins? And the Rainbow?

Wait! Ayla wondered. How did Pico know?

Ayla pushed these thoughts around in her head, while she pushed her dinner around on her plate.

"What's going on in that po'o of yours, Ayla?"

"Sorry... what?" she asked, looking up from her plate.

"Your head, Ayla. What are you thinking about?" Grandpa asked, with a curious look on his face. "Has that bird been filling your head with crazy talk again?" Grandpa asked, eyeing Pico as he tossed a peanut in the parrot's direction.

The colorful bird snatched the peanut out of mid-air.

"Braaawck. Crazy talk. Crazy talk!"

"That's right Pico. Crazy talk," Grandpa said, tossing another peanut in his vicinity.

"Peanut. Peanut. Peeeanut!"

Ayla, Grandpa and Aslyn all laughed at the bird.

But Grandma wasn't laughing. "Luke, I told you about that old bird!" she said, fixing her husband with a stern look.

"Uh oh!" Duke said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "You don't want to get too many of your Grandma's looks, trust me!"

Suddenly, Grandpa's tickle fingers were out of their holster.

In one swift move, Grandpa's giant hands found Grandma's armpits and the old linebacker picked the skinny woman up off of her feet, lifting her high into his arms as she squirmed away from his deadly fingers.

"Lucas Kaimana, you put me down this instant!" Grandma said, scolding and giggling at the same time.

When order had finally been restored, Grandpa said, "So Aslyn, how's your spear coming along?"

Ayla tuned out the rest of their conversation. She wasn't interested in the best type of wood to use or how to get the point just right. Instead, she returned to pushing her sweet potatoes around the plate, arranging them into rainbow patterns on her porcelain canvas.

"Ayla, finish your dinner Sweetie!" Grandma said. "I made a nice pineapple upside down cake and Kamaile sent over some chocolate macadamia nut cookies."

Grandpa's eyes perked up at the mention of cookies.

"Hey Grandpa, do you know the young woman with the old wooden surfboard?" Ayla asked.

Taking his eyes off the cookies for a moment, Duke looked at his granddaughter and said, "I'm sorry Ayla, what? Surfboard? Oh yeah, I can't wait to get you and your brother up on my old longboard. These waves out here are unreal when the winter swells come in!"

"No Grandpa... the woman! The one with the long hair and the yellow bikini!"

Duke looked at Ayla for a moment, then his eyes drifted up toward Kate. Ayla noticed a different sort of look being exchanged between her Grandparents this time.

"What did she look like, Dear?" asked Grandma Kate.

Ayla told them everything about the woman. Her long hair, her athletic body, even the way she seemed to move effortlessly through the sand.

"Oh, and she had a tattoo on her lower back. It was two fish wrapped around each other."

"Well, the only one I can think of who fits that description hasn't been around here for years," Grandpa said. "Around the same time Pico showed up. It couldn't be her, Kate!"

Grandma looked back at Grandpa and was just opening her mouth to say something when Pico chimed in.

"Cookies. Cookies. Cooookies!"

"Yes, Pico. We know how you love cookies!" said Grandma Kate. "That reminds me, I have some more mangos to send over to Kali and Kamaile!"

"I'll take them for you Grandma!" Ayla said, jumping up from her chair.

Aslyn chuckled at his sister's new found excitement. He raised an eyebrow and said, "You just wanna go see Kaleo, don't ya! You got a little crush on the handsome island boy!"

"No I don't!" Ayla snapped, blushing again and casting a less than playful look back at her brother. "I mean, he seems cool and all, but I just really need to get out of this house. It's been like four days of non-stop rain already."

"Thank you, Sweetie, that would be nice," Grandma said, cooling the rising temperature with her soothing tone. "But first, you have to finish your dinner and try a little of my pineapple upside down cake. It's gluten free! I used coconut flour and honey from the Farmer's Market. I think it came out really nice this time!"

"Oh boy!" Grandpa exclaimed, then whispered to the kids, "Your grandma can get a little carried away with her healthy desserts sometimes. Not like Kamaile. She uses plenty of sugar and flour. The real kind. She makes it so sweet. Ono-licious!" he said, as his eyes began to glaze over.

"Luke! You know all that sugar isn't good for you!" Grandma said, shaking her finger in his direction. "You know what Doc Smith said about getting diabetes at your age. Or even their age!" Grandma nodded in the children's direction. "They say that one in every three children is at risk of getting diabetes and all sorts of things these days. All that fast food and processed sugar!"

"Sugar. Cookies. Mmmm!"

Grandma shot Pico one of her looks, then headed back into the kitchen, muttering something as she went.

"Anyway..." Grandpa said, "you know which house is theirs, Ayla? It's the fifth one down on the mauka side, with the bamboo fence and all the orchids on the trees."

"The what side?"

"The mountain side!" Grandpa replied. "In Hawai'i, we basically have two directions. Mauka and Makai. The Mountain side and the Ocean side. We're really gonna have to teach you some more mana'o about this place."

"Some what?"

"Mana'o!" Grandpa said. "Oh, never mind."

After scarfing down the rest of her dinner, grabbing one of Kamaile's cookies and promising to try some of the healthy cake when she got back, Ayla picked up the box of mangos and headed out the door.

"I'll be back soon," she said. "Pico, wanna come?"

"Holoholo! Holoholo!" Pico sang out, as he flew over to Ayla's shoulder and the two disappeared into the night.

### SEVEN

Stepping outside, Ayla took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of the night blooming jasmine.

As she strolled along the sandy dirt road, she was enveloped by all the tropical scents drifting through the moist air. The rain had let up and everything seemed alive and dripping with life. A chorus of insects and birds filled the evening sky, as the last of the sunset colors were just wrapping up their dazzling displays on the western horizon.

Ayla felt like she was seeing this place for the first time, amazed by all the beauty surrounding her.

Pico jumped down from her shoulder and perched himself on the box of mangos, where he began pecking at one of the golden treats.

"Pico! Those are for Kaleo and his family!"

"Pico. Like. Mango!" he replied, looking into Ayla's eyes.

"I know you like mangos, but these aren't yours!" she said, chiding the bird. But after a while, Ayla couldn't resist the cute looks that he kept flashing in her direction.

"Okay, but just one."

As the two wandered further down the old road, they came upon the house with the bamboo fence and an array of colorful orchids growing in the trees. The exotic flowers were lit by three tiki torches, casting the entire scene in a dreamy glow.

Ayla opened the wooden gate and started walking down the path. In the distance, she could hear the gentle sounds of an ukulele, drifting up the lava-stone path that led to the old green house.

"I ke kai... hāwanawana..."

These mysterious words, floating in tandem with the strings, were foreign to Ayla's ears. But they stirred something deep inside her all the same.

But just then, a new sound fought for her attention as she began to hear a strange 'whooshing' noise overhead.

She perked her ears, scanning for the source as it came closer and closer.

All of a sudden, Ayla dropped to the ground with terror riddled across her face. Pico lifted into the air as she hefted the box of mangos defensively over her head.

Golden fruit fell out of the sky making a series of graceful thuds on the soft grass as a gray flash streaked over her head.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Ayla, as one of the giant mangos bounced off her head on its way down.

"What's up with the birds around here?" she asked, looking at Pico, who had returned to the box of mangos, fixing them with hungry eyes.

"Brawck. Birds. Biiirds!" Pico replied. "Ayla. Scaredy-Cat!"

"Thanks a lot, Pico!"

After gathering up the fallen mangos and managing to keep Pico from claiming any more for himself, Ayla brushed the grass from her knees, and managed to make it to the door without being attacked by any other creatures of the night.

Taking a deep breath and composing herself, Ayla knocked on the carved wooden door. With the gentle sound of strings still drifting through the window, Ayla heard a set of heavy footsteps approaching the door.

"Well aloha, Dear. What do we have here?"

It was a plump old Hawaiian woman who answered the door. She was wearing a bright orange mu'umu'u, with a purple flower in her hair. Her frame filled most of the doorway as she stood there eyeing Ayla, the box and the bird with equal interest.

"Hi... I mean, aloha," Ayla said, almost as clumsy as she felt. "You must be Kamaile. I'm Ayla, Kate and Luke, I mean Duke's granddaughter."

"Oh Ayla, it's so nice to see you again," the old woman said, as her face lit up from ear to ear. Age old smile lines pushed upward into her loose bun of silver hair. "I knew you since you barely came up to my knee," she said, bathing Ayla in her mellifluous voice. "I heard that you and your brother moved back to the island. And who is this with you?" she asked smiling at the parrot still perched on the box of mangos.

"Pico!" the bird answered.

"Oh my goodness! This is Pico?" she asked, looking closer at the old parrot. "It's so nice to see that he's still around. I knew Pico from way back when Kali used to work up at the plantation."

"Yeah, this is the same Pico. I'm sorry, but he couldn't help himself and he ate one of your mangos on the way over. These are from my grandma Kate," Ayla said, handing the box to the old woman as Pico jumped back onto her shoulder.

"Mahalo, Dear. Won't you please come in? I have some nice guavas and a whole lilikoi chiffon for you to take to your grandparents," Kamaile said, as she beckoned Ayla inside. "Oh, and I know Kaleo will be happy to see you. He's up in his room with some friends. Come on, right this way."

Ayla kicked off her shoes at the door and followed the old woman inside.

As Grandma led her visitor into the cozy living room, Ayla noticed several old paintings, quilts and Hawaiian artifacts complimenting the modest decor.

"Kaleo..." Grandma sang up the stairs. "We have a visitor!"

As she entered the living room, Ayla could see an enormous painted kapa cloth, like one she had seen at the museum, covering almost the entire wall.

"Kali! Come see the Duke's granddaughter. She brought us some more mangos!"

Suddenly, the music stopped and Ayla watched as a jolly old man waddled in from the back lanai, carrying an old ukulele in his thick hands.

"Well, well... I finally get to lay eyes on the Duke's granddaughter. The one he's always talking about!" the man said, as he entered the room and fixed Ayla with a warm smile. "You and I go way back, you know. Back when you were just a baby, your grandpa and I used to take you everywhere with us. But look how grown up you are now. And so beautiful! Your grandpa is always going on and on about how akamai you and your brother are. He says you're the smartest ones in the class. Come in Ayla, make yourself at home. E Komo Mai!"

Kaleo was right.

Both of his grandparents looked like they hadn't stopped smiling in at least a decade. The old man wore the same deep smile lines as his wife, etched deep within his Hawaiian features.

"Look Kamaile," the man said, gesturing toward Ayla. "She does look like her mother, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," she replied. "That's what everyone's always telling me." Ayla couldn't help but think about her mother just then. She began picturing her, wondering where she was at that exact moment in time.

"You know, I knew your mother from the day she was born. Kamaile and I watched her grow up here. She was always a curious one!" Grandpa Kali said. "Just like with you, Duke never went far without Leilani. She used to go fishing with us and climbing the mountains to collect the Ohia 'Ai and the Maile fern. That's what my wife's named after, you know... the Maile. It is one of the most sacred plants in all Hawai'i!"

Ayla liked the way this old man spoke. The way his words seemed more like music than speech, especially the way he said 'Hawai'i', pronouncing his 'w' more like a 'v'.

"Kali, look," said Kamaile, "Don't you recognize your old friend? It's Pico!"

"Pico? Where have you been?" he asked, as he reached over and began scratching the parrot behind his head. "And tell me, how is it that you come to know the infamous Pico, Ayla?" he asked, still petting the bird.

"Ayla. Friend!"

"I can see that!" Kali replied. "You must really have a way with animals, Ayla. Pico's always been kind of a wild bird, with a mind of his own." Kali said, winking at Pico. "I've never seen him take to strangers like this. Back in the old days, it used to take the new guys three or four years before Pico would even give them the time of day. Well, maybe only two if they brought cookies!" Kali said, chuckling and holding up two thick fingers.

"Cookies. Cookies. Coookies!"

Kamaile disappeared into the kitchen, then returned with a big mango cookie.

The look that Pico gave the old woman was priceless.

"Oh boy, do I have some stories about Pico." Kali said, laughing and shaking his head. "You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that silly bird used to say."

"Actually, I think I probably can," Ayla replied.

They both laughed as Pico finished his cookie and Kali beckoned her to a seat on the comfy couch.

"So, Ayla, tell me. How are you enjoying life on our little island?"

"Um, well it's... it's good, I guess." Ayla managed to say with a pretty convincing smile.

"And your brother, Aslyn?"

"Oh, he's loving it! He's really gotten into fishing and stuff. Well, he's trying anyway."

This brought another chuckle from Kali. "Well, there are a few tricks us Hawaiians know about fishing. But it won't take him long. Your grandfather is one of the best fisherman I ever knew, and that's saying something. You watch. He'll turn you and your brother into expert fishermen in no time!"

"Great!"

### EIGHT

Kaleo came bounding down the stairs.

Following close behind were three boys that Ayla had never seen before. Two of them seemed to be about Kaleo's age, but the third boy was much taller and at least a few years older.

"Hey, Ayla!" Kaleo said, with a big grin on his face. "How's it going?"

"Hey, Kaleo! It's good. I just brought some mangos over from my grandma."

"I'm surprised that bird let you get all the way over here without eating the entire box!" Kaleo said.

"Well, he did manage to eat one on the way."

"Yep, that's what I thought," Kaleo said.

"Pico. Like. Mango."

This got a chuckle from everyone in the room.

"Kali, come help me peel these mangos," said Grandma. "Let the keiki talk story."

"Well, duty calls!" Grandpa said, rising slowly from the depths of the couch. "A real pleasure to see you again, Ayla. Welcome home, Sweetheart. May this island bless you each and every day. And if you ever need anything, you know where we live."

"Uh... thank you, sir. I mean, Mahalo!"

"That's it. You're gonna take to this place soon enough, you watch! Give your grandpa my regards. Aloha, Ayla. Mālama Pono!" said Grandpa as he disappeared into the kitchen, strumming his ukulele as he went.

"Uh, Lama Ono..." she replied, unsure of what she was saying exactly. With her poor usage of the Hawaiian language and the presence of these new boys in the room, Ayla began blushing new shades of red.

'Lama Ono' got some giggles from the boys along with a few whispers that Ayla couldn't quite make out.

"Ayla, let me introduce you to my friends. This is Kawika," Kaleo said, turning the 'w' into a 'v' like his grandfather and gesturing to the quiet boy standing off to the side.

Kawika was wearing an old pair of surf shorts and a white tank top with a rainbow across the front. He looked friendly enough, but didn't say anything, just gave Ayla a polite little nod.

"Ayla's gonna be starting school with us next month," Kaleo added. Kawika's face seemed to brighten at the mention of school and he nodded once again at the new girl.

"Yeah, you gonna love Ms. Davidson!" said the second boy.

Ayla wasn't sure if he was being serious or not, but school was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

"Ayla, this is Johnny," Kaleo said, gesturing to the second boy, "But we all call him J-Boy."

Johnny was tall and skinny, sporting a 'Surfing Legends' t-shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans with holes in both knees.

"Aloha, Ayla. Kaleo was just telling us about you!" the boy said, throwing her a shaka and a smile.

"Dat's right," the third boy said. "But he didn't tell us you was one good looking haole girl!"

This boy was clearly older, standing almost a foot taller than Kaleo. He wore a faded black UH Football tank-top and his jeans were even worse off, showing holes from back to front. Ayla wasn't sure what it was, but something about his voice made her skin crawl.

"Eh, Leonard! Step off, Brah!" Kaleo said. "She's only twelve!"

"What? What'd I say?" the boy replied. "I just admiring 'da wahine and telling 'da truf, Brah! You got one problem with 'dat?" he said, eyeing Kaleo. "Wassup?"

A long look was exchanged between Leonard and Kaleo. The air became thick with what wasn't being said.

"Besides, where your manners stay anyway, boy? You haven't even properly introduced us yet," Leonard said, as his face lit up with a wicked smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ayla! All my friends call me Lenny," he said, shooting another look at Kaleo. "I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of a beautiful young girl such as yourself!" he said, switching into near perfect English and extending his long, skinny arm in Ayla's direction.

Ayla didn't want to be rude, so she reached out her hand. The moment her skin touched his, she was sorry she did.

The boy's hand was clammy and Ayla could smell something strange on his breath as he leaned in to say, "You need anything, you just ask for Lenny. I'll hook you up Sistah, you hear?" he said, his voice slipping back into the local pidgin. "Anyway, laters Brah!" he said, flashing a counterfeit smile at Kaleo and stomping out the door.

Johnny shrugged awkwardly at Kaleo, then said, "Well, see ya tomorrow, Brah. Nice to meet you, Ayla."

Kawika nodded shyly once more, then turned and followed J-Boy out the door and into the night.

Ayla heard a loud engine roar to life then rumble off into the distance.

"Who was that?" Ayla asked. "Is he one of your friends?"

"Lenny? No!" Kaleo said, shaking his head. "That is one messed up dude. He's Johnny's older brother. He just came over to pick them up. I wouldn't even let him in the house if Johnny wasn't 'ohana. No good mana, that guy!"

"No good what?" Ayla asked.

"Never mind," Kaleo said. "Don't worry about him. You just let me know if he ever messes with you. And no matter what he says, don't ever get in his car, okay?"

Ayla wasn't sure how to respond to that. Thankfully, Grandpa Kali came strumming back into the room.

"You know, Ayla, I just remembered... I have some old pictures of Leilani around here somewhere. Like way back, when she was your age. Let me see if I can find them," Kali said, as he heaved himself up the stairs.

The mention of her mother's name sent Ayla off into space again. Kaleo watched as her eyes drifted across the room toward the open lanai door and the sound of the waves crashing in the distance.

"So, uh..." Kaleo began, searching for something to say. "How's your brother's throwing skills coming?"

This seemed to snap Ayla back to the present, as she found her smile once again. "Well, he hasn't been able to go out for a few days because of all the rain, but at least he's not getting it stuck on his head anymore." This got a smile from Kaleo. "Besides," she continued, "Aslyn's not the type who gets discouraged easily. He just sticks with something until he figures it out. Actually, I think meeting you made a big impact on him."

"Me?" Kaleo asked, a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, now he's trying to carve a spear. You must have inspired him the other day. He's even started wearing a knife on his leg."

"Really? And you say he's carving a spear? That's pretty old school!" Kaleo said. "I mean, much respect for the roots and all, but it's much easier to get fish with the spears they make these days."

All this talk about fishing made Ayla think of the ocean.

And the Dolphins!

"Hey Kaleo, when you go out diving, do you see any dolphins down there?"

"Sure, sometimes," he replied, nonchalantly. "Although I have to admit, I'm not always happy to see them."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, it makes the fishing way more difficult when the dolphins are around. You should see it. All the fish start zipping around in a panic, trying to get away from all those crazy sounds the dolphins make. Did you know that their sound is so powerful, it can even stun a fish on the spot? Then they just go and scoop it up. I wish I could do that!"

"When you're down there," she asked, hesitantly, "do you ever... I mean, do they ever say anything to you?"

"Who? The dolphins?" Kaleo asked. "What do you mean, say anything?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied, feeling a little foolish. "Never mind." Ayla didn't want her one friend on the island to think she was crazy. Not like that anyway.

"No, really Ayla, what do you mean?" he asked, trying to pull a little more out of her. "You mean like, do the dolphins talk to me?"

"Did I hear something about dolphins?"

Grandpa Kali had slipped back into the room with an old shoe box full of photographs under his arm.

Ayla started blushing again, hoping Kali hadn't heard that last part and wondering how such a large man could make such little noise entering a room.

"Uh, yeah Gramps," Kaleo said, covering for Ayla. "She was just asking me if I ever see the dolphins when I'm out fishing."

"Oh, those dolphins!" Kali's face lit up. "I tell ya, they are some amazing creatures, alright! You know, back when I was just a little boy, my grandfather used to tell me stories you wouldn't believe."

"About the dolphins?" This piqued Ayla's curiosity. "Like what?"

Kali began to regale the two children with some of his old tales.

He told them one about how a Spinner Dolphin came to the rescue of a drowning child. Then another where a pod of seven Bottlenose Dolphins had surrounded a pregnant woman, fending off a school of sharks for over an hour until help arrived.

"And once," he said, "when we were maybe fifteen, me and your grandpa Duke were out on an old fishing canoe. We were going after some Ahi in the deep water and we got swept out to sea. I mean way out there! We didn't know what we were gonna do. There was a storm coming in and dark skies everywhere. We couldn't even tell where the sun was. Man, I thought we were gonna die out there!" he said, recalling the scene with a strained look on his face.

"What happened?" Ayla asked.

"Well, all of a sudden, three dolphins showed up and started splashing around. Then they made all these clicks and whistles and started swimming away. Well, me and your grandpa were no dummies, right. So we picked up our paddles and started following them. Man, we had to paddle hard because those buggahs were fast, let me tell you. And wouldn't you know it, in less than an hour, we sighted land, right where we took off from shore that morning. We started screaming and laughing and Duke jumped in the water and began splashing around with them. Them dolphins did a bunch of whistles then all three jumped up over the canoe and dove out of sight. And you know... we never saw them after that. But let me tell you, we sure were glad to get home that night."

"Wow!" said Ayla.

"Yeah, you're telling me!" said Grandpa Kali, as his eyes trailed off toward the windows, looking west. "You know, the weirdest thing. After we got home, I told the story to my grandfather, expecting him to be as amazed as I was. But you know, he just looked out over the sea, smiled and walked off. He never said another word about it."

"You never told me that story, Grandpa!" Kaleo said, looking at his grandfather with curious eyes.

"Well, you never asked like Ayla here," Kali replied. "I got lots of stories like that. You kids, if you want to learn something in this life, ask your elders. They got plenty of old stories, just waiting to pass along. Only don't wait too long. Me and Grandma might not always be around, you know."

"Aw, Gramps... you're gonna live to be a hundred, just like your grandfather!" said Kaleo, patting Kali on the shoulder.

"Shhh... don't tell anyone," said Grandpa, as he lowered his voice. "But I'm shooting for two!" he said, holding up those same two fingers, then erupting into laughter as he saw the look on the kid's faces. "Seriously though, those dolphins used to have a very special relationship with humans. Especially us Hawaiians!" he said, gesturing to all three of them.

"What kind of special relationship?" Ayla asked, not wanting the stories to end.

"Well, one time my grandfather told me that his grandfather told him, that long ago the dolphins and the men used to fish together, like as a team or something."

"Ah man, that would be awesome!" said Kaleo. "When I'm fishing and see the dolphins coming, it usually means no fish for me!"

Ayla and Kali laughed at the look on Kaleo's face.

"Well," Kali said, "My grandfather used to say, that back in the old days, when everyone set up fishing camp at the beach during the summertime, the dolphins would use their echo location thing to find the fish, then send some sort of signal to the Kahuna. You know, the shaman."

Grandpa paused to make sure the kids were still following.

"Then, the Kahuna would raise his hand, make a special sound and all at once, the dolphins would start herding all the fish towards the shore, where the men were waiting with their nets."

"Whoa!" said Kaleo.

"You're telling me!" Kali said. "Anyways, my grandfather told me that they used to do the same sort of thing on other islands in the South Pacific, like down in Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. You know, all them 'nesias."

Ayla couldn't help but laugh at Grandpa's way of telling stories.

"Once, he told me about a legend that went back over a thousand years. A legend that tells of a time when the people and the dolphins and whales used to speak with one another, sharing all the secrets of the Universe!" Grandpa Kali said. "The legend says that cetaceans were once land mammals. And fifty million years ago, a special group of them chose to return back to the sea, where all life on Earth originated. And those ones who returned are the ancestors of the whales and dolphins out there in these waters today."

Both Ayla and Kaleo's eyes grew wide.

"But hey, you know how legends can be," said Grandpa. "Even I have to admit it all sounds a little lolo, crazy-like, but that's what my grandfather told me. And you know, I never knew that man to tell a lie. Not one lie his entire life!"

Grandpa could tell the kids wanted more.

"Somewhere along the way, I guess the connection between the dolphins and the humans must have gotten lost, like so many other things in this world. You don't ever hear about stuff like that happening anymore. It's a shame. But anyways..."

Kali started pulling out pictures from the old box. With each picture, he told another story.

Ayla got to see pictures of her mother as a little girl on the island. Pictures she had never seen before. And there were pictures of Kali and Duke as young boys, playing in the waves. Then he showed Ayla photos of the two of them as young men, working at the plantation.

"Wait, is that...?" Ayla asked, examining one of the photos. "That's Pico! He looks exactly the same!"

"Pico. Kahiko!"

The laughter grew so loud that Grandma Kamaile had to leave her pots simmering on the stove to come see what was going on.

"Oh Kali," Grandma said, "You aren't boring the children with your old stories are you?"

"You know me!" he said, smiling at Ayla.

"Let me see those!" she said, and lifted the box of photos into her lap. "Oh, look at your mother, Ayla. She was always so beautiful! Just like you, Dear! And who is this handsome young man? Ohhh, so young and slender. And such big muscles!"

"Who you talkin' about woman?" said Kali. "Let me see 'dat!"

It was Kali's turn to blush, as Grandma held up the old photo.

"Oh... yep, that's me. Way before I started eating your grandmother's cooking!" Kali said, patting his belly.

"Big Belly. Big Belly!"

"Hey, you watch it bird! I'm still plenty fit to catch you!" Grandpa said, making a quick grab for Pico.

"Brawck. Brawck. Braaawck!"

Kaleo and Ayla were cracking up, rolling on the carpet as they watched the chaos of man vs. bird.

Finally, Pico and Grandpa called a truce and after all the pictures were placed gently back in the box, Kamaile brought out the guavas and the lilikoi chiffon and handed them to Ayla.

"Well, I should probably be heading home before it starts raining again," Ayla said. "It was really nice meeting you Kali. And you too, Kamaile. Thanks... I mean mahalo for all the stories and the pie."

"Come back anytime, Dear!" said Grandma. "You are always welcome here!"

All three gave Ayla a hug goodbye.

She was starting to realize that everybody always hugged each other here. At first, it seemed a little strange to her, getting a hug from someone she hardly even knew. But by now, she was starting to get used to it and even kind of liked it. It made her feel like these three were family.

"Aloha!" they said, waving from the door. "A hui hou!"

As Ayla started her walk back home, balancing Pico, the guavas and the chiffon, she began feeling better about this place. She was feeling more connected with the island, especially after seeing her mother as a child in those old pictures.

As Ayla thought more about those photographs and Kali's stories, she realized that everyone on the island knew everyone else. They all seemed to have a common history. A shared past.

This wasn't just your everyday small town, where everybody was in everyone else's business. This felt more like one big family, where everyone older than you was considered an auntie or an uncle. And everyone was always helping each other out, sharing what they had with one another.

And for the first time, Ayla liked it.

### NINE

That night, as Ayla drifted off to sleep, she found herself in another strange dream.

Ayla was walking all alone on a beautiful beach.

It looked just like the beach she lived on, yet different somehow. Then she realized...

There were no houses anywhere.

Just a few old beach huts that looked as if they were made out of bamboo and coconut fronds.

Next, Ayla noticed a wooden canoe sitting at the edge of the water. It wasn't like any canoe she had ever seen. It looked like a hollowed out tree trunk with a side arm for balance.

In the distance, Ayla could hear the sound of drumming. Then the voice of a woman, chanting something strange and exotic to her ears.

As she came around the bend, she saw a group of people in the distance. The one was chanting and two women were behind her drumming. A larger group of women were lined up behind them facing the ocean.

Then she noticed a group of men standing in the shallows, holding fishing nets over their shoulders. The men were motionless in the knee deep water.

These strange people wore hardly any clothing, except for small skirts made of leaves and some sort of cloth. The women had colorful flower leis draped around their necks, especially the one who was chanting. She wore flowers in her hair and some sort of greenery on her ankles and wrists. It reminded Ayla of something she had seen in the old museum in the center of the island.

But this felt like another world...

Another time.

Ayla couldn't understand what the women were chanting, for they were speaking in an ancient language. They seemed to be calling to someone or something. The men continued standing motionless in the knee deep water.

All of a sudden, an old man at the front of the group raised a carved wooden staff into the air and gave forth a resounding call. Following the powerful sound, there came a strange glow emanating from the top of the staff.

At that very moment, an entire pod of dolphins appeared out of nowhere and began streaking toward the shore. The dolphins were swimming fast and sending forth powerful waves of sound which grew louder and louder as they came closer and closer.

The sea started to bubble, then boil with motion.

"Fish!" Ayla realized.

The dolphins were herding a school of fish in front of them, driving them closer and closer to the shore.

All at once, the men threw their nets into the water, enclosing the entire bubbling school.

It was all happening so fast.

Before the men started pulling in their nets, the old man in the front stood completely still with his eyes closed and palms open to the sky, facing the dolphins.

Ayla watched as the dolphins lifted their heads above water. The man and the dolphins remained motionless, facing each other for a long moment. Ayla had the distinct feeling that they were communicating somehow.

Suddenly, she began to hear the man's voice inside her head.

"Thank you Brothers and Sisters of the Sea. Your friendship and bond with us is a Sacred Gift. We shall always hold you in the highest regard."

Next, Ayla heard a chorus of voices answering as one.

"Thank you Brothers and Sisters of the Land. Your friendship and bond with us is a Sacred Gift. We shall always hold you in the highest regard."

Suddenly, all the dolphins turned their heads directly towards Ayla.

Again, the chorus of voices called out... "Ayla... can you hear us?"

Just then, the old man turned and looked directly into Ayla's eyes.

Ayla bolted upright in her bed.

"No way!"

She jumped up and ran toward the window.

But there were no dolphins out there this time.

All Ayla could see was the golden morning light shimmering off the surface of the ocean.

She began to dismiss the dream as just another crazy coincidence. She rarely ever remembered her dreams but these past two had been so vivid, so real.

She was just about to plop back onto her bed when she looked over toward the jungle, desperate for anything to cling to in this waking reality.

That's when she saw it.

In the exact spot where she saw the young woman the day before, stood an old man.

He was draped in glorious shafts of morning light. The man held an old wooden staff in his right hand and wore nothing but a simple green wrap around his waist and a strand of black Kukui nuts around his neck. Like the girl, his hair flowed half way down his back.

But instead of walking down to the ocean, the old man stood where he was, with his eyes closed and the staff at his side.

Ayla watched for what seemed like an eternity. Then suddenly, the man opened his eyes and turned his head directly toward Ayla.

"Whoa!" Ayla said, ducking back into the room.

She didn't like being caught staring. But Ayla's curiosity quickly took over and she edged back toward the window.

But by the time she was close enough to peer one eye over the sill, the old man was gone.

### TEN

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Grandma said, as Ayla shuffled into the kitchen, sleepy eyed, but wide awake inside.

She had her iPod in one hand and a small pair of binoculars in the other. "Would you like some breakfast? I have some fresh papayas that Grandpa picked this morning. Nothing better to start the day. I can put some yogurt and raisins on top if you want."

"No thanks Grandma," Ayla replied. "I'm going down to the beach for a while."

Kate eyed the look on Ayla's face for a moment, then the iPod and binoculars in her hand. "Well here, at least take a banana with you. This rack is starting to ripen," Grandma said, tearing a banana off the half yellow half green rack laden with fruit.

"Thanks Grandma. I'll be back soon!" Ayla said, grabbing a beach towel off the lanai and adjusting her headphones as she headed down to the sea.

The moment her toes hit the water, Ayla felt a wave of peace wash over her.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. As she gazed out at the water, then turned to look down the beach, she could see that the past few days of rain had brought renewal to the island.

The heavy rains had made the sand appear like millions of tiny crystals, each one reflecting the light like distant stars. And the way the early morning sunlight hit the water revealed every imaginable shade of turquoise and green.

Ayla looked down and began scrolling through the various playlists on her iPod searching for the appropriate music to accompany her morning walk. She selected one, hit play and began to wander down the beach.

As she was drifting along the sea strand, looking at the all the colorful shells that had washed up the night before, Ayla felt like she was seeing this place with new eyes.

After walking awhile, mindlessly humming with the music, she looked up and came to an abrupt stop.

"Wait a second... this is the spot! The exact same spot from my dream!"

Her eyes grew wide as she looked around expectantly. She didn't see any thatched roofs or old canoes on the shore, but she was sure of it. This was the spot where the woman was chanting.

She looked out to the sea but only saw waves and clouds...

No dolphins.

The song ended and a new sound came drifting through her headphones. It was a song that she had never really heard before. Until now.

It was a mystical type of tune with strings and flutes and trance-like rhythms. For a moment, Ayla felt like she was back in her dream. At that exact point in the song, the voice of a distant woman began whispering into her ears.

In every color there is the light.

In every stone sleeps a crystal.

Remember the shaman, when he used to say...

Man is the Dream of the Dolphin!

"Whoa!"

Ayla looked down at her iPod and had to do a double take to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. As her eyes scanned the tiny screen, she got her answer.

It was an Enigma song.

It was called The Dream of the Dolphin.

"No way!"

She looked to see if anyone was around, anyone who would get this. But Ayla was as alone as she had been from her very first steps this morning. Just one little girl with infinite questions staring out over an endless ocean.

Ayla continued thinking about the song. Just before moving to the island, in the chaos of packing, she had loaded up on all sorts of different music from iTunes. She remembered downloading random songs from her friend's recommended playlists. This was just one of the many tunes she had not really listened to yet.

"How crazy that this song would come on right now. In this exact moment." Ayla said, wishing she had someone to experience this moment with. "Great, now I'm talking to myself!"

That's when Ayla realized she hadn't seen Pico all morning. "Silly bird, where are you when I need you?"

Not sure of much at the moment, Ayla stopped walking and spread her beach towel out on the sand. She dropped the binoculars and reached down to tap the screen and start the song over.

Ayla began to clear her mind of all the questions that were fighting for her attention.

She tried to be still.

To just listen.

With eyes closed, she slipped back into the music and began rocking gently with the mystical rhythms. This time, she noticed more of the sonic textures, streaming into her ears. All those instruments were weaving a tapestry of colors with their individual strands of highs and lows, lights and darks. Then came the voice again... The Dream of the Dolphin.

She was haunted by the last two lines.

"Remember the shaman, when he used to say...

Man is the Dream of the Dolphin!"

As the last syllable of that dreamy voice faded into Ayla's ears, she opened her eyes.

There, in the distance, was an entire pod of dolphins.

They were leaping into the morning light, swimming and splashing as if they had no cares in the world.

Ayla ripped off her headphones and stood up. Almost without thinking, she drifted to the water's edge where the warm liquid reached out for her toes.

As she looked again, she could see the pod begin to break up, with most of the dolphins heading off into the west. Then Ayla looked closer.

"No way!"

She could see three dorsal fins streaming through the water. Ayla took a few more steps into the blue lagoon. The water was silky and inviting, caressing her calves as she moved deeper into its embrace. She reached down and ran her fingers along the surface, savoring the salty scent as she wiped her sweaty brow.

"Pooosh... Pooosh... Pooosh!"

In the morning silence, the dolphins sounded much closer than they actually were. She watched them leap out of the water. The silvery figures were still about fifty yards out but this was the closest she had ever been. Ayla began to wonder if there was more to these dreams after all.

What if they really are trying to speak to me? she thought. Come on Ayla, that's crazy!

More thoughts flashed through her mind.

Well, Kali said that the people and the dolphins used to... but that was so long ago and those are just old legends, right?

Besides, if it is true and they really did want to start communicating with people again, why in the world would they choose me? she thought, as images of the young woman danced through her mind.

"I mean, they haven't actually spoken to me," she said out loud. "Those were just dreams!"

Her mind kept racing faster and faster, as the dolphins swam closer and closer.

"But then that song came on! And right when I was standing in this very spot. The same spot that..."

All sorts of things were spinning in the back of Ayla's mind, threatening to take her out of this perfect moment once again.

This is crazy! What am I thinking?

Then she heard it.

"Aloha, Ayla!"

### PART TWO

### PART TWO VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### ELEVEN

Ayla jumped in surprise.

She turned her head and saw Kaleo walking toward her down the beach. He was wearing his charming smile and carrying his fishing spear in his hand. As usual, his knife was strapped to his leg.

"Huh?" she said, "Oh... aloha, Kaleo!"

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" he asked, gazing out toward the open ocean.

"Oh, yeah, it is. Beautiful, I mean!" she said, regaining a bit of her composure.

"Yeah, these cleansing rains really bring out the vibrancy of this place, don't you think?"

"Um, vibrancy, yeah!" Ayla nodded. She couldn't help but notice that this young boy used language that was older than his years. Remembering what she had been doing the moment before, Ayla's eyes scanned the lagoon. She did not see the dolphins anywhere.

"What's up Ayla? You look like you're somewhere else," Kaleo said, with a searching look in his eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I was just... I mean, I just came out to walk the beach. It feels good to have the sunshine back again," she said, eyes still darting past the waves.

"Oh, those few days of rain were nothing. Just wait until March comes. Last year, we had forty straight days of rain!" he said. "But it's good. You learn to appreciate the rainy days, too. And besides, you know what they say... no rain, no rainbows!"

"Uh, right. Rainbows!" she repeated, her eyes still off in the distance.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked. "You're not still worried about that Lenny guy from last night are you? Because if you want me to—"

"No, no. I mean, yeah I'm fine. It's just that, well..."

At that moment, Ayla considered telling Kaleo about her dreams.

Maybe he'll understand.

Maybe he knows something.

Or maybe he'll just think I'm a crazy haole girl!

"Well, I had this weird dream last night, that's all."

"Oh, that explains it," he said. "You know Ayla, dreams are powerful here! Pay close attention. Sometimes they're trying to tell you something. Grandpa Kali says that there's more to our dreams than we know!" Kaleo paused a moment, as a far off look flashed deep within those hazel eyes. Then he looked back at Ayla. "Do you want to tell me about it? I'm a good listener."

Ayla was still considering if she wanted to share her dreams or not. She had only just met this boy. But then again, Kaleo seemed different than most kids her age. She didn't think he would make fun of her or anything. But how could she be sure?

Finally, Ayla took a deep breath and began her tale.

"Well, it started yesterday. I had this dream that I was underwater and someone or something was calling my name!" she said, watching Kaleo's eyes. He was staring back at her, listening intently. "The voice kept getting closer and closer until finally..." she paused again, looking at Kaleo once more. "They just appeared, right in front of me."

"Who appeared?"

"The dolphins!"

"The dolphins?" he asked. "So that's why you were asking about dolphins last night."

Ayla looked at Kaleo. He just stared back at her.

"Yeah, well anyway, there were three of them floating in front of me, looking straight at me. And they weren't just calling my name. They said, 'Ayla, can you hear us?'"

Ayla saw Kaleo's expression begin to change.

"I know, it sounds kind of crazy but..."

"Crazy? No, that doesn't sound crazy at all!" the boy replied. "Did you ever consider that perhaps the nai'a are your 'aumakua?"

"The what are my what?"

"Oh, sorry," Kaleo said, chuckling. "Nai'a is how we say dolphin in Hawaiian. And your 'aumakua is your ancestral spirit guide. It's like a guardian animal that protects you here on Earth. Almost everyone in Hawai'i has an 'aumakua. Sometimes even two."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Ayla replied. "Do you have an 'aumakua?"

"Of course I do!" said Kaleo. "It's Pueo. The Hawaiian owl. He's beautiful. All white with a little gray in his feathers. And there's something about his eyes that are different from other owls."

At that moment, Ayla couldn't help noticing that Kaleo's eyes were different, too.

"Pueo always shows up in the most fortuitous moments. Whenever I see him streaking through the sky, I know that something good is about to happen."

Kaleo paused, as if considering something.

"You know Ayla, I hadn't seen Pueo in a while. But then last night, just before sunset, there he was, flapping over my head and heading out to sea.

This made Ayla ponder an entirely new set of questions.

Before she could ask anything else, Kaleo got a funny look on his face and said, "It was strange though, because Pueo was flying fast. I mean, they can zip through the sky and all but they usually fly nice and slow, kind of gliding through the air. And I rarely see him heading makai. He's usually going mauka, hunting."

"But how did you first know that the owl was your 'aumakua?" she asked, fascinated. "Did he speak to you or anything?"

"Oh, don't get me started. I have a ton of stories to tell you about Pueo and me. But finish telling me about your dream. What happened next?"

"Well..." she paused again, debating how much to say. "As soon as I heard the voice, I woke up. And then the craziest thing happened. I got out of bed and went to the window and right at that moment—"

"Eh, Kaleo! Come on. We gonna miss 'em, Brah!"

Kaleo and Ayla turned to see Kawika and J-Boy, running up the beach with spears in hand.

"Oh man, sorry Ayla. I told the guys to meet me this morning so we could go out for Kole."

"For what?"

"Kole. It's a special kind of fish. Back in the old days, only the Ali'i could eat Kole. But now, there's no more Kapu!"

Ayla looked at him, unsure if she should ask.

"Ali'i means royalty, Ayla. Like the Kings and Queens of Old Hawai'i. And Kapu, well..." Kaleo said, looking towards his approaching friends, "That's gonna have to wait until next time."

"Aloha Ayla!" said Johnny. "Nice day, right?"

Kawika said nothing. Just nodded shyly in Ayla's direction.

"Aloha Johnny, aloha Kawika," Ayla replied. "Yeah, finally, some sunshine!"

Johnny smiled and said, "Hey, you know what they say... no rain—"

"No rainbows!" Ayla finished.

This made Kawika and J-boy smile.

"Akamai, Ayla! You're gettin' it girl. Right on!" Johnny said, throwing her a shaka. "Come on Kaleo, let's get going."

The two boys moved down to the water's edge and started preparing their gear.

Kaleo waited until they were out of earshot. "Wow, Ayla! It sounds like someone is trying to tell you something."

"But that was just the first dream. This morning's dream was even stranger."

Ayla was feeling comfortable talking to Kaleo about all of this. It felt good to be able to tell someone.

"It might have been because of your Grandpa's old stories but in the second dream, I was walking down a beach. It was this beach right here but it was different somehow. It was like I was transported back in time. There were thatched roof huts and a dug out canoe and lots of... I guess they were native Hawaiians. They were drumming and chanting and facing the sea."

Ayla went on to explain her dream with every detail, all the way up to part about the dolphins. Realizing she had been going on and on, she finally stopped and took a deep breath.

"So, what do you think?"

Kaleo let out a big breath of his own and said, "Whoa, Ayla!"

"I know. It sounds crazy, right?"

"No, that's not what I was going to say. I don't know if you know this. Not many people do. But this beach used to be an ancient fishing camp. Long ago, all the families in the area lived up in the valleys during the winter, growing their crops and stuff. But every summer, they would all move down to this beach and congregate together in one big fishing camp."

Ayla didn't know what to say. She just stared at him with big eyes, then glanced down at the two boys. Johnny and Kawika looked to be growing a little impatient. Finally she asked, "So, what do you think it all means?"

"Well, I can't say I know exactly what it means, but it definitely sounds like the dolphins are trying to tell you something."

"But tell me what?"

"I guess you should ask them that!" he replied, looking out over the water. "Well, I better go. Those Kole aren't going to wait forever, but hey..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for sharing your, um, your dreams with me," Kaleo said, then started toward the water. Before he got more than three steps, Kaleo turned and whispered, "Keep me posted. I wanna know what they have to say to you!"

With one look into the young boy's eyes, Ayla knew he meant it. He wasn't ridiculing her at all. He was genuinely interested in this little haole girl and her crazy dreams.

"Thanks Kaleo," she replied. "Thanks for listening!" she said, smiling back at him. "And hey, I still want to hear those owl stories you promised!"

"You got it, Sister!" The boy replied with a playful wink. "A hui hou!"

"A hui hou, Kaleo!"

Using that phrase for the first time felt good to Ayla. Almost natural. And she liked the way he called her 'Sister'. Not in a sibling way or in a hippie kind of way. And certainly not like that Lenny character had used it the other night.

Kaleo said it like they were connected as family somehow. As if they were part of the same island 'ohana.

And Ayla liked it.

### TWELVE

Ayla watched as Kaleo and his friends disappeared into the water in search of their royal treasure.

Watching the regal way in which he carried himself, Ayla couldn't help but wonder about this boy. He was unlike anyone that she had ever met.

Turning her attention back to the ocean, all the things that Kaleo had said continued spinning around in her head.

The 'aumakua, the fishing camp, the fact that dreams are so powerful on this island. And the thing he said about the dolphins trying to tell her something.

Ayla's mind kept getting stuck on the question of what the dolphins could possibly be trying to tell her. And why her?

She replayed Kaleo's words in her head once more.

"I guess you should ask them that."

It did make sense.

I guess it couldn't hurt to try, she thought. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? They don't say anything back to me? But do I try in my dreams or in the water? Or maybe just right here on the beach?"

Ayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hello? Is there anyone out there? It's me, Ayla."

Nothing.

She tried again.

"Aloha... can you hear me?"

Still nothing.

Now she just felt silly, trying to talk to voices in her head.

Ayla let out a discouraged breath.

"I give up!" she shouted at the sky, then stood up and started walking back toward the house.

Needing a distraction from all these voices inside her head, Ayla put her headphones back on and hit shuffle.

After a few more steps, trying to think about something else, anything else, she found herself humming along to the random song.

"Don't give up... because you have friends!"

It was a remake of a classic Peter Gabriel tune.

"Don't give up... you're not beaten yet!"

Seriously? she thought. Out of the thousands of songs on my iPod, this one comes on?

Ayla took one more look out at the ocean, then continued walking toward the house.

As she approached, she saw Aslyn bounding outside with his newly finished spear.

"Let me guess," Ayla said, sarcastically. "You're going fishing?"

"Yeah, check it out," he said, holding out the crude handmade spear for Ayla's inspection. "I just finished it. I'm gonna go give it a try!"

"You really think you can catch a fish with that thing?" Ayla asked.

"Well, I'm not really expecting much," he admitted. "I obviously need some practice. But I know there's tons of fish out there. I've seen what Kaleo brings in. And do you remember when we were little? When we used to play on the beach with Mom and Dad? Dad was always fishing. I remember him bringing in fish every time he went out."

"I don't remember that," Ayla said, trying to recall images of those early days.

"Well, you were only like two or three. You were always happy just splashing around in the water. But I remember watching Dad and thinking that when I grew up, I wanted to be just like him," he said. "I wish he was here to give me some pointers. But I'd love to get the hang of this before they get back."

Ayla looked away, thinking about something for a moment. "You know, I don't really remember much from back then. I do remember playing in the water with Mom. But that's probably because of that old picture that Grandma and Grandpa have up on the wall. Come to think of it, why didn't Mom and Dad have any old pictures back in California?"

"Well, Mom told me that when we moved, they left most of their stuff here at Grandma and Grandpa's. And since that was before everything went digital, I bet there's boxes and boxes of old stuff up in the attic. You should ask Grandma."

"Yeah," Ayla said, making a mental note to ask Kate about the pictures... and a few other things. "Last night, when I took those mangos over to Kaleo's house, his grandfather pulled out a box of old pictures. You should have seen them. I saw Grandpa when he was like ten years old. He was so young! And I saw some pictures of Mom back when she was just a baby!"

"Cool!" said Aslyn. "Well, I'm gonna go give my spear a try. See ya later."

"Later."

As Ayla watched Aslyn skip off toward the water, she began to consider how much she didn't know about her family's life here on the island. At that moment, she decided she was going to find out more. What was it that Kali said? If you wanna know something, just ask an old person, or something like that.

"Grandma?" Ayla called out, as she came through the lanai door. She got no response but heard dishes clanking in the kitchen.

Grandma Kate was just finishing cleaning up from breakfast when Ayla walked in.

Pico was on the counter next to Grandma, eyeing the breakfast scraps and choosing his favorites before they went into the compost bin.

Now Ayla realized why she hadn't seen Pico all morning.

"Aloha, Ayla. How was the beach?" Grandma asked.

"It was good," she replied. "I saw Kaleo."

"Oh, that Kaleo. He's such a sweet boy. Kali and Kamaile raised him well," she said. "It was such a shame what happened with his mother." Ayla watched as Grandma's eyes drifted out the window.

"What?" Ayla asked. "What happened to his mother?"

"Oh, nothing you need concern yourself about, Dear. Besides, that was so long ago," Grandma said, shaking her head and trying to change the subject. "Anyway, what did you need, Ayla?"

"Well, I was thinking about when I used to live here. You know, like when I was little. Do you have any pictures from back then? Mom and Dad never had any at the apartment in San Diego."

"Oh, I'm sure we do!" Grandma said. "Your mom left all her stuff here when you moved. She said it was too much to ship everything to the mainland. She knew that you would all be starting out in a small place. To tell you the truth, I think they wanted to leave an anchor here. Moving away from the island was such a hard choice for your parents!"

"So you think there's some in the attic?"

"Well, when your grandfather gets back from Kali's house, I'll send him up to take a look!" she said, hand drying the last of the plates. "You know, I just don't understand the whole football thing! Honestly, I think they just use it as an excuse to drink beer and tell old stories!" Grandma said, shaking her head.

"Thanks Grandma," Ayla said, heading back out to the beach. "I'm going for a swim."

"Be careful out there. Never turn your back to the ocean. And stay close to your brother!"

"Braaawk. Close to Brother. Close to Brother!"

The old woman winked at the bird, then looked out the kitchen window. As she watched her granddaughter dive into the lagoon, Kate's thoughts couldn't help but drift out to her daughter, a long, long way upon that eternal sea.

"Oh, Leilani..." Grandma said, as she fingered her great grandmother's wooden cross, still dangling from her neck after all these years. "That little girl has more of you in her than we knew. Where are you? You should be here! She's going to need you soon! There's only so much your father and I can teach her," Grandma said, as her eyes trailed off toward the west.

"Teach her. Teach her."

Grandma reached over and scratched the bird in his favorite spot. With her thoughts still on her daughter, she said, "Just make sure you make it back home this time!"

"Home!"

### THIRTEEN

The ocean felt inviting as she dove through the warm liquid.

Ayla just swam for a while, feeling the exhilaration of her heartbeat as it sped up with each stroke through the water.

Aslyn might have been the family swim champion, but Ayla was a natural.

Leilani had always told Ayla that she had inherited her love of the water from her. But Ayla knew she was still far from feeling as comfortable in the ocean as her mother.

After sprinting out a few hundred yards, Ayla stopped and rolled onto her back. She just floated with her eyes closed for awhile.

As the peace of the Pacific enveloped her, Ayla's mind went completely still.

That's when she heard it.

"Ayla..."

It was that distant voice.

Instead of bolting upright, she remained motionless, floating with her eyes closed.

"Ayla..." the voice called again, more clearly this time. "Welcome home."

Suspended in that weightless state, Ayla reached out toward the voice.

"I'm here. It's me, Ayla."

The response came, like a choir of angels this time.

"Ayla... we know you. We have always known you."

Just then, Ayla was snapped out of her tranquil state by the sound of whooping and hollering.

She lifted her head, opening her eyes and looking toward the sound.

It didn't take her long to spot Aslyn down the beach, leaping up and down with his spear high in the air. Ayla squinted into the distance and could just make out the silhouette of something squirming on the end of his wooden spear.

When she turned to look back out at the ocean, she saw three dolphins swimming away.

"Ayla! Ayla!" Aslyn cried. "Check it out! I did it. I did it!"

Scowling at the unwelcome distraction, Ayla swam back to shore and began to towel off. As she was drying her hair, it suddenly hit her.

I did it!

She had communicated with the voice... with the dolphins.

It wasn't just a dream after all. She was fully awake this time. And she had heard them. Even more amazing to Ayla was the fact that she had successfully responded back.

She stood there for a moment replaying the entire scene in her head.

They said they knew me.

That they've always known me!

Wait... how is that possible?

More questions spiraled through her mind.

"Ayla! Ayla!" Aslyn called out, running down the beach. "Check it out!"

Realizing that the moment had passed, Ayla exhaled and turned her attention reluctantly toward her brother.

Aslyn was ecstatic.

One little Manini fish was not considered a huge catch by any standards but Aslyn felt like he had just bagged a hundred pound Ulua. He went on and on about the technique he used and all sorts of other details that didn't mean a thing to Ayla.

But her brother's enthusiasm was contagious and she knew what it meant to him. Besides, Ayla couldn't hold it against him, even if he had just interrupted one of the most amazing experiences of her life.

Should I tell him? she wondered.

But she knew she couldn't. What would she say? Yeah, that's great and all, you caught a fish, but you just totally interrupted my first conversation with the dolphins?

No, thought Ayla, he wouldn't believe me, anyway. So instead, she settled for, "Nice job, Aslyn. I knew you could do it."

"I can't wait to go show Grandpa!" the boy said, beaming with pride at the poor little Manini's expense. "I'm going to the house to clean it. Maybe Grandma will cook it for dinner!"

"You call that dinner?"

"Well, I know it's kind of small. But still, it is cool isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Ayla replied, with less enthusiasm than her brother.

"You want to come help me clean him?"

"Uh, no thanks!" she said with a disgusted look on her face.

Undeterred, Aslyn started off toward the house.

"I'm going to show Grandpa. See ya later!" he shouted over his shoulder, skipping down the beach with his prize fish still dangling on the end of the wooden spear.

Once the silence had returned, Ayla turned and gazed out at the ocean once more. Still exhilarated by her triumph, she decided to try again.

She stood up on the sand and put her arms out to her sides. With her palms open and her body facing west, Ayla closed her eyes.

"Hello? Are you still there?" she began in a soft voice, almost whispering, "It's me, Ayla."

Nothing.

She tried again.

Still no response.

Maybe I have to be in the water, she thought.

Willing to try anything at this point, Ayla waded into the water, took a deep breath and dove under.

Once she was underneath the veil, all sound was extinguished except for the gentle pulsing of the ocean current. She tried hard to focus her mind.

It's me... Ayla! Can you hear me?

Still nothing.

Starting to get frustrated, Ayla tried harder.

Nothing but the silence of the sea.

She couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong. Searching her mind again, Ayla tried to remember everything she had done before.

She returned to floating on her back. She closed her eyes and tried again, hoping this was the missing ingredient.

Still silence.

"Arrgh!" she exhaled, standing up in the shallows.

"What is it? What am I doing wrong? I know I heard you!" she yelled. "I'm here... listening. Where are you?"

Then all of a sudden, Ayla heard a voice.

"You try too hard. Do not let your thoughts get in the way!"

She turned to locate the sound. It wasn't coming from the water.

"You must still your mind of distracting thoughts. Only then, can you truly listen," the voice said. "Only when you listen, can you truly hear."

"Huh?" she asked, turning to look behind her. As Ayla's eyes caught sight of him, she gasped in surprise.

Oh... that's him! The man I saw when, when...

The old mysterious man wore a grin upon his face and that simple green cloth around his waist. He stood at the shoreline, watching her.

Ayla's eyes began focusing on the Kukui nut lei around his neck.

She marveled at its polished beauty... its regal presence.

And the staff...

The staff he held in his right hand looked ancient and weathered. Intricate patterns were etched deep within the dark wood. And Ayla could see a brilliant crystal, embedded near the top.

This translucent crystal seemed to glow with the same ethereal light she had seen from her window, casting a faint aura around the old man.

"Open your mind, open your heart and let it flow through you."

Then the old man lifted the staff and took three steps into the water. Ayla saw him close his eyes for a moment.

"Do not try so hard. Try easy!"

Ayla didn't know what that meant.

How do I try easy? she wondered.

She heard the man's voice again, but this time, his lips weren't moving.

This time, his voice was coming from inside her head.

Let go, Ayla. Just let go! he said. Do not think... Feel!

Ayla closed her eyes and took in the old man's words.

She tried to feel but her mind kept asking questions.

How does he know my name?

How does he know about the dolphins?

How is he inside my head?

Try as she might, Ayla's mind just couldn't make sense of all these thoughts flowing through her head.

Everything will happen when you release your hold on what you think you know. Then, and only then, can Spirit truly flow!

"But how do I do that?" she asked out loud.

Believe, Ayla... just believe!

Then, she saw the man lift his staff higher into the air.

Ayla could see the glow from the cerulean crystal as it began spilling over the lagoon, bathing the entire scene in glorious light.

Then Ayla heard a word she would never forget.

"ManaPono!" he said out loud.

The sound of this powerful word washed over her, as she closed her eyes and tried letting go.

But it was no use. Ayla's mind was raging now.

Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, it began pouring rain.

Huge drops of water rained down from the heavens, drenching the girl where she stood. How a perfectly clear day could turn into a downpour in seconds, she didn't know. But that was the least of Ayla's questions at that moment.

When she opened her eyes again, the old man was gone.

Ayla stood there in the middle of the pouring rain with her mouth open and her mind spinning out of control.

She would have looked quite a sight to anyone passing by at that moment, drenched in rain with both hands and mouth agape.

But as the rain fell harder and harder, Ayla was returned to her senses.

She made a mad dash for her towel, draped it over her head and raced off toward the house.

### FOURTEEN

By the time Ayla reached the shelter of the covered lanai, she was soaked.

"Whoa... slow down there girl!" Grandpa said, as he watched Ayla sprint for cover.

Grandpa and Aslyn were cleaning the fish at the outdoor sink. At first, Ayla didn't say anything. She just searched desperately for a dry towel.

"Pico!" Aslyn yelled. "No!"

Ayla pulled the towel off her head just in time to see the bird pecking at Aslyn's fish.

"Pico! Just wait a second. I'll give you some when I'm done!" Aslyn shouted, trying to shoo the bird away.

Ayla couldn't help but laugh at the scene which now included Bobo and the two cats, all looking up expectantly at the 'Great Fish Warrior'.

"Ayla, will you get your stupid bird out of my way! He's making it impossible to work!" Aslyn yelled, as if the hunger of the entire family depended on his catch of the day.

"Brawck. Fish. Fiiish!" Pico exclaimed, refusing to back down.

Grandpa just stood there laughing. "Well Ayla, it looks like your brother could use a little help!"

"Yeah, that's not all he could use," Ayla said under her breath, as she moved over to the sink. "Pico... here!"

The bird looked at Ayla, eyed the fish once more, then lifted into the air with his wings flapping only inches from Aslyn's face, which had turned beet red by now.

"Good bird!" Ayla said, chuckling at her brother.

"Pico. Good Bird. Goood Bird!"

"Where have you been, anyway?" she asked her feathered friend.

Pico, looked up toward Ayla. "Fiiish!"

"Yes, Pico. Fish. That's Aslyn's fish!" she said, playfully scolding the bird.

"Yeah, and you tell that overgrown parakeet he better step off if he knows what's good for him!" Aslyn said, fixing the bird with an evil eye.

"Now, now," Grandpa said, "there's no need for any of that, Aslyn. Pico didn't mean any harm!"

"What's all this commotion out here?" Grandma Kate called out as she opened the screen door. "Oh Ayla, you're soaking wet! Let's get you something dry to put on!" she said, moving back into the house.

"You gotta be pretty quick around here!" Grandpa said. "The rains can come out of nowhere. I remember this one time when your mother was your age, she and I—"

"Grandpa, who's that old man?" she asked, cutting off his story.

"Sorry, who's who? What man?"

"The old man. The one with the staff and the green thing around his waist. I saw him on the beach just now. Just before it started to rain."

"Oh... um, I don't know if—"

"Luke!" Grandma had returned. She was standing in the doorway, fixing one of her looks in Grandpa's direction. Ayla thought this might be the kind of look that Grandpa had warned her about.

Duke looked over at his wife and the two of them exchanged a few glances.

"Okay, you're right," Grandpa said to Kate. "Well Ayla, I think it's time we got around to some of that mana'o I was talking about. After this rain lets up, we're gonna take a little walk, you and I."

"Not before we eat!" Grandma said. "I have fresh mangos and some baked 'Ulu. Come on everyone!"

"Mango. Mango. Maaango!"

### FIFTEEN

After everyone finished lunch and Pico had his fill of mangos, Grandpa stood up from the table and grabbed his old straw hat.

"Okay, the rain has let up. Let's go. I'm going to take you someplace special!" Grandpa gave Ayla a little wink and the two of them headed out the door.

As they walked out onto the beach, they turned right and headed down the sand, tracing the shell line as they went.

Ayla had usually gone left during her morning walks. She had not explored this northern direction much, except for the other day when she came across the place from her dream.

Arriving at the site of the ancient fishing camp, Grandpa paused a moment as if considering something, then shook his head and kept walking.

It wasn't long before they came upon the stretch of sand in front of the valley where Kaleo's family lived. Grandpa began telling Ayla stories about him and Kali when they were kids.

He told lots of funny tales at first. Like the time the two of them got lost in their backyard looking for mountain apples.

"Lost in your backyard?"

"Well, back in those days, there were no fences. Everyones backyard used to extend all the way up into those valleys back there. All the way up to the base of those mountains."

Ayla looked up toward the distant peaks and was struck by their majesty. They held a strength and a serenity that was enchanting to look upon.

"Yep," Grandpa said. "Those are the Pali. Beautiful, huh?"

"Pali? I thought you said mountains was mauka?" Ayla asked.

"Good! You're paying attention! Pali actually means cliff. If you look all the way up there, you can see the formations of the old lava faces, carved and shaped over millions of years by the winds and rains that sweep over the Pacific. You know, that reminds me of an old legend..."

Grandpa told Ayla the legend of Pele, the goddess of fire. The force living beneath all the volcanoes in Hawai'i.

Next, he told her the legend about Maui, the 'Hawaiian Superman', who fished all the islands out of the ocean with his magic hook.

He told her about the moana and the kai, the ocean and the sea. Then more legends about the 'āina and the uka, the land and the upland forests and all the mythical beings that inhabited those sacred places. That's when he told her about the Menehune and their infamous powers.

Then Grandpa told her about the legends that surround the 'Tales of the Nighttime Rainbow'. Ayla really liked that one, even though she had never seen a moonbow before.

In the telling of these legends, Duke would often pause to explain some of the Hawaiian words he was using.

He spoke of mālama, kōkua and kuleana... care, help and responsibility of the people to their land and to each other.

"Because Ayla, truly I tell you. The people are tied to the land and the land is tied to the people."

Then, Grandpa took a deep breath and his voice took on a more reverent tone as he explained the meaning of the next word.

"One of the most important words us Hawaiians have is Mana!"

As Grandpa said this word, Mana, his eyes lifted up towards those towering mountains in the distance. Their cathedral spires were reflecting the afternoon sun in a dance of shadow and light.

"What does Mana mean, Grandpa?" Ayla asked, remembering that she had heard this word once before.

"Mana is divine or supernatural power!" he said. "It is the energy from Ke Akua, the Creator. The Mana of Ke Akua flows into us all, filling us with love and power until our cup overflows, spilling out into the rest of the world."

His long arms made a sweeping motion from the top of his head, outward toward the mountains and the sea, as he said, "That's the true Aloha, Ayla!"

"But Grandpa, I thought aloha meant hello and goodbye."

Grandpa just smiled and shook his head.

"That's what most people think. But the true definition of Aloha goes much deeper than that, Ayla!"

"And that word, Mana... I think I understand. Kaleo used that word the other night. He said that Lenny boy had 'no good mana'."

"Oh, yes. I know Leonard, all right. I know his father and his grandfather, too." Duke said, shaking his head again. "To tell the truth, Kaleo wasn't far off when he said that. Most people on this island live a bountiful life filled with aloha. Everyone sharing and helping each other out. But for some reason, every once in a while someone comes along that seems intent upon making life difficult for themselves and everyone else."

"Yeah, I knew some of those people back home," Ayla said. "They were the ones always getting into trouble."

"Exactly! You're a smart girl, Ayla. I've always said that you're akamai!" Grandpa said, beaming at his granddaughter. "And you're fortunate that you come from such a strong line of aloha. So even with those people who make trouble, it is still our kuleana, our responsibility, to show them aloha!"

"Even when they do something really bad?"

"Especially then!" Grandpa exclaimed. "We must all mālama our 'ohana. Because Ayla, the truth is, we are all part of one big 'Ohana."

Grandpa looked out upon the ocean as the two of them strolled further down the beach.

"Fortunately on this island, there aren't many people like Leonard and his father," Grandpa said. "Look at his little brother, Johnny. He's a good kid. He's got good mana. It just goes to show, you never know. So you always give your aloha no matter what. And aloha will come back to you. Maybe not from that person, but it will come. You can believe that, Ayla!"

They had walked so far by now that Ayla began seeing things she had never seen before.

The flora and fauna in this direction was different. It was more lush and tropical somehow. Ayla also noticed that in certain places, the jungle seemed to open up into little valleys that traced all the way back up toward those steep mountains that seemed to kiss the sky.

Looking closer, Ayla could see the canopies of giant mangos and other old trees she didn't recognize. She imagined that each of those valleys held their own little secret world back there. It all looked so mystical to her eyes.

Then, Grandpa's stories turned even deeper.

"You know Ayla, our family descends from royalty long, long ago!"

The old Duke told his granddaughter about the Kumulipo, the story of creation, the genealogy chant that was common to all ancestors of Hawai'i.

Closing his eyes and lifting his hands to the heavens, Grandpa chanted the Kumulipo for Ayla in his deep sonorous voice, reciting the entire thing from memory.

It sounded more like a song than a history lesson.

"This is how information was passed down for hundreds and hundreds of years before the written word came to Hawai'i."

Then Grandpa took a deep breath. When he opened his mouth again, a powerful wave spilled out over Ayla. A harmonic wave that enraptured the young girl with its sacred sound.

"Ka Pule A Ka Haku!

E kō mākou Makua, i loko o ka lani

E ho 'āno ia kou inoa

E hiki mai kou aupuni

E mālama 'ia kou makemake, ma ka honua nei

E like me ia i mālama, 'ia ma ka lani lā

E hā'awi mai iā mākou i kēia lā, i 'ai na mākou no nēia lā

E kala mai ho'i iā mākou, i ka mākou, lawehala 'ana

Me mākou, e kala nei i ka po'e, i lawehala i kā mākou

Mai ho'oku'u 'oe iā mākou i ka ho 'owalewale 'ia mai

E ho'opakele nō na'e, ia mākou i ka 'ino

No ka mea, nou ke aupuni, a me ka mana, a me ka ho'onani 'ia a mau loa aku!

'Āmene!

'Āmama!

A me Alooooooohaaa!!!"

They walked together in silence for a while.

Ayla didn't know what to say. She had never heard her grandfather chant before. Not like that anyway. These sounds stirred something inside Ayla, leaving a deep mark within her soul.

After passing other sites and treasures that were new to Ayla's eyes, they came to a place on the beach where she noticed a series of large lava stones submerged in the water.

Their black weathered tips were projecting above the tide line. They would have formed a perfect semi-circle, enclosing the beach on both sides, if there had not been a few stones missing or out of place.

"What are all these stones, Grandpa?"

"I'm glad you asked, Ayla. This is the place I was talking about. These pōhaku, these stones, are the remnants of the old fishpond that used to be here long ago. Fishponds like this were a part of Old Hawai'i, almost everywhere you went. This fishpond here... it has fed our family for generations."

"Fishpond?" she asked. "Kaleo was just telling me about an ancient fish camp down the beach."

Duke's left eyebrow shot up as he looked at his granddaughter, then back down the beach.

"And I had a..." Ayla paused, considering whether to share her dream or not.

"Go on, Ayla. Had a what?" Grandpa asked, with a searching look in his eyes.

She wasn't sure she could explain all of this to a grown-up yet. Ayla knew she could trust her grandfather, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell anyone. Instead, she just looked out at the waves in the distance.

Watching his granddaughter's eyes trail out over the ocean, Duke said, "You're a lot like your mother, you know."

"Mom? How?"

"You have the Gift."

"The gift?" she asked. "What gift?"

"Ka makana o ke kai! The Gift of the sea!" Grandpa said. "The Gift of the ancient ones!"

As they walked home that afternoon, Grandpa shared more of their family's history with Ayla. He told her about his grandparents and their grandparents before them. Grandpa regaled her with so many names and stories about her ancestors, that Ayla had a hard time keeping it all straight. But the one point that kept coming back to her was this:

They all seemed to be connected to the sea.

"But what does all this have to do with me?"

"Well, that's just it, Ayla!" said Duke. "Don't you see? You are the recipient of everything and everyone that has gone before you. In your lifetime, you will surpass all that your grandmother and I have ever done. You will even go further than your mother and father. Especially if you can unlock the secrets of your ancestors."

The word ancestors caused Ayla to ponder the meaning of her dreams even deeper than before.

But the more she thought about it, the more she wasn't sure if she was ready to accept all of this. She had only recently grown accustomed to liking this place.

Sensing Ayla's uncertainty, Grandpa smiled and said, "Don't worry, sweetheart. All this may seem like a lot at first, but it gets easier with time. Trust me on that one, Ayla. Because the truth is..."

Grandpa Duke stopped walking.

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. When he opened them again, he looked deep into his granddaughter's eyes.

"This is your destiny!"

"My destiny?"

"Yes Ayla, your destiny!" Grandpa repeated. "Your life has been written in the stars, long before you were born. Your job is to receive and develop these gifts that have been given to you. Nothing could be more easy. It is truth. It is right. It is Pono!"

"Pono?"

"Yes, Ayla. Pono!" Grandpa said, fixing her with his gaze once more. "Pono is a word that is powerful, like Mana. It means excellence and righteousness. But mostly, it means balance. Holding the balance between the two worlds. That's what us Hawaiians do." Grandpa said, looking upward again. "That's the ManaPono!"

ManaPono, she thought. That's what the old man said.

As Ayla took in her grandfather's words, Duke turned back down the beach and said, "Well, I think that's enough for one day. Let's head back now. Your grandmother's probably got some more of that healthy food cooking on the stove!" Grandpa said, chuckling and reaching down to tickle Ayla.

"Grandpa!" she squealed.

"What? You used to love these tickle fingers when you were little," Duke said, laughing and looking as if he had just lost ten years from his countenance. "We'll take another walk tomorrow. I've got a few more stories for you."

### SIXTEEN

As Ayla and Grandpa came around the bend, they spotted Aslyn running toward them, excited as ever.

"Look Grandpa!" he exclaimed, holding out his spear. "I think I'm really starting to get the hang of this!"

This time, there was one Manini fish, bigger than the first one and there was a tiny red 'Āweoweo strung up next to it.

"Well done, Aslyn!" Grandpa said, beaming at the boy. "I was just telling your sister how the gifts of the sea run strong in this family. Ikaika loa ke aloha o kēia 'ohana!" Grandpa said, smiling at both children then nodding to himself as the three walked home to show Grandma.

When they reached the lanai, Kate was relaxing on the porch swing, engrossed in a book with Tiki and Kula lounging on either side. Bobo started yipping with excitement and the two felines perked up at the return of the 'fish warrior'.

"Well Kate, looks like we're creating quite the little fisherman!" Grandpa said, grinning ear to ear. "Pretty soon he'll be feeding the whole family. Then maybe you can get those cats off that canned salmon you're always feeding them."

"Well," Grandma said, not missing a beat, "If you and Kali went out fishing half as much as you watch football, we'd all be eating pretty good!"

"Oh, just you wait, woman. My old fishing buddy, Jordan, is coming home soon and we're gonna bring in a whole boat load the first time we go out, you just watch," Grandpa replied, moving over and catching Grandma this time with those infamous tickle fingers."

At the mention of her father's name, Ayla perked up.

"Three weeks, right?" she asked, the excitement obvious in her voice. Aslyn wasn't the only one excited to see Mom and Dad.

"That's what they said, if all goes as planned and the weather holds," Grandpa replied.

For a moment, Grandma Kate had a far away look in her eyes.

"Oh, Luke Dear. That reminds me," she said, putting her book aside and finding her smile once more. "Ayla was asking about Jordan and Lei's old photos. Could you go up into the attic and take a look?"

"Sure," Grandpa replied. He flashed one more proud smile at Aslyn, then winked at Ayla and headed upstairs.

A few minutes later, Duke returned balancing three boxes in his arms.

"Here you go!" he said, setting the boxes down on the lanai table.

"Wow, that was fast, Grandpa!"

"Well, they weren't hard to find. You know your mother... always labeling everything," Grandpa replied. "It must come in handy with all their research. Especially when they're recording the whale songs. All that sound and data has to be organized in very particular ways."

"And I wonder where she got that from?" Kate said, eyeing Luke with a playful grin. "You've seen your grandpa's shop, Ayla. Not a single screw out of place!"

"That's not what you used to say!" he replied, throwing Grandma a playful, kolohe grin of his own.

Ayla began examining the neat lettering on each box. Not only did the labels say 'Photos' and 'Lei and Jordan', but each box was separated into two year increments.

Doing some quick math in her head, Ayla realized that one of the boxes must have been from when she was two and three years old. The second one was from the year she was born. And finally, the third box was from the years before.

Baby pictures of Aslyn, she thought. Back in San Diego.

At first, Ayla didn't know where to begin. Wanting to see pictures of herself, she decided to open the most recent dates, then work her way back. As she settled onto the swing next to Grandma, the two of them opened the first box.

Inside, instead of finding loose pictures everywhere, the box was full of entire albums. And of course, each album was labeled on the spine with the according months. She pulled one out and opened to the first page.

Grandpa sat down and began strumming his old Koa ukulele. Grandma slid her arm over the back of the swing and looked on as Ayla began the journey into her past.

She hardly noticed when Pico showed up, perching himself on the back of the swing, unusually quiet.

This first album must have been just before they moved to California, because Ayla appeared to be three years old in all of the pictures and Aslyn looked to be about five.

Ayla became captivated by the images staring back at her. It was as if each photo, each scene told a new story. A part of her past.

"I can't believe I've never seen these!" she said, unable to tear her eyes away from these pages in time.

"Well, Lei did say that she wanted to go through all the old stuff in the attic when they get off the boat," Grandma said. "As you know, they haven't had much time here since you all moved back."

Ayla kept flipping through the pages. All those smiles from the early days. All those lost memories resurrected with a single glance.

"There it is!" she said, all of a sudden. "My room! With all the little fish on the walls. I remember that room!" Memories of playing in that room and her parents reading her bedtime stories came flooding back like the tide rising in the lagoon.

"Ohhh!" Ayla exclaimed. "The dolphins! I remember now!"

There they were, plain as day.

In the middle of all the colorful fish strewn across Ayla's old wall, was a hand painted mural of three dolphins diving beneath a rainbow.

"That's your mother's work, alright. Always so creative. She painted that mural while she was pregnant with you," Grandma said, looking over at her granddaughter.

Next, Ayla came across some pictures of her third birthday party. Grandma Kate looked at one of the pictures and said, "Oh, I remember that cake. Your mother and I had so much fun making that one." It was a colorful cake, formed in the shape of a starfish with a big number three in the middle.

"There's definitely an ocean theme going on around here!" Ayla said.

"Well, you just loved being in the water. From before you could even walk!" Grandma recalled. "We could hardly keep you out of the ocean. Grandpa always used to say you must be part fish."

Grandpa turned his attention from his ukulele long enough to wink at Ayla once more, then continued strumming and singing along to an old Hawaiian tune that sounded vaguely familiar by now.

"Did someone say something about fish?" Aslyn asked, calling out from the outdoor sink where he was cleaning his latest bounty.

"Yeah," Grandpa said. "What do you call a fish with two knees?"

"Two knees?" Aslyn took the bait. "I don't know. What?"

"A Two-Knee fish!" Grandpa replied.

"Grandpa!"

"Tuni Fish. Tuni Fish. Braaawck!"

Both kids rolled their eyes at Grandpa but all four couldn't help but chuckle at Pico.

"What? You don't like that one?" Grandpa said, smirking. "Okay then, how about this one... a Hawaiian and a Monk Seal walk into a bar—"

"Luke!" Grandma wasn't amused either. But like most Hawaiians, Grandpa Duke loved to laugh.

Aslyn just shook his head and returned to his fish. Bobo's hungry eyes were swiveling with each move of the boy's hand. The cats seemed content to doze close by. But the only fish Pico was interested in were the ones on the pages in Ayla's lap.

Ayla continued flipping through the endless array of photographs.

Many of them were of her and Lei playing in the water. Ayla noticed that she and her brother always seemed to be running around without any clothes on, happy as could be.

"You know," Grandma said, looking off toward the ocean, "come to think of it, it all started even before you were born!"

"What did, Grandma?"

"Well, when your mom was pregnant with you, she used to spend almost all her time in the water. She would swim everyday to stay in shape. Then, as she started getting bigger, I think it probably felt nice to be weightless for a while." Grandma said, smiling and remembering back to those days. "I would sit on the lanai and watch her swimming and floating in the lagoon."

Then Grandma's eyes grew wide.

"Then, one day, the most amazing thing happened! Your mom was floating on her back just off shore, when all of a sudden an entire pod of dolphins came swimming into the lagoon. They started coming in closer and I remember thinking that was odd, because they mostly stay further out, beyond the reef. But before I knew it, they were completely surrounding your mother. I could hardly believe my eyes."

"Dolphins?" Ayla asked.

Grandpa looked up for a moment, but just smiled and returned to his gentle strumming.

"Oh yes! It was an amazing sight! And when Leilani came back into the house, she was absolutely glowing!" Grandma said. "You know, Luke, your grandmother used to say that dolphins can sense when a women is pregnant."

"Is that true?" asked Ayla.

"Well, it must be," said Grandma, "because when your mother got home, she told me that the dolphins had encircled her. They kept coming up and putting their rostrum, you know, their nose, on her belly and making all these fantastic sounds."

Ayla could hardly believe what she was hearing. It felt like more and more pieces of this strange puzzle were falling into place.

As she turned the next page, she said, "Hey, Aslyn was just talking about this."

"Talking about what?" her brother asked, returning from the sink.

"Check it out, Aslyn!" said Ayla. "Look, that's you. And you're naked!"

"Let me see that!" Aslyn said, moving in for a closer look.

"Look how little—"

"Ayla!" Aslyn said, cutting his sister off as he flushed another bright shade of red.

"Peanut. Peanut. Peeeanut!"

"I'm warning you, Bird!" Aslyn said, fixing the parrot with a steely grin.

"Oh, and look at this one, Brother. This is what you were talking about." It was a picture of Ayla and Lei playing in the water and in the distance, Jordan was fishing with Aslyn behind him, watching his father.

"Yep!" said Aslyn, "That's just how I remember it."

Looking closer at the picture, Ayla noticed something else.

"Hey, what's that?" Ayla asked, looking at Grandpa. "That thing sticking out of the water?" she lifted the album a little higher toward Duke who was now sitting on the swing next to Kate.

"Let me see," he said, pulling the album closer. "Oh, that's the old shipwreck. You can only see it at the lowest tides of the month, when the top of the bow is exposed. Been there for at least a hundred years. That's why they call that 'shipwreck point'," Grandpa explained. "My grandfather said that his grandfather told him that when the very first Europeans came to this beach, they didn't know how to navigate these tricky waters and they ran aground on that reef out there. It's a dangerous place for ships, but they came here because it's where they saw the people. In my Grandpa's stories, he said that all the people went out to help the sailors. He said if it wasn't for the Hawaiians, all those Europeans would have drowned or been eaten by sharks."

Grandpa pointed back to the picture and said, "But this one is actually a different ship. There's not much left of the original shipwreck. It was all wood, you know. The ship in this picture is made of metal. It was from well after the Europeans first came to these islands. Back in the early 1900's, someone thought it would be a profitable idea to bring a big fishing operation into our little lagoon here. Obviously, it didn't work out too well for them."

Ayla could tell Grandpa was thinking about something.

"No," he finally said, shaking his head. "This little lagoon was never meant to be anything big. Just a little fishing village. Not like those big resorts and condominiums they keep building on the other side of the island."

The four continued flipping through the albums, reliving memories and telling old stories until they had finally gone through the last one.

"Mahalo Grandpa. Mahalo Grandma. That was awesome!" Ayla said, as she carefully put all the albums back into the appropriate boxes.

All except for one.

### PART THREE

### PART THREE VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### SEVENTEEN

Ayla took Pico and headed upstairs.

Her head was still swimming with all the images and stories she had heard in the past twenty four hours. She kept returning to the story that Grandma told her about the dolphins and her mother.

I can't wait to ask Mom about that, she thought. I can't believe she never told me that story before. I wonder if the dolphins ever spoke to Mom?

Once again, Ayla had more questions than answers. Between what her grandfather had told her on the beach and all the new stories from the photo albums, she needed a break.

Ayla laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. But no matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn't stop spinning.

What if those were the same dolphins?

How long do dolphins live anyway?

Ayla picked up her iPod and started to search the internet.

I think it's time that I learn a little bit more about dolphins!

When Ayla awoke, she found her iPod on her chest, displaying a picture of a Bottlenose Dolphin.

All of a sudden, she heard the call.

"Ayla!" the voice said, loud and clear. "Ayla!"

She leapt out of bed and ran to the window. Ayla couldn't help but smile when she saw the pod of dolphins in the distance.

Without saying anything to anyone, Ayla slipped out the back door and ran to the water's edge. For the longest moment, she just stood there watching them.

They were jumping and splashing on the far side of the reef.

Aloha! Can you hear me?

Suddenly, they all seemed to disappear.

Hey... where did they go? she wondered.

All of a sudden, she saw three blows in the distance. They were on the inside of the reef this time. When she saw their second blow, Ayla could tell they were swimming closer.

It only took her a moment before she dove straight into the water. Now, she didn't have any of those questions swirling through her mind. She was just swimming, with both heart and mind open to what might happen next.

When she finally lifted her head to see where they were, she couldn't see them anymore. But then, she heard the familiar "Pooosh... Pooosh... Pooosh!" as they exhaled only a few yards in front of her.

The three dolphins were so close and their breath was so loud that it startled Ayla at first. After all, these were wild animals. Ayla was just reading about how dolphins can be moody sometimes, just like people.

Reaching up to thirteen feet in length, their strength in the water was nothing to be taken lightly. At this close proximity, Ayla suddenly realized how big these marine mammals actually were. The largest one had to be eight hundred pounds at least. But Ayla instinctively felt safe and calm in their presence.

Turning her attention back to the present moment, she watched the mist from their exhales hanging in the still air. The afternoon sun streamed through the vapors, creating a dancing rainbow inside of each blow. As the mist slowly vanished, she took a deep breath and dove under.

When Ayla opened her eyes, she saw them encircling her.

She turned slowly in the water, looking at each of them in turn. This close, Ayla could begin to make out subtle differences in each of the three dolphins.

Her next glance confirmed that there were two males, one much bigger than the other, and one female. The large male had intricate markings on his rostrum. Ayla thought he must have seen quite a number of battles in his day. The second, smaller male, had few markings at all, except for one big scar that ran the length of his dorsal fin from front to back. But the female really stood out, sporting bright spots from head to tale.

Not knowing exactly what to say or do, Ayla opened her mind and said, I have so many questions for you.

Instead of hearing a response, she noticed one of the dolphins, the big male, swimming over to where a large Kamani leaf was floating just below the surface. He swam past the leaf, catching it on his pectoral fin, then continued swimming with it as he passed the young girl.

As he approached the female, he let the leaf drift toward her. Then the female started pushing the leaf with her nose.

They're playing, Ayla thought, remembering what Wikipedia said about the playful habits of the Bottlenose dolphins.

It's some sort of game!

Ayla continued to watch, transfixed by the antics of these marvelous cetaceans. One would swim with the leaf for awhile, then pass it on to another. At one point, the smaller male, the baby, began pushing the leaf toward Ayla. He dropped it directly in front of her.

"You want to play?" she asked.

Ayla surfaced, then took a quick breath and dove down toward the leaf, catching it in her hand. She kicked forward a little ways with her arms in front of her and the leaf rippling through the water. As she swam past the baby, Ayla let go of the leaf. Just as she had hoped, he picked it up and swam another circle around the group.

This game went on for awhile. How long is anyone's guess, with all the fun this foursome was having.

Finally getting past the astonishment of actually swimming with dolphins, Ayla just let herself float in this dream-like scene. But it didn't feel like a dream. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like she was playing with old friends.

At one point, the dolphins abandoned the leaf and began to surround her once again. For a long moment, all three were motionless, gazing into Ayla's eyes.

She was captivated with how the light danced off their gleaming bodies. She noticed how the dolphins wore permanent smiles on their faces. And their eyes... there was no denying the deep wisdom contained within those dolphin eyes. Eyes that were staring back at her.

Then, Ayla heard them.

One voice.

One word, resonating from all three dolphins at once.

"Aloha Ayla!"

"Aloha!" she repeated in her mind.

Then the old male swam closer to Ayla than he had ever been, stopping just inches from her face.

"Kai Leo!" he said.

"Kai Leo," she repeated.

The male nodded his head once as if pleased with her response, then swam behind Ayla as the female took his place, just inches from her nose.

"Delphina!"

"Delphina," Ayla repeated, as the female nodded, brushing her rostrum up against Ayla's chest. It tickled and almost made Ayla giggle under water.

Then it was the baby's turn. He playfully swam right up to her and said, "Dorsi!"

"Dorsi," Ayla repeated, smiling at the little one. She continued to watch as the baby did a series of spiraling somersaults, then leapt out of the water as if celebrating.

Then, Ayla heard another word.

Again, this word was spoken by all three voices at once.

"Love!"

"Love?" she asked.

"LOVE!" came the response, louder and clearer than ever.

Without another word, all three turned and began swimming away. For one dreamy moment, Ayla could only watch as the three flukes disappeared toward the west.

"Wait! Don't go. I have more questions!"

But it was no use. They didn't even turn to look back.

When they were almost out of sight, Ayla heard one last word emanating from them.

"Patience."

And the three dolphins vanished into the deep blue.

### EIGHTEEN

For the next few days, all Ayla could think about were the dolphins.

As soon as she awoke, Ayla would jump out of bed and peer out her window. To this city girl's delight, the dolphins kept showing up like clockwork, just as the sun was rising out of the eastern sky.

The four of them swam and played together, inventing games and tricks that grew more complex with each passing day.

Much to Ayla's disappointment, there were no lengthy conversations. In fact, there were hardly any words exchanged at all. When their game would come to an end, the dolphins would usually send her a single word or image before disappearing into the west.

Ayla hadn't told anyone about the dolphins yet. She seemed content keeping all of this as her own little secret for the time being. Something special that was hers, and only hers.

She did however really want to share this with Kaleo, but she just couldn't ever seem to find the right moment. Every time she saw Kaleo, he was either with Johnny and Kawika or Aslyn would show up and ruin the moment.

Just as Ayla was considering that, she saw her brother strolling up the beach. He hadn't yet seen her swimming with the dolphins. Being the notorious sleeper that he was, Aslyn was rarely up that early.

No, I definitely can't tell Aslyn, she thought, watching her brother stumble toward her. He'll just make fun of me. Man, why can't that be Kaleo walking over to me?

"You sure have been getting up early lately," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah," she replied, not sure what to say. "I'm really loving the mornings here!"

"Loving the what? Ayla, what's gotten into you? It used to be impossible to get you out of bed."

"I don't know," she replied, avoiding his gaze. "I guess things are just different here."

"Like how?"

Ayla turned away from her brother, looking out over the ocean thinking about the dolphins. Thinking about Kaleo.

"Ayla, like how!" he repeated.

She didn't respond.

"Hello! Earth to Ayla. Come in Ayla!" he said, making faces and waving his arms through the air.

Fed up with her brother's antics, Ayla's frustration took over.

"I've been communing with the dolphins, okay!" she said, blurting it all out. "Satisfied?"

Aslyn cocked his head and looked his sister up and down.

"Communing?" The sarcasm was dripping from his voice.

"Yeah, communing!"

"What type of communing are you talkin' about, Ayla?"

She could have just dropped it at that. But something in her brother's tone made Ayla want to defend herself. To prove that she was special. To prove that she could do something that he couldn't.

"The dolphins have been seeking me out and telling me things!"

"Telling you things?" Aslyn shot back, mocking her with his eyes now. "What kind of things are the dolphins telling you, Ayla?"

"They have a message for me!" she said, indignantly. "And only me!"

"Oh, so now you're better than everyone else?"

"Oh shut up! That's not what I meant. And besides..."

This type of dialogue could sometimes turn into quite a duel between these two siblings. But at this point, Aslyn wasn't even sure if his sister was still sane.

"Ayla, let me tell you something. I know you've always been kind of a dreamer and all. And I know you've been pretty lonely here. But seriously, I think you might be losing it!"

"I am not! You're just jealous because they picked me and not you!" her ego said.

"Alright, Ayla. If you say so!" Aslyn replied, ready to drop it.

He turned and began sauntering down the beach with both spear and net held proudly in his hands, then turned back and mockingly said, "I'm going to commune with the fish!"

After fuming for awhile, fixating on how irritating her brother could be, Ayla's mood instantly lifted and her smile returned as she spotted Kaleo coming down the beach.

Kaleo saw Ayla and waved his spear through the air, flashing that handsome grin as he approached.

"Aloha, Ayla." he said, moving closer to her. "Beautiful day, yeah?"

"Hey Kaleo!" she said, beaming.

"How's everything going, Sister?" he asked, fixing her with those striking eyes.

Ayla was burning to tell him about the dolphins, hoping he could make it more real somehow. Anything to balance out the emotions that had been stirred up during her spat with her brother.

"I'm good, I guess."

Come on Ayla, she thought. Just tell him!

But, "Going fishing?" were the only words she found.

"Yeah! Should be a good day for it!" he replied, flashing a bright set of teeth. Ayla had to admit, Kaleo's smile did have a way of making her forget about her troubles. "The full moon's tomorrow and the fishing is always good under a big Mahina."

"Uhhh, moon... right?"

Kaleo nodded and smiled.

Ayla wasn't sure what the moon had to do with fishing but not wanting to sound ignorant, she just nodded back and said, "Yeah, should be good."

They talked for a few more minutes, but Ayla never could find the right words.

Kaleo seemed to sense that Ayla's mind was somewhere else again. He had come to know Ayla and her moods much better these last couple of weeks. He seemed to understand when to pull a little more out of her and when to just let it be.

"Well, wish me luck!" he said, giving her a playful wink and lifting his spear.

Ayla watched Kaleo as he floated to the water's edge. Her eyes examined how he held his spear, how he adjusted his mask.

Maybe it was the wink that stirred something inside, but for the first time, Ayla really began to notice how strong and masculine this boy looked. Ayla flushed red as she regarded his brown skin from behind, wearing nothing but his surf shorts. And that knife, hugging his muscular calf.

This was a young warrior.

A handsome young warrior.

Kaleo certainly looked the part as he dove head first into the rippling water.

As Ayla continued observing her friend, she noticed the way his body seemed to glide effortlessly through the silky liquid. How alluring his torso looked as it broke the surface time and time again.

Every minute or so, she would see him surface for air, exposing his head and shoulders to the light. But the best part was when Kaleo would dive deep. His feet would arc high into the sky, then his entire body would disappear beneath the liquid veil.

Watching him in action as he dove deeper and deeper, Ayla could sense that this was someone who could take care of himself. Someone who could protect her.

The more she watched, the more she felt.

This wave of new emotions continued surging through Ayla's body.

As he resurfaced once again, Kaleo turned toward the beach and held up his spear.

Ayla could see the silhouette of a big fish wiggling on the tip. Even with his mask on, Ayla could feel Kaleo beaming at her as he lifted his spear high into the air as if presenting his prize to the Princess.

"Nice, Kaleo!" she called out, but he was already diving back for more.

Ayla observed this hunter's ballet for a long time. As her thoughts drifted into the sea, she began to slip into wonderful daydreams.

Every so often, the girl's eyes would return to Kaleo in the distance. She found herself hoping that she might get another chance to talk to him when he came out of the water.

Finally, after an hour or more, Ayla spotted Kaleo's snorkel heading in, feet kicking up water behind him. As he reached the shore, Kaleo stood up, pushed his mask to the top of his head and walked toward her. He was carrying a bag full of fish.

Ayla pushed up from the sand, watching the boy approach.

"Wow! Nice catch, Kaleo!" she said, hoping she had the terminology straight.

The boy dropped his things on her towel and held up the bag. "Yeah, not too bad," he said humbly. "I got six Manini, two Papio, and one Kole."

"Kole? Isn't that only for Royalty? Or used to be?"

"That's right!" Kaleo said, grinning. "Grandpa says it's always a blessing when you catch a Kole."

Ayla watched the boy reach inside his bag of fish and pull out a second mesh bag. Without a word, he began separating his fish into the two bags. He placed three of his Manini and one Papio in the second bag.

She saw Kaleo pause, then nod to himself and reach back into his bag. When his hand came out again, it held the prized Kole.

Ayla was touched when she saw him place the regal fish gently into the second bag.

"Ayla, you take these to your grandma Kate," he said, as he handed her the bag. "Tell her I say Aloha!"

"But, Kaleo! The Kole, too?" she asked. "That's yours!"

"No worries," he said. "That's how we do it here. Everyone shares what they get. What goes around, comes around. Makes life better for everyone."

Ayla started to protest again but realized that this Hawaiian boy spoke the truth.

"Mahalo, Kaleo!" she said, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll take these to my family and give them your Aloha! Mahalo Nui Loa!" Ayla said, using the Hawaiian emphasis for the first time. Just one of the many phrases she had picked up during her afternoon walks with Grandpa.

"But Ayla..." Kaleo's voice grew excited. "You'll never guess what I saw out there!" he said, reaching his hand toward her shoulder and completing the circle.

"What?" Ayla asked, the excitement growing.

"I saw one of the biggest lobsters I've ever seen in my whole life. He must have been like five pounds or something. Huge!" Kaleo said, holding out both hands. "You hardly ever see lobsters in the daytime. You usually have to go night diving to find them."

Ayla began imagining what it would be like to dive in the ocean at night. There was no telling what could be lurking in those shadowy depths after dark.

But the excitement in Kaleo's voice and the warmth of his hand brought Ayla back to the moment. "I was so stoked when I saw him. I tried to get him but the buggah got away. I followed him for a while, hoping for another chance."

"What happened?"

"I chased him all the way to the edge of the reef, you know, where it drops straight down. And you'll never guess where he went!"

"Where?"

"Down under the old shipwreck!" Kaleo said, with eyes wide. "And when I dove down and started poking my spear around the bottom, it stirred up a whole bunch of 'em. Some sped off toward the reef, but that big one... he darted inside the ship through one of those little holes. When I peeked inside, they were everywhere!" Kaleo's excitement was palpable now.

"Whoa! The shipwreck!" Ayla exclaimed, remembering her grandfather's story.

"Yeah, I know! Grandpa Kali says I should never go out there alone. His famous line is, 'If you Ever go past the shelf, Never go by yourself'. But now that I know there's lobsters down there..." Ayla could see Kaleo's eyes drifting out over the water again. "Grandpa would be so proud if I brought lobsters home for dinner. They're his favorite!"

"It sounds kind of dangerous," Ayla said. "And a little spooky!"

"Nah, it's not that bad. I mean, I've never gone inside but it's not that deep down. It's just on the other side of the reef. It's not like it's at the bottom of the ocean or anything."

"I don't know," Ayla said. "I sure wouldn't do it."

Kaleo looked off toward the west one more time, then stood up. "Well, I better go get these fish cleaned up. It was really good seeing you, Ayla."

"You too, Kaleo," she said, smiling back at him. "And thanks again!"

"No worries," he said, flashing another playful smile. "A'ole pilikia, Sister!"

Ayla watched as the boy hefted his catch over his shoulder and headed home. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him turn around and look at her once more. His strong arm lifted into the air and threw her a high shaka, as he called out, "A hui hou!"

"A hui hou, Kaleo!"

### NINETEEN

The next afternoon, after another playful session with the dolphins, Ayla was sitting on the beach writing.

She had decided to start keeping a journal. It felt like a good way for her to reflect on everything that was happening. Most of the entries were about her dreams and the dolphins.

What they had to say to her.

What she was learning from them.

And perhaps a few thoughts about Kaleo as well.

Ayla had seen his silhouette about an hour before, diving into the water on the far side of the beach. She still had feelings stirring inside of her from their encounter the day before.

Ayla was just starting to daydream again, when all of a sudden, she could feel the presence of someone standing behind her.

"Hey Ayla!"

It was Aslyn. As she turned toward her brother, she saw a mask and snorkel in his hand.

"What are you doing? Writing in your diary?"

"It's not a diary!" she said, still irritable at the sound of her brother's voice. "It's a journal. And it's none of your business!"

"Geez, sorry!" he replied. "I was just asking."

Ayla didn't respond. She just kept her eyes lowered on her journal, still bitter from their exchange the day before and hoping her brother would just go away. They had hardly spoken a word to each other since yesterday.

"Well, have fun journaling or whatever it is you do out here! I'm going snorkeling," he said. "Gonna find some new fishing holes to try when Dad gets back. Later!"

"Have fun!" she said, without a trace of sincerity in her voice. Ayla scowled as her brother sauntered off down the beach.

Losing her train of thought, Ayla put her grandma's old pen down and gazed out at the sea. In the distance, she noticed something dark sticking out of the water, about a half mile out. She squinted into the sun trying to figure out what it was. Then it hit her.

The shipwreck!

Then Ayla noticed the tide. It was further out than she had ever seen it.

Wow, I've never seen it this low before.

Ayla remembered Kaleo saying it was going to be a full moon tonight. And Grandpa had said that on the lowest tides of the month, part of the shipwreck was exposed.

Dismissing it for the moment, Ayla laid back down on her towel, soaking in the gorgeous sun. With her eyes closed, thoughts about Kaleo kept playing through her mind. The way his skin felt when it brushed against hers. The way he made her light up whenever he came near.

But soon, Ayla's thoughts turned back to the shipwreck.

How long has it been there? she wondered. And what happened to all those people?

Somewhere in between the shipwreck and Kaleo, Ayla began to doze off, slipping into that liquid space that exists between consciousness and dreaming.

At some point, something pulled her back to reality.

When her eyes fluttered open and her senses returned, Ayla realized that she was baking in the afternoon sun.

As she got up, she could see that the water was much closer now. She looked out toward the shipwreck, but could hardly see it anymore.

The tide's coming in fast, she thought. How long have I been out?

Ayla took a few groggy steps forward, then dove in the water, relishing the cool sensations on her sunburned skin. She floated for a few moments, letting her mind go still. She was almost surprised when she heard the sound of that distant voice.

But it was different this time.

Ayla couldn't quite make out what it was saying at first. It seemed hurried somehow, not at all like the soothing messages she was used to receiving. As she focused her attention, an overwhelming feeling of anxiety began to wash over her.

Something's wrong! she thought.

Just then, the three dolphins appeared out of nowhere. They were speeding straight toward her, trailing deep wakes behind them. This was not the playful swimming she was used to seeing. This was something else.

The moment they reached her, Kai, Delphina and Dorsi let out one single call.

"Danger!"

### TWENTY

The dolphins began slapping their tails on the water and twisting their bodies in wild motions.

"Danger? What danger?"

Ayla's heart began racing. She could feel the dolphin's urgency coursing through her body.

All of a sudden, a single image appeared in her head.

"Kaleo!"

Ayla's eyes grew real big as she sucked in a shallow breath.

"Kaleo? It's Kaleo?"

Immediately, all three dolphins began nodding their heads up and down with rapid clicks and whistles spilling over the girl.

"Where? Where is he?" she asked, as the tension continued to rise.

Then, a second image.

"The shipwreck!"

A series of frantic questions flooded Ayla's mind.

What should I do?

Should I swim out there?

Go for help?

What? Tell me!!!

Ayla popped her head out of the water and took a deep breath. She tried to reign in the chaos of her mind, spinning further and further out of control.

That's when she heard it.

"Let go Ayla... open your mind, open your heart and just let it go."

Ayla spun around toward the green of the jungle canopy.

There, in the distance, she saw two figures lit by the western sun.

The young woman, Ayla thought. And... the old man!

They were standing side by side, motionless and bathed in that heavenly light. The young woman wore a golden wrap that seemed to shimmer all over. The old man wore that same green cloth with the old staff at his side. This unlikely duo looked as if they belonged in another time. Yet there they were, staring back at Ayla.

She watched as the two figures lifted their right hands toward the west.

It was all so surreal at that moment, but Ayla swore she could see a soft glow spilling out from the tops of their crowns and covering their entire bodies in golden light.

As her eyes followed their hands toward the west, she saw it.

There in the distance, falling from sky to sea, was a glorious double rainbow.

It was brighter than Ayla had ever seen before.

Each band of color was pulsing with light.

Pulsing with sound.

Pulsing with Life!

The first array of color arced down into the water, alighting upon the silhouette of the old shipwreck, causing it to glow with supernatural color.

Tracing the contours of the second rainbow, her eyes followed its arc all the way down into the lagoon, where it drenched this second spot in misty rays of light.

Aslyn!

Ayla exhaled as she spotted her brother's snorkel at the end of that second rainbow.

"Aslyn! Aslyn!" she called out over the water. But he couldn't hear her. His head was still under water.

Frantic now, she turned back toward the jungle. Back to the man and woman.

But they were gone.

Only the faintest trace of light hung above the canopy where they had stood just a moment before.

Growing desperate now, Ayla turned back toward the water.

She summoned all her strength.

Like the bands of light arcing across the sky, Ayla focused all her energy, all her thoughts, all her Mana... then released it over the water!

ASLYN!!!

Suddenly, her brother's head popped up.

"Aslyn! Help!!!" she cried once more.

Aslyn turned toward the sound of his sister's call.

"Help! Hurry!" was all she had time to say before her brother was streaking through the water.

For once in her life, Ayla could truly appreciate her brother's swimming skills as he raced toward her covering the distance in no time.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" he asked, stepping into his lifeguard mode, drawing in deep breaths as his eyes scanned for injuries.

"It's not me!" she insisted. "It's Kaleo! He's in trouble. He's out at the old shipwreck!" The words came flying out so fast that Aslyn could hardly keep up.

"What? Kaleo? At the shipwreck? How do you know? You've never been out that far!" he said, as he drew in another ragged breath.

"The dolphins told me. Come on!" Ayla demanded. "We have to go! NOW!"

In that exact moment, while Aslyn was trying to make sense of everything, the dolphins had surfaced behind him. Three loud exhales lifted into the air, announcing their presence.

"Pooosh! Pooosh! Pooosh!"

"Whoa!"

Disbelief was riddled across Aslyn's face as he turned and beheld the dolphins for the first time.

"Come on!" Ayla cried. "We don't have time!"

"But wait..." Aslyn's mind was still struggling.

Dolphins? The shipwreck? Kaleo?

"Aslyn!" Ayla shouted, grabbing her brother by the shoulders. "Get a grip! I'll explain later. Let's go!"

"But the shipwreck is like five hundred yards away!" he said, as his mind continued protesting. "We don't even have any flippers. It'll take us forever to get out there!"

Ayla turned to look at the dolphins, whose heads were still above water, watching this dialogue go back and forth.

At that moment, all eyes were on Ayla.

What should I do?

Come on, Ayla... think!

No. Don't think... Feel!

That's when she felt it. The silky touch of the female's rostrum gently brushing her thigh.

Whether Ayla came up with the idea or Delphina did, we don't know, for all she said was, "Aslyn! Grab on!"

Ayla reached out and took hold of Delphina's dorsal fin as Kai positioned himself next to her brother.

Out of questions and out of time, Aslyn had only one choice. He reached out his hand and latched onto the slippery surface. Instantly, both dolphins took off at lightning speed, towing the children through the water.

On any other day, at any other moment, this would have been the most exhilarating experience of the children's lives. But at that moment, their adrenaline was matched only by the sheer force of the ocean, coursing over their bodies.

Before they knew it, they were at the edge of the reef. Just on the other side was the old shipwreck, now only inches above the waves.

"Where is he?" asked Aslyn, eyes scanning everywhere.

"I know he came out here to hunt lobster!" Ayla said, with urgency still thick in her voice. "He said they were hiding below, under the ship."

"Under the ship?" Aslyn paused. "Ayla, I hate to say this, but if he's under the ship... and it's been how long...?"

"NO!" she cut him off. "The dolphins! They wouldn't have come if..." but she couldn't finish. "Aslyn, you have a mask. And your lungs are stronger than mine! You have to go down there! The dolphins will help you. Go!"

At this point, Aslyn was past the point of asking questions.

With a single nod, Ayla watched as her brother took three deep breaths then dove into the abyss.

The moment he dipped below the surface, Aslyn could see the old wreck. Just the sight of that dark, ominous ghost of a ship sent shivers up his spine.

Long flowing strands of seaweed danced in the current, refusing to relinquish their purchase on the ship's hull. Fish of all shapes and sizes darted away at the unexpected presence of this hunter in their underwater lair.

Even through the mask, everything looked murky, with shades of black and gray painting the scene.

All of a sudden, Aslyn nearly jumped out of his skin, as a four foot eel sped past him, brushing his right shoulder, then disappearing into a small hole in the bottom of the eerie structure.

As Aslyn looked up again, his eyes beheld an even scarier sight.

He nearly gasped, as he watched the unmistakable silhouette of a large Whitetip reef shark, lurking in the shadows.

Aslyn didn't like the look of this one bit!

### TWENTY ONE

Back at the surface, Ayla was frantic.

She kept dipping her head under to see what was happening. But no matter how hard she tried, the watery depths wouldn't reveal their secrets.

"Pwaaahhh!" Aslyn surfaced a few yards away, gasping for air.

"Did you see him?"

"I... I couldn't see him anywhere! I could hardly see anything down there."

Just then, Ayla saw something over her brother's shoulder.

"Look! Over there!" she exclaimed, pointing across the bow of the ship, which was slipping further and further beneath the waves.

The dolphins had surfaced on the other side and began sounding off their clicks and whistles in rapid succession.

Both children raced to the other side. Without a word, Aslyn dove back under. This time, the dolphins dove with him. Their presence made the sight of the Ghost-ship less ominous somehow.

The dolphins swam just ahead of him, diving down, down, down...

Finally, they stopped near the bottom.

Facing the ship, the dolphins began splashing the hull with their sonar beams. When Aslyn finally reached the bottom, he looked to see what they had found.

They were surrounding a portal, one of the old circular windows in the ship.

Aslyn peered inside, but he couldn't see Kaleo anywhere.

He looked back at the dolphins.

They were swimming in frantic circles around the portal now, obviously trying to tell him something. He pushed his head further inside, past the shards of glass that still clung to the circular frame.

As he pushed in further, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't squeeze his wide shoulders through the jagged edges. Growing desperate for breath, Aslyn had no choice but to return to the surface.

"Did you find him?"

"No..." Aslyn replied, gasping for breath once again. "But... there's a... a hole..."

"Kaleo!" Ayla called out desperately, "Kaleo, where are you?"

"Wait!" Aslyn said, hushing his sister. "Did you hear that?"

Both children strained to hear.

But all they heard was sloshing water hitting the ship.

"Kaleo!" they both called out again, even louder this time.

It was almost impossible to hear anything over the rumble of the rising waves. The tension was growing unbearable.

Suddenly, Ayla shouted, "I hear him! Yes, Aslyn, I hear him!"

The sound was muffled. But as they strained their ears, they could just make out the words, "Down here!"

"He's in the ship!" Ayla gasped.

"And he must have some air," Aslyn said, relief washing over his face.

"But for how long?" Ayla asked, looking at the waterline.

It was rising.

Mercifully, the waves were still small, but they kept building and building.

Aslyn looked over to shore searching for someone, anyone.

But there was no one in sight.

"Ayla, listen to me!" he said. "There's an opening in the hull, but I can't fit through." Then he looked his sister directly in the eyes. "You have to go down there!"

"Me?"

Before Aslyn could answer, they both heard the muffled voice call out once more. "Hurry!"

"Yes, Ayla. You! You can do this!" he said with a determined voice, trying to reassure her. "You have to! The dolphins will show you the way!" Aslyn could hardly believe what he was saying.

Whistles and clicks sounded from the dolphins, heads bobbing up and down.

"Now, listen to me!" Aslyn began, handing her the mask. "Take three deep breaths. I mean really deep, okay?"

Ayla nodded and began to inhale. As she sucked in the third breath, her little lungs became so full, she could feel them pushing into her lower back. When she felt the muscles in her neck expand and she could take in no more, Ayla looked at her brother, then at the dolphins then dove into the abyss.

Beneath the waves, the ship looked more ominous than ever.

The little girl pulled with all her might and kicked further and further down into the unknown.

Half way down the hull, Ayla could already feel her little lungs burning. She knew she was in trouble.

"Help me!" she called out through the murky depths.

All of a sudden, Kai was there, presenting his dorsal like a lifeline.

Ayla reached out and took hold.

As the powerful male dove deeper and deeper, Ayla felt the rush of seawater rippling over her body. Soon, the pressure in her ears grew unbearable. Using a diver's trick she learned from her father, Ayla pinched the mask covering her nose and blew out. With an audible 'pop', all that built up pressure disappeared.

At that moment, Ayla felt like she was entering into another space and time. Another universe beneath the murky depths.

For a split second, she thought she was dreaming again, for this nightmarish scene looked all too familiar to Ayla's frantic eyes.

That's when she saw it.

E-N-D-E-A-V-O-R.

It was painted along the hull of the ship. The large block letters were weathered from years beneath the sea, but unmistakable now as Ayla and the dolphin sped by, diving deeper and deeper into the dismal depths.

When they finally reached the portal, Ayla's lungs were on fire. She looked at Kai with fear in her eyes. For one long dreamy moment, he just stared deeply into her human eyes.

Suddenly, the dolphin began to glow with ethereal light.

The same golden light she had seen spilling out of the man and woman, was now spilling out of the dolphin.

As the energy field grew brighter and brighter, Ayla heard the voice once more.

One word.

"ManaPono!"

The power of this word coursed through Ayla's body and soul.

That's when it happened.

That's when Ayla believed.

She believed in herself. She believed in her friend. She believed in the mysterious force that had brought her to this penultimate moment in her young life. And suddenly, she knew...

The rest is up to me!

Ayla reached for the portal. As her hand grabbed the jagged edge, the thick glass clawed at her flesh. Pushing through the pain, she writhed deeper and deeper into its clutches. Then suddenly, Ayla realized... she was stuck in the middle.

No air.

No time.

Nothing left... but to believe!

Ayla reached out from a place deep within. Her hand searched and searched, then finally caught hold of something sharp and rusty. She pulled and pulled and pulled...

Then suddenly, she was through.

Ayla found herself on the inside of the ghostly hull. She could just make out old rusty chains and algae covered nets floating in the gloomy water. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe.

But then, like a vision from heaven, she spotted a light coming from above.

Ayla summoned every last ounce of courage and breath and reached for the light.

"Pwaaahhh!"

As she broke the surface, nothing could describe the feeling of relief that washed over her as she took in that first gulp of air.

"Ayla!"

She spun around in the small enclosure and her face lit up as she spotted him.

"Kaleo!"

The shivering boy was clutching the side of the ship, with only his head and neck above the water line. His lips had turned blue and his eyes were set deep into their sockets, making him look more like a ghost than a boy.

Ayla had to pull all sorts of rusty detritus out of her way as she covered the distance between them.

"Kaleo!" She threw her arms around him.

The two embraced with a fervor that neither of them had ever experienced before.

"Oh Kaleo!" she gasped, still locked in his tight embrace. "You're alright! I thought you were—"

But he stopped her right there.

Releasing their embrace, the boy pulled Ayla closer until they were face to face, with noses all but touching. They were so close, she could taste his breath. She could feel the thunder of his heartbeat.

"Ayla, the tide is coming in!" he said, looking her deep in her eyes. "And my leg..." The sound of fear was drenching every word now. "It's caught in one of the nets. I can't get it out."

"I can get it!"

"Wait, Ayla—"

But she was already gone.

As she dove beneath the water once more, she could feel how cold the ocean was this time. How dark the scene.

As soon as she saw his leg, Ayla realized what he meant.

The old strands of rope were monstrous. They had to be three inches thick at least. Even worse, they were wrapped around his leg in a tangled mess that gave little sign of hope. Feelings of desperation began to flood Ayla once more.

With lungs burning, she returned to the surface.

"Your knife, Kaleo!" she said. "Give me your knife!"

"Ayla, that's what I'm trying to tell you..." he said, in a thin voice. "I dropped it."

"You dropped it?"

"I was trying to cut the rope away, and it... it fell." The defeat spread across his face. "Then I tried to pull my leg out, but the more I tried, the tighter it got."

Kaleo looked down.

Ayla remembered how far down it was. How hard it had been just to swim up here. And now, without the dolphins inside to help her...

"Ayla, you don't have much time!"

"What do you mean, I don't have much time?"

"Ayla..."

This time, it was more than just fear that came out of the boy's mouth. "It won't be long before the whole ship is under water."

"No!" she shouted! "No, Kaleo!"

Unable to bear anymore, Ayla dove down into the murky depths.

It seemed to take forever to maneuver through all the floating debris. When she finally made it to the bottom, not only was it darker down here, but there was a thick layer of silty muck covering everything.

She startled a bottom dwelling fish, camouflaged in the sandy sludge. The flounder rose up and scurried away, stirring up a thick cloud of muck in his wake.

Ayla scanned as much of the bottom as she could with her eyes, but every time she dragged her fingers through the silt, they stirred up such a thick cloud that she could hardly see anything beneath the murky haze.

It was no use.

With the last of her breath burning inside, Ayla had no choice but to return to Kaleo.

When she reached the surface, gasping for air, her eyes told her the truth.

The tide was still rising.

By now, Kaleo's head was touching the ceiling.

And the water... it was already to his chin.

Desperation flickered inside the young boy's eyes.

He knew they were out of time.

That's when he said it.

"Ayla... listen to me." With a somber voice, he said, "You have to go now."

"No, Kaleo!" she yelled, as her mind raged. "I am not leaving you here!"

"Oh, Ayla..." the boy said, as a faint touch of light entered those hazel eyes.

Bringing his face close to hers one last time, Kaleo cupped the girl's chin in his trembling hand.

Then, he whispered something that Ayla would never forget.

"Aloha 'oe ku'u ipo!"

For over a thousand years, the Hawaiian people have reserved this endearment for only their most beloved.

This was the way Kaleo used it now.

At that moment, Ayla was out of time and out of words.

"You have no choice," he repeated, as the light in his eyes faded away. Then, Ayla saw the boy's face twist into a steely resolve.

"GO!"

So many thoughts and emotions flashed through Ayla in that one moment in time.

How little she had really known this boy.

How courageous he truly was.

How much she... how much she loved him!

As Ayla searched to the depths of her soul, there was only one word she found...

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

END

OF

BOOK ONE

Find out what happens to Kaleo!

Book 2 FREE on Smashwords

### FINAL VIDEO

CLICK HERE

(YouTube)

### AYLA'S NEXT ADVENTURE

AYLA SPEAKS

TO

DOLPHINS

~ BOOK 2 ~

SAVING SANTO

###

FREE on the Smashwords

### AUTHOR'S NOTE

To Our Dear Readers,

Mahalo Nui Loa... Thank you for joining us on Ayla's first adventure. It is an honor to share these stories with you... the first of many adventures to come!

You may be wondering...

Have Ayla and Kaleo shared their last breath together?

Who is that young woman and that old man?

What are the dolphins trying to tell Ayla?

And what is Ayla's destiny?

Be sure to tune in next time...

Mahalo, Mahalo and ALOHA,

SEALOVE

### 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!

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"

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

Haole \- Foreign, foreigner , caucasian person

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

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

Maika'i \- Nice, good

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

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

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

