Up, Up, and Away

The trick to climbing a tree was being able to reach the first branch. Without that important piece, there couldn’t be any hoisting. Lei reached up above her head, toes doing a balancing act as she leaned sideways to try and eke out every possible millimeter of length from her fingers, but it was no use. The lowest branch was still out of reach. She jumped and her fingers barely brushed the bottom of the smooth bark.

Lei turned and tapped Kaipo’s shoulder, motioning to him by lacing her fingers together and mimicking lifting herself up.

“Help me up?” she asked.

Maybe he had just forgotten all the times they’d climbed trees together. Granted, none of the trees they climbed were quite this massive.

He frowned and said, “If you can’t make it, maybe it’s a sign this idea sucks and we should head home.”

Lei bit her lip from snapping back, looking at Kaukahi. The girl had stopped scribbling, her gaze ping-ponging between them. Lei thought fast. If she didn’t maintain a show of strong leadership, this mission would be doomed before it started. Right on cue, she felt a nudge in her ribs.

She turned back to the tree and muttered under her breath, “Makani, if you want to hit him with an arctic blast, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Ilikea leaned close. “Remember how souls can go bad without the pendant?” She let her eyes bulge and cocked her head in Kaipo’s direction. “Exhibit A. Don’t let it get to you, we just need to focus on getting the necklace back ASTP.”

Kaipo snorted. “TP,” he repeated.

Lei squeezed her eyes shut. They needed to get his necklace back before they all got fed up and dumped him in a volcano.

“ASAP,” Kaukahi corrected, clearly listening in. “I knew this wasn’t actually going to work.”

Ilikea’s cheeks pinkened.

Lei jumped in. “TP…AP…I know what you mean. And, Kaukahi, you see the gigantic, magically appearing tree, don’t you? Pretty sure this is working already. Can we all just focus for a hot minute?” She huffed. The negative energy was sucking the good vibes out of this incredible morning.

The boy in the malo sat on a rock and slowly ate his musubi, watching them all like they were a reality TV show.

Lei moved closer to Ilikea. “Could you help?”

“Course. I’ll do a chair sit against the tree and you can step up on my thighs.” Ilikea side-eyed Kaukahi to see if her descendant was listening.

Lei approached the tree, snapping the hair band on her wrist. Ilikea offered a small smile and got into position, slippers flat on the lava rock, knees bent at a ninety-degree angle, back pressed against the trunk. Lei braced her right hand on the tree just above Ilikea’s head and felt Makani gather around her to hold her steady and prop her up. She stepped onto Ili’s surf shorts and jump-lifted her way up. Lei grabbed the branch with her left hand, steadied herself, then, with Makani and Ili pushing her from below, she hoisted her body onto the first dead branch.

The dried wood groaned under her weight, and she hugged the trunk, ready for a fall, eyes squeezed shut. When the groaning stopped, she squinted, then looked down. Four faces were turned up at her—Ilikea’s gleaming with hope, Kaipo’s tight with what she wanted to believe was worry and not disdain, Kaukahi’s set in a calculating and judgmental sneer, and the mysterious boy’s radiating pride. When she caught his eye, he smiled and pointed up again. Lei sighed. Slowly, gently, she stood from her crouch and reached for the next branch. Up she climbed, all the way till she was one branch from the top, but when she took hold of that final limb and pulled, it cracked like dried kindling. Lei screamed, feeling her stomach plummet, gripping the branch with both hands instead of letting go to try and grab something more secure. It swung her into the trunk, staying attached by a few stringy fibers. Her feet found the branch below her and she released her death grip on the broken branch and looked back down. The boy smiled and shrugged a bit, then pointed upward again in the same direction.

The branch dangled pathetically, lightly bumping against the trunk in the breeze.

“Thanks, but I’d really rather not die today.” Lei looked around for other options. On the opposite side of the trunk only a foot above her, there was a thick, healthy-looking branch. If she tried, she could probably reach it, hoist herself up, and be done. “Game on.”

“Lei, did you say something?” Ilikea called. She’d moved farther back—hopefully to get a better view, but probably to get out of the crash zone.

“Nah, just talking to myself,” Lei said.

Hugging the trunk, she leaned toward the sturdy bough. She loosened her hold on the trunk, crouched down, and stretched. Just a couple…more…inches…and…

“Lei, don’t!” Kaipo’s voice cut like a skeg through the crashing waves.

She pulled her hand back so fast she lost her balance, tottering for a precarious moment before Makani steadied her on her branch.

“Nice, Kaipo,” Ilikea snapped. “You trying to scare your girl to death so she makes the jump to the spirit realm more easily?”

“Not my fault. She shouldn’t be up there in the first place. Go ahead. Touch the cursed branch. Turn into a stray soul left to wander the wastelands of earth. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The pain of bark biting into her palms was nothing compared to the sting of his words. It’s not really Kaipo thinking that. We just need that pendant.

“Thanks for the heads up, boss.” Lei gave the dangling branch a few sharp test tugs. Surprisingly, it held fast. “Makani, spot me.”

Gritting her teeth, Lei pulled herself up, using the branch like a rope. It swayed precariously as she climbed to the jagged remains of the branch. She pulled herself up on the truncated limb, careful not to catch herself on the splintered end.

Ilikea shouted, “Not bad, human!” Below Lei, Kaukahi looked bored, arms crossed, mouth in a slight frown. Kaipo was scowling. Ili was flashing a thumbs-up, but kept looking over at Kaukahi. A forced grin through tight teeth was the best Lei could do. Both hands held the trunk as she looked up through the leaves wondering what to do next, when the stump she was on began to grow, lengthening into a branch, reassembling the stringy broken fibers.

“Yes!” Ilikea clapped once. “Nailed it!”

Lei looked down. The boy was beaming and motioning for her to return to safety. Done! Cool relief rushed over her clammy skin, and she lowered herself as carefully and quickly as possible. When she got to the third level, the boy signaled her to stop.

“Why? What now?” Lei asked, wanting nothing more than to feel solid ground beneath her feet again.

He pointed out along the branch, toward the horizon. The sun had fully risen, soaking the tree in buttery light. A mist curled over the ocean. Something was missing. Off.

“Hey, Ili?” she asked.

“What’s up? Besides you.”

“Does something seem funny to you?”

“Other than me and my shark-tooth-sharp wit? No. Kaipo’s being pretty serious right now. And Kaukahi isn’t much for jokes.”

“Hey, I like jokes,” Kaukahi said.

“Really?” Ilikea brightened.

“Yeah. I’ve just never thought yours were funny.”

Lei cut in, shooting a glare at Kaukahi. “I hate to interrupt, but I was wondering if anything about where we are seems different than before I climbed up this tree?”

Everyone fell silent. Lei’s ears strained to pick up what was new. That was it!

“The waves! They’re quiet. I can’t hear them. Can you hear them?”

Ilikea perked up, bouncing on her toes. “They’re totally gone!”

Kaukahi stuffed her sketch pad back into her pack and strode to the edge to peer over. Lei saw mist coiling at her feet and shuddered, remembering the heat from Pele’s cloud of steam.

“Could the fog be any thicker? It’s obscured the view,” Kaukahi grumped.

“Are you finally coming out of the tree now?” Kaipo yelled.

The little boy below her shook his head. Lei copied him.

“Nope,” she said.

The boy pointed to the branch extending over the ocean again. Lei’s insides went all liquid and she swore she peed in her bathing suit a little.

“Um, I think I’m supposed to leap,” she squeaked.

A noise pulled her attention. Kaukahi was rifling through her orange backpack.

“How is it that you’ve survived half the stuff Ili’s said you’ve survived? You’re not prepared for anything!” Kaukahi shouted.

Lei opened her mouth to say she had a decent amount of preparedness items in her own bag, but Kaukahi’s head popped back up.

“Aha!” She waved a second pair of goggles over her head, then stuck them into the black waistband of her net skirt and sealed up her pack. “Ili, give me a leg up.”

Ilikea assumed position, and Kaukahi hoisted herself up onto the first branch and made quick work of the next two. Lei scooted down the branch to make room, holding on to the dry limb above her for balance.

“Come on, boss. We need you with us.” Lei couldn’t bring herself to call the negative flesh bag Kaipo.

With an eye roll so big it was amazing his head stayed on his neck, he climbed up on Ilikea’s leg, then into the tree. Lei carefully scooted out again, watching the branch overhead for handholds as Kaukahi moved with her. The tree creaked under the added weight of Kaipo.

“Ili, want Kaipo to pull you up?” Lei asked. The girl was no longer visible below. The ground was getting harder to see as the mist from the ocean swelled to cover the base of the tree. “Ili?”

Ilikea spoke from right next to Lei. “Nope! I’m good!” She was back in bat form. “Figured it’d be easier like this.”

Lei noticed a small pendant hanging from the bat’s neck. “Where’d your clothes go?”

“Clothes come and clothes go, just gotta go with the flow…or the fly.” The bat-girl shrugged her wings and flapped out to the edge of the branch.

Kaukahi spoke up. “When we get home, I want to take a look at your clothes more.”

“Of course!” Ilikea said, puffing out her chest. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time together for that.”

“Are we just going to hang out till this branch breaks or what?” Kaipo yelled. He had his hands back over his ears as he leaned against the trunk.

“Thanks for the reminder, boss,” Lei said.

Kaukahi’s lips pressed into a smug smile as she handed her spare goggles to Lei, silently speaking volumes.

The attitude didn’t bother Lei. Kaukahi had two pairs of goggles so that was a major score. Lei hadn’t been expecting Kaukahi to be an asset on this journey, yet here they were. And even though the offer was made with the superiority of a peacock to a worm, Kaukahi was nicer than Hennley for even offering. Zero chance Hennley would lend so much as a pencil, even if they were assigned as partners in class—not that Lei would ever ask and give her the opportunity to refuse.

“Thanks,” Lei said as she smushed the goggles over her eyes and tightened the straps of her pack again.

The tree branch started to bounce slightly, then slightly more, just like a diving board as Lei made her way toward the end. A quick glance down showed nothing but mist, but she was fairly certain that she hadn’t quite cleared the edge of the cliff yet.

“It’s not too late, you know.” Kaipo’s voice reached her, soft and low. Concerned. Just like his old self.

Lei turned to look at him. His eyes met hers.

“We could climb down,” Kaipo continued. “Tūtū would be happy to have you back in one piece.”

The plea shook her to her core, and she almost considered listening. He’d never led her astray before. Maybe he was right.

But no.

His hands were still pressed over his ears, fending off a torture that only he could hear. If she stopped now, she’d lose him forever. She had to ignore him. With a tight smile, Lei turned back to the horizon.

“Anyone want to count me down?” Lei asked. This would be just like jumping off a diving board. Not a big deal at all, except the pool she’d be jumping into was a churning ocean crashing against a lava cliff hidden below a misty cloud.

“Three…,” Ilikea said, and Lei flashed back to the hōlua race.

“Two…,” Kaukahi joined in.

“One!” Ilikea and Kaukahi chimed.

“Don’t!” Kaipo shouted.

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Lei yelled as she let go of the branch above her and used every balancing muscle in her body to take three long strides and springboard off into the unknown.