Four years have gone by and World War II finally ends on September 2nd, 1945. Kim is now a strong, young teenager. His knowledge and skills in Lua martial arts surpass those of many adults on the island. Some view him as a lethal weapon. The children who work in the cane fields do not tease him anymore.
During those years, Kim was relentless in his pursuit of excelling as a martial artist. He practiced by himself and with others every day. He also took lessons from the adults on a regular basis. He now maneuvers a machete with undaunted skill and precision. He chops the cane with unmatched speed. All of his deadly movements are executed perfectly with a beautiful poetic rhythm.
He still holds a fantasy of voyaging to the mainland and going to New York to stay with his uncle. He creates an ingenious plan for a journey to America’s mainland. Little does he know that he’s about to embark on a lifelong death-defying adventure.
Kim’s scheme entails sneaking aboard one of the many ocean liners on Hawaii’s shores. The shores are no longer lined with just Navy vessels. Instead, magnificent cruise ships saturate the docks.
He waits until his father goes out at sea to execute his plan. The first step of Kim’s plan is to get the address of his uncle. He searches the hut for his father’s address book. Then he finds it in the top drawer of his nightstand. He writes his uncle’s address on a piece of paper. Then he puts the address book back in the nightstand.
Kim is now ready to enact the second part of his plan. He knows he will have to camouflage himself to look like the rich tourists boarding the cruise ship. He will need nice clothes; so, he begins to save his money. Within three weeks, he has enough money to visit a seamstress in town.
Then he ventures into the island’s small town and finds a sewing shop. The shop is owned by a nosey seamstress named Lulu. He asks her to make him a pair of white pants, a jacket, and a hat. He proudly puts all of the money he saved on a table. He tries to act like a grown-up when he says, “I think this will be more than enough money for your troubles.”
She laughs her head off and answers, “Boy, you don’t have enough for half a pair of pants.” Kim is embarrassed and surprised by her response.
Then she begins interrogating him. “Why do you want me to make you these clothes? No child from the village dresses like this.”
For a minute, Kim is caught off-guard. He is afraid that she’s on to him. He takes a deep breath and then crosses his fingers behind his back. He believes it’s okay to lie if you have your fingers crossed. He then says, “My father is taking me on a trip to visit his sister. I must look nice, but he doesn’t have any more money for me to spend on a nice outfit.”
Lulu is satisfied with this answer. She tells Kim that she will make him one pair of pants, adding, “I’m being generous with you today, but I don’t want you to tell anyone about my kind-heartedness. I don’t want a bunch of kids coming to me for a deal. Do you understand?”
After Kim says yes and humbly thanks her, Lulu promises that she will do an excellent job for him and that his pants will be ready in two days. She tells him that he can leave now.
Kim really thought he had saved more than enough money for the clothes, but he didn’t. Now, he needs to figure out a way to get a hat, a jacket, and a shirt.
As he walks along the streets of the town, he sees a few clothing shops. He knows what he must do: he has to steal what he needs. He stands outside of one shop that is jam-packed with people, then strolls in casually and finds a white jacket, a blue shirt, and a white hat. He easily steals all three items and gets out of the shop without anyone detecting him.
Two days later, he visits the seamstress to pick up his pants. He carries a small bag with him and asks her if he can change his clothes there. She agrees, so he changes his clothes and puts his old clothes in his bag. She is angry when she sees his brand-new jacket and shirt. “Who made those clothes for you?” she demands. “Did you go to another seamstress?”
Kim replies, “No, my rich cousin let me borrow his clothes.” When this answer satisfies her, he smiles to himself because he has fooled her again.
He heads back to the docks and takes his new white hat out of the bag, then dumps his old clothes in a garbage can. He believes that he will now be dressed like the passengers on a cruise ship. His appearance and mannerisms portray him as a rich young man. He casually strolls aboard with the other passengers.
Once on the ship, Kim needs to find a hiding place. The boiler room is too risky. There are too many crew members that congregate there, and it would be easy for them to discover him.
However, he knows from his past conversations with the soldiers on the docks that the pump room is never occupied. He finds the noisy pump room and hides in the sweltering heat for nine hours. Finally, he ventures out on deck. He believes enough time has elapsed to secure his safety. If he gets caught, it will be too late for the captain to send him back home.
He makes his way onto the welds of the catwalk. There, he bas ks in the cool ocean breeze. He laughs and relishes in his cleverness. However, his joy is short lived. His stomach starts growling. He needs to satisfy his hunger with the sweet delicacies he brought from home.
Anxiously, he opens the bag he’d stuffed full of provisions. He gasps when he pulls out a rotten apple. He rummages through the rest of the bag. All of his food has decayed from the scorching heat of the pump room.
Despite his exhaustion and hunger, Kim drifts off to sleep. The next morning, he awakens to the sound of children and teenagers laughing and playing games on deck. He wishes he could join them. Then he’s drawn by an overwhelming sweet aroma. His mouth waters as he watches the kids eat a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs. Some are stuffing their greedy little mouths with sugar-coated donuts and washing these scrumptious treats down with fresh milk.
Kim seizes this golden opportunity to appease his hunger, joining in their fun and activities. He even creates a game where food is the reward. Kim wins every round! Day by day, Kim becomes braver with his antics, and his pranks grow riskier. He enjoys pretending to be a paying passenger a little too much, feeling content and falling asleep every night in a lifeboat with a full stomach.
But Kim’s good luck soon comes to a screeching halt. It is about 5:00 o’clock in the morning. He is sound asleep but wakes up when he hears a lot of noise and a man’s deep, commanding voice telling him to get up. Then he sees a man stepping out of the shadows, holding a butcher knife, moving closer to him. In a heavy Irish brogue, the man commands Kim to get up and stand at attention. Kim yawns and stretches and rises slowly, then tries to dart past the gigantic man.
However, Jonathan Malloy, the ship’s cook, is too quick for Kim. He extends his long arm and grabs him, and then turns the boy around to face him. He shakes Kim as he holds him by his shoulders. He stares into Kim’s eyes and says, “Do I have your attention now?” Kim nods and answers, “Yes, sir.”
Jonathan gives Kim an ultimatum. He tells him that he will throw him overboard or take him to the brig if he continues to mingle with the paying passengers.
Kim promises that he won’t socialize with anyone anymore. Once again, Kim is sad, alone, and hungry. He only hopes he won’t starve to death before the ship pulls into port.
Kim consoles himself by basking in the cool ocean breeze, smelling the delicate aromas of the food from the galley, and hearing the kids’ gleeful laughter. He wishes he didn’t have to hide. He longs to be with the other kids and play games with them again.
The next evening, much to Kim’s surprise and delight, Jonathan brings him a large dinner. Jonathan continues to feed Kim every night until the cruise ship enters the port of San Francisco.