Kidnapping on Kaua'i (featured by Wattpad 2014)

Chapter 1

He points his soulful brown eyes at the ground. "To stop."

"That's right! Pidgin isn't proper English. It's just a mishmash of languages. If you ever leave Hawai'i, people are going to think you're uneducated."

"Why would anyone ever leave Hawai'i?" he asks, truly curious. Then, he unsticks a half-eaten lollipop from his pocket and pops it in his mouth. Case closed. I don't criticize him, because he'd asked the question in proper English to appease me. He'd probably wanted to say, "You lōlō-crazy-if you leave Havaiee," which is how he pronounces Hawai'i.

A wave of frustration mixed with tenderness washes over me as I look at him, with his bare chest jutting out at a proud angle. He's the contented king of his own jungle, stubbornly unaware of the wider world out there. It's a much different posture than the one he'd had the first time I'd laid eyes on him, seven years ago. The memory of that moment lies always at the surface of my consciousness: a knock on the door in the middle of a stormy night, the dark lānai, empty, we'd thought, until Tutu switched on the light to find a dirty, black-haired child curled around a ragged blanket. A note was pinned to his shirt with just one word written on it: 'Olu 'olu-please.

I'll never be sure, but I could've sworn I'd seen one of the ancients, a Menehune, scampering off the edge of the lānai that night. Menehunes are like Hawai'i's leprechauns: little and mischievous, they're efficient builders who do their work in secret. Lots of Hawaiians believe the Menehunes were the original inhabitants of this island, before the Tahitians came.

I put my hand on Pano's shoulder. His skin felt warm, despite the breeze. "Listen, I know I'm forbidden to see Madam Chen, but everyone says she can see into the future and the past. I want to ask her about my parents. I'm gonna go through with this, no matter what-I have to. You can come with me if you agree to shut up."

He nodded in agreement, and we headed down the road, this time together.

At the club, all the lights were on. The front rooms were busy with people talking and playing cards in the communal rooms, but we were looking for a secret room, around the back. After some searching, we finally found a green door set flush against the back wall, hidden by an outcropping of bushes.

Pano popped out his lollipop. "Did you know that nobody knows how old Madam Chen is? My friend told me his great-grandmother said Madam Chen was already old when she was just a child. And his great-grandmother is ooooold."

My stomach flipped. "That can't be right."

"Well, if she's really in there, ask her how come your hair's red."

His suggestion made my cheeks flush. I'm 'ehu, the Hawaiian term for Polynesians with the rare traits of fair skin, reddish hair and honey-colored eyes. My looks always draw comments from people who wonder if I'm of mixed-heritage. According to Tutu, I'm not.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the green door a crack. Inside, it was as dark as a moonless night, even though the exterior of the club was well-lit. It was as though the light couldn't pass through the door frame. A shadow flitted across the far wall, in shades of black on black. Is someone in there, I wondered.

"You scared?" Pano asked.

"Of course not."

Now that I'd said I wasn't scared, I had to go in. Swallowing hard, I slid one foot over the threshold. "Madam Chen?" I called. My voice was as thin as the skin on a canoe plant.

No response.

I slid my other foot through and stood in the darkness. Without warning, the door slammed behind me. I fumbled for the knob with my hand and tried to turn it, but the door wouldn't budge.