Across the Globe [COMPLETE]

His Koru, Her Koru

“Uhm,” I say again.

She keeps scrolling, and I try not to make it too obvious that I’m trying to read over her shoulder. I’m tempted to get my own phone out and look it up myself, but that would be silly, wouldn’t it? I’m sure it’s a super common name.

“Oh, listen to this,” she says after a minute. “So, this tree is also known as the God of the Forest, or Lord of the Forest. And do you know why they call it Tane Mahuta?”

She looks at me, and I shrug as I lift my palms up. “Dunno,” I say.

“Tane is the name of the God of the Forest, and the tree was named after him for being the biggest one of its kind.” She explains.

“Well, that’s pretty interesting,” I say begrudgingly.

We keep walking along the trees, and I think we’re almost nearing the end of the tour, but I can tell Em’s still distracted with her phone, and I don’t think she’s researching anymore, as she’s typing a lot.

“What are you up to?” I ask as I poke over her shoulder again.

“Nothing!” She yelps as she twirls so I can’t look at her phone.

“What are you hiding?” I ask.

“Nothing at all,” she says a bit too quickly. “Here, look, I was just reading,” she says as she shows me an article about Maori mythology.

“What is that?” I ask. “If you were really reading it, tell me what it is about.” I say as I lift up a defiant eyebrow. I’m so certain she was doing something else, I wonder if she’s texting someone.

“It’s the story of... the origin of the Universe... according to... Maori legends,” she says as she glances at her phone a few times.

“You have no idea what it says!” I blurt.

“Not true!” She yelps as she laughs a little, “It says that it all started with Ranginui, the father, and Papatuanuku, the mother,” she tells me, clearly reading from the screen. “When the world started,” she keeps going, “They were together as one, joined in an embrace so tight, that there was little light between them. The world was shrouded in obscurity,” she says as she tries to use a deep and dramatic voice that makes me laugh a little.

“You’re a dork,” I say as I shake my head. But Emma keeps reading in her narrator voice.

“And right there in between them, lay their children. Rangi and Papa had many children; all of them were male, and all of them would become... Gods! Uhhhh” At this, Em waves her arms in front of my face and then starts running around me.

“Stop it, Emma Alexandra! You’re being so silly,” I say, but I’m laughing so badly that I’m crying a little. Em composes herself and goes back to prancing beside me as she keeps reading.

“It says the brother’s weren’t all happy about this living situation, I mean, I know I would’ve hated living trapped in darkness. So they started discussing what to do… Oh, wow,” she adds as she glances up at me. “One of them suggested they kill their parents, and not surprisingly, he turned into the God of war. But it looks like they decided on separating them instead. The God named Tane was the one to do the deed.”

“Uhm,” I say once more, feeling like I’m turning into a humming machine. Emma glances up at me, and uses that deep melodramatic voice again.

“He laid against his mother’s womb, and using all of his strength, he pushed against his father with both of his feet. He strained, and struggled, but eventually, Rangi was pushed high enough, and turned into the sky. This is why he is known as Rangi, father sky. And Papa -Mother Earth- stayed where she was, lying on the bottom... The whole world was now between them.” She finishes with a somber tone.

Silence stretches between us, an eerie feeling pricking the back of my neck, until I can’t handle it anymore.

“That’s actually a pretty good story,” I mutter. For some reason, I find myself somehow drawn to it. “This is so much more interesting than the things we heard in school about Jesus and all that.” I say, making Emma laugh.

We’re almost to the end of the track, and then Em yelps again.

“Look, this here looks like your necklace!” She says happily.
There’s a photo of a spiraled pounamu, just like mine, next to an image of a fern’s frond. I read the text next to the images: A new unfurling fern frond is an integral symbol in Maori art, and it’s known as Koru. It symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace.

I let the words sink in as I absently trace my thumb around the surface of my pounamu. My Koru. I look down at it, and think about the peaceful effect that it has on me. It’s weird to finally know it’s meaning, so I reread the words once more, slowly, letting them all sink in.

Maybe this is a new beginning after all. I feel like this journey has already changed me in so many ways. I have grown to understand my roots a little better, even if not much yet, but being in the process of doing so already makes me feel better about who I am.
I remind myself that apart from being Samantha Sky, I am also Samantha Tutaki. A girl that was born in a magical looking country, full of amazing places like this one I’m standing on right now. With a rich culture that I’m so glad to be able to soak in.

A place with people that have made me feel accepted, part of something. Even if my interactions with locals have been few and scattered, there is one for sure that has been special... That has made something in my chest wake back up... That has made me want to try again, even if I’m still scared... Even if I’m still full of doubts.
Em’s words resonate in my brain.
You now, love doesn’t always need to last forever.

“Come on, Sam, let’s keep going!” Em yells from a few feet ahead.

“Coming!” I yell back as I turn away from the sign.

This time, instead of putting my Koru back under my sweater, I leave it out, and run over to join my friend.