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I still needed to ask permission to stay there, both from Auntie Star and my mother. Papa came with us, and he and Mom gave a brief explanation to Auntie Star of the situation and the history that went along with it. “You gonna follow all da rules and show respec’ to all da folks who live hea if I let you stay?” asked Auntie Star. “Yes, Auntie, I will,” I said. She looked at me up and down. “I can tell you good. You can stay hea. But you gotta ask Lina now—she’s yo final say.” “Mahalo, Auntie.” I gave her a tight hug. “Alright, bebeh, now go ask ya’ maddah.” I remember walking up that rock-lined pathway—my heart beating. As I stepped onto the platform, Papa and Mom stayed behind at the entryway; they watched intently. Auntie Star also came up to the pathway on her moped to watch. “Oh! Hello, Lehua,” Auntie Lina—my mother—greeted me. “How you?” “I’m good,” I replied. “What brings you to my place today?” At first I didn’t know what to say, but when she looked at me because I didn’t answer right away, the words came out: “I know who you are.” She stared at me, then looked past me at my mom. I followed her gaze and saw my mom’s face change with the tears I couldn’t see emerging as she grabbed Papa’s arm. When my mother’s eyes and mine met again, I saw tears starting to shimmer in her eyes, too. “You know who I am?” 48

she asked, choked with emotion. “Yes.” I paused because tears had risen in my eyes. “My name is Lehua Hoʻokuʻi. My mom named me Lehua based on the moʻolelo of ‘Ōhiʻa and Lehua.” I assumed my mother didn’t know the story, so I told it to her. “My Papa told me that ‘Ōhiʻa was a handsome man and a strong warrior. The day he laid eyes on the beautiful Lehua, his heart was captured. Lehua was also captivated by him. Their love was true and beautiful. One day Pele set eyes on the handsome ‘Ōhiʻa and desired him for herself. ‘Ōhiʻa tried to be respectful, but he couldn’t return any of her advances—for he loved Lehua with all his heart. Pele became enraged when she saw that he only had eyes for Lehua. In her jealousy, she turned ‘Ōhiʻa into a tree. Lehua begged and pleaded to Pele to return ‘Ōhiʻa to her. But Pele ignored her cries and left her sobbing at the loss of her love. The gods were filled with sadness for Lehua, and because she couldn’t bear to live without ‘Ōhiʻa, they turned her into a beautiful flower and attached it to the tree. Some say it was Pele herself who turned Lehua into the beautiful flower out of remorse. It is said that you never pick Lehua when entering a forest, for when you separate her from the tree, the mist will come in and the rain will surely fall.” 16 I breathed when I finished, and said, “Though I know our story is not that of lovers, it is about a mother’s love for her daughter. And I ask if I may connect my lehua flower to your tree again? May I live here with you?” My mother was awed into silence. Tears fell 49