The Green Room (25 page)

“I'm not sure,” she said. “But you find a way to live with it.”

She looked over at Hamlin, whose eyes were dark pools in the starlight. He knew, too. He'd survived his brother.

O'Reilly nodded. Storm thought she heard him sniff.

“You want a ride?” Hamlin asked.

He looked up as if Hamlin's question had startled him from thoughts a hundred miles away.

“The moon's bright tonight,” he said. “I'll walk. I can use the exercise.” He gave them a twisted smile, though his eyes stayed sad.

“You sure? You're a ways from your house.”

“I'll be okay.” He shrugged. “I need to think. Some people jog farther than I'm going.”

Storm and Hamlin walked to the car. “You think he'll be all right?” Hamlin asked when they got out of earshot.

“Yeah, I do,” Storm said. O'Reilly was learning some tough lessons, but she had a hunch he was also going to find a core of strength when he faced them.

“He's growing up.”

And so am I, she thought.

Glossary

‘āina
—land, earth

‘aumakua
—family totem

ama
—arm of an outrigger canoe

awa
—
Piper methysticum,
shrub known in some Pacific regions as Kava. Used as a drink at special ceremonies, also for medicinal purposes.

hali‘a
—nostalgia

hanohano
—honor

haole
—originally meant stranger, but has evolved to mean white person.

ho‘oponopono
—to correct, to put in order or put to rights, mental cleansing, family conferences in which relationships are set right

huhū
—angry, irritated

kai
—ocean

kaki mochi
—salty crackers, a local snack

kapu
—taboo, forbidden

keiki
—child

keiki hānau o ka ‘āina
—native son, literally a “child the land gave birth to”

kolohe
—mischievous, naughty

kōnane
—ancient game resembling checkers, used to teach strategic thinking to warriors

kuleana
—concern, business, responsibility

kumu
—teacher

lōlō
—crazy

lomilomi
—to massage, or to crush

lua
—ancient Hawaiian martial art, extensive study in the art of life and death

lua‘ai
—series of bone breaking techniques in the art of lua

makai
—toward the ocean, as opposed to mauka, or toward the mountains

make
—dead

malihini
—newcomer, stranger

manju
—popular island pastry, usually filled with coconut, sweet beans, or fruit

nori
—seaweed used to make sushi

pau
—over, done with

popo
—Chinese for grandfather

pūpule
—crazy, reckless, wild

‘uku
—body louse (plural?)

ule
—penis

References

Readers who wish to learn more about surfing in Hawai‘i may enjoy the following:

The Big Drop: Classic Big Wave Surfing Stories
, edited by John Long and Hai-Van K. Sponholz, Falcon Publishing Inc., Helena, Montana, 1999.

Surfing Hawaii
, Leonard and Lorca Lueras, Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., Singapore, 2000.

Surf Rage
, by Nat Young, Nymboida Press, 8 Bay Street, Angourie, NSW, 2462 Australia, 2000.

For more information on the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, which last took place at Waimea Bay on December 15, 2004, visit
www.quiksilver.com/eddie_aikau_04
.

For information on tow-in surfing, including links and great photos, go to
www.towsurfer.com
.

More from this Author

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www.poisonedpenpress.com/deborah-turrell-atkinson

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