A Place to Call Home | 4

As has quickly become her routine, Gaby rises earlier than everyone else the next morning... or so she thinks. She assumes Kaimana is still in bed sleeping off a kava hangover, but when she heads for the bathroom, she notices the door is slightly ajar, the unmistakable sound of running bathwater coming from behind it. She turns her head toward the gap for only a second or two, not wanting to violate Kaimana's privacy and embarrass them both, but she swears she sees a flash of purple against the porcelain tub.

Purple. She's seen that same shimmery violet hue somewhere before: floating atop the surface of the ocean, glittering in the moonlight, nearly close enough for her to touch - and, then, gone in an instant. Could this really be the same creature? Could it really be Kaimana? For some reason, she has trouble fully believing it, as if her boyfriend's long lost sister secretly being a mermaid is really that much more difficult to fathom than a monstrous plant of unearthly origins nearly managing to recruit an entire town to do its bidding. By now, she should be immune to the vast weirdness of the world, but she's caught by surprise anyway.

Kaimana, too, is caught by surprise when she steps out of the bathroom to find Gaby standing directly in her path, eyes wide and mouth agape. Her face shifts noticeably, discomfort furrowing her brow. "Were you... spying on me?" she asks slowly.

"No! Of course not! I just needed to use the bathroom and didn't realize anyone was inside..." Gaby's voice trails off uncertainly. "Kaimana?" she finally squeaks out, after a long moment of silence.

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to say this... but I swear I saw a... a mermaid tail hanging out of the bathtub."

Gaby flinches at the volume of Kaimana's laughter. "I'm sorry," she says, covering her mouth in an attempt to mute her giggles. "I don't mean to make fun of you. It's just that I think I know what you saw. A mermaid, yes, but just a painting of one. It's one of my grandmother's works. Nearly every home on the island has at least one of her pieces on display."

If Gaby really mistook a painting of a mermaid for the real thing, she's more hungover from the night before than she thought. But there's also the very real possibility that Kaimana is lying to throw her off the scent of the truth. She feels as clear-headed as she's ever felt. So what's crazier: the idea of her mind playing tricks on her or the idea of mermaids existing in Sulani? She heads out for a morning jog, hoping it'll help her make sense of it all.

She can't say she comes to a solid conclusion one way or the other, but the view from the top of Ohan'ali Town is enough to clear her racing mind - not to mention, completely take her breath away. She has to believe that any secrets buried within its lush, tangled depths will reveal themselves to her with time. She just has to be patient and learn to listen to what the island is telling her.

After her run, she feels surprisingly energized, and she's enjoying the solitude of being alone with nature so much that she decides to swim into town to see if anything interesting is going on.

Outside the Sand Bar, she finds Mele enjoying a drink. "Isn't it a little early for that?" Gaby jokes.

"We islanders aspire to live unbound by the restrictions of the clock," she responds cryptically.

Gaby motions toward a bulbous purple balloon anchored to the sign behind Mele. "What's up with that big cute bird?"

"We're holding a community gathering at the pavilion. There's plenty of food to go around, so help yourself. It looks to me like you could put a little meat on those bones."

Gaby wanders over to the pavilion, where she finds Lia handing out traditional island cuisine. Gratefully, she accepts a heaping plateful of kalua pork. As she chews, she ponders broaching the subject of mermaids once more. Of all the islanders Gaby's met so far, Lia seems the most laidback and approachable. She seems like Gaby's best bet for an honest answer.

At the mention of the word, though, she rolls her eyes and heaves a dramatic sigh. "I don't understand why that's the one thing every tourist seems to latch onto. They read a few rumors about Sulani online and suddenly they're convinced our waters are overflowing with mythical creatures."

Gaby's face reddens as she realizes Lia's description hits a little too close to home for comfort.

"Mermaids are an important part of our lore," she continues, "but that's the only thing they are: legend. Certain families on the island are said to have mermadic ancestry, but we're talking thousands of years back. If there are any mermaids here now, they've learned to hide themselves well enough to keep out of sight of those of us descended from mere mortals."

After talking with Lia, Gaby feels even more foolish about her ridiculous theories. Does she really believe she's special enough to have been chosen to witness - multiple times even - something the eyes of true islanders have never seen? She needs to get out of her own head and fully embrace this welcoming community and its rich, lively culture. After all, she has no idea how much longer they'll be here, and she would hate to leave Sulani feeling like she focused on all the wrong things and missed out on the most important experiences.

She heads back to the house, hoping to return to the pavilion with Alvin and Kaimana in tow before the festivities are over, and runs into Alvin halfway there. He grabs her around the waist and pulls her toward him. "Where have you been?" he asks. But before she can answer, he breathlessly rushes forward. "I woke up this morning with the craziest idea in my head. You know, we haven't set our return date, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, maybe that means we should stay... indefinitely."

She doesn't hate the idea - in fact, it sounds strangely right - but she's so caught off guard by it that her brain automatically fumbles for a reason why it won't work out. "We're supposed to be getting married."

"Why don't we get married here?" he responds smoothly. "I mean, can you imagine a more beautiful backdrop than this? Plus, I've been thinking about it all day. I have Kaimana, but I know it's important for you to have your family here, too. So let's figure out when and how we can get them to Sulani for a few days. Anything's possible if we try hard enough to make it happen."

Despite the many questions swirling around inside of it, she finds herself nodding her head. Their lips meet as their bodies bob gently at the surface of the water, and it's easily the best kiss she's ever had.

As sunset approaches, all three of them head to the pavilion, where Kaimana takes it upon herself to light the massive bonfire, extending the party's life for several more hours.

When Alvin and Gaby told her they wanted to get married in Sulani, she was over the moon with excitement. Her eyes filled with stars, she even told them they could have the ceremony on the beach right outside her house. Now, they're all buzzing with ideas, which they hash out in front of the bonfire's cozy glow. They don't want anything excessive, but they certainly want it to be an occasion they'll cherish forever.

The roar of the bonfire refreshes everyone's energy. A local man who's been strumming gentle melodies on his guitar since morning returns to his instrument with renewed vigor, and the other attendees, blood pulsing with kava, seem intent on going all night long.

Kaimana and a friend show off their fire-dancing skills, the grace and fluidity in their movements belying the danger of the act.

Gaby and Alvin cheer them on, impressed by their fearless display. "Wow, sis!" Alvin exclaims. "Who knew you had a trick like that up your sleeve! Do you think you can teach me?"

Kaimana is a patient teacher, but it turns out fire-dancing isn't just a skill one picks up in five minutes of practice. Alvin tries his best, but he only manages a step or two before dropping the batons and coming dangerously close to burning his own foot off.

Alvin is crestfallen by his failure, but Kaimana laughs it off. "Don't worry," she reassures him, effortlessly swinging her own fiery batons. "I've been doing this my whole life, and it took me years to get this good. Now that you're staying in Sulani, I'll have plenty of time to get you up to speed."

"Don't worry, babe," Gaby adds, pulling him in for a supportive embrace, "I'm not about to leave you at the altar for your poor fire-dancing skills."

A woman they haven't yet been introduced to joins in on the fun, and it's immediately clear she's the most talented dancer of them all. Her limbs move with such flawless precision, slicing through the air with ease, that it's almost like she's gliding through water rather than standing on solid earth. Her lithe athleticism is clearly innate, borne of nature and not practice.

"Never mind," Gaby jokes, unable to tear her eyes away from the woman for even a single second. "I'm definitely going to have to leave you and marry her instead. No hard feelings?"

The rest of the night passes in a blur of even more kava and fire and food, but Gaby is sure to document as much of the fun as she can with her camera. Even if she can't remember everything in the morning, it'll be forever immortalized on film. Even though she's shy about it, Alvin even manages to convince her to step in front of the camera for once.

The next morning, she finds one of the few places in Kaimana's house that gets decent reception and calls her half-sister, Ana, to break the news about the wedding. It seems crazy to ask her siblings and their families to drop their own lives to attend an impromptu ceremony on an island thousands of miles away, but Ana is surprisingly game. She says she'll take care of finalizing dates and booking tickets. "All you should be worrying about is looking beautiful for the love of your life," Ana says when Gaby tries to protest.

So that's that: the wedding is officially on. Now, where on earth is she going to find a dress on such short notice?