WAHI: MAILI
MAKAHIKI: 1971
'EONO MAHINA MA MUA
Randy hiked to the back of Makha valley in search of somewhere to sit and forget the war. However, it wasn't as easy as he had hoped.
On his journey, he came upon a pond that looked as if it could cleanse him of all that he'd seen and done in Vietnam. The heat in Makaha was nothing compared to the stifling humid heat of the jungle that he never got used to. Unknown to Randy, who relieved himself of his clothing and footwear, there was a Mo'o wahine in the pond. He hadn't noticed that the foliage around the pound took on a yellowish-green hue, which was usually the sign that the mo'o wahine, the lizard goddess, was home. He calmly stretched his form out on to the surface of the water and felt an instant cleansing come over him. The icy chill of the pond caused Randy to gasp momentarily; otherwise, he was entirely calmed by it. He hadn't felt calm in so long that he found himself shedding tears of relief. The mo'o wahine lounged below the depths of the pound, and she could instantly feel Randy's pain once he submerged himself into her waters. All of his anguish and suffering became hers, and she immediately felt all he'd endured during the war. His mind was fractured, but even worse, his spirit, his essence, his mana was slowly beginning to dim. The mo'o wahine could feel that his heart hurt as well; he rejected someone who truly loved him because he thought that his own state of being would only cause that person to suffer.
Anne.
He'd come to avail himself of the terror and horror of war that would not erase itself from his conscience by taking his own life. The beneficent and often times malevolent mo'o goddess saw his troubled heart and took pity on Randy and gave him a gift that she hoped would help him. She grabbed Randy by his ankles and pulled him under the waters of the icy pond until he died from drowning. Then she took his bones and deified him and turned Randy into a mo'o diety like herself. However, something went wrong. Randy could only be a mo'o god some of the time, the rest of the time he remained human but still retained some of his otherworldly powers. The mo'o wahine realized that she could never show Randy her pure form because of his mental suffering from the war. So, the mo'o wahine took a beloved image from his mind and made herself in the image of Anne, his true love. In her guise as Randy's sweetheart, she would accompany him to his room and relive with him a favorite memory. It was the week before he was to ship out for Marine boot camp that he and Anne rented a place at the old Holiday Inn. They loved and laughed and danced naked to CCR's Suzie Q.
~
"Well, say that you'll be mine, say that you'll be mine, say that you'll be mine baby all the time, Suzie Q..."
They're in Randy's room dancing on a Tuesday night like usual, I stay away from Randy as much as possible. Even now, I just play out near the road rather than stay in the house. It's always the same routine, him and whatever that is cause I know it's not Anne, they dance like crazy until mom and dad come home, and then Randy suddenly appears a short time later in his work uniform like he just got back. One night, I got a glimpse of that 'Anne" thing wearing my Mighty Mouse watch, and I rushed into Randy's room and yelled at evil Anne to take it off. Randy swept my legs out from under me and stuck his knee in my gut. In his hand, he held a long, thin, bamboo needle.
"Maybe you don't savvy so well gook? I told you to mind your own beeswax, now I gotta stick this bamboo needle right through the soft part of your feet!" His dripping perspiration fell on my cheek, Evil Anne stood there with a smirk on her face and did nothing.
"I don't care, I'm gonna tell mom and dad anyway!" I screamed. Randy grabbed my right ankle with one hand and pulled me upside down from the carpet. He drew the needle back, and just as he was about to plunge it into my feet, my parents pulled in to the driveway. He let go and dropped me on my head not because he's an asshole, but because of how he and Anne disappeared into thin air. Now I knew how Randy was doing it. Soon as my parents walked into the door, I told them everything. Of course, they never believed me, but after that, we never saw Randy again. He just disappeared.
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