Hang Ten for Dear Life! by Nicholas O. Time

Author:Nicholas O. Time
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Spotlight

The path actually swirls around and leads to a different spot along the water’s edge. It’s a quiet, shady area surrounded by palm trees, like a little secret nature room. Rocky ledges surround a pool of blue-green water, and Akemi is sitting on one of the biggest rocks, wiping away tears.

“I’m sorry, Kai. I’m sorry, Maria,” she says when she sees us. “I’m not very good company today. It’s just that . . . today is a difficult day for me, and I feel sad.”

“Did they give you more work?” Maria asks.

“No, no,” Akemi says. “Today is a day that makes me miss my family even more than ever,” Akemi says. “It’s . . . it’s . . . the day I was born.”

Maria and I look at each other, not quite sure what to say. We knew it was her birthday, but of course we couldn’t tell Akemi that.

“I’m grateful that you were both friendly to me,” Akemi adds. “And it was really nice to meet you. I really enjoyed spending time with you.”

“Happy birthday, Akemi,” I say quietly, and Maria repeats it.

I get a feeling that this spot is a sacred place to Akemi, and that any joking, or trying make a bigger deal of Akemi’s birthday, is not the right move. We don’t have any wiggle room—if I make the wrong move now, I might never exist in the present! So Maria and I find rocks near Akemi and sit on them silently. Maria takes out her paper and pencils and starts to sketch.

As I look around, I realize that I know this spot, actually. I’ve read about it in Akemi’s journal. We sit together, and I start to see that it’s not just beautiful because of the trees and sweet-smelling flowers. There’s an incredible, busy world of wildlife around us. Brightly colored birds call to one another in the trees. A blue butterfly lands on a nearby flower.

“This is a magical spot,” Maria whispers as she draws. “It feels like it was sprinkled with fairy dust.”

“Totally,” I say.

“It’s my favorite place on the island,” Akemi admits. “I love to just sit here and watch.”

“I can see why,” I tell her.

“Can you show us more, Akemi?” Maria asks. “I’d love to see the island that you see.”

Akemi leads us through the trees and points out all the wildlife around us. I know from her journal that she’ll never go to high school, and she hasn’t studied biology, but she’s a natural. She knows exactly where to find the most amazing things. Like if we look inside the flower of the pitcher plant, we’ll find a pool of water, or if we turn over a rock, there’s a skink (a tiny lizard) living underneath.

“You really love nature,” Maria observes. “I do too.”

“It’s why I wanted to come here,” Akemi admits. “Of course, my first thought is for my family. I have to work so I can send money back home and help out. But I imagined that I would do so much more than just work here.

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