Between Sky and Sea: A Family's Struggle by Donald Ching

Author:Donald Ching [Ching, Donald]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780910043939
Publisher: Bamboo Ridge Press
Published: 2016-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

And that was how Mark left it with his father—divided on the topic—because that’s what it had become for him: a topic to ignore, a topic to avoid, a topic to bury. Of course, the distance helped. Mark was no longer subject to his mother’s fits or his father’s lectures. His life was now filled with Friday night walks down to Ward for a movie or dinner; Saturday mornings at Ala Moana Beach Park; and Sundays spent having brunch at the Moana. But then there were moments that disturbed the calm, dredging his subconscious, bringing his anxieties up to the surface. Mark would wake up, his heart throttling against his chest, the same dream haunting him: Kā‘eo’s body floating in a sea of debris, Mark watching the tide carry his brother further and further out, Pops’ voice ringing in Mark’s ears like a siren.

It was like that for months, unexpected, but always the same. Then one night Mark woke up, and the ringing wouldn’t stop. Over and over he heard it, an incessant buzz that rattled the silence. “Mark,” Lana slapped his head. “Mark, your phone.”

Mark felt blindly for his cell. He looked at the display: It was 4 a.m. “Stay la—” before Mark could finish his sentence, his mother broke through, Ma rushing to speak between sobs. “Control yourself, Ma,” Mark said, throwing the sheets to the side. “What?” he asked, her choking making her words indiscernible. “Wea Elani stay? Get Elani on da phone.” All Mark could think about was Kā‘eo being carried off by the ocean.

“It’s Pop,” Elani’s voice rushed through the speaker. “There was an accident.”

Mark had to pause to catch his breath. “Wea he stay now?” Mark asked, searching the floor for something to throw on.

“Castle,” Elani told him. “We’re going there now.”

Fuck. “Keh, I stay on my way,” Mark hung up and got dressed.

“What’s going on?” Lana asked him, still half asleep.

“My faddah,” he told her. “He in da emergency room.”

“What happened?”

Mark shook his head. He didn’t know. “Stay hea, alright? I going call you.”

“You sure?” she asked him.

Mark kissed her and picked up his keys. “I dunno what stay going on,” Mark explained. “But whatever da fuck wen happen, I no think you like be dea.” And he meant it.

By the time he got to the hospital, Pops was already in surgery. Ma was rocking in her seat, while Elani did his best to hold her still. “What da fuck wen happen?” Mark asked, trying to keep his voice down. A police officer was waiting to ask about what they had found at the scene.

“There were no signs of intoxication,” the police officer said, moving down the report. “From the damage and the injuries, it looks like he fell asleep at the wheel.” The police officer looked at the three of them, “Do you folks have any idea what he was doing out so late?”

Mark looked at Ma and then at Elani. “He was looking for our brother,” Elani finally told the police officer, taking a breath.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.