The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

Author:Witi Ihimaera [Ihimaera, Witi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780143011392
Publisher: The Penguin Group
Published: 2009-09-11T07:00:00+00:00

thirteen

Two weeks after the school break-up ceremony, Koro Apirana took the young boys from the school onto the sea. It was early morning as he put them in his boat and headed out past the bay where the water suddenly turned dark green.

When the sun tipped the sea, Koro Apirana began a prayer. He had a carved stone in his hand and suddenly he threw it into the ocean. The boys watched until they could see it no longer.

‘One of you must bring that stone back to me,’ Koro Apirana said. ‘Go now.’

The boys were eager to prove themselves but the stone had gone too deep. Some were afraid of the darkness. Others were unable to dive so far down. Despite valiant attempts they could not do it.

Koro Apirana’s face sagged. ‘Okay, boys, you’ve done well. Let’s get you all home.’

When he got back to the homestead, Koro Apirana shut himself in the bedroom. Slowly, he began to weep.

‘What’s wrong with my Koro?’ Kahu asked. She was sitting with me on the verandah. ‘Is it because of the stone?’

‘How did you know about that?’ I asked, astonished.

‘One of the boys told me,’ Kahu said. ‘I wish I could make Paka happy again.’ Her eyes held a hint of gravity.

The next morning I was up early, intending to go out onto the sea in my dinghy. To my surprise, Kahu was waiting at the door in her white dress and sandals. There were white ribbons in her pigtails.

‘Can I come for a ride, Uncle Rawiri?’ she asked.

I couldn’t really say no, so I nodded my head. Just as we were ready to leave, Nanny Flowers yelled out, ‘Hoi, wait for me!’ She had decided to join us. ‘I can’t stand to hear the old paka feeling sorry for himself. Mmmm, what a beautiful day! The sun is shining.’

We rowed out past the bay and Kahu asked again about the stone.

‘What stone!’ Nanny Flowers said.

So I told her, and Nanny wanted to be shown where it had been dropped into the water. We went out into the ocean where it suddenly turned indigo.

‘Goodness,’ Nanny said. ‘No wonder those boys couldn’t get it. This is deep.’

‘Does Koro Apirana really want it back?’ Kahu asked.

‘Yeah, I suppose he must,’ Nanny Flowers said, ‘the old paka. Well, serve him right for —’

Kahu said simply, ‘I’ll get it.’

Before we could stop her she stood up and dived overboard. Until that moment I had never even known she could swim.

Nanny’s mouth made a big O. Then the breath rushed into her lungs and she screamed, ‘Oh no!’ She jabbed me hard and said, ‘Go after her, Rawiri. Go.’ She virtually pushed me over the side of the rowboat.

‘Give me the diving mask,’ I yelled. Nanny Flowers threw it at me and quickly I put it on. I took three deep breaths and did a duck dive.

I couldn’t see her. The sea looked empty. There was only a small stingray flapping down towards the reef.

Then I got a big fright because the stingray turned around and, smiling, waved at me.

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