A/N: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCHHFP7pNHI

 

I saw you in my dream We were walking hand in hand On a white sandy beach of Hawaii   We were playing in the sun We were having so much fun On a white sandy beach of Hawaii   The sound of the ocean Soothes my restless soul The sound of the ocean Rocks me all night long   Those hot long summer days Lying there in the sun On a white sandy beach of Hawaii   The sound of the ocean Soothes my restless soul The sound of the ocean Rocks me all night long   Oh, last night in my dreams I saw your face again We were there in the sun On a white sandy beach Of Hawaii  

Kaimana strummed the last chord of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s “White Sandy Beach” on her ukulele, and when the music ended, all that was left was the rumble of the distant ocean, the whistle of the wind, and the creak of the tree swing as little Sun Marie sat there, slowly drifting back and forth.

It was early morning and they were the only two awake. It had drizzled overnight, leaving a streak of rainbow in the sky. Sun Marie sat in her swing, staring at the rainbow and thinking of her mother.

“Miss Kaimana?”

“What is it, child?” Kaimana put down her ukulele and walked over to the swing.

“Is my mommy happy?” She stopped swinging and looked at Kaimana.

Kaimana would not lie. This child knew so much truth already. She could handle more. “No,” she said.

“How come, Miss Kaimana?” The little girl’s green eyes were glassy with tears.

Kaimana put her hand on the child’s head and looked down upon her. “She is denying the next dimension, dear child. She needs to move on but she won’t.”

“Does she have to go?”

Kaimana sighed and walked over to the shade of the willow tree. She patted the ground next to her, gesturing for Sun Marie to come sit down.

Sun Marie got off the swing and kneeled on the grass beside Kaimana.

“Child, I love you like my own. I will tell you the truth, always. And you must also tell me the truth.”

Sun Marie nodded.

“Your mommy came to you the night she died, yes?”

Sun Marie nodded again.

“And what did she tell you?”

“She said she died and that I needed to take care of Daddy now.”

“And how did you answer, dear child?”

“I said I would try but that Daddy would be sad.”

Kaimana sighed and put her arm around the little girl. “When your mommy died, her 'uhane, her soul, left its body through her final teardrop. Her 'uhane is now in the in-between place. She is not supposed to linger here. She is supposed to journey into the uplands and find the leina. Each island has a leina, a place where a soul jumps from this dimension to the next. But your mommy has chosen to stay here.”

“Because she loves us too much?”

Kaimana paused. “She came to you that night she died as a way of saying go