Wai Ka Honua

This is the 7th story in a collaborative effort to bring awareness to the plastic crisis. The previous story was The Seal That Was Broken by Vonne Vantablack.

Dabria was small for her age. She was 12, almost 13, but looked like a 9-year-old. She was borderline malnourished and only had a 4th grade reading level. Besides all of that she was a very happy girl. Her bright brown eyes loved to take in the wondrous sights she was afforded, thanks to where she lived.

Dabria lived in a very small town that was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There was barely any earth, and the majority of the town was either floating makeshift houses, boats or houseboats. The earth they had was used for a garden on the back decks of several floating homes. The town was surrounded by salt water, but the people of this small town were ingenious. They made their own desalination station out of one of the boats. The previous owner, Roberto, passed away a few years ago, at the age of 96.

The town, Wai Ka Honua, had less than 1000 people living on it. The races were quite diverse, just like the language. Dabria knew Hawaiian, Maori and English. Her schooling consisted of learning how to live in the middle of the ocean. Which she excelled at, and even helped the younger kids. Her mother, Sonia, helped clean the fish, and other sea creatures, from the daily catches. Her father, Ahika, was one of the many men that went out to fish, scavenge and travel to nearby islands.

This morning Dabria woke up with a start. It was Saturday, and all of the older kids would help out at either the fish market or one of the gardens. Dabria always helped Danilo on his boat. He was like an uncle and showered the young girl with gifts. He had lost his family in a car accident and Dabria reminded him of his daughter.

Dabria quickly got dressed and almost ran to the kitchen. Sonia was making breakfast for the three of them. Ahika was working on a small broken motor in the living room. Dabria ran to both and hugged them as hard as she could.

"Aloha kakahiaka e nā mākua." (Good morning parents) Dabria said with a toothy smile.

"Morning, my little merekara." (Miracle) Ahika replied once Dabria broke the hug.

"Are you going to Uncle Danilo's today?" Sonia asked as she brought a plate of cooked fish, a potato and onion hash and a mix of seaweed.

"Yes, I am. So are David and Niko." Dabria said as she dove into the seaweed.

"I do not like those boys... You be careful around them," Ahika said as he walked to the sink to wash his hands, "I do not want you getting into trouble because of them. Okay?"

“Yes, Papa.” Dabria responded with a mouthful of seaweed.

The rest of breakfast was almost silent. The regular banter between Ahika and Sonia broke the silence infrequently and Dabria dug into her food. The average day between the parents was laid out and Dabria repeated that she was going to Uncle Danilo's. When Dabria finished her meal, she shot out of the door like it was a summer day.

Dabria bounced down her houseboat and flew off the deck, like throwing herself into water, but rolled into a ball and jumped to her feet once she almost landed, face first, into the makeshift corridor that connected their houseboat to the dock of the town. She continued her momentum and ran down the floating deck. Dabria caught herself on a post of the large circular deck that encompassed the entire town and shot down this new walkway. She was nothing more than a blur as she ran towards her uncles.

Before she even got to her uncle's boat, she could hear him swearing in his native language of Te Reo. Danilo was the sweetest guy you would ever meet but swore like his life depended on it. He did try his best to curb his language around the children. He failed in this endeavor regularly. Dabria found his attempts hilarious. And since she also spoke Te Reo he couldn't swear in his native tongue, or in English. This made for moments of pure joy for the young girl.

She was one houseboat away from her uncle's place and his swearing faded into metal hitting metal. When there was a lull in the banging, the swearing returned. Dabria was now walking, hoping to savor the moment. She thought to herself that Danilo must be working on something. When his swearing started back up, Dabria couldn't help but start dancing and singing her favorite song.

"E hine e hoki mai ra, ka mate ahau I te aroha e." (oh girl return to me, I could die of love for you) she sang as she danced the traditional haka. Anyone that saw her would have found it funny to watch a small girl sing a love song while making aggressive stances, stomps and faces.

She got caught up in the song and dance, which made her pass by her uncle's home. Once she stopped her song, she noticed she was two houses down from her uncle's. She quickly turned around and skipped her way back to her uncle's boat, while humming her song. She then climbed aboard the boat. The loud banging stopped, and Dabria took the moment to knock on the window that looked into her uncle's living room.

"Dabria," Danilo yelled, "Come in, come in!"

"What are you doing, matua keke," (Uncle) Dabria asked as she slid the door open and stepped in, "What is all of the banging?"

"This dam … dang, line keeps getting clogged with those poauau plastic gloves," (stupid) Danilo sighed, with an angry face, "Where are they all coming from, anyways?"

"What is the line for, matua keke?" (Uncle) Dabria asked as she ran her hand down the metal pipe, pulling on the exposed plastic that protruded from the many holes.

"The line that sucks up the salt water to take the salt out. You know, Roberto's old boat?" Danilo said as he started using a screwdriver to try and pry all of the gloves out.

"Can I help?" She asked as she kept trying to pry the plastic out of the holes with her fingers.

"I would love some help, wahine taitamariki!" (Young lady) Danilo replied, "Pick up a screwdriver. It works better than trying to pull them out with your fingers."

"Why are there so many?" Dabria asked as she started stabbing at the glove infested pipe.

"Well, kotiro iti, people on the mainlands do not care about the environment," (little girl) Danilo said in a stressed voice as he struggled to get the gloves out, "They do not understand kaitiakitanga. They throw away things after one use." (Guardianship)

They worked for over an hour on clearing the plastic out of the line. They discussed how the desalination station worked and how often Danilo had to clean the intake lately. He mostly complained about the mainlanders and their inability to care for the environment. Dabria just nodded her head and agreed with him. After pulling all of the plastic out they collected it and put it in a net.

"Why are we putting these in a net and not the trash?" Dabria asked as they finished stuffing the gloves and other miscellaneous pieces of plastic.

"Someone already threw this out, and it ended up out here," Danilo started, "If we did that, we might as well throw it back into the water!"

"Then what are we going to do with it?" Dabria asked as she tied the net together.

"We are going to recycle them." Danilo answered.

"But how, matua keke?" (Uncle) Dabria asked as she struggled to pick up the net.

"Well, kotiro iti, we are going to use our auahatanga!" (Little girl, creativity) Danilo said as he held the door open.

"Where are David and Niko?" The small child asked as she dragged the net, "They told me they would be here to help today."

"They are going to participate in tonight's haka!" (Ceremonial dance) he said, sounding flabbergasted.

"So they get to skip chores because they are dancing tonight?" She asked as she continued to fight with the heavy net of plastics, that seemed to be caught on something.

"They have never participated before. They need to practice," Danilo said in a hushed tone, "And they need a lot of practice. If it was my decision, I would not have picked them."

"Well," she paused, gathered her strength, and pulled the net free, "I don't think it is fair. They mess up everything!

They started talking about the boys as they left Danilo's boat. Unbeknownst to both of them the thing the net was caught on was the handle to one of the three propane tanks Danilo had sitting by the door. When she ripped it off, the handle moved, just enough to open the valve. As Dabria and Danilo walked away, the cabin of the boat was filling with propane.

"Why don't we stop by the market and get some fish before we get to the nets?" Danilo asked as they walked.

"I already ate, matua keke." (Uncle) Dabria replied as she situated the net on her shoulder.

"Well, I haven't, so let's make a detour!"

"You just want to see the new girl at the market." Dabria teased.

"Siobhan? Don't be haurangi, kotiro iti. I just need some fish." (Crazy, little girl) Danilo replied with a smile.

The two of them made the short journey to the market. The market was located at the edge of the town. It floated independently from the dock. It was a wooden structure, with a straw roof. Inside it had several long tables and large bins. All of them were overflowing with fish. There were whole fish and fileted fish. There were also crabs, oysters and every other kind of seafood. Siobhan worked at the last stall, fileting a giant salmon.

Danilo approached with a huge smile plastered on his face. Siobhan had only been in their small town for a few months, but all of the single men were already smitten. She had the face of an angel. High cheek bones, slender nose, full luscious lips and the most serene brown eyes. She was of average height and weight, but somehow stuck out in the hustle and bustle of the market. The sun seemed to only highlight her, at least to Danilo.

"Good morning, Siobhan." Danilo said, still wearing his giant smile.

"Ata pai Danilo raua ko Dabria," (Good morning Danilo and Dabria) Siobhan replied in her soft, angelic, voice.

"Your Te Reo is coming along, quite well, Siobhan!" Dabria exclaimed.

"Yeah, I thought I came to the wrong stall." Danilo laughed.

"Thank you, both, so much," Siobhan replied, "I have been getting help."

"How is the catch today?" Danilo asked, after a moment of awkward silence.

"That depends. Do you like plastic with your fish?" Siobhan stuck out her arm, motioning towards the bin next to her. The bin was overflowing with ice water, miscellaneous fish and plastics. "The nets have started picking up more plastic than fish."

"I am having the same problem with the desalination line. It keeps sucking up plastic and getting clogged." Danilo said.

"That's where all of these came from." Dabria swung the net in front of her and pointed with her other hand.

"I thought this pandemic was great for the ocean," Siobhan started, "You know, the fish populations grew, whales are less stressed with so few boats being out and they are even traveling to places they haven't been seen in decades, or longer. But now, all of these single-use gloves and masks are everywhere and messing up everything."

"Yeah, they have even been damaging our boats. Not enough to put a hole in the hull, yet, because I get to them quick enough. But if I wasn't diligent, it would happen sooner rather than later!" Danilo replied.

"I wish people realized what these single-use plastics are doing to our planet," Siobhan said, a hint of anger in her tone. "They probably don't even know that when these plastics begin to break down, they turn into something called micro plastics."

"It is because they haven't been taught kaitiakitanga!" (Guardianship) Danilo blurted out.

"What's micro plastics?" Dabria asked, after rolling her eyes to her uncle's outburst.

"Well, Dabria, when plastics start to break down, they don't just disappear," Siobhan replied. "They just get smaller. And then marine life, from plankton to whales, eat them. That is what most of that," Siobhan pointed towards a trash can overflowing with different sized plastics. "Is! And it is just getting worse."

"Wow, I didn't know that!" Danilo faked enthusiasm and ignorance.

"Neither did I!" Dabria, genuinely, exclaimed.

"Ahika was telling me about bundles of plastic showing up as fish on the fish finders and damaging the rotors of their boats!" Danilo said.

"I don't understand how people can be so cavalier when it comes to the environment!" Siobhan exclaimed.

"Like I said," Danilo started, as he lit a cigarette, "They haven't been taught kaitiakitanga." (Guardianship)

"So, what are you two doing now?" Siobhan asked with a look of disgust towards the smoke that was now wafting through the air.

"We are taking these plastics to the community center. They are going to use them on some town projects," Danilo said with a smile, just before checking his pockets, "And I forgot the keys! I will be back. Dabria, wait for me here."

"Hurry up, matua keke!" (Uncle) Dabria laughed at his back.

Danilo rushed back to his boat, quickly fading from Dabria and Siobhan's view. His cigarette was clenched between his teeth as he ran past fellow citizens. He was soon climbing the stairs and entering the cabin. His first breath was filled with cigarette smoke and the undeniable stench of propane. He almost got a curse out before the air was ignited.

The flaming air engulfed Danilo and the propane tanks. The first explosion instantly killed him, and the following explosions jettisoned his body out into the ocean. Shrapnel, that was once a pristine cabin, launched into the nearby boats. Siobhan yelled at her young friend to "get home" just as the second boat exploded. Siobhan ran towards her boat and Dabria, having to go the long way around, started running.

Everyone was running, trying to get to their boats before the fire, and tripping over one another. The dock was now on fire and making its way towards the center of town. The ropes that tied the mismatched decks together were beginning to give out. People were falling into the ocean and being hit with the loose boards and miscellaneous wood. Their cuts were ringing the dinner bell for all of the sharks within several miles of this, once prosperous, little floating town.

Dabria was scared. Explosions kept erupting as she ran. She could see her home and knew it was safe, but the rest of the town was quickly sinking into the water. She could hear the screams of her neighbors, but her mother's voice pierced the fog.

"There she is!" Sonia yelled. "Start the boat!"

Dabria ran harder, but the dock was beginning to break apart. Her short legs pushed as hard as they could until she reached her boat. Instead of running down the dock to climb the stairs she climbed the railing. She could feel it losing its sturdiness as she jumped towards her boat. Once her feet left the wood, it didn't bounce back into place, instead it started to sink. Out of breath, Dabria sat at the end of her boat and watched as they pulled away from the only home she ever knew. Tears fell from her face as she watched the wooden town slowly slip into the uncaring depths of the ocean.

Next up is Tiandra A.K.A. theladypoet with her story about sharks.