Keala

CHAPTER 1

There weren't always dragons in the valley. She remembered when there were only unicorns, but now she liked having the dragons around, she thought to herself as she admired the majestic creatures glowing, flying through the cosmos leaving stardust as they passed her by. One of them coming so close she could see its skin shimmering an iridescent rainbow color that she could feel so smooth and cool to the touch. She was entranced by how graceful they were, how kind and gentle she could feel their energies. It was almost like they had cast a spell on her to feel an overwhelming abundance of love that filled her whole heart and body. It was so magical that she didn't have the words to describe such a feeling of beauty. It was nothing she had ever felt in her lifetime and nothing like she had read in her books of the fire breathing dragons that always wanted to destroy and kill. It was quite the opposite.

She wanted to follow them into the unknown and see where they were being led. She wanted to know more, to know who these creatures were and how did they get there? To find their truth, their beauty, their overwhelming love and share it with the world, freeing them of their bad reputation. She felt this determination to capture their truth and set them free of blame. She had to tell their side of the story. She had to share their beauty. The world needed their beauty, the world needed their love! Why? She did not know, but she could feel it deep down that this love was needed in the world and to her it felt urgent. But how? How will she follow them? How will she talk to them? How will she find the truth? She wondered.

She was then all of a sudden aware that she was flying, not as a spectator of these magnificent creatures, she was in the cosmos flying with the dragons surrounded by fireballs of stars that twinkled and sparkled as she flew by. The dragons now getting lost in the back of her thoughts as her senses took over. The feeling of the silky atmosphere of space touching every inch of her delicately strong skin. Breathing in the air of space smelling something so pure, so clean, so light it was like nothing she had experienced before, yet it was familiar to her. All the while a golden glow illuminated her whole body with the feeling of the overwhelming beauty of unconditional love.

It was almost like she was a star herself, in the sky, shooting across for all to see below. The star that people made their wishes on. The star that caught everyone by surprise and created joy and excitement in the quiet moments of the night. Maybe she was the shooting star skipping across the sky for the human eye to capture and the heart to receive. The star that opened everyone's hearts to the magic of the universe. She could only hope.

Her hair was flowing behind her as if she were an underwater mermaid, propelled forward by a force she did not know, nor did she care. What she did know was that she felt wild, she felt free, she felt more herself than she had ever felt in her whole life, she felt alive, she felt safe. This was where she was meant to be. This was home.

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and was taken aback with a giggle of delight when she saw a stream of luminescent rainbow stardust trailing her as she swept across the star studded sky. She was mesmerized by its beauty, by its magical spark, by how it glowed and glistened with every move she made. She laughed at the realization that somehow that steam of glittery rainbow was coming out of her! Like a unicorn farting rainbows. She thought to herself and laughed again.

Flipping through the universe going as fast as the speed of light, she could only imagine, she twirled and danced with the dragons and hopscotched her way across the planets that filled the galaxy leaving a trail of rainbow stardust everywhere she went. She was the rainbow in the sky. She thought as a wide smile of pure joy was plastered on her face. This made her happy, this made her feel whole, this made her…

She stopped to think for a second. What did this make her? Was she a shooting star? A rainbow? A unicorn? A dragon? What was she? Who was she? This whole time she was enjoying this magical ride she never questioned how she got there, why she was there, and how was she flying in the universe, so care free, so joyously like the innocence of a child playing hopscotch in the school yard, no care in the world and no place to be but that moment of pure happiness. Who was she to have this blissful moment and what did it all mean?

And with that thought, it all disappeared…

...

Her name was Keala, pronounced Kayala like koala, not an average name for an average girl, but Keala was an average girl, in an average town, with an average family, going to an average high school, living an average life. Or so she would like to think. She spent her whole life trying to be average and “fit in” so no one would notice her too much. Attention made her anxious and being ignored made her depressed, so she thought in the middle was the best place to be, average. Though deep down she felt different, she felt unique, she felt very unaverage. Even her name, Keala, tried to pull her out of her attempt at being average every time her name was mentioned.

She loved her name so much, though, and unlike all the other kids in grade school who wanted to change their name, Keala never did. Her name was the one non average thing about herself that she truly liked and admired. It was Hawaiian, even though she was not Hawaiian, her family had a lot of connections to the islands, and she was lucky enough to be the receiver of such a beautiful name. It had two meanings, she was told. The first meaning was fragrant flower.

‘Yes please I want to be the blooming fragrant essence of a flower's beauty.’ She would think to herself while her heart would fill with tropical delight.

The other meaning was enlightened path.

‘A dirt road? I think I'll stick to the beautiful flower essence’ she would think dismissively.

She loved the idea that her name was as beautiful as a flower and could only imagine what people thought when hearing it. She pictured it bringing a vision of vibrant tropical flowers, all colors of the rainbow, that made people want to take a deep breath of what she could only imagine was a breath of air so fresh, so crisp, so naturally fragrant with the fragrance of the Hawaiian lands, that your lungs got bigger, your body filled with illuminating energy of delight and excitement and then an ever so genuine smile would start to form so naturally on their face while taking in that moment, so peaceful, so loving, so free. She could feel that her name gave people the feeling and the vision of joy, beauty, and tropical bliss and she loved that she could share that gift with the world.

Not like the enlightened path. This meaning was lost on her. She didn't really mesh with it nor did she really grasp the concept of enlightenment and all that it embodied. In her mind it wasn't as pretty and it didn't have the effect of beauty that the fragrant flower did. And so she always chose to share the meaning of her name as the beautiful, tropical, Fragrant Flower, though she would soon learn that her enlightened path was right around the corner.

Even though she loved her name and loved to share it with others, she still would always pull focus away from herself by changing the subject as fast as she could so as to not be the center of attention. She was short and petite. She had dirty blonde hair that got natural highlights from the sun, fair skin from her ancestors that immigrated from France and Ireland a few generations back and she had these deep blue eyes that in the right light almost seemed like the deep blue sea of the cosmos and mystery. But by the looks of it, there was really nothing special about Keala. She was just an ordinary average looking American girl.That was Keala. Or so she tried hard to believe.

It only took one day, one small riddle, one page in a yearbook, one small step towards trust and one magical experience for Keala to learn that her name was only the beginning of her unique being. ‘Keala’ was her first clue to who she truly was and the startling truth that her ‘dirt path’ to enlightenment had been waiting for her this whole time.

And so begins the story of Keala, the not so average named girl trying ever so hard to be average, until now…

…

Sitting in the courtyard, Keala and Dakota were deep in conversation about a page in their senior yearbook.

“It’s a joke!” Dakota said exasperatedly? As she flipped her long silky dark brown hair over her shoulder. “It’s not like someone really made a treasure map for us to actually find treasure! The clues don't even make sense.” she rolled her beautiful brown eyes at Keala for the hundredth time.

“But what if it is real?” Keala questioned staring intently at the yearbook page at which they were having their debate about.

Dakota and Keala had been inseparable ever since their parents met at a baby birthing class for their younger brothers when they were both three. They shared a love for experimenting as they thought they had all the answers but didn't know how to communicate them to other people. Science didn't seem to have the answers they needed so they would take it upon themselves to make sense of their lives. They understood each other and therefore could talk about anything. Despite them being complete opposites, they were best friends, a deep bond they couldn't explain.

Though, the past few years Dakota started to hate having those out of this world conversations with her. She had lost her sense of wonder and curiosity when they hit high school, calling it childish and a big imagination. Keala on the other hand still had that “childish imagination” inside but now didn't have anyone to share it with. So she kept it all to herself.

“You are sooo gullible.” Dakota said with a sassy smirk.

“I'm not gullible, I just have a feeling that it's real.”

Keala got good grades in school though she was not considered smart by her friends and family. She didn't play any sports. She preferred to do things her own way and loved going on her own adventures. She loved science, but nothing like Dakota. She still loved to think of the possibilities of what could be out there. She always believed in things that have not yet been proven or even seen before. She was a ‘lost in the stars’ kind of kid. Though on the outside she was just another ordinary kid.

Not like Dekota. She played soccer since she was in diapers, was valedictorian of their class and ½ Cherokee Indian from her moms side. That’s where she got the warm olive skin and defined sharp looks that keala describes as mesmerizing beauty. Even her brown eyes seemed to sparkle. Along with the beautiful heritage that Keala loved to learn about from Dakota's grandmother. She was beautiful inside and out, fit, talented, and smart. Keala had no idea how they were best friends. She would joke it was small pickings in a small town, but all joking aside, she knew deep down there was a bigger reason they chose each other to be best of friends. There was more to their story that they had no idea about.

“Okay, what if I play along and say that it is real,” Dakota said rolling her eyes as she seems to do a lot these days when talking to Keala. “ What then? Are you just going to go solve this riddle and follow the treasure map to what exactly? It doesn't even say what treasure you are meant to find! What's the point!?” She sighed as she threw her arms in the air as if this conversation had exhausted her. “Keala, I just don't get you anymore.”

That was the truth. Keala felt misunderstood quite often and wished she had someone who understood the way her mind worked, she barely understood it herself. This made her feel very alone in the world.

“I can’t explain it, there is just something inside me that feels like this was meant for me. Like I was meant to see it, meant to follow it, meant to find out what treasure is at the end of this path. I just feel it calling to me and I can't ignore it.” Her voice trailing off as her eyes focused on a specific point on the map. Then something clicked! “Anyways!” she slammed her yearbook shut and shot up from the bench. “ I have to go do something, I’ll see you later at Kathy’s end of the year party. Gotta go, bye!” and she bolted away as if on a mission.

“Okay, but don't go chasing these stupid clues, they aren't going to get you anywhere! Seriously Keala, I know you! Don’t do it!” Dakota screamed after her, but Keala just waved her off and kept on her way.