Part Two of those auspicious Kauai moments

(for Part One click here)

by Jennifer Stuart

The sand was soft and pink. The shells were mixed in with the rocks and there was one other person who seemed to be looking for them as well. I found a spot that seemed abundant, sat down and started sifting through the little bits. The ocean was crashing gently, and I knew never to let my back face it. That is how you get caught off guard. That is how you get hurt. I kept it to my side while I sorted through the little shells, finding the ones I wanted. The sun began to set. My eyes told me to go back to my little room. I did.

Since I had left, a boy and two girls had moved into the cabin next door to mine. The boy was very enthusiastic. One of the girls was his girlfriend, the other was along for the ride. Their whole dynamic was interesting. They coaxed me out to the ocean that night to cook hot dogs by a fire that kept getting invigorated and then emptied by the wind. It was endearing, but I left rather quickly to head to sleep. I needed to have time with my own head, to adjust to arriving on Kauai. I needed to absorb the aftermath of the experiences on the Big Island.

The next morning, the enthusiastic boy was brushing his teeth at the same time as me. My original ride had left, off on his hike.

“Mornin’!” the enthusiastic boy said, enthusiastically.

“Hey, good morning,” I tried to become chipper. I forgot to prepare for coffeelessness.

“What are your plans for today?” he was like a dog that is just psyched in the morning, no matter what. No coffee needed. I was not the same.

“Well, I’m gonna find some shells on the beach before I leave.”

“Oh, Kahelelani shells?”

“Yeah, exactly. You know of them?”

“Hell yeah I do! My friends used to make necklaces out of them! But man, I lost touch with them. Do you make necklaces?”

“Well, not really, not yet. I have a few friends who might teach me. Mostly I want to find some of the magenta  kahelelanis. They are really rare, and then give them to my friends. They have a baby right now and they could make some great stuff with those.”

“That’s nice of you. My friends have a baby too actually! Such a small world.”

“Yeah, totally.” The world has been smaller.

“What are your friend’s names? Maybe I know them.” He said.

“Benjamin and Sarah,” I was cautious. It was not always good to say people’s names, but they had nothing to hide.

“No way! No. Way. Those are the people I lived with! They have a baby named Theresa and are both really sweet and make leis for a living right? Out of the shells? Dude can you please please please give me their number? I lost it, but I came here to see them and have not been able to find them!”

“Ha, yeah sure, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

I gave him their number. It was a small world, after all. Shortly after that, I spent hours sitting and finding shells, but not many magenta ones, sadly. I took my collection and eventually headed back to the road that headed towards the coffee shop.

That one road.

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