by Mookie Sato
English edited by
Mookie Sato, Brandon & Kim Grilc
This is the story of a little fairy named Puuwai.
A fairy that only children can see.
When we were kids, everyone had a Puuwai.
Puuwai could make any wish come true.
Puuwai always made us have fun.
But as we grew up, our Puuwais slowly disappeared, and we became adults.
One little girl on this island is about to say goodbye to her Puuwai.
Her name is Anela.
Anela was always a cheerful and kind child. But one day she wasn't feeling very well.
Her friends played happily on the beach while Anela sat alone.
"Anela, come play with me!" Luan said. But Anela yelled, "No!" and turned away.
"Hey, Anela. Look at this beautiful shell I found," said Luan.
"You can have it, if you want it." But Anela turned away again, saying, "I don't want it!"
"What's wrong Anela? Why are you so angry? Is your Puuwai gone?" Luan asked.
"Shut up and leave me alone!"
Anela stood up angry and stormed off. "Puuwai isn't gone...it's just...
it's just taking a walk right now,"
Anela said as she turned and ran up Moani Hill.
Moani Hill overlooked the whole island.
At the top sat a big tree named Uncle Moani.
When Anela reached the big tree on top of the hill, large tears spilled from her eyes.
"Boohoo!"
Then the big tree spoke.
Creak, creak. "Why are you crying?"
Anela wiped her tears and replied, "Have you seen my Puuwai?
My Puuwai was gone when I woke up this morning."
"Well, I've been here all day watching the island, but I haven't seen your Puuwai.
Why don't you ask the owl, Mr. Hoo?"
Uncle Moani said as his whole body shook, scattering leaves at Anela's feet.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
The owl, Mr. Hoo, emerged from a tree branch.
"Hey what's going on here? I was sleeping quite comfortably." "Have you seen my Puuwai?" Anela asked.
"Hmm…"After pondering for a moment, Mr. Hoo said, "No, Puuwai's not here. You might find it in Mana Forest.
But be warned, the forest can be a dangerous place for kids.
You should never go there alone…"
"Thanks, Mr. Hoo!"
Anela hurried to Mana Forest without even turning back to say goodbye.
"Hey, wait! I said it's dangerous in there!" Mr. Hoo called out after her.
"It's best to be home before the sun goes down!"
When Anela arrived at Mana Forest, the sun was dipping lower in the sky, making it difficult to see.
As she stumbled around the forest,
looking for her Puuwai, Anela started to hear voices.
"Ouch! Ouch! That hurts!" "Huh? I heard something!" Anela said to herself.
"Is anyone there?" she asked.
"I'm right here!" Anela could hear voices,
but she couldn't see where they were coming from.
"Where?" Anela looked around and around. "Here I am! I'm down here!"
The voice was coming from Anela's feet!
When Anela looked down,
she saw flowers looking back at her.
"Oh my! Flowers!?" Anela said. "My name is not Oh My!
And you have been standing on my leaves for a while now.
My name is Chill and this is Ram."
"Oh look, now your dress is dirty, Chill," said Ram.
Anela quickly moved her feet. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"Nice to meet you, So Sorry," Chill said.
"No, no, my name is Anela and I'm looking for…”
"By the way, Chill, your petals are very nice," Ram said.
"Oh yes, thank you. The best in the forest.
And Ram, your leaves are sooooo beautiful," Chill replied.
Chill and Ram forgot about Anela and began to compliment each other's beauty…
Anela listened patiently to their conversation before interrupting.
"Excuse me...Excuse me!" "Hmm…did you hear something?" Ram asked.
"Oh, yeah, it's So Sorry," Chill replied, noticing Anela again.
"Who is this kid? She keeps staring at us!"
"My name is Anela. I'm looking for my Puuwai. Have you seen it?"
"I don't know, but I saw someone in the lake earlier...
Maybe it's your Puuwai?" said Chill.
"Lake? Who's at the lake?" Ram asked Chill. "
No, not Mr. Hoo. Someone, I don't know who.
Anyway, you said my dress is dirty? Where?" Chill asked.
"Never mind. What happened at the lake now?" Ram asked.
Their weird conversation started again.
Anela rolled her eyes and turned away, then started toward the lake.
Anela wandered through the forest until she found the lake.
"There it is!" Anela shouted as she approached it.
"Puuwai?! I'm here, Puuwai! Where are you?"
As Anela called out, a shadow began to appear from the bottom of the lake.
"Puuwai! It's me, Anela! Let's go home!"
The more Anela shouted, the larger the shadow on the lake grew.
The shadow grew and grew until it was bigger than Anela.
Soon the shadow covered the whole lake. And then…
Splash!!!
The shadow surfaced and revealed its true identity.
It was a huge whale named Noosh.
Anela was stunned by his size. "Wow!"
"Hey! Why are you making all that noise at this peaceful lake?
Can you keep it down, please?" asked Noosh.
Anela said, "I'm looking for my Puuwai. Have you seen it?"
"Hmm...I don't know Puuwai, but I know ManaIi, the guardian god of Mana who can grant any wish.
You should ask Manali about your Puuwai," Noosh said.
"Where is Manali?" Anela asked.
"If you want to find Manali, you'll have to go deeper into the forest.
Are you sure you want to go in there?" "Yes, I must find my Puuwai," Anela replied.
Anela was not afraid of anything when it came to finding her Puuwai.
Then Noosh said,
"I haven't been out of this lake for a long time, so I get moss on myback and it's sooooo itchy.
If I tell you where to find Manali, can you help me clean the moss off my back?"
"Sure! It's a deal," Anela said.
Anela climbed on Noosh's back and cleaned off the moss.
Noosh blew water from his blowhole like a fountain.
Anela danced around Noosh's back playing in the water. "Weee! Noosh, your back is so smooth.
It's like I'm skating on ice. Hehe!"
Time flies when you're having fun.
Before they knew it, the sun was about to set over the mountains.
"Thank you, Anela. My back looks beautiful and feels great!
But you should hurry to see ManaIi before it gets too dark. Let me help you.
I can send you to Manali with my spout," said Noosh.
"Cimbon."
Anela sat on Noosh's back. Then suddenly…
a burst of water shot Anela sky high,
and she sailed awayon a gigantic wave of water.
Kersplash! "Yippy! Thanks, Noosh!"
Anela soared through the sky and fell deep into Mana Forest. "Ouch!"
Anela stood up and looked around, but it was hard to see. The forest had become dark and there was no sign of ManaIi. "This is not the same Mana Forest I saw in the day," Anela said, as dark faces appeared all around her.
Grass and flowers clung to Anela's feet,
and trees reached out for her.
The barely visible moonlight cast a big shadow
that chased Anela wherever she ran.
Anela ran as fast as she could,
but got lost in the depths ofthe forest.
"Where am I? I want to go home," Anela cried. Anela was so exhausted, she burst into tears.
She couldn't walk anyfurther.
A moment later, a big shadow swooped down toward Anela. "Nooooo!" she shouted.
But the big shadow grabbed Anela before she knew it
and they soared high into the night sky. "Let me go! Help!" she cried.
"Don't worry, Anela. It's me, Mr. Hoo. I'm here to help you."
Mr. Hoo couldn't stop worrying about Anela after the sun went down and was looking for her all night.
"Are you okay, Anela?"
"Not really, I'm looking for Manali, but the forest is too dark and scary now."
"Oh, I know Manali, the guardian god of Mana.
Do you want me to take you to him?" Mr. Hoo asked.
Anela paused, realizing she may never see her Puuwai again. Then, after pondering for a moment to remember her Puuwai and all the joy they had together, Anela smiled and said,
"It's okay.I just want to go home."
"Okay. But first let me show you the 'merry-go-round' in the night sky!" Mr. Hoo soared even higher.
The sky shined brilliantly and smiled at Anela gently. "Good evening stars!
Oh, what beautiful lights!" Anela enjoyed viewing the stars from her seat on Mr. Hoo's back.
She forgot all of her fears and the scary forest.
In no time, theyarrived back at Anela's room.
Mr. Hoo perched on her window sill as Anela slid back into the comfort of her home.
"I'm sorryyou couldn't find your Puuwai," Mr. Hoo said.
"It's okay. I had a fun adventure. Thank you for all your help,"
Anela said as she yawned and climbed into bed.
"Hoo Hoo," was all she heard as Mr. Hoo fluttered out of sight.
After Mr. Hoo left, Anela started to feel lonely without her Puuwai. "Puuwai…
"Anela cried as tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
At that moment, a familiar warmth returned to Anela's heart…
"Puuwai, is that you?!" Anela opened her eyes and Puuwai was sitting on her chest.
"Anela, why are you crying? Did you think you lost me?
I didn't go anywhere. I'm always in your heart."
"But I can't always see you," Anela replied.
Puwai said, "If you ever want to see me again,
just put your hand on your heart and close your eyes."
Then Puuwai transformed into a warm orb of light and disappeared back into Anela's heart.
Anela held back her tears as she sighed in relief and started to drift off.
She put her hand on her chest and said,
"Thank you. I'll always remember you Puuwai,"
then fell soundly asleep.
Kindness, friendship, happiness, whenever your emotions shake,
or the times your heart gets warm…
that's Puuwai.
We all meet Puuwai when we're kids.
We might forget about it when we grow old, but Puuwai is always smiling in our hearts.
Puuwai will be with us forever.
Don't you forget it.