The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai Part 29

Now her counsellors marveled at her wailing and remembered her saying "some evil has befallen"; at her wailing and at her gestures of distress, for Laieikawai was kneeling on the ground with one hand clapped across her back and the other at her forehead, and she wailed aloud as follows:

O you who come to me--alas!

Here I am, My heart is trembling, There is a rus.h.i.+ng at my heart for love.

Because the man is gone--my close companion!

He has departed.

He has departed, my lehua blossom, spicy kookoolau, With his soft pantings, Tremulous, thick gaspings, Proud flower of my heart, Behold--alas!

Behold me desolate-- The first faint fear branches and grows--I can not bear it!

My heart is darkened With love.

Alas, my husband!

When her companions heard Laieikawai wailing, they all wailed with her.

After their lament, said Kahalaomapuana, "This is a strange way to cry; you open your mouth wide, but no tears run; you seem to be dried up, as if the tears were shut off."

Said the sisters, "What do you mean?"

Kahalaomapuana replied, "As if there were nothing the matter with our husband."

Said Laieikawai, "He is dead, for on the way down, just above here, he said, 'You go ahead and I will go up and see your sister-in-law, and if you wait for me until day follows night and night day and day again that night, then I am dead,' so he charged me. I waited here; the appointed time pa.s.sed; I thought he was dead; here I stayed until you came and found me wailing."

Said Kahalaomapuana, "He is not dead; wait a day; stop wailing!"

Because of Kahalaomapuana's words they waited four days, but nothing happened. Then Laieikawai began to wail again until evening of the third day, and this night, at dawn, for the first time she fell asleep.

Just as sleep came to her Halaaniani stood before her with another woman, and Laieikawai started up, and it was only a dream!

At the same time Mailehaiwale had a vision. She awoke and told her dream to Mailelaulii and Mailekaluhea.

As they were talking about it Laieikawai awoke and told her dream.

Said Mailelaulii, "We are just talking of Mailehaiwale's dream."

As they discussed the dreams Kahalaomapuana awoke from sleep and asked what they were talking about.

Mailehaiwale told the dream that had come to her: "It was up at Paliuli, Halaaniani came and took you, Kahalaomapuana, and you two went away somewhere; my spirit stood and watched you, and the excitement awoke me."

Laieikawai also told her dream, and Kahalaomapuana said, "Halaaniani is not dead; we will wait; do not weep; waste no tears."

Then Laieikawai stopped wailing, and they returned to Paliuli.

At this place we shall tell of Halaaniani, and here we shall see his clever trickery.

When Halaaniani told Laieikawai he was going up to see Malio, this was in order to get away from her after giving her his commands.

The fellow went up and met Malio. His sister asked. "What have you come up here for?"

Said Halaaniani, "I have come up here to you once more to show you what I desire; for I have again seen a beautiful woman with a face like Laieikawai's.

"Yesterday morning when I went outside my house I saw this young girl with the lovely face; then a great longing took possession of me.

"And because I remembered that you were the one who fulfilled my wishes, therefore I have come up here again."

Said Malio to her brother, "That is Laielohelohe, another of Waka's grandchildren; she is betrothed to Kekalukaluokewa, to be his wife.

Therefore go and watch the girl's house without being seen for four days, and see what she does; then come back and tell me; then I will send you to seduce the girl. I can not do it by my power, for they are two."

At these words of Malio, Halaaniani went to spy outside of Laielohelohe's house without being seen; almost twice ten days he lay in wait; then he saw Laielohelohe stringing _lehua_ blossoms. He came repeatedly many days; there she was stringing _lehua_ blossoms.

Halaaniani returned to his sister as he had been directed, and told her what he had seen of Laielohelohe.

When Malio heard the story she told her brother what to do to win Laielohelohe, and said to Halaaniani, "Go now, and in the middle of the night come up here to me, and we two will go to Laielohelohe's place."

Halaaniani went away, and close to the appointed time, then he arose and joined his sister. His sister took a _ti_-leaf trumpet and went with her brother, and came close to the place where Laielohelohe was wont to string _lehua_ blossoms.

Then Malio said to Halaaniani, "You climb up in the _lehua_ tree where you can see Laielohelohe, and there you stay. Listen to me play on the _ti_-leaf trumpet; when I have blown five times, if you see her turn her eyes to the place where the sound comes from, then we shall surely win, but if she does not look toward where I am playing, then we shall not win to-day."

As they were speaking there was a crackling in the bushes at the place where Laielohelohe strung _lehua_ blossoms, and when they looked, there was Laielohelohe breaking _lehua_ blossoms.

Then Halaaniani climbed up the trunk of a tree and kept watch. When he was up the tree, Malio's trumpet sounded, again it sounded a second time, so on until the fifth time, but Halaaniani did not see the girl turn her eyes or listen to the sound.

Malio waited for Halaaniani to return and tell what he had seen, but as he did not return, Malio again blew on the trumpet five times; still Halaaniani did not see Laielohelohe pay the least attention until she went away altogether.

Halaaniani came back and told his sister, and his sister said, "We have not won her with the trumpet; shall we try my nose flute?"

The two returned home, and very early in the morning, they came again to the same place where they had lain in ambush before.

No sooner were they arrived than Laielohelohe arrived also at her customary station. Malio had already instructed her brother, as follows:

"Take _lehua_ flowers, bind them into a cl.u.s.ter, when you hear me playing the nose flute, then drop the bunch of flowers right over her; maybe she will be curious about this."

Halaaniani climbed the tree right over where Laielohelohe was wont to sit. Just as Malio's nose flute sounded, Halaaniani dropped the bunch of _lehua_ flowers down from the tree, and it fell directly in front of Laielohelohe. Then Laielohelohe turned her eyes right upward, saying, "If you are a man who has sent me this gift and this music of the flute, then you are mine: if you are a woman, then you shall be my intimate friend."

When Halaaniani heard this speech, he waited not a moment to descend and join his sister.

To Malio's question he told her what he had seen.

Said Malio to Halaaniani, "We will go home and early in the morning come here again, then we shall find out her intentions."

They went home and returned early in the morning. When they had taken their stations, Laielohelohe came as usual to string _lehua_ blossoms.

Then Malio sounded the flute, as Laielohelohe began to snip the _lehua_ blossoms, and she stopped, for her attention was attracted to the music.

Three times Malio sounded the nose flute.

Then said Laielohelohe, "If you are a woman who sounds the flute, then let us two kiss."

At Laielohelohe's words, Malio approached Laielohelohe and the girl saw her, and she was a stranger to Laielohelohe's eyes.