Iris and the Aloha Wedding Adventure (5 page)

The girls woke to warm sunshine streaming through Hana's bedroom window – and loud noises outside. From their beds they could hear people shouting and stomping heavily around the house.

“What's going on?” asked Iris.

“Maybe it's a
Menehune!”
said Hana. They leaped out of bed and ran to the window. Iris expected to catch a glimpse of the magical creature. Instead she saw something that shocked her even more.

The backyard was a disaster. Everything that had been set up for the wedding had been destroyed in the storm. Fallen palm leaves covered the ground. The white folding chairs were caked with sandy mud. The beautiful wedding arch that the girls' mothers had made was ripped apart.

“Oh, no!” shouted Iris and Hana together.

The girls ran downstairs to the kitchen. They found Tutu throwing containers of food into garbage cans.

“Tutu!” Hana exclaimed. “What's happening?”

“Everything is ruined. We lost power in the middle of the night, and all the food spoiled. Your leis will have to be thrown out too.”

She held up one of the leis. The beautiful pink and orange plumerias were now brown and wilting. Iris did her best to hold back tears.

“It doesn't make any sense,” Tutu said, shaking her head. “The forecast predicted a beautiful night. But that storm was awful!”

Hana and Iris exchanged glances.

“Now what?” Hana asked nervously “The wedding is tomorrow.”

“We have to start over,” answered Tutu.

Hana and Iris's mouths dropped open. They both knew what they had to do: get help from the
Menehune!

Arriving at the banyan tree, the girls hoped to find the
Menehune
but instead discovered more of the same mess. Small trees had toppled over, leaving broken branches everywhere. The cardboard box trap had been blown to one side of the banyan tree, while the stick and string were on the other. There was no sign of cookies or a magical creature anywhere.

For a few moments, neither girl spoke. Finally, Iris broke the silence. “What do we do?”

Hana shook her head. “Like Tutu said, we start over.”

Tutu dropped Hana, Iris, and Leilani off at the flower field to collect more plumeria for the leis. The garden looked completely different from the day before. The trees were practically bare. Instead, petals and leaves were scattered all over the ground.

“This place looks really bad too.” Hana said. Her voice quivered. “I think this is our fault.”

“Me too,” agreed Iris.

Leilani overheard them. “What are you talking about?”

“We caused the storm,” said Hana. “Last night we caught a
Menehune.”

“What?” asked Leilani.

Hana told her about their plan to get the work done more quickly. She described how
they had built the trap and sneaked out of the house to check it at midnight.

“I think we made him angry!” said Iris. “Now he's punishing us and making bad things happen.”

“Will Malia and Jay's wedding be ruined?” asked Hana.

Leilani chuckled and shook her head.
“Menehune
aren't real, silly. Like Mom said, they are part of a legend. You probably caught a gecko in your trap!”

“Do you really think so?” asked Iris hopefully.

“I'm sure,” replied Leilani. “Now let's get back to work. There have to be some plumeria here that we can still use for the leis.”

The girls split up in search of fresh flowers, but it wasn't easy. “I can't find any!” Iris declared.

“I found some,” Hana yelled from somewhere out of sight.

“Where are you?” shouted Leilani

“Up here!” Hana had climbed high up a tree and was stretching to reach some plumeria far out on a branch.

Iris and Leilani ran over to the tree.

Leilani yelled, “Get down! It's too dangerous!”

“I'm fine. Look how pretty these are.”

Hana stretched her arm out toward the brightly colored petals.

Snap!

The branch cracked, and Hana started to tumble down. Thinking fast, Leilani moved underneath the tree to catch her sister.

Thud!
Hana fell, knocking Leilani over.

“Oh, no!” Iris cried. She ran over to Hana and Leilani. They were both lying on the ground. “Are you okay?” Iris asked.

Hana slowly rolled over. She was able to move her arms and legs. “I'm not hurt, thanks to Leilani. She broke my fall.”

Iris looked at Leilani, who had tears streaming down her face.

“I think my ankle is broken!” Leilani cried out.

In the waiting room at the hospital, Hana and Iris huddled together on a bench next to Tutu. Leilani and her parents were meeting with a doctor in another room.

Tears filled Hana's eyes. “This is all my fault,” she whimpered. “Leilani's leg, the storm, the spoiled food, the ruined decorations. I feel terrible.”

“It'll be okay,” comforted Iris.

“What?” Tutu narrowed her eyes as she overheard them. “How could all this bad luck be your fault, Hana?”

Iris exchanged a glance with Hana. “Well…” Hana began, “we…”

Tutu listened as the girls told her the whole story about catching a
Menehune.

“I see,” Tutu said. For a long time she didn't say another word. Then she cleared her throat.

“I'm glad you girls told me what you did. Hana, you know better. You should never leave the house late at night without getting permission from an adult. I hope you have learned your lesson. The
Menehune
are not to be messed with.”

“But Tutu, is there anything we can do to make things better for the wedding?” Hana asked with a sniffle.

“You already broke the rules, and we can't turn back time. But…” Tutu gave the girls a stern look. “From now on, cooperate and be extra-good helpers. We have a wedding to save!”

Hana's grandmother hugged both girls. “One more thing. Put some more vanilla wafers out for the
Menehune.
You have to keep them happy.”

“But Leilani said the
Menehune
aren't real,” said Hana.

“What could it hurt?” asked Tutu.

Iris and Hana exchanged looks and shrugged. They were finally smiling again too.

Just then, Leilani entered the waiting room with her parents. She was using crutches to walk.

“We have some good news and some bad news,” Hana's dad said.

“Leilani's ankle isn't broken,” said her mom.

“Whew!” Hana sighed in relief.

“But it is badly sprained,” she went on. “It's wrapped in a tight bandage, and she'll have to use crutches.”