Murder on Easter Island (19 page)

Daniel came back to Pakia and Uka’s home shortly after, and they were so excited to see him you would have thought he had returned from the dead. Pakia emerged first from the entrance.

“Uka!” he yelled as he excitedly jumped up and down. “Look who’s come home!”

Uka popped instantaneously from the doorway. “Dan-iel!” she shrieked as she leaped into Daniel’s arms, hugging him tightly. “We are so glad you are back!”

Pakia added, “We have missed you!”

“Pakia — Uka, I’ve missed you too.” Daniel felt immersed in their love.

A glistening tear rolled down Pakia’s cheek, but he managed a smile and said,
“Dan-iel, fishing isn’t the same without you. I am certain that the fish bite better when you are around.”

Daniel laughed. “It’s hard for me to imagine that’s true, but since you’re the best fisherman the Miru have, I suppose I have to believe you.”

“We’ve been waiting up hoping you will tell us of your adventures,” Uka told him.

“Oh, I will.”

Uka raised her eyebrows and added, “We must know
everything
.”

Daniel smiled to himself; he felt like a teenager coming home from a date. He would let them know the basic facts — but no more.

Certain events of life were not meant to be shared.

Daniel’s pleasant thoughts were interrupted . . .

Paoa at long last began to speak.

“My fellow Miru, long we have waited for this moment, the time of choosing of our two contestants for the Birdman competition. As you know, it is a great honor to be picked, and it is my solemn duty to select those who will give our clan the greatest opportunity to win. I have spent many long hours in contemplation and have made my choices.”

Daniel began to feel a knot in the pit of his stomach. Surely not . . .

“My first selection is Atamu!”

A roar went up from the crowd.

Atamu screamed at the top of his lungs and shook his spear above him. His fellow warriors responded in kind.

“Atamu, as our warrior leader,” Paoa declared, “if you win the competition, you will be the Birdman for the next year.”

Again Atamu and his fighters shouted their approval.

Paoa then said, “Atamu, the next selection will be your proxy. If he wins, and you survive the competition, you will still be the next Birdman.”

Daniel thought again: Surely not . . .

Paoa turned to Daniel, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

No! No! No! Daniel thought.

“My final selection,” Paoa announced, “Is Dan-iel!”

A loud gasp went up from the crowd. Everyone turned to look at Daniel.

He felt Mahina touch his back in reassurance.

Atamu screamed out, “As the head warrior of the Miru, I reject this choice! Rapahango has earned the honor. Dan-iel is an outsider!” He glared at Paoa, “I demand that you choose Rapahango!”

Paoa sternly ordered, “Atamu, step to the front.”

When Atamu came forward, Paoa moved face-to-face with him. Paoa stared at him with an intensity that brought the crowd to silence. In a deep, powerful voice, he said, “Atamu, do you challenge my right as shaman to make this decision?”

Atamu stared back, and they held each other’s gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Atamu blinked and answered, “Very well. I will honor the tradition of our people.”

Paoa nodded and whispered to him, “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.” He proclaimed loudly so all could hear, “Dan-iel, congratulations on being selected!”

As the crowd cheered, Atamu glowered and stepped away from Paoa. He walked over to Daniel and muttered under his breath, “Dan-iel, some day everyone will see what a coward you really are. On that day I will laugh.” Atamu then marched over to join his fellow warriors.

Stunned, Daniel said nothing. He stared straight ahead with only two thoughts on his mind:

Heights and sharks.

Oh, God . . .

As the crowd diminished, Mahina turned to Daniel. “What is wrong, my love?” She gazed at him with concern.

Daniel said, “I know this gives me the opportunity to check out those who would most likely be my suspects, but there’s something about me you don’t know.” He hated to tell her this; he was afraid it would diminish her opinion of him. “You see,” he finally confided, “I have a fear of heights and sharks.”

Mahina reached over and hugged him. “Dan-iel, what is the origin of these fears?”

“When I was a little boy I was up high in a tree when a storm hit and I was almost killed. I don’t know where the fear of sharks some from, but it’s there . . .”

“All fears have some basis,” she said quietly. “Yet there is not
one
that cannot be overcome. I will be present at Orongo for the competition and will support you in any way I can.”

“Thank you.”

“You should know, Dan-iel, that selection to be a contestant in the Birdman competition is not only very risky, but is also a great honor. A victory will bring great mana to the Miru.”

He nodded in understanding.

“I must go now. I need to tell my parents the news of the announcement. They will be very happy to hear of your selection.” She pulled him close and kissed him.

As she walked away, in spite of the recent turn of events, Daniel couldn’t help but smile.

Before Daniel returned to his home village of Vai Tara Kai Ua, he decided to make a visit to the home of Paoa, situated on the outskirts of ‘Anakena. As Daniel approached the hut, he found Paoa sitting quietly out front, cross-legged, with his eyes closed. Paoa opened his eyes and turned his head to face Daniel.

“Please, sit down,” Paoa requested.

“Why did you choose me?” Daniel asked as he sat.

“First of all, Dan-iel, one of my duties as shaman of the Miru is to select the two who would most likely win the Birdman competition. You were actually my first choice, but I thought picking Atamu first would diffuse some of his anger. Unfortunately, it didn’t.”

“But —”

“And second,” Paoa interrupted, “I wanted to give you the chance to be around a group of warriors from all over the island. While I’m not certain of this, the evil we spoke about so long ago could originate from them. This adventure is not without risk, but I am convinced that at some point during the competition, you will know whether or not the evil you seek is there.”

Daniel heard the wisdom of his words. “Paoa, I am grateful.”

“Remember,” Paoa continued, “we both have the same goal, so when I help you, I help myself. Now, about the competition: Even now, the feasting has started in Orongo, and many of the contestants will join in the festivities. You are welcome to attend, if you wish. In the months to come, the manutara birds will visit Motu Nui and lay their eggs. You must be on the islet to gather one and be the first to deliver it to Orongo. Win or lose, I am confident that you will have answers to your questions once it is completed. Best of luck, Dan-iel. I wouldn’t have selected you if I didn’t believe you could win.”

Daniel smiled at Paoa and stood to leave. After they said their farewells, Daniel walked away in a quandary. The thought of what he would have to do, made him want to scream and run away. But he knew he couldn’t.

His was to do . . . or to die . . . in the trying.

D
aniel stood with nineteen other competitors at the ceremonial village of Orongo, waiting for the signal to begin. It was early in the morning and Daniel had his pora — his reed float packed with provisions — securely attached to his back. He was ready to begin — or was he? How he would react when he arrived at the rim of Rano Kau was anyone’s guess.

Shamans chanted in the background as Daniel looked around at the numerous spectators, trying to find the most important one — Mahina. He finally located her in the crowd, yet her bright smile could not mask the look of concern on her face.

Daniel began sizing up his competition and became more than a little concerned. As they stretched in preparation, most looked like human spiders that could move up and down the cliff without any difficulty whatsoever. Daniel was pleased to see Ropata, his Marama warrior friend, who returned his glance with a friendly nod. Daniel then spotted Atamu, standing off to the side, growling and angrily thumping his chest with his fists, as if he hoped to intimidate one and all.

As Daniel waited, he thought about the past two months. How wonderful it had been!

Daniel had spent most days fishing with Pakia; still he felt responsible for earning his keep. After spending the day with Pakia, the two of them would have dinner with Uka. Daniel never tired of baked nanue fish, and the daily catch was always good enough that they never again had to resort to eating rats.

Thank goodness, thought Daniel with a grin.

Evenings, though, were always reserved for Mahina. Over the months, the more
Daniel came to know her, the deeper he fell in love. They walked hand in hand up and down the beautiful Rapa Nui beaches, sometimes in silence, but more often in conversation about their respective days.

If they were able to get an earlier start, Mahina would humor him, and they would scour the area around ‘Anakena for caves. Daniel prayed they would somehow stumble upon the right one, but all of their searches were fruitless. Either the cave was too big, too small, or too high or low off the ground.

Gradually, Daniel’s hope of finding the cave began to lessen, not that staying here wasn’t a pleasant possibility — it was — but it just wasn’t home. He never said anything to Mahina, but in his heart he began to wonder whether she would come back with him if he found the right cave. As bright as she was, Daniel was confident she would be able to adapt to the modern world.

Daniel’s was truly an idyllic existence. But there remained a killer on the loose, and, like it or not, he still had a job to do.

Suddenly the background chanting ceased and the crowd hushed as the shamans of the ten clans marched silently to the front. Daniel wasn’t surprised to see Paoa move before the gathering and speak.

“Welcome all to the Birdman competition, where the winner will be chosen for the next year.”

A roar of approval went up from the crowd.

“This year, for the first time, we have allowed two representatives from each clan, and they have been carefully selected by those who stand behind me.”

The group of shamans bowed their heads in recognition.

“We have determined that the arrival of the manutara birds on Motu Nui could occur any day, so it is now time for the contestants to leave our company and await the birds there. Once they fetch an egg, the first to return an unbroken one to this place will be the winner.

“Contestants,” he boomed out, “do you have any questions?”

“No!” they all yelled in unison.

A murmur of excitement arose as Paoa instructed, “I will raise my arm, and when it falls, you may be off.”

Paoa slowly moved his right arm upward, and the participants gathered at the starting line, jostling each other for position as they awaited the signal.

Paoa screamed as he quickly dropped it to his side, and the contestants sprinted as a group into Rano Kau, headed toward the large breach on the southwestern portion, Kari Kari.

Daniel was close to the front and felt his heart in his throat as he neared the rim, knowing that on the other side was a sheer drop of a thousand feet — and he had to climb down it to reach the ocean floor. As he reached the edge, he froze and thought:

I can’t do it!

The other contestants weaved around him and scrambled down the steep cliff with reckless abandon, loose rock flying in every direction. Before long they were well past him and moving down the cliff. Daniel had just sat down to catch his breath when he heard laughter from Orongo, starting first as a chuckle or two, which gradually developed into a chorus of guffaws. Daniel heard voices yell out over and over again:

“A coward! Dan-iel is a coward!”

Daniel could handle the scorn of others, but what must Mahina be thinking? He steeled himself and made himself sit on the edge overlooking the ocean. Abruptly he heard a scream from below, and he cringed as he saw a man slip on the rocky scree and tumble down the cliff, yelling all the way — to land with a distant
thump
on the beach. The man was only a tiny dot from his perspective, but Daniel could still see a pool of blood form around him.

A second contestant did the same thing, landing close to the first. The remaining participants at first froze in their positions and then more patiently edged themselves down the cliff.

As he sat and watched his competitors move down, Daniel recalled that he had tried repeatedly over the years to heal from his fear of heights and had no success. He had tried everything, or so he thought. At this point, though, he was desperate.

What to do?

Daniel closed his eyes and slowly breathed in and out, and this time, rather than trying to push his fear away from him, he invited it to be present.

Daniel saw himself as a little boy, perched high in a cottonwood tree overlooking the Illinois River in Oklahoma, screaming as he held on for dear life in the middle of a howling thunderstorm. Somehow Daniel knew that, for him to heal, he had to merge with his fear and soothe it. His grandpa had applied the balm of love all those years ago, though now he had to do it himself. He began silently saying to himself, over and over:

“Breathing in, I am aware that I am fearful.

“Breathing out, I smile at my fear and send it love.”

Time no longer mattered as he sat in deep meditation, and the jeering voices disappeared from his awareness. Daniel was holding and reassuring the fearful little boy inside himself, when he had an astonishing revelation:

I no longer need to carry my fear.

It is from the past — and the past is over.

It is time to release it.

When he opened his eyes, he looked over the edge. Many of the contestants had already reached the beach and were swimming on top of their poras, headed toward Motu Nui. Daniel stood, lifted his fist to the sky, and screamed in defiance of the fear that had paralyzed him for so long. He heard an unexpected cry from Orongo, and when he looked back he saw a solitary woman also holding her fist upward.