𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃𝐒 .

2.

᪥

the water glows the brightest at the bottom.

that was a fact known only to the boy who loved the clear waters of his home that he spent a lot of his time in- ironcially, he could not spend time without it. not when he was surrounded by it, but that could not helped considering that he lived on an island. much like the clear, aquamarine waves of the purest element mahi'ai was always moving. perhaps that's why he loved water so much, because within it he felt whole; like a piece that was subconsciously absent from him had been screwed right back and balance had been restored.

the density of it was what mahi loved the most; how he could feel it consuming every single inch of his skin yet felt nothing at all, as if he was a simple molecule that aided in making the element itself. the one thing he did not love, however, was his inability to completely merge with it; he was human, after-all, and it was obvious by the burning in his lungs that were much, much stronger than others although that was inevitable- especially when he had been plunging himself into the deep ends of pools since he was five.

mahi'ai pushed himself back to the surface, closing his eyes as he rushed up through the water. the agility of his movements served him well as he easily broke through the surface, inhaling softly before beginning to float on his back ontop of the crystal clear water. he did not mind the water dripping off of his face that had just been submerged as he closed his eyes, listening only to the sounds of nature and the soft calling of birds around him as water touched every single inch of his body- none left untouched , considering that the golden-eyed boy often went nude when diving. in fact, he hated clothing in the water; it felt unnatural to the boy who saw nothing but beauty in bareness- in authenticity.

in the mornings, mahi liked to pray.
whenever he woke up, it was the first thing he would do; give blessings to his creators for another day of life. he didn't have much time to himself or for himself, but whenever he did it was in the morning- before kāne allowed the sun to grace the earth with her beautiful glance and before his grandmother's amber eyes opened- giving him just enough time to admire the simple things; the grass under his feet and the love in the air- the rays of the sun and his mother's sleeping face.

to say mahi loved his island was an understatement- he could do without the tourists though, and so could his grandmother who despite her youth was an old soul and that could be found in plain sight with her resistance to modernity. everything in mahi'ai's life was done a certain kind of way; the way that his grandmother had done before and was sure to impose on him as his mother had strayed away from it, hence why he only used a computer in school.

those waters were all he knew, and all he was intended to.

the fifteen year old pushed out yet another breath that was absorbed into the spring air before he grounded himself to the unfortunate realization that his grandmother would wake up any moment and ask him why he had not started on breakfast before taking a shower for school. mahi'ai sighed deeply before turning over in the small pool that did not look large in size, but had many treasures below the surface and led to quite a large cave. it was his favorite spot- his only one, about a fifteen minute trek through the rainforest greenery behind his house.. but only  six if he ran.

mahi'ai squeezed his wet curls out that sat right on his butt, much longer than the other boys' who's mothers trimmed theirs when it got slightly past their back, but being raised in a house full of five females had definitely had it's impact. sure, their was mahi's uncle but.. he was almost completely surrounded by women except for at school. the fifteen year old didn't bother to dry himself fully, only stepping into a pair of loose, white cotton shorts. he didn't bother to cover up his chest, only setting back on his way home the way he did every moring- by running.