The Stars and The Sea

Chapter 2

Motunui was quiet, save for the sounds of the rolling surf, nighttime birds, and the occasional cluck from a chicken. A cool breeze rustled the palms, fluttering the tapa curtains into the chief's fale. Moana and her parents were all sound asleep, breathing softly and stirring slightly.

Moana's dreams were far from quiet. An active dream stirring about.

Moana opened her eyes, finding herself in a neverending black space. An echoey voice whispered her name, bouncing around her until it stopped. Whirling around, Moana saw the figure to whom the voice belonged. A luminous white figure, pure white hair pulled into a topknot.

She wore a long, flowing white halter dress, and her tattoos and eyes were white. A stark contrast to her dark skin. Her smile was motherly and warm, but there was a sadness in her eyes. In her hands, the stars twinkled, and they were telling Moana a story. Hesitantly, Moana approached her, fascinated by the sight before her.

The stars in the woman's hands told the story of a broken family, all torn apart differently. The father drowned, the boy was thrown off a boat, the mother dying of a sickness in the mind, and the girl living in a foreign village, unsure of where to go or what to do.

Moana felt deeply for the family, imagining the pain and loneliness they must all be feeling. But the focus of the dream remained on the boy. She could only see his silhouette facing an empty village. No words were spoken, but none had to be. She could tell he needed help, was alone, and could die...

"Save him..." The figure whispered.

Moana jerked awake, adrenaline surging through her. She'd had many vivid dreams before, but this... didn't feel like a dream. It was a message. A very specific one.

Mumbling to herself and rubbing the gunk out of her eyes, Moana stood and left the fale to clear her head. Making her way to the shore, she sat on the cool sand, allowing the chilled ocean water to wake her.

"What troubles you?" A familiar voice came. Moana didn't need to look to know who it was. Tala smiled at her granddaughter.

"Hi, gramma... just... Just had a weird dream, that's all."

"Tell me, what did you see?" Knowing Tala loved hearing about dreams, Moana indulged her with what she could recall. As she finished, Tala had a twinkle of familiarity in her eye.

"What?"

"The woman in white that came to you is the Goddess of the Stars, Fetia."

Moana loved her grandmother, but this seemed a bit out there, even for her.

"The... Goddess of the Stars? Talking to me in a dream?"

"Come now. You stood in Te Fiti's hand."

"Yeah, but she never said anything to me." Tala shook her head.

"I'm inclined to believe Fetia is requesting a mission for you. She would not have done so without reason. You were the Chosen one, restored the Heart of Te Fiti after all. Maybe your destiny is incomplete."

"But my life is complete, I restored the heart, I'm chief, I've taught my people how to wayfind, I've opened the world up once again. What more could I want-" Moana stopped.

"What is it?"

"In the council meeting yesterday, they discussed that I should start considering courting soon..."

"And what of it?"

"I dunno... the timing seems a bit strange."

"I doubt this is anything more than a mission to save someone's life, Moana."

"Don't think too hard on it..." Moana finished for her.

Moana returned home with a slightly clearer mind and went back to sleep, even though the sun would rise in a few hours. Upon awakening, she still had questions about her dream. As she and her mother prepared for the day, Moana decided to share the details of the dream to get her mother's thoughts.

"It is... peculiar," Sina admitted, combing through her daughter's curly hair with a shell comb.

"Right? Gramma came to see me, and we discussed it, but I'm..." Moana trailed off, unsure of her own thoughts.

"What is it?" Moana sighed.

"I feel... conflicted." Sina cocked her head in confusion.

"Conflicted?"

"I dunno. Restoring Te Fiti's heart was a long journey, and being away from home for so long made me very homesick. And now a Goddess is calling for me, but I just got home!"

"Moana, if it's us you're worried about, you have no reason to be." Sina tried to assure her. She could see the conflict on her daughter's face. "Your father is doing so much better than he was two years ago, and we were here when you came home. If you choose to take this new journey, we'll be here waiting for you."

Moana thought about her mother's words as she attended to her duties around the village. As she attended to her people, she also made time to hang with Pania, having not decided yet on whether to go.

One day, while the girls were assisting with checking the food stores for the coming storm season, Pania noticed her cousin's distraction.

"Hey, what's going on?" She questioned, gently hip-bumping Moana, who leaned on a post overlooking the village, not particularly paying attention.

"Hey, Moana." She attempted again, and Moana refocused.

"Huh? Wha-?"

"You zoned out. You rarely ever zone out. What's going on?" Moana turned back into the hut, grabbing baskets.

"Nothing! Just... thinking about the village. Y'know, chief duties." Pania wasn't convinced.

"C'mon, you know you can't hide it." Giving her cousin a stony glare, Moana pursed her lips. Should she talk to her about it? Conflicting feelings?

"I... I'm having conflicting feelings..."

"About?"

"My duties. My responsibility to the village and my responsibility to the sea! The very feelings that sent me on my voyage. But my voyage to Te Fiti had perilous stakes involved." Moana turned to Pania, who quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sorry, you lost me. What are you talking about?"

"Ugh, okay. The other night I got this... dream? Vision? I don't know, it was something like that. And it was this... woman, who told me a story about a family that was separated... and there's a boy she showed me," Pania raised both brows in intrigue, fighting a grin, "Shush! I didn't see his face, but she showed me he was alone on his island. It looked abandoned except for him. And it seems that it's imperative that he's saved. And... I think she chose me."

"Okay? So why are you confused? You obviously gotta go save, whoever this mysterious stranger is. I mean, it can't get much clearer than that!"

Pania had always encouraged her cousin to pursue the challenging, much like Tala did. It was unlike the young chief to be doubtful in this manner.

"Moana, c'mon, how many people can say they saved the Goddess of Life and Creation were chosen by the Goddess of the Stars? You've always been responsible, especially so the past two years."

She had a point. Moana then confided in her worry about her parents, especially her father. But Pania would not have it.

"Your parents are going to be fine. You've done so much for our community and others, do this for you. Don't let guilt hold you down."