The Stars and The Sea

Chapter 9

Moana didn't always swear, but she audibly said, "What the fuck" out loud. Loud enough for Keoni to stir awake.

"Moana?" He groggily called out.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Keoni. Go back to sleep; just saw something weird at sea." She tried to assure. He didn't really believe her, but he was extremely tired, so he decided to worry about it in the morning.

But now Moana couldn't figure out if she was seeing things because she was tired or if she really witnessed stars disappear. It was too late at night to think about it too deeply, so she opted to get some sleep herself and wait for the next night to fall.

A few hours later, when dawn broke, Moana woke first. As she emerged from the overhanging branches, she spied Maui next to the canoe, tracking the sun.

"Morning Maui." She greeted, rubbing her eyes.

"Mornin' Curly, how's the patient doing?"

"He's fine for right now, just exhausted. I don't blame him, though. But we should get moving soon."

"Assuming you'll be heading in the same direction?"

"That's the plan."

Even though Moana wanted to get moving, she also wanted to give Keoni enough time to regain some strength before they set sail again. The next few days mostly consisted of Moana checking on his dressing to ensure the gash was healing and the stitches weren't becoming infected.

It looked quite gross, honestly. Moana had never had to deal with treating wounds to this extent before. Not that she ever had to on Motunui. That said, she was picking up on wound care knowledge quickly. She had observed the village healers periodically, so she knew the basics.

When she brought Keoni to Motunui, she promised herself she would shadow the healers a little more. Since she was chief, it was her responsibility to ensure the welfare and health of her people, and she knew it would benefit her in the long run.

On the fourth day on the island, Moana saw Keoni able to stand up on his own with little help. He was still a bit unbalanced, but for the most part, he looked better. He had more energy and wasn't as stiff. Though, he needed to take it easy.

Moana called him over to the canoe to check the dressing. The pair sat on the edge of the boat as she carefully pushed the sling on the top of the shoulder to the side and then slowly peeled back the old leaf. Next to her, she had a hollow coconut shell that she had filled with water that had been boiled earlier to decontaminate it.

"Alright, this may sting a little. Just let me know," she warned him. He just shrugged his good shoulder, remaining quietly. He closed his eyes as she gently dabbed a soaked cloth into the water and began pressing it against the wound. He slightly squeezed his eyes as he felt the faint sting of the remaining salt in the water, but he quickly ignored it.

After she cleaned it, she then applied the balm again.

"You feeling okay?"

"Yeah." She could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and guilt coursed through her just hearing it.

"Well... you can, uh, you can rest on the canoe if you'd like. Do you feel ready to leave the island?"

He thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I wanna get off."

"You sure you'll be alright on the canoe?" Another nod.

With his assurance, they packed the canoe up and quickly departed, Keoni quietly sulking against the mast, trying not to mess with his sling. His arm ached terribly, and some of the pain reached into the left side of his neck and down his back. Most of it remained where the fracture was, though. It was all tingly and weak, but at least he had movement in his wrist and hand.