Bird of Passage

As Manu darted into the canopy in search of the portal to his homeworld, he suddenly felt as if he were flying through thick tar. His obsidian feathers quickly shed and his wings retracted into the flesh of his back as he fell. He tucked his legs against his chest, pulled his head in close as he hit the jungle floor and rolled into a somersault. Manu spread out flat and groaned softly. Above him, the canopy closed in on itself, the fronds folding over one another. He stilled when he realized that the shouts of the Hamu tribe had been silenced. Not even the jungle was alive.

Manu pushed to his feet and flexed his fingers, cautious as he glanced about. Before him, embedded in the arachnid-like banyan tree, were two portals. He scratched his ear and frowned. There had only been one portal opening when he first passed through. The ominous darkness that beckoned from the portals made Manu shuffle back a few steps. The Hamu would trample into the jungle at any moment and had there only been one portal opening, he would already be gone.

But why were there two?

He exhaled through his nose and glanced over the ink that had stained his skin since he was born of magma and ash. The ink detailed his most pivotal moments—all the life-altering decisions he had ever made. His gaze wandered over his decision to devote himself to Kalama, Goddess over the Birds of Passage. Manu had only been eight when the ink, wings, and feathers appeared and didn’t quite know what being a Bird of Passage entailed. Apparently, it entailed being caught in his aviary form by the Hamu’s priestess and run out of the village with spears when they discovered what he stole. 

But Manu always felt safer in the skies—especially since the Hamu enjoyed consuming enchanted birds.

Along the curve of his bicep, he saw the tiny etching of his arrival through the portal onto the Hamu’s paradisiacal island, Muta. The portal shown on his arm was more to the left of the banyan tree and Manu glanced up, studying the two openings. As he did, a spear soared overhead and thunked into one of the thickest branches. He spun and curled his fists to transform but paused. Manu gulped.

A single figure emerged from the oversized plants, pushing aside vibrant leaves the size of small children, and his heart sank to his toes when he realized who it was. Kaipo was the Hamu’s prophesied purity sacrifice—a sacrifice that would supposedly grant them another century of pleasant seas and fertile ground. Though now, the jungle would catch a disease—no matter who they sacrificed—thanks to Manu’s doing. 

But Kaipo had run away into the jungle long ago and Manu only stumbled upon her hut one night while hunting. He stayed with her for a few weeks because, foolishly, he had also managed to injure himself. She wasn’t deterred by his aviary form and had not plotted to kill and eat him either, which he appreciated. But Manu’s heart had begun to sing for Kaipo during that time. Until he trusted her enough to reveal why he had passed through the portal to Muta. A truth that rested heavily in the satchel at his side.

“You missed,” he began, his voice was painfully hoarse. So he cleared his throat and tried again, “You never miss your prey.”

Kaipo stood still, her feet spread apart, her hands hanging loosely at her sides. But her shining amber eyes bore into him. Manu’s fingers twitched to glide his fingers through her fine curls again. The color had bled from umber to a shimmery silver when the prophecy had been foretold. Kaipo had also been eight. And she had received ink stains of her own. From the top of her nose to her hairline, temple to temple, her skin had turned a deep indigo blue. A thin stripe from her bottom lip to her chin confirmed her purity. The Mark of the Sacrifice.

At least Kaipo knew what it felt like to be cursed.

“I should have killed you when I learned what you were,” she finally said, her voice low and thick.

“Many wished they did.” Manu turned his back on her, though he knew it was probably a very foolish decision. “But I’m at a crossroads, Kai. There’s two portals instead of one.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t barrel headfirst into one. Why hesitate?”

“Because I don’t know where it may lead. I need to go home.”

“And close the portal?”

“It should close behind me.”

Kaipo grunted, “You and your practical getaways.”

A smile threatened to lift his lips, but Manu smothered it and glanced over his shoulder at her. “Aren’t you going to take this opportunity to kill me?”

“I should, shouldn’t I.” Kaipo took a step toward him. Then another, another, and another, until she stood at his side.

She was tall and her muscles well-worked. But Manu still prided himself on being even taller and even more muscular than she was. Kaipo crossed her arms and Manu mirrored her, surprised to see that the twist technique he had once taught her now had a place in her daily routine. The three twists that hung behind her ear and over her shoulder were incorporated with painted beads now. The arm cuff he had carved, with a legion of blackbirds like his other form, fit tightly against her bicep. Manu’s heart pitter-pattered with what he had deemed as the beginning of life-long love.

“Don’t stare at me,” she said gruffly, and he glanced away. “Why don’t you go through one and see where it leads?”

“It could drop me in the gaping maw of the Pahuanui.”

A light laugh escaped Kaipo. “Well, then all our problems would be solved.”

His mouth pressed thin, “Kai—”

She held up a hand to silence him. “No, I’m intrigued by your dilemma. Which one do you think you’ll choose?”

Manu scuffed his foot against the ground and looked about. The Hamu were nowhere to be seen and he wished they would never find him. If only he and Kaipo could exist on this island...well, maybe not just them. He had always sought a community of acceptance, but even those turned hostile in due time. Manu’s fingers twitched again as his gaze slid to Kaipo’s hand, dangling at her side once more.

“You tell me, and I’ll go through that one,” he remarked softly.

His limbs felt a little numb and tingly. Another ink stain was about to be blotted on his skin.

“The right one,” Kaipo said without hesitation.

Slowly, Manu nodded.

Then he grabbed Kaipo’s hand and pulled her toward the portal. She let out a cry of shock and her amber eyes flooded with terror as Manu tipped back into the portal, pulling her through with him.

🌴 🌴 🌴

Kaipo gasped as they crashed on the black sand beach, her body trembling as she pushed up on her arms. Manu felt dizzy from the portal travel but staggered to his feet and whirled toward Mount Kalei—his birthplace. The volcano was washed with green vegetation and lazy plumes of smoke drifted into the puffy clouded sky above. Manu was giddy that the portal had been correct, but he heard Kaipo retching behind him. His shoulders fell as he turned to her, cringing as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, and his nose crinkled at the spoiled sand.

He quickly backtracked a couple of steps as she stood and moved toward him, murder in her eyes. “You dolt! Why did you pull me through with you?!”

“You should at least thank me for saving your life,” he huffed.

“Saving my life? I’m a cursed mortal on the island of the gods! I’m supposed to be sacrificed to them!”

Manu laughed, which might have been the worst response because Kaipo growled deep in her throat, and he caught her wrists as she lunged at him. He watched as her nostrils flared. Then Kaipo pulled away and began marching toward the ocean. Manu chased after her. The ocean surrounding his island of Taufia was full of monstrous guardians. Any mortals who thought they could stroll right up and speak to the gods were often drowned, quartered, or eaten.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he reached for her arm.

She jerked away and pushed forward, upturning sand and foam and water as dark as night. Manu spit as it sprayed in his face, the taste salty and rotten, and scrambled for Kaipo again. She shrieked when he finally caught ahold of her, then slipped, and they both fell into the water. He grunted as her head knocked back into his.

“Let me go!” Kaipo shouted.

“What are you doing?” Manu retorted.

She struggled against him and dug her elbow deeper. “I’m not staying on an island where I’ll be killed at first glance!”

“Kai.” She bucked and broke free. His fingers curled around her calf and she fell forward on her knees. “Kai.”

Her foot reared back into his gut and he released her as a yelp escaped him. Kaipo turned to him, her chest heaving as water sloshed around them. It dripped from her hair, down her nose, and over her lips. Manu paused, a little distracted by the sight. But Kaipo kicked him again, this time in a less sensitive spot, and he snapped out of his trance.

“I can’t stay,” she croaked. The sound of her voice breaking made his blood run cold. The ocean began to mix with her tears, “I know the Hamu would sacrifice me if they ever found me in the jungle, but at least I had a chance at life there, Manu. Here, there’s nothing for me.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Why did you bring me here?”

Manu dropped his head and though the water was dark, he could clearly see his reflection in it. The decision ink had appeared on his neck and he could barely make out the two tiny figures, one pulling the other through the portal. The water rippled as he rocked toward Kaipo and drew her into his arms, tucking his head against hers as his fingers glided into her soaking hair.

“I brought you here because I didn’t want you to feel alone anymore. I didn’t want you to sit in that hut for the rest of your life and wonder what normalcy would be like. You helped me feel less lonely when I came to Muta and you didn’t kill me. You taught me sacrifice. You taught me self-preservation. You taught me...how to love.”

“Love?” she whispered in his ear, her voice trembling. “I know nothing of love.”

“Love of nature, love of animals, love of the sky for giving you rain.”

“What are you saying, Manu?”

He drew away and stood, backtracking to the shore. Kaipo hesitated before she followed. Once they were on the black sands again, Manu looked for the satchel he had brought from Muta. He snatched it from the ground and returned to Kaipo. She had folded her arms around herself and was shivering from the dip in the ocean. The sun broke through the clouds and offered its warmth, but Manu knew it wouldn’t last long.

“What did you take?”

Manu opened the satchel and slid the iridescent stone into his hand. Kaipo gasped and reached out to trace a finger along the smooth surface. The Gem of Muta. It kept the island alive with its power and was the true god of the Hamu, though they still believed in false ones. It pulsed in his palm and he closed his eyes. He had stolen so many over the years and if he were to return to any of those islands, he would find nothing but death and carnage. Rot.

“Seeing you in the jungle, I realized that there is more to live for and I wish I could be anything but a Bird of Passage. Your mortality is awareness. It’s accountability and hardship. As a Bird, I’ve never been held accountable for what I’ve done. The hardship I endure is receiving ink. But I want to wake to the scent of fresh rain, lay on the palm fronds on the jungle floor. I want to listen to a heart beat with strength and purpose. I want—I want mortality.”

“How can you become mortal?”

“By giving up my immortality,” he sighed and his eyes fluttered open, “and by giving up my home. I must shatter my bond with the Goddess Kalama and I have to return all the island gems I’ve stolen. Excluding your heart, of course.”

Kaipo let out a tired laugh. “My heart isn’t yours yet, Manu. But, if you’ll let me, I wouldn’t mind joining you on this journey to mortality.”

“So the ocean isn’t a better option than me?”

“Oh, it certainly is, but it smells awful.”

Manu grinned and held his hand out to her. This time, Kaipo took it voluntarily. A portal opened above them and so began their journey.