100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #62

GREGORY

My son had problems in school, and in his social life, he wasn't always that way, but something happened as soon as he turned eleven. He went from this happy go lucky fun loving kid to this thug who felt that he always had to prove himself. He was arrested one too many times for stealing and fighting, but the juvenile court judge gave him a break and sent him to a work program that would help straighten him out and get him a decent education and a job. The other choice was jail, and the judge assured my son that he wasn't going to survive a month in lock-up.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #63

KIHE

No one wants to know you or even be within sight or sound of you once they find out that you know when and how they will die. I’ve learned to accept that whatever this is, it’s not a fault or a curse, it’s a sneeze. When a sneeze is coming on you don’t have control over it and it contorts your body into funny shapes and tenses your muscles up all at once and then, like myself, you make this ungodly noise that you otherwise would not have made if you were in control of your faculties. That’s what this thing is, I have no control over it and it happens when it happens.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #64

TAKE IT HOME (For an old wrestling buddy who passed away)

I get cramps now and again in these little muscles that I never knew existed, be that as it may, the collar and elbow tie up didn’t cause any pain...luckily. Pulling the Kid in for a headlock, I take the opportunity to get some air in my system because I’m about to take off. He shoots me into the ropes and I hit him with a shoulder tackle, he goes down. I bang the ropes on my right and take a short hop over him as he hits the mat belly first at my feet. I do it again a second time and he does the same thing, on the third try he leap frogs over as I come off the ropes and on the way back he gives me a giant hip toss.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #65

IHE

The days of blistering heat at such places as Makua and Nanaue were twenty years away from becoming a reality. For now, here in 1997, we had just completed our three-year training in the art of spear throwing and spear catching. It’s not as easy as it sounds and, as a matter, of course, we were to only wear malo while under the tutelage of my eldest cousin. For the first year we had to stand at a distance while our cousin cast rocks of various sizes at us, our task was to block, catch or parry any one of the rocks. The first month was easy because we were dealing with very small pebbles, the second month with larger rocks and the third with sharp-edged rocks.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #66

QUINN

Tennessee whiskey is the best way to go after you’ve had a long day or when your moral compass won’t let you eat or sleep. Some people take their Tennessee whiskey with ice but I don’t care for watered down liquor...watered down.…yeah watered down, that’s how it all ended, in the water.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #67

INTERRUPTED

This wasn’t a contract but I was pissed as shit, sure they fucked with my peace of mind but it’s the way they went about it that brings us to this point in the story. They live across the street from me and they’re noisy, they have domestics, they smoke weed and crack and the smell invades my study when I’m trying to work but I let it go, because in my line of work you get found out if you get involved.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #68

POKE YOUR EYE OUT

It was under the table, it was always under the table. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner it was under the table. No one knew, no one thought about it, no one noticed and no one seemed to care. I was in this alone with only myself to depend on. The only time it bothered me was when everyone in the house knew that I was headed somewhere other than work, and that was always on a weekend or on my day off. It would grab me by the ankle and it wouldn’t let go, that is until I threw some table salt at it. As luck would have it I went a day-long fishing trip out near Alan Davis, instead of catching fish I got sunburned and dehydrated.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #69

Doctor Tanaka

I remember a few years back having to go to the emergency room because I was having heart palpitations. In the end, it turned out to be acid reflux, but the young female Doctor wanted to check me into the hospital and keep me over the weekend for observations. We mentioned to her that we were headed for a weekend trip to Kauai, and she made an off-hand remark as to how hard-headed men can be. Without a second thought, I just blurted out, "Your father was the same way."

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween! 2017 #70

I'M STILL THERE

A regular bunch of stupid teenagers on a Saturday night, bored with nothing to do. They all pile into one car and do something even more stupid, they drive to a heiau. Not just any heiau, but Pu’u’omahuka heiau. It’s an hours drive from town but when they get there the gate is closed so they park the car at the entrance and walk the rest of the way in. It’s a fairly long haul but by the time they get to the old sacrificial temple the sun is gone and it’s pitch black. No one thought to bring their flashlights and

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #71

DARA’S SONG

The day was filled with clients who would not see reason and insisted on the downfall of either their fellow workmates or family members, and all for childish petty reasons. Someone accidentally bumping into someone else at a cramped state office without offering a ‘Pardon me’ or ‘I’m sorry’
festers as a grudge with no grounds to cast a curse. A family member who is upset at another for being successful felt that he was ignored and not properly thanked for having a hand in that person's success, and on and on and so forth until it filled the entire day from morning until just a minute past two in the afternoon.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #72

Personal Tours

Private ghost tours are the ones that have helped me gain a favorable reputation because it’s a smaller more intimate atmosphere and there’s a lot more than can be done as opposed to having a group of sixty people or more. There is also a potential for a lot more things to happen because some of the people who become a part of a private tour are also psychic to some degree whether they realize it or don’t. In either case, whatever it is that’s in the environment or floating about

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #73

DARA

1997

It was typical of this kind of story, I saw her from across the room a few times but only at a glance. I really didn’t get a good look at her until I nearly ran her over after exiting the men’s bathroom. I remember I apologized and I said that I should have been more careful and I apologized again. My friends and I were enjoying a few after work drinks and pupu’s; for me, it was as many dirty martinis as I could stand.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #74

BARBI

She called me one afternoon but her request was one that I’d heard many times. Normally it was easy to talk to a person out of this kind of request because it was a heat of the moment sort of thing and we all know how a rash decision turns out. Clearly, she was angry but there was an undercurrent of hurt beneath the surface, “Is this the ghost guy?”

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #75

You'll Never Get To Heaven.

It's interesting how we recall things from our childhood years in a specific way and that there are things we internalize and carry with us for the remainder of our living days. There are other things we let go and don't ever think about until a smell, a sight, or a song triggers an infinitesimally small memory to reignite itself into our conscious world. Everything comes back just as it was from so long ago. For me, it was a photograph of myself at eight years of age.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #76

To Thine Own Self Be You

“I was directed to this office by an informant of mine, he said you could help me?” The hardened police detective named Roy Wong was not much older than Boy and, by his demeanor, he had seen much in regards to the ugly side of human nature. He was cordial and polite but it was obvious that somewhere within that well mannered, professional veneer was a hair-trigger temper that only needed a minimum amount of coaxing in order to come to the surface. Most men from Hawai’i’s finest were built that way, but this one was a special case. He was the good cop and the bad cop rolled up into one,

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down to Halloween 2017! #77

Chak-lag

It goes without saying that the tattoo expo was packed to capacity with artists and fans of skin art in equal measure. Many tattooists pooled their money together and shared a booth while others were given their own singular space to work out of. Then there were those who were the featured artists that everyone came to see. Added to the spectacle were skull jewelry merchants as well as those who sold tattoo machinery, the expo was very busy. Off in a corner where there was not much foot traffic and where one would not even know this particular booth existed were it not for the hemp style shirts which were being sold, sat a wrinkled old Filipino man on a simple straw mat with a set of antiquated hand tap wooden tools with teeth like combs lashed to the ends.

Ua ho‘omaka ku‘u mo‘olelo i Hawai‘i

Ua ho‘omaka ku‘u mo‘olelo i Hawai‘i
My story begins in Hawai‘i

Hawaii's history is passed from generation to generation through mo'olelo, storytelling. Everyone has a story, where does yours begin?

In this shameless plug, I encourage you to check out this t-shirt designed by my wife, Tanya. It makes an awesome gift, especially for our family and friends who are living far away from our beautiful island home.

My Story Begins in Hawaii - Hawaiian Tribal Design
by Kino_Lau_Designs

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down to Halloween 2017! #78

Andy

1972

Our little house on Kaukamana street hosted a small yard out front that was enclosed by a chain link fence. In it was a lime tree that was hard to climb because of the thorns that lived on its branches, and fruit that was practically inedible because of the gifts which the birds left on the lime. I remember taking a picture with my niece Donna and her brother Harry my nephew in that same yard one afternoon. In the picture also was Andy my foster brother who we were taking care of for the time, he was mentally challenged but very boisterous and affectionate.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #79

Closure

I stood back and watched my daughter kneel at her mother’s grave at the Hawaiian Memorial Cemetery. This made five years since her passing and it never gets easy for Jerry. No one expects their mother to die of a massive heart attack at just forty-eight years old but that’s life. I’m careful to keep that bit of philosophy to myself, I can’t ever share that with Jerry because it will just piss her off. Me and Jerry’s mom, I mean, Jerry’s mom and I went through a really bad divorce, so to say that there’s no love lost is an understatement. I’m sad for Jerry because I can see the loss that she is suffering, but I can’t feel it. I’ve got too much hate for her mother and it’s still festering, I wish that time could cauterize all wounds because that could make things a lot easier for me too. Then maybe me and Jerry, I mean, then maybe Jerry and I could come to some common understanding or something. Maybe we can start living.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #80

Oli

In the chant are the mindset, the knowledge, the history, the language and the intent. Depending also on the kind of chant you are offering, there is the faith that the purpose of the chant will see its result after it is given. Some chants have the 'i'i or the trilling vocal styling that gives it the ability to raise the skin of the listener. Other chants are of a sing-song variety, while still others are monotonal which is the bare basic method in which to perform a chant.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #81

Famous Last Words... Maybe

It’s a comforting feeling to see everyone gathered in one place, exchanging stories with each other about the most mundane things, but laughing uproariously about it as if it were the funniest joke ever told. Life gets that way sometimes, especially when you’ve been dealt such a tragic blow that you begin to see the humor in the most minuscule thing. Grandma is telling all the girls about the first time she met Grandpa; he showed up for their date with a big hole in his pants and he had no clue about it. That is until he excused himself from the table and went to use the bathroom. Grandma said she had to wait for him outside the men’s room just let him know that his pants were torn. She wanted to save him the embarrassment of having to walk back into that crowded Chinese restaurant called ‘Lau Yee Chai.’

Menehune and Bigfoot: Fact, Fiction, and Genealogy

According to the information that has been passed down from my mother and my aunt and to myself, the Menehune or ‘Manahune’ as they were referred to, were believed to be the first people who were already occupants of our archipelago before the mass migration from the South Pacific.  The description of such a people being squat and ugly is hardly realistic, and the Menehune were not and are not "little people" as we see in the movies but entirely proportionate humans of smaller stature who are only three or four feet in height.

In some circles, it is said

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #82

Contract

The OSPREY silencer works best for me. I don’t know how other guys in this field work it, but when I have to fulfill a contract in a very public place, it has to be quick and easy. Especially on a 9mm, the OSPREY is your best friend. The contract is a guy who likes to go hiking and normally starts out at six in the morning and always completes his hike by 10 am. What he does beyond that is anyone’s guess, I’m just here to do what I have to do. This morning he decided to hike up to Kaniakapupu, Kamehameha III’s old mansion up in Nu’uanau. He parks near the water reservoir and walks the few steps up the road that it takes to get him there. I park a few feet past the trail to the right between two large boulders. I take the side trail that eventually joins the main path and I come up just a few feet behind him, I keep him in my line of sight but I don’t get too close. There are other hikers up ahead and a few coming down the trail toward me, so I’ve got to be cool and very careful.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #83

Where are you going?

“...Well, I came upon a child of God he was walking along the road and I asked him, tell me where are you going? This he told me ..”

The years I spent in the army was unkind and ruthless, being that I was what they called a ‘Buddha Head’ I constantly had two enemies to fight, the Viet Cong and the United States Army. My mistake was figuring that since I was from Hawai’i they wouldn’t lump me together with the other Japanese ka-tonks from the mainland. No such luck, as far as they were concerned we were slant eyed like the VC and we could very well have been spies.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017 #84

Panina

“...Pakalana na’u ho’okahi ‘oe...”

Her hands, her fingertips, the way of her hand holding mine or holding anything for that matter, had a gentle grace to it. There was a supple beauty in which her hand would strike an ipu heke but not for the sake alone of striking the gourd instrument but more so to draw out its sound, its potential. It’s the hope of what it could be when worked in the right manner. She was the same way with people, even when they were beset with the worst of characteristics, she saw the lotus flower that lay beneath the muck and mire of their inner pond. There was an instant when she used to work at an architectural firm just off of Fort Street mall, it was the end of a long day and as she came down the office stairwell which led down to Hotel Street, a lone thief hid just beneath the steps. The moment he saw her take the bottom stairs,

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down 'Til Halloween 2017 ! #85

Death In a Velvet Blue Blazer

A lot of times the river gets damned and nary an idea is forth coming, that’s usually the sign that I should go stretch my writers' muscles and take a stroll. I ended up at the outdoor coffee shop where I don’t go very often, but here I was with a cranberry tea drink in front of me and my cell phone at my side. Other people who sat at nearby tables were either alone or in the company of their dog or other companions. A homeless woman who sat in the corner would become openly belligerent to anyone who walked by, but everyone ignored her. Tom Minder sat two tables away from the homeless woman enjoying his favorite

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #86

Sahm

Fair dealings in certain state offices depend entirely on who you know or if the person you’re dealing with in that state office likes you or not. So, you can only imagine how upset I was when a paranormal investigative team from Shikoku, Japan filed for the same permit that I did and got an approval faster than you can say, ‘Kalanimoku Building’

There I was at 11:03 in the morning yelling at the poor state worker who herself was worn down

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017 #87

TEDDY

"...Sundown, you better take care, if I find you've been creepin' round my back stairs..."


(Fiction)

THE DAY CAME LIKE ANY OTHER day as the sun rose in the east and set its light through the windows of Alan Higashi’s home.  It was the sunlight that invaded his living room and roused him from his sleep.  His vision gradually came in to focus, and he was surprised to see his ex-girlfriend Kenzie fast asleep on the carpeted floor at the foot of his couch.

“Oh yeah,” he said to himself with sarcasm, “How could I forget?”

 Kenzie and Alan had been broken up for a while, at least in Alan’s mind they had. However, she would still have one of her incidents where she would randomly show up unannounced at Alan’s apartment and beg him to take her back.  It usually ended with Kenzie threatening to

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down 'Til Halloween 2017 #88

Mother and Child Reunion

“...No, I would not give you false hope, on this strange and mournful day...”

It was already 12:30 am as the 25 passenger minibus idled quietly along the length of Kiona’ole Road. The trees which lined the paved path gave off the impression that we were in a Hammer film movie where a horse-drawn carriage ravages its way to its inevitable destination as it takes its charges to meet their dark and sinister end. Unlike those old horror movies, however, ours was not an old haunted mansion which awaited us at the end of our path. Ours was a haunted tree that was rumored to be infested with the spirits of the restless dead

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017! #89

Mililani Mauka 2

A woman who wishes to remain anonymous lives in Mililani Mauka. She says she is of sound mind and body and may be ridiculed at work and at church if it is found out that this is her story. She said that a couple days ago she woke up in the morning and went to the bathroom and when she was done doing her business, she went to the kitchen to brew up some coffee. She said that the trip from her bedroom to the bathroom and then to the kitchen was very unsettling in that she felt someone had been following her the whole time. Each time she turned to see who or what was behind her, no one was there. However, once the coffee was done brewing, she sat at the breakfast table to enjoy her cup of joe. “I happened to glance up,” she told me. “On the ceiling was a trail of huge human sized foot prints which came out of my bedroom and into the bathroom. The prints then emerged from the bathroom and stopped right above my head where I was sitting.”

Mind you that at this point I was sitting with her in her office at the Davies Pacific Center. I told her that even for someone like herself, the story was too fantastic to believe. She made no reply but pointed up to the ceiling. I forgot if I screamed or cried, but which ever action it was that came out of my body, I do know that I fell backward out of the chair that I was sitting in. There were two huge footprints on the ceiling right above her, and two huge foot prints on the ceiling directly above me.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down 'Til Halloween 2017 #90

Fidem Ferocia

"...Before you slip into unconsciousness, I'd like to have another kiss, another flashing chance at bliss..."

"I'd be scared too if I were you... I'm mean, the last thing you want is for your friends to find out that you're not who you made yourself out to be, right?" It was unnerving for Reynold to sit there and hear

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017 #91

Shawn

The orange-yellow glow of the sunset bathed her form so completely that it muted the color of the blue and green bathing suit she wore. If ever a moment was so picturesque, it would have been that one, it was a moment where her damp hair fell perfectly about her face and shoulders. It was a moment where the glow of the setting sun brought out the color from the light brown of her eyes, where it made her smile just as insipid as natures most stunning display. Although a grown woman, she was always our

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2017 #92

Witch Time

1994 Stanford University

The lovemaking began in the morning when he brewed the first coffee cup for Crystal while she was still asleep. A younger Boy Napualawa gently massaged her feet until her eyes opened, and then he kissed her on the forehead. She could smell the vanilla aroma of the cup of Joe as it sat on the stand next to her bed. "Coffee is ready when you are," Boy whispered. His foreplay style is the intimate food prep of human interaction at the end of an evening because real lovemaking was a process that happened for an entire day. After Crystal showered and readied herself for class, Boy prepared a small plate of eggs, Benedict, to take with her. While at class himself, Boy would spend the remainder of the day tossing pebbles into her cerebral pond by sending little notes to say something as simple as, 'I can still smell your fragrance,' or 'Thinking of you.' All he could do was hope that words like those ensured that his ripple would continually radiate to her shores and prepare her mind and body to receive him later that evening. Boy wouldn't take Crystal in an animal-like fashion by ravaging her completely and leaving her to lay there covered in sweat and out of breath the second she arrived. He first massaged every part of her feet and knew the locations of all of the pressure points that would bring her relaxation and comfort. He let her rest afterward and then went to wash his hands before preparing dinner. Sitting across from her, he listened intently while she shared the news of her day; Boy didn't reply until she was done. Later, he left her to bathe on her own for as long as she wanted. He joined her toward the end, helping to scrub her back and legs.

Entering the bedroom, Crystal jumped on his back and wrestled him to their oversize bed and pinned him down by holding his wrists and applying her full weight on top of him. 'I know what you're doing, Mr. Napualawa,' she whispered. 'Tryna be all romantic and sly.…coffee in the morning, sending me sexy notes while I'm in class and then a foot massage, dinner, and a shower. If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to get into my pants."

Without missing a beat, Boy smiled and asked, "Is it working?"

Looking at the bed for a second, Crystal replied, "Well, you and I don't have any pants on, do we?"

"It seems that we don't," Boy nodded and glanced around the bed as well. "I am led to believe that we are both naked."

Laying flat on his body so that he could feel every part of her, Crystal gently placed her forehead on his chest and began kissing her way up to his lips, 'First I'm going to ravage you, then I'm going to make you cross-eyed, then you're going to pass out. Then, I'm going to wake you up the same way and start all over again.'

Crystal kept good on her promise, but she was pleasantly surprised to find out that Boy had more in his reserves than she gave him credit for. Their lovemaking went on into the early hours of the morning, where Crystal suddenly awoke and realized that she had only an hour to get ready for the first class of the day. Boy's first-class wouldn't start until 11 am. She rushed to put herself together and hurried out as fast as she could; a second later, the door opened, and she peeked her head back in, "I'm not done with you yet, be prepared."

….………

They were both Leland scholars and part of the residential program at Stanford. Her name is Crystal Mc Faire, but Boy's pet name for her is 'Mac Fairy.' She calls him 'Mister.' Boy typically had time to have breakfast and catch the news before he got ready for class, but this morning he had to go to Safeway to get more eggs and probably stop in Mitsunobu's on the way back. He hadn't given any attention to the news in the past few weeks, but suddenly something caught his attention and stopped him before he got to the door.

….………

Crystal was pleasantly surprised when she saw Boy waiting outside her class. There was a serious look on his face as if something were wrong. Pulling her aside, he spoke to her as quietly as he could without raising any great concern, "Have you seen the news lately?" Crystal shook her head slowly, "No, I haven't; what happened?"

"Police found five dead bodies all around Larsen and Arboretum Grove. The authorities said that these people died within weeks of each other. There are five weeks this month, that means one death a week," Crystal had never seen Boy this way before, and it began to make her worry.

"Alright," Crystal said calmly. "Then walk me to and from all of my classes, but you also need time to study yourself, right?"

"Alright," Boy agreed; still, something didn't feel right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Time went on, and things went back to normal and Boy no longer had a fear for Crystal's safety since there weren't any more dead bodies turning up on the outskirts of campus. The fiery lovemaking was also back in full swing, which always left Boy with a silly smile on his face. One morning while Crystal was already in class, Boy made a bowl of sticky rice, hot dogs, scrambled eggs, and natto. He had only enjoyed two bites of his concoction before he accidentally dropped it on the kitchen floor. Now there was a sticky brown mess all over the carpet. Boy hunkered down and opened the doors to the kitchen cabinet, searching for a roll of paper towels or at least a giant sponge to clean everything up. He found a short stack of cloth towels, which was just what he needed. Upon removing it, he discovered a collection of mason jars filled with different kinds of herbs: Angelica root, Bindweed, Chicory, Hemlock, and Vervain.

….………

Later that evening

The house was unusually quiet when Crystal got home, and she found the lights on; that's when all the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Walking into the living room, she found Boy standing behind the dining room table with five mason jars in front of him, each filled with a different kind of herb.

 "You get only one chance to explain why you have herbs that are used for placing curses on people. Don't try to appease me, don't pull the sorry girlfriend act. One chance, Crystal, don't blow it." Boy's demeanor was frightening, and Crystal could only bring herself to ask one question. "What does that one chance hinge upon?"

"Your life," Boy's answer was short and to the point.

He turned each jar around so Crystal could see a sticker on the front of each one. They were names scribbled in Crystal's handwriting. 'Clarence Must, Al Claimesh, Pan Nial, Greg Alvero, Ben Struthers,' She gave Boy a blank look and stared at the jars and looked at Boy again. Pointing to the jars, Boy said, "Those are the names of all those guys who were found dead a few months ago, you know the ones I told you about on the news?" Boy then removed the sixth jar from his jacket pocket and put it on the table next to the other jars.

This one had Boy's name written on a sticker, 'Hanson Napualawa.'

"Asafoetida in that one, used in voodoo black magic to make someone forget and leave you alone. You were going to make me forget you and leave you alone?"

Crystal was very nervous, but she had to tell the truth, "I didn't expect to fall in love with you."

"And these other poor idiots, who were they ?" Boy's eyes were like a quiet flame ready to burn at any second.

"They were in my way, that's all! I needed to be at the top of the class, and I could not afford to get less than an 'A' plus! I'm a Leland scholar! Do you know what that means?! Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Health, I had to be the best in every class I had to!" Crystal's teeth were bare; her eyes were wide and bloodshot. Her features changed all of a sudden as if a kind of realization overcame her. "Wait a minute, how do you know so much about those herbs.………unless?" A look of panic came over Crystal, and she shot her open palm toward Boy and screamed an incantation, "Anahl nathair ortha bas ocus betha do cel debumh!"

Boy crossed his fists over his chest as an orb of black flames erupted from Crystal's body and streaked straight toward him. His palms flew open, and he uttered a phrase in Hawaiian, "Ho'i a 'ai i kou kahu!" The black flame spun right around and went back to Crystal and sent her flying across the room. Her body hit the reinforced wall with a sick thud and crumbled to the floor. Boy walked over to where she lay, not even bothering to offer her comfort. "Mister, I didn't expect to fall in love with you.…. the others were nothing...he wanted me to kill you too but I couldn't. I thought if Asafoetida made you forget, then he wouldn't want to harm you,"

She was dead, her spinal cord snapped, but she held on for just a few seconds more because she thought she could tell Boy about the man that wanted him dead but to no avail. Death took her before she could say anything else.

….………

Today

Betha and her sister Abigail sit in front of Boy's desk while uncle Tiny fidgets in a chair next to him. Uncle Ivan hisses at his cousin to stay still while Aunty Rita shakes her head and rolls her eyes. Boy's patience is running thin, but he'll have to address Uncle Tiny's problem after the meeting.

 "So," Boy begins while shooting a glance at Aunty Rita, "you're practicing witches on the lamb after being kicked out from your local coven in Los Angeles?"

The two women nodded and looked at one another, "Yes, that's right."

"You moved here to Hawaii and kept a low profile and stayed out of everyone's way and wanted to live your life in peace, is that also correct?" Boy was recounting his conversation from their phone call earlier that morning. The women nodded again and replied at the same time, "Yes, that's correct."

"Would you mind rolling up your sleeves and showing us what happened?" Boy was very polite and not at all demanding. Because of that, the two women removed their sweaters to reveal angry black and blue bruised human bite marks all over their arms and neck. The bites were child-sized, and the teeth marks were very pronounced. The two women wept quietly to themselves and were too ashamed to look up, but Boy assured them that it was alright and that no one in the office would gloat over their plight.

"Thank you," Betha's voice was shaky and still cracking. "We may have been wrong, but we didn't deserve this."

The women trusted Boy now, but they were still hesitant because they were in his territory, and the sisters wanted to be sure that they would not unknowingly disrespect him. Boy continued with his questions, "Tell me, what led the two of you to believe that this was a curse that someone put on you?"

"Betha and I were at a native plant sale at Windward community college," Abigail adjusted herself in her chair as she began to speak. "There was one last Hawaiian Jasmine plant on the shelf, and when I reached for it, a Hawaiian man grabbed it at the same time."

"He was very handsome with beautiful eyes; we were instantly charmed because he apologized and paid for the plant and gave it to my sister and me to take home." Betha smiled just a little over the memory. "We struck up a conversation, and he invited us to join him for lunch and drinks and insisted that he pay for the whole thing."

"We wanted to thank him somehow for being so nice," Abigail confirmed. "He ended up coming to our home in Hau'ula, and we spent the weekend together."

"You mean with yourself and the Hawaiian man you met?" Boy asked.

"No," Abigail replied in a very matter of fact manner. "With both my sister and myself.…he was great!"

"His stamina was unending," Betha sighed as she recalled that weekend. "We kept having to ask him if he was finished or not because he just kept going!"

"And going," Abigail added. The two sisters fanned themselves with their hands as they were now flushed and red.

"That sounds great as the three of you enjoyed each other's company. When did things go wrong all of a sudden?" Boy had already known the answer, but he had to hear it play out so that it would make sense to him.

"The Hawaiian man, he wanted it to be more, he said that he'd fallen in love with us, but we were still recovering from all the hurt and the emotion from being kicked out of our coven. We weren't ready to commit to anyone or anything. We were honest, but he didn't take it well. A month later and suddenly every hour of the day and night, we were covered with these bite marks!" Betha broke down with Abigail, only being able to rub her shoulder.

"So, you believe this Hawaiian man cursed you because of an unrequited love?" Boy asked again. The women said nothing and only nodded. "Do you know who this Hawaiian man is?" Betha and Abigail nodded and pointed at Tiny.

Ivan and Rita shifted very uncomfortably in their chairs, and at that point, Boy excused the two women and promised them that the cursed bite marks would never trouble them again. The two witches saw themselves out of the office and took the elevator down to the first floor. It seemed like forever before the double doors would slowly shut on their own. A second later, Tiny whipped around in his chair and shot a glance of disbelief at Rita, "For real?! Really?! Seriously?!"

Ivan was not happy either, "What?! What the hell are you doing?!" Rita ignored both men and quickly got up out of her chair and headed toward the door but not before Boy spoke up. "Aunty Rita..."

"I have to get home and get dinner started; Tabby must be hungry by now." Her charade was not working.

"We live in the same home; I'm your ride." Boy said firmly. "Why did you curse those women!!?? This had nothing to do with you! It was none of your business! Why did you interfere?!"

"Yeah!" Tiny's veins were popping out of his neck, and he seemed as if he were going to have a heart attack. "You made me look weak! You betta not try say you neva do 'um cause we know the bite marks is your signature so no ack stoopid!"

There was no answer from Rita as she sat there, appearing smug and unsympathetic. She could feel Boy staring at her and knew very well that she would not be able to leave the office until she offered a valid explanation for what she did.

"Alright, dammit," she sighed with disgust. "You've all seen how he was acting these past few weeks? Moping around the office, half focused staring off into space with this hangdog look all the time, listening to those damned sad 70's songs on his Pandora, hiding in the damned bathroom weeping and sobbing! I could hear it down the damned hallway! How was I expected to get any work done? I swear if I had to listen to one more damned Lind Ronstadt song again, I was going to shove that damned phone down his throat! I had to do something to make him stop! And all of this over what?! Two skinny haole witches, who were only looking to sleep with a Hawaiian man so they can make a notch on their broom? I NO 'TINK SO! Of course, I had to step in and curse them! And what better way to do it than with Nahu bite marks?"

Rita stormed out of the office, leaving the three men speechless. She and Tiny were always at odds, but if she did care for Tiny somewhere deep down in her heart, she had a unique way of showing it.

"Witch," Tiny muttered to himself.

"You better not call her that to her face," Ivan warned his short-fused cousin to stay the storm and not incur any more of Aunty Rita's wrath.

Boy could only sit back in his chair and recall his witch who nearly took his life many years ago; it left him wondering about the man who charged Crystal to kill him. Who was he? Where was he? Was he still out there somewhere, watching and scheming and waiting for the right time to try and kill Boy again?

Hawai‘i’s Spirits and Legends: ‘Ōlelo ‘Ino (Curses)
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SAVE THE DATE SHARE
Performance:
Hawai‘i’s Spirits and Legends: ‘Ōlelo ‘Ino (Curses)

Showtimes:
Saturday, Jan 27 07:30 PM
Location:
Doris Duke Theatre

Price:
Museum members: $12.00
General Admission: $15.00
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About the Performance:
Lopaka Kapanui returns to tell stories about Hawai‘i's spiritual realm.

If you had the power, would you put a curse on someone? A slight in traffic, a missed promotion, your in-laws. Your immediate reaction may be “no” but most of us have at least entertained the idea of “what if…” Come hear true stories of people who have put a curse on someone and have lived to regret it. Well, almost lived.