Ten years ago, I was driving to Waikiki to do a daytime tour when I noticed a young Haole boy walking along Date Street.
He was lost as he kept stopping every few feet to open a map he was carrying. I pulled up ahead and waited for him to come walking up. "Hey? Do you need help getting somewhere?""Uh yeah," he replied slowly. "Can you tell me how to get here?" he was pointing to a spot on his map that I couldnʻt see.
"Do you know the name of the place youʻre looking for?"
"Itʻs the Maile Sky Court," he answered.
"Oh, I know where that is, I can give you a ride if you want; Iʻm heading in that direction," I told him.
"Sure, if thatʻs, not a problem?"
"Not at all," I replied.
He jumped in, and we headed down to the end of Date Street and turned on to Kapahulu. "Iʻm from Minnesota," he smiled. "What about you?"
"Iʻm not," I pause and waited for the punchline to sink in. He got it, he laughed and pointed at me. " I live right off the main drag back there. How did you end up getting turned around if you donʻt mind my asking?"
"Oh, I came to tie up some loose ends with an old girlfriend. I was so focused on meeting with her that I didnʻt pay attention to how I got there from my hotel," He scratched his head in apparent frustration.
"I hope it went, okay?"
He shrugged for a second and shook his head, "I just wanted closure; she wasnʻt ready to see me, but I told her I loved her anyway."
"Nobody can say that you didnʻt try," I tried to reassure him. Before I knew it, we were pulling up to the Maile Sky Court. "Iʻm Lopaka by the way,"
"Mike Fresh," he placed his right hand over his heart and bowed slightly. "Appreciate the ride." He turned and walked briskly toward the front entrance and disappeared into the Starbucks on the other side. I recognized the doorman, Ray, who was a regular on my ghost tours. We gave a quick wave, and I drove off. That was my good samaritan deed for the day. I found parking on Saratoga and made it just in time to meet my group for the daytime tour of Waikīkī. That tour was a long, hot walk from the Army Museum to the Kapaemahū stones in front of the police sub-station. There were four other stops in between, but it took a lot of walking to get there. The following morning I sat at the Kapahulu Zippyʻs for my regular Portuguese sausage omelet, cocoa, and the Sunday newspaper. I looked up and happened to notice Ray, the doorman from yesterday, sitting a few tables away from me. "Good morning!" He said. "You come here all the time?"
"Every Sunday for breakfast," I confirmed. "What about you?"
"The same thing," he replied. "I eat one big breakfast before I go to work,"
"Oh, thatʻs good," I nodded and gave him the thumbs up.
"Eh, yesterday when I saw you, you was waiting for somebody at the Sky Court? He asked.
"No, I dropped somebody off," I replied. "Young Haole boy, I found him on Date street; he didnʻt know how to get back to the hotel, so I gave him a ride."
"I never see anybody get out of your car," Ray looked at me like I was crazy. "I only saw you pull up; I thought you was talking to me, thatʻs why I waved at you."
"No," I laughed and waved him off. "I dropped off that kid,"
"He staying at the Sky Court?" Ray wanted to be sure. "He told you his name?"
"Mike Fresh," I answered.
Ray went silent and gave me this death warmed over stare. "That kid told us that he was here to look for his girlfriend, he said one day she took off with no explanation. Her parents told him she came to Oahu; they gave him her address. Thatʻs what he told us before he left the property to find her; I guess neva work out because when he came back later that day, he went straight to his room on the twenty-second floor, and he went jump to his death."
"What????" I guess my voice was booming because everyone seated around us turned to look our way. "Was this yesterday after I dropped him off?"
"No," Ray whispered under his breath. "Was one year ago, yesterday."
I told Ray, no, I insisted that I picked Mike Fresh up on Date street the day before. I spoke to him, he told me about his heartbreaking situation with his old girlfriend. I dropped him off at the Sky Court!
"I dunno what to tell you," Ray apologized.
"The funny thing is," I looked at my friend, "he said his girlfriend wasn’t ready to see him, now I know why."
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