Kauapea Beach

My name is Marina, and I live in Makawao, Hawaii. It is located on the island of Maui. Population is about 7,000. It is one of the most beautiful places on the island.
I live with my mother, who is in her mid 70s, and we moved here from Koloa, which is located in Kauai. We left because mom needed a bit of a change after my father passed.

We chose to live here and for some reason, I felt drawn to the area. I am a lover of the Ocean, and being close to it gives me a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of belonging and home. To sit on a rock and watch the gentle waves hit the shore brings me peace of mind.

When I was a little girl, my mother always took me to the Ocean and we would both swim in those gentle blue waters for a bit. I felt comfort there, and I know she did too.

Mom’s name is Healani, which means “haze from the heavens.” She was a gifted lady, whose passion was to paint. Her pictures were mostly of the Sea and creatures under it, but one struck me as odd, yet beautiful. It was a painting of the beach where we lived at that time. I would have been just a baby. Mom was walking down the beach, and there in front of her, was a glittering object. She approached it and picked it up. It was a golden heart, maybe half an inch wide. Embedded in the heart was a very tiny seashell. She painted this encounter and in her picture, she was crying.

Years past, and I grew up. My mom and I lived a happy life. Well, mostly happy. I married, then divorced the man I thought I loved. It just wasn’t meant to be. After the divorce, opened a small jewelry boutique. I made all the necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants that I sold. I did quite good. Customers seemed to come in and always left with the perfect purchase. That’s what it was all about…….making people happy, made me happy.

Those trips to the Ocean with mom slowly decreased as she became ill and couldn’t make the trip as often, but on the days we did, they will be cherished in my heart forever. Our last trip, she danced in the sand, twirling and singing a song in Hawaiian. The same song each time. It was an enchanting, yet haunting song. At one point she bent over as though she were singing to the sand.

Mom passed away just 3 days ago. Her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in the waters she loved so much. So it became my job to see that it happened as she wanted.

The place would definitely be where we swam so often. It was called Kauapea Beach (the Hawaiian name for Secret Beach). The weather would have to be perfect. Sunshine always made the waters glisten with stars.

Mom’s ashes came in a beautiful golden container, oddly with a heart embedded in the front of it, and in that heart was a tiny seashell. Now I knew something was meant to be explained to me. I went into her bedroom and began going through her things. There was nothing to be found in her desk or in her dresser drawers. I went to the closet and began going through papers that were on the top shelf, when there, behind a large box was a smaller one. It was red and gold. I looked at it for a few seconds as I never knew it existed. I took it down, opened it and inside were many seashells. Under those seashells was a letter addressed to me. I opened it slowly and began to read it. 

“My dearest Marina, when you find this, I will have returned to the Ocean, from where I came. It has been long since I have wanted to share this with you. I am a mermaid. That is why my heart has always been with the Sea. I was a very curious mermaid, and quite young at the time. I would surface as often as possible to see what the other world looked like, and one day, there was a ship. Your father was on that ship, and as time went by, we fell in love. After a long and very hard decision, I was given human legs by my family. I married your father, and you, my beautiful girl, came into this world. You are my flesh and blood and I thank you for such good care, but all things must end, and now my soul has returned to the Ocean. It is my wish, that you return my ashes there also. Yes, my love, you are indeed half mermaid. Your soul belongs to the Sea and one day, you will also return to me. I love you with all my heart. Makuahine “ Mom in Hawaiian.

Sitting there is shock, all I could think of was, how could this be? The more I thought of it, the more it all began to make sense. The trips to the Ocean, her paintings and one with a mermaid in it. I just never thought….. because who believes in mermaids? Now I find I am half. To be stunned was to say the least. It took weeks before I could accept. I did accept though and made it my honor to return her ashes home.

The day finally came. The perfect day. The sun was shining and the waters were blue and glistening. I picked up her ashes and said, “It’s time mom.” I went to that beach where we use to swim and there, my boat waited for me. I took it out about a mile and a half. I looked around and it was heaven on earth. Peace and solitude. I began singing that last song she sang on the beach and gently opened the container. I don’t know how the words came to me, but as I sang, I slowly released her back to the waters she came from. I cried, I sang and then I smiled.

When I reached the shore, and got out of the boat, I began walking just a few steps when I noticed something glistening in the sand. I walked over to it, bent down and there it was, her gold heart with that tiny seashell in it. On our last day at the beach, when she sang and danced and bent over for prayer to the sand, she actually placed that heart back in the sand. I picked it up, looked at it, turned it around, and there was my name engraved on the back. It read, “ko’u Marina”. My Marina.