Huia Short Stories 9 Read online

  First published in 2011 by Huia Publishers,

  39 Pipitea Street, PO Box 17-335,

  Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.

  www.huia.co.nz

  ISBN: 978-1-86969-483-8

  ISSN: 1177-0848

  Copyright © the authors 2011

  Cover image: Wiremu Barriball

  Ebook production 2011 by meBooks

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

  A Catalogue record for this serial is available from the National Library of New Zealand.

  Published with the assistance of

  Ngā Tinihanga a Māui

  PJ Akuhata

  Ko te ao katoa kei te tirohia e ia. Kei raro ko te piki me te heke o ngā puke, o ngā raorao, o ngā ākau, whakawhiti atu ki ngā wai e hīrere iho i ngā pari. Kei tētahi taha he kapua tāhunahuna kei te āmio haere, kei tētahi he huinga karoro e kōpikopiko ana...kei te rere takiwā a Māui! Ka reka! Engari kei te rongo i te reo o tōna Māmā e mānu ana, ‘Māui … Māui … Māui … MĀUI!!’ Ka mutu te moemoeā, kātahi te maranga ohorere.

  Ka pupū ake tā Māui whakaaro, ‘E ta Mā, turituri, te moata hoki o te taima.’

  Me he māreikura e mōhio ana ki tā te tamaiti whakaaro, ka hoki mai a Māmā, ‘E tata ana ki te iwa karaka e tama, ki te kore koe e ara mai ināianei, karekau tō parakuihi, ā, ka haere ā waewae koe ki te kura!’ Te tere hoki o te aranga.

  Ka tae mai rāua ki te kura i runga waka, ka aukatia. Te mākutu hoki o tā Māmā titiro ki a Māui, ka rere tōna reo, ‘E tama, he rangi hou tēnei, he rangi pai. Kia tika tō mahi, kaua e haututū, whakarongo ki a Matua Wiremu…’

  Kei te tōtika hoki te titiro a Māui ki tōna mama, ka nui ōna whatu, kei te pōuri tana waha, kei te tūngou ia i tōna upoko, e whakaae ana ki a Māmā. Koirā tana hanga ā-tinana, he āhua rerekē ki roto, kei te kotiti kē ana whakaaro ki ōna māpere, ki ōna hoa, ki ngā kōtiro e whāia ana e ia, ki te aha, ki te aha.

  Ka mutu te tohutohu o Māmā, ka kihikihi rāua, ka puta ia i te waka. Mai i te tipuaki ki ngā raparapa, he haututū te hanga. E iwa ōnā tau, nā tōna Māmā ōna makawe kerekere i heru, auare ake. Pūhutihuti kau ana, e pakiri ana ngā niho, kei te mau te tarapu o te pēke i tōna ringa matau, e kukume ana i roto i te puehu. He ihu hupe tōna, engari kei te pīata rawa ōna whatu i te tinihanga o te rangatahi.

  Huri ana a Māmā i te piko, ka mutu tana poroporoākī, ka anga atu a Māui ki te kura me te whakaaro, ‘E ta Mā, ehara i a au te raru, kāre rātou katoa i te mārama ki a au …’

  Pango katoa te kura i ngā tamariki. Kāore anō ngā karaehe kia tīmata, ā, kei te pūrei tonu. Kātahi ka kite i a Māui a Matua Wiremu e totitoti ana. He māhita tawhito ia, he waewae hape tētahi, koia e totitoti ai te hīkoi. Ka kite hoki i a Māui tōna hoa tata a Te Kara e whai ana i ngā tapuwae o Matua Wiremu me he waewae hape nōna. Ka totitoti a Matua Wiremu, ka totitoti hoki a Te Kara. Na ka tūhono a Māui ki tōna hoa, ka hiki tukemata rāua, ka totitoti te tokotoru ki te karaehe. E haruru ana te whenua i te katakata o ngā tamariki!

  Ka tangi te pere ka uru mai ngā tamariki ki rō karaehe. Ka noho tahi a Māui rāua ko Te Kara, kātahi ka tutetute haere rāua ki a rāua anō me te ui nei, ‘Nē? Nē? Ko wai tō pāpā? Ko au nē?’

  ‘Māui, e noho koe ki tērā taha o te rūma, TK, kia noho tonu koe ki reira, kia tere!’ koirā te tohutohu o Matua Wiremu. Ka mutu, heoi kei te hiki tukemata tonu tētahi ki tētahi.

  Ka mea atu a Matua Wiremu, ‘Tamariki mā, i tēnei ata ka haramai te minita ki te kauwhau te rongopai ki a koutou.’ Kī katoa ngā koko o te karaehe i te ngunguru o ngā tamariki.

  Ka kōrero tonu te māhita, ‘Māui, TK, ahakoa ka ngaro au i te karaehe mō te wā o te kauwhautanga, ka mātakitaki tonu au ki a kōrua. Kei makarauna!’ I a ia e kōrero pēnei ana, kei te anga te tōroa me te kōroa o tana ringa matau i ōna whatu ki a rāua. Ka tūngou a Te Kara ki a ia, engari a Māui. Ka pakiri tonu ngā niho, ka hiki tukemata ia ki tōna māhita me te whiu pūhohe nei, ‘Tāu i kī mai, koia tērā Matua’ Ka kata ētahi o ngā tamariki i te mea ahakoa tā Māui i kī ai, kāore e kore he whakangahau kei te haere mai.

  He minita tāroaroa, he Pākehā, ko Matua Sam tōna ingoa. Kei te mau i a ia te pare mā ki tōnā kakī, ko ngā kākahu he pango katoa. Kei te mōhio ngā tamariki katoa ki a ia i te mea ka haramai ia ki te kura ia rua wiki ki te kauwhau.

  Kei te mōhio rawa a Matua Sam ki a Māui nā ōna mahi hīanga ki a ia. I tērā tau nā Matua Sam i ui atu ki ngā tamariki, ‘Ka pēhea te roa o tō aroha ki te Atua?’ Kātahi te hūpekepeke tere o Māui ki runga i tōna tēpū, ā, ka whātoro atu ōna ringa ki te rangi me te hāpārangi, ‘Pēnei te roa! Pēnei te whānui! Pah!’ Nā, ka whētero a Māui, ka oma ia ki runga i ngā tēpū o ngā tamariki tae atu ki muri o te karaehe. ‘Ka rawe Māui, e hoki mai ki mua, e noho koe,’ koirā te īnoi a Matua Sam, tē whakarongo a Māui, ka tīmata ia ki te takitaki i tētahi haka nāna i hanga i taua wā tonu, ‘Ko te tero haunga e patero nei!! Ko au, au, auē hā, hei!’ Kei reira hoki tōna poutokomanawa a Te Kara e umere ana ki tōna taha.

  Ka kite a Māui i a Matua Sam, ka hoki ngā mahara, ka wiriwiri ōna pokohiwi. Mēnā e taea ana te titiro ki te patu tangata, ka puehu noa iho a Māui. Engari, kei reira a Māui e pakiri ana, e hiki tukemata ana ki a Matua Sam.

  Ka īnoi a Matua Sam hei tīmatanga mō rātou. Ka mutu te ‘āmine’ o ngā tamariki, ka tīmata ia ki te kōrero mō tētahi tangata, ko Rāwiri tōna ingoa. E ai ki a Matua Sam, he kīngi rongonui a Rāwiri i roto i te paipera, ā, he tangata tino whakahirahira.

  Nāwai nāwai, ka pau te rua tekau mā rima miniti, ka hōhā a Māui. Ka huri a Matua Sam ki te paipera tapu pānui ai ki ngā tamariki. I a ia e pānui ana, ka maheretia e Māui kia puta ai ia i te karaehe, na ka kōkiritia.

  Kei mua a ia e noho ana i runga i tōna tūrū. Ka heke ia ki te papa, ka tīmata ki te ngaoki haere. Ka tae ake ki te paenga pukapuka ka huri whakatemauī, ka ngaoki tonu.

  Ka tae tata ia ki te kuaha, ka puta tōna whakaaro whakahīhī, ‘Koia kei a koe, Māui! Ka kite koutou, hehe…. E! Nā wai ēnei hū?’ Kei mua i a ia ka kitea ngā hū e rua. Ka rewa tana upoko, e ta, he waewae nō ngā hū. Ka rewa ōna whatu ki runga rawa, ka kite i a ia a Matua Wiremu e anga atu ana tana matimati ki te tari o te tumuaki, auē taukuri e.

  Ka kī mai a Matua Wiremu, ‘Koirā taku whakatūpato ki a koe e tama, kei te mātakitaki au. Ko wai kei tua atu i a koe mō te mahi hīanga? Pūrari takeo, puta ki waho! Haere atu ki te tumuaki, māna koe e whakatikatika.’ Ka tū a Māui, ka ngaro te pakiri o ngā niho i te whakamā, ka pōuri, ka titiro anake ia ki te whenua i a ia e hīkoi ana ki tā te tumuaki tari.

  ‘E tama, ko koe te mea e hoki ana ki konei ia wiki, tērā pea me hōmai pūtea kia ea ai tō reti, hehe,’ koirā te kī o Whāea Atareta, te tumuaki o te kura. He poto te hanga, he wahine ātaahua i tōna wā. He wahine whaimana a Whāea Atareta, kei a ia ngā pūkenga katoa, hei tā te māmā o Māui. Nāna ngā kerēme whenua i kōkiri i te wā i a ia e mahi ana hei rōia, he mahi aroha mō tōna iwi. Whai muri atu i te tutukitanga o ngā kerēme, ka pīrangi ia ki te whakaako i ngā tamariki, ā, ka hoki anō ia ki te whare wānanga, whiwhi ai i te tohu e tika ana kia āhei ai ia te mahi hei māhita, hei tumuaki.

  Ka tatari a Whāea Atareta mō te whakautu, tē puta i a Māui. Katahi ka mea atu ia, ‘Kua taka ngā whetū i te rangi, karekau he whakautu māu! He wā tuatahi mō ngā mea katoa, nē e tama?’ Ka wahangū tonu a Māui, e mātakitaki ana ia i te rango e āmio ana i ōna hū, ka pōuri tonu.

  Ko Whāea Atareta, ‘E Māui, kuhu mai, katia te kūaha, e noho.’ Ka pērā tonu a Māui.

  Ko Whāe
a Atareta, ‘E Māui, tō māmā kei te aha? Ka roa te wā kua kore e kitea.’ Hiki pokohiwi, heke iho te whakautu a Māui.

  Ko Whāea Atareta, ‘E tama, kāre i te tika ki te whakahāwea te minita pēnei. Kei kōnei ia ki te tautoko i a koe, pēnei ngā māhita katoa e mahi ana. He aha koe e pīrangi ai ki te whakaiti i a ia?’

  I tēnei ka hiki te upoko a Māui, ‘Mate katoa au i te hōhā mō āna kauwhau.’

  Ko Whāea Atareta, ‘E tama, me whakarongo ki a ia ka tika, he kūare koe ki ngā kōrero i roto i te paipera, māna koe e whakaako.’

  Ko Māui, ‘Ehara au i te kūare ki te paipera, Whāea, kei te mōhio kē ahau.’

  Ko Whāea, ‘Nē rā? Tēnā e tama, i tēnei rā kei te kōrero a Matua Sam mō ngā mahi a Rāwiri, nē? Whakautua tēnei pātai. Ko wai te tangata rongonui nā Rāwiri i patu?’

  Ka tere te whakahoki a Māui, ‘E ta, māmā noa iho. Ko Koriaha tēnā, ko ia te hoariri o te Atua, ko te ope taua o te hoariri e noho ana ki tētahi puke, ko te ope taua o te Atua ki tētahi, i waenganui he raorao anake. Whā tekau ngā rā kei te tāunutia te ope taua o te Atua e te Koriaha, he mataku nō rātou ki te whawhai ki a ia …’

  Ka pūkana haere ngā whatu o Whāea Atareta i a Māui e kōrero ana. Ka noho rāua ki reira mō te hāora kotahi, ka whiu pātai a Whāea Atareta ki a Māui, ā, ka tika hoki āna whakautu i ngā pātai paipera, pāngarau, hītori Māori me te hītori Pākehā.

  He āhua pōrangirangi nō te hinengaro o Whāea Atareta. Ka ui atu, ‘E tama, kei te ako pēhea koe i ēnei mea?’ Ka heke iho anō te mata a Māui ki te rango, ā, ko te hiki me te heke o ngā pokohiwi tana whakautu ki te pātai.

  Te mārō o tā Whāea Atareta titiro ki a Māui, ka toutou tōna upoko ki te hohonutanga o te whakaaro. Kātahi ka tū a Whāea, ka mea, ‘E tama, ānei te whiu. Ināianei ka whakamātautauria koe. Haere mai koe, e noho ki taku rorohiko. Ko tēnei whakamātautau, kia kite ai tō kaha ki te whakakorikori i tō hinengaro. Mēnā he tino rawe ō whakautu ki ngā pātai, ka mutu te kura mōu i tēnei rā, ka taea e koe te hoki ki te kāinga. Ka pai?’

  Tērā pea he tāturi nō ngā taringa, kāre a Māui i te whakapono ki tāna i rongo ai. Ka pērā anō te kōrero a Whāea, ā, ka whakaae rawa a Māui.

  Ka rere te pātai, ‘Whāea, pehea te roa o te whakamātautau?’

  Ko te whakahoki, ‘E rua hāora te roa, Māui, kia kaha. Ka kite koe nē?’

  Ka eke a Tamanuiterā ki te poupoutanga, ka pau te rua hāora. Kātahi ka hoki mai a Whāea Atareta ki tōna tari, ka huaki ia i te kuaha, ā, kua takoto a Māui ki te moe i runga i tōna tēpu, tīraha rawa atu.

  ‘Pai kare e tama, ko wai kei tua atu i a koe mō te mahi hātakēhi!’ tā Whāea Atareta whakaaro. Heoi, ka noho a Whāea ki tōna rorohiko titiro ai ki ngā hua i puta i a Māui. Ko te āhua o tā Whāea mata me he ānini kei te haere, he pōrangirangi, he koa, he kōroiroi, he kore whakapono.

  Ka tono atu a Whāea, ‘Maranga takeo, e oho!’ Ka puare ōna whatu kohore, ka heke ki te papa, ā ka kimi ia i te rango, auare noa.

  Ko Whāea, ‘Māui he pātai tino whakahirahira tāku ki a koe. Kaua e rūpahu, nē? Nāu tēnei whakamātautau i tutuki?’

  Ko Māui, ‘Āe.’

  Ko Whāea, ‘E tama, e hoki koe ki te kāinga, he tino rawe ō whakautu, tūmeke rawa atu!’ Mutu ana te kōrero, ka ngaro a Māui, ā, mahue ki muri iho ko Whāea Atareta e ketu ana i tana upoko.

  Kāre a Māui i te hiahia kia hoki ki te kāinga kei mōhio a Māmā kua hara anō ia. Nā, ka haere kē ia ki tōna wāhi pararaiha, ki te whare pukapuka. He āio te whare, kī katoa i te pukapuka, ā, kāre he pakeke kūare e tonotono ana ki a ia he aha te aha.

  Ka kuhu a Māui i te tomokanga, ka kitea e Whāea Apollonia, he kuia nō te whenua o Itāria. He poto rawa tana hanga, he hina anake kei tōna upoko, e waru tekau mā whā te pakeke. Ko tōna mahi he kaitiaki o ngā pukapuka. Ka nui tōna aroha ki a Māui i te mea kei te rite ki tāna tā Māui hiakai ki te mātauranga.

  ‘Māui kei te aha?’ te pātai a Whāea Apollonia.

  Ka whakahoki a Māui, ‘Tutto apposto nonna, come stai?’

  ‘Kei te pai ahau, Māui.’

  I ngā wā o mua nā Māui i kōingo ki te ako i te reo tūturu o Whāea Apollonia, ā ka tīmata ia ki te pānui i te tikinare me ngā pukapuka Itāriana, me te whakawhitiwhiti i ngā kōrero i taua reo. I tēnei wā, kei te mīharo rawa atu a Whāea Apollonia ki tōna tere ki te ako i te reo Itāriana, me tōna mau i te mātauranga kore rawa e warewaretia e ia.

  Nā Māui a Whāea Apollonia i whakamārama mō ōna tinihanga i te ata. Ka mutu pēhea te kōhetehete a Whāea, ka pau te hāwhe hāora ka haere tonu ngā hāpārangi.

  ‘Whāea, kei te mōhio koe ki ahau, engari kāore rātou katoa e mōhio ana. Ngāwari rawa atu ngā mahi katoa, pai ake te moe i te whakarongo ki a rātou.’ Ka katakata a Whāea.

  Heoi anō, nāwai ka tau te puehu i a Whāea, ka kii atu, ‘E tama, kei a mātou ētahi pukapuka hou.’

  Ka kanapa ngā whatu, ka ui a Māui, ‘He aha ngā take?’

  ‘Ko te reo Tiamana tētahi, he pukapuka e pā ana ki te oranga o Nelson Mandela tētahi, he pukapuka whakatikatika rorohiko me tētahi pukapuka penapena pūtea,’ tā Whāea Apollonia whakahoki.

  I a Whāea e kōrero ana mō ngā pukapuka ka mahara a Māui, ‘Kua mōhiotia, kua pānuitia, hōhā...nā, kāore au e mōhio ki te mahi penapena pūtea,’ ka mea atu ia, ‘Māku te pukapuka penapena pūtea e pānui, Whāea?’ Ka tūngou a Whāea, ka hoatu ia i te pukapuka, ā ka haere a Māui ki tōna koko o te whare noho ai ki te tūru hāneanea, ā, ka tīmata ia ki te toutou te upoko.

  Ka titiro kau ake a Whāea Apollonia ki a ia, ka maharatia, ‘E tama, ko wai kei tua atu i a koe mō te mahi ako?’

  This Time It Will Be Different

  Tania Bayer

  Dear Dharma, Please bring me a dad. Make him big and strong and kind. And good-looking, cos Mum would like that. This is for her too.

  Even though you’re a cat, you were a very clever cat. Mum says she’s never seen a cat as knowing as you. She says you would’ve died soon anyway cos your kidneys were packing up, and at least getting hit by a car you went quickly. I miss you, but I’m glad cos I know you’re still with us, not in any pain. I hope you can help us. Now that you’re up in heaven, you could talk to God. Mum says there’s no such thing as God, but when I asked her if you were in heaven she said you were in a happy, beautiful place. So even though Mum doesn’t believe in God, there must be a God if you’re in heaven. Please talk to him and see if he can help us. I miss you.

  Wiremu paused, as he thought he’d heard a muffled cough right outside his bedroom. He knew his mother liked to come in when he was asleep to put away his folded clothes.

  I’ve gotta go to sleep now, before Mum finds out I’m still awake. Good night, Dharma.

  He sighed as he tucked a photograph of Dharma under his pillow. He snuggled deep under the blankets and closed his eyes.

  Wiremu stood broom in hand and surveyed the driveway. His mother was right; it was a mess. All those jumps and skids he’d done on his bike yesterday had dug up the lawn and left a tangle of dirt and grass on the concrete driveway. He’d protested when Aroha had banned him from riding on the lawn till the grass grew back. He thought she was being unreasonable, spoiling his fun just when he’d found something to do.

  This morning he’d tried to get her to change her mind.

  ‘It’ll give me something to do!’

  ‘You want something to do? Here, sweep the driveway. It’ll be one less job for me, and it’s your mess anyway.’ She handed him a broom and shooed him out of the house.

  He started sweeping. It was hard yet satisfying work. After twenty minutes, feeling he’d done a reasonable job, he decided he was finished. He leaned on the broom and peered longingly through the fence at the neighbour’s trampoline.

  ‘It’s crazy. Why don’t they use it? They’d have to lift those silly pot plants off it first.’

  ‘Too much money, not enough time for fun. They don’t have any kids. They own a trampoline company, that’s why they’ve got one.�
� A friendly voice made him jump. He had his back to the fence now, eyeing a smiling elderly woman shuffling down the driveway. He could see she was carrying a jar in her gnarled hands.

  ‘You heard me?’

  ‘Course I heard you talking to yourself. I may be old, but I’m not deaf. I’m Nora Butler, from next door: the other side, without a trampoline. What’s your name, sonny?’

  ‘Wiremu.’

  The old woman slowly straightened and looked around. ‘Where are your mother and father, Wiremu? I’d like to meet them.’

  He frowned. ‘We left him. Mum’s inside.’

  ‘Wiremu, can I hear you talking to someone?’ Tucking a stray hair into her ponytail, Aroha Granger appeared from round the side of the house.

  ‘This is our neighbour.’

  ‘Nora Butler from number 270, next door.’

  Aroha smiled shyly at Nora. ‘Hello. Please excuse me.’ She brushed some dust off her faded jeans. ‘I’ve been cleaning, and just started on the oven.’

  ‘Don’t mind me. I was visiting my sister up north when you moved in, so thought I’d pop over now to introduce myself.’ Nora smiled at Aroha, handing her the jar. ‘Anyway, welcome. Here’s some home-made plum jam for you.’

  Wiremu noticed the corners of Aroha’s eyes grow watery, as they did whenever anyone was nice to her. ‘That’s very kind, thank you.’

  ‘So it’s just the two of you here?’

  He watched his mother hesitate as if she didn’t know how to respond. ‘Yes. We … we’re … here for a fresh start.’ She exhaled, appearing relieved to have just said it. He couldn’t help himself, and rolled his eyes.

  ‘Heard it all before?’ Nora’s scrutinising frown made him squirm.

  ‘It’s not the first time we left him.’ His shoulders slumped as he mumbled, concentrating on counting the holes in his shoes.

  ‘But this time it will be different.’ Aroha chanted her mantra. Wiremu felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He sensed the kernel of uncertainty, through the positive shell his mother habitually put on things. He loved her for trying and meaning well, but was fed up with her lack of ability to see things through.