Book 1 - Chapter 1

MEET ANUHEA’ [pronounced: ah-nu-way-uh']

1997 is a great year to vast in the ALOHA city of Honolulu. Hawaiian culture is at its peak of intermingling ripeness. The scene is saturated with a wide variety of fast-food chains where celebrity concerts are periodically held at the nationally recognized American football stadium. Although there`s a mixture of mingling cultures cohabitating here, the sound of ukulele struts sound across beach sands louder than any portable radio. The air is crisp and gives host to constant traffic of passenger planes. The tourist-filled behemoths seem to fly unreasonably low and oddly close enough for the logos on their tails to be easily identified. Small and big motor vehicle types frequent [both] the newly paved streets and daintily paved pathways. Most of the vehicles in this area host engines that putt-putt along slightly louder than when they rolled off their mainland assembly lines. KALUA PORK is the process of pork that has been slow roasted under by banana leaves and underground. Although it contends with CHICKEN KATSU to be paired with sticky rice, both are among the most desired entrée’s on most dining tables here. We begin amidst a utopia of aloha sea breezes, plush vegetation and tall coconut trees that sway at free will. Geckos are everywhere and have long proven to be a welcomed nuisance. The local residents seem to invite them onto any indoor/outdoor surface they could cling to. Young children enjoy the harmless little lizards because they'd figured out a way to anger them just enough to cause them to bite and clamp down on their earlobes. They’ve found that this causes the geckos to dangle –heroically-- from pinched earlobes as green jewelry.

Here we meet a young woman by the name of Anuhea' Fabienne Ryu. Anuhea' is a 20yr-old virgin who (only until now) had no interest in dating. Her physique is slender and begging for the affection. This Hawaiian beauty is a smiley, jovial type that stands about 5feet, 9inches tall. She has an exceptionally clear walnut colored complexion that enjoys being kissed by the sun. Anuhea is a beautiful young local who had previously been a proud “B” student where she attended Waipahu Community High School. The pride of this accomplishment is still with her. Her dark brown hair is often pulled tight and collected into a large brown banana clamp before it free falls exposing her natural deep waves down through the small of her back. Anuhea' has never experienced in depth with makeup. She only relied on neutral colored lip balms to satisfy her desire to feel “girly”. She's a relatively simple individual by most reasonable standards. Her smile is vibrant. One of Anuhea’s most compelling characteristics is how much she`s content with not knowing who is who on popular television shows. She is her own starlet. No one has ever heard Anuhea' raise her voice-- especially not to defend any argument. If she needs to get someone's attention who is a distance away, she uses a talent she has to manufacture a loud whistle. It`s a distinctive whistle that`s very much her own. Anuhea’ is otherwise naturally quiet and reserved. The gorgeously bronze beauty is a dreamer who spends a lot of her leisure time on a small bed with a book to read. Anuhea' is content and has yet to explore to far from her comfort zone. During her alone time, she ponders fictional characters for every facet of a life she dreams about. There’s no doubt about the measure of aloha coursing through her veins. Hawaii is an exciting corner of the world. Brisk winds plow over fast-foodeateries, motorized toys and handheld gadgets. An array of flip-flops and young people who wear hair coloring are of self-expressions that never fail to entertain friendly people such as Anuhea'. Although Anuhea appreciates people for being expressing themselves through trends, she doesn't mind being her own movie starlet. At one point, the tender Hawaiian teen visited a popular *UNDER21 dance club. Two of her friends from high school (at the time) accompanied her. Anuhea' dreadfully recalls that night by explaining how the loud music, cigarette smoke and constantly bumping into the shoulders of strangers only made her wish for a retreat into her quiet bed. As it turns out, party scenes are not her idea of “time well spent”. Anuhea' gets along wonderfully with her mother. Her absentee father hasn`t been around during the years this young lady has been coming into her own opinion of the world. Anuhea' is comfortably unbiased about it. It`s difficult to miss someone that hasn't been an emotional part of her childhood. She often utilizes public transportation to visit her aunt in Honolulu where she helps out at the swap meet there. While she was recently visiting, Anuhea' amused herself to apply for a small job as a hostess at a pancake house down the street from where her Aunt lives. She'd only recently graduated from high school so, the idea of earning any wage and self-dependency was too much of a big deal to pass by. Although the pancake house is a distance from her high school community, she answered the exciting call of syrup and fruit topping duty. She moves in with her Aunty and now Anuhea' finds herself estranged from most of her teenage routines that included frequent beach gatherings or mall hopping with her girlfriends. Honolulu is a new community for her. Friends would have to be made all over again. Well, aside from a few co-workers she enjoyed on the clock. Her new life is shaping up and it`s much easier now to help her aunt at the local swap meet. It`s conveniently located just walking distance from their small apartment building. Her aunt faithfully rented a space on Saturdays to sell handmade Polynesian style jewelry and trinkets of sorts. They both had an appreciation for watching the foot traffic of pedestrians visiting the different venues. Every Saturday when it was time for Anuhea' to leave, she'd first stop to visit her favorite lot. It`s a larger rented lot that uses a series of hanging blue tarps (as a roof) that protect vast rows of organically grown produce. The beautiful islander has never had a problem offering 30-45minutes of her day to browsing this space for her weekly supply of juicing and smoothie ingredients. She always picks carefully through the fresh fruits and vegetables-- squeezing and nurturing her selections. The produce never held their same seats from one weekend to the next, but Anuhea' knew the names of every one. She long figured out which ones would complement each other when blended into a smoothie and which preferred to be juiced. The supervisors that run this lot have grown familiar with Anuhea' showing up about this time every Saturday on her way home towards the community her and her aunt reside in. Anuhea' is content to be working at the pancake house and helping at the swap meet. Modest ventures for a modest wage for her modest goals.

It`s Anuhea's second anniversary at the local pancake house. She figures two years have served her well enough living with her aunt so she decides to finally set out and achieve having her own set of apartment keys. It`s a great year to try something new. Why not? A young 22yr old with her own apartment would finally help her to establish the kind of social life that'd allow her to invite friends home for smoothies and board games. Not quite what she'd seen on television for girls her age, but Anuhea' isn't inspired by television like how most other young woman are being influenced by it. She simply wants her own keys. Something else she could say she accomplished.

“Aunty, I'd like my own apartment. It`s nothing personal. I'd like to decorate like I enjoy decorating my room. I'd aim for it to be within walking distance from here. Is that OK?”

“Of course it`s ok, my dear. You have the desires of a reasonable young woman burning inside you. Go!”

It`s later in the week and Anuhea' has already searching the immediate area for vacancies. With no prior rental credit, she knew she couldn't expect any landlord to throw her keys. She had to be patient. Although her searching was fairly brief, her excitement for having her own apartment made her search seem stretched. A landlord finally gave Anuhea' the chance she needed. These particular complex shares her Aunt's neighborhood. It`s safe, full of practical amenities and had no history of serious crimes. The only unruly behavior familiar to these residents is the occasional preteen romper-- usually between neighborhood friends whose' arguing caused echoes to sweep through the quiet alleyways. Push scooters are very popular here and from time to time they're mistakenly misidentified. This is because most of them share the same company color schemes and insignia. This occasionally led to accusations of swapping and misunderstandings about ownership. Other than that, this area is ideal for Anuhea' to establish some independence and host a future family. It resembles “ole" Hawai'i, which is a world apart from the more western styled community of Waipahu where her mother resides.

Today is an exciting day. Anuhea' gets to move into the small 2nd floor abode that’s situated directly across from her aunt’s complex. It`s small, but it has a beautiful view out the bedroom window (like most anywhere on this part of the island). There`s not much inside the 1-bedroom unit. After setting a knick-knack here and placing some decor there, Anuhea' is settled in within hours of being handed her first set of keys. The kitchenette appliances are standard, slightly outdated and stood quiet except for the smoothie machine she'd brought with her. They were purchased a year earlier at the swap-meet. She found all the elbow room she needed in her small kitchen for spreading out her produce and cutting board. Her mother and her aunty would suggest that the reason Anuhea' loved to juice so much is because she didn`t enjoy cooking with heat. To her, creating fruit and veggie smoothies felt like an easier type of cooking. Sure, she'd occasionally go for some LOCAL'MOCO or boil water for noodles, but she really enjoyed the endless possibilities, and creative squandering of juicing. In Anuhea's bedroom is a queen size bed set with a set of sturdy night stands. One of the end tables held a simple alarm clock. On the other stand perched a large pink crystal. It`s a rose colored, natural rock that she had found at the swap meet for $40. Her favorite color is pink; so after passing this large stone week after week, she had decided it would be a nice accent to how she would theme her bedroom later. Well, that time has come.

“I like it. I like it a lot. How can I not? It`s as beautiful as Hawai'i.”

It’s such a simple gesture. Yet it serves her pride well for being a crowning validation. This space is officially her own. In this community there`s no real need for a motor vehicle license. ...At least not for this active young local. Perhaps it’s the island vibration and greenery everywhere the eye focuses that distracts most from thinking about the DMV. Or maybe it’s the single street giving pedestrians access to a growing commerce of shops, motels and restaurants that dis-associates any desire to drive. Life is good. Aloha is alive.