He discovered the presence of Hoku
Kamiano knows that somebody is watching him. Some days ago he discovered the presence of Hoku in the distance. By the size of the footprints he knows that it is someone small. He is used to the children wandering all day between the huts and the scrub. He is worried and wants to start a school. That night he leaves a little bread and some fruit he has picked at the edge of the scrub. A small hand comes out and quickly takes it. Kamiano smiles happily.
In the following days Hoku strolls around the village. She still hasn’t approached anyone but little by little she overcomes her fear. She observes Kamiano and also the other children who play near the church. She looks out of the back window, and she sees how they prepare the altar where mass is celebrated each day. She listens to the chants and the words that the assistants repeat. Hoku loves singing. She remembers the songs she learnt with her grandmother when she was little.
Early one morning, Hoku hears voices on the beach. A boat moves away on the horizon. And a raft, half sunk a few metres from the shore, holds a few invalids who do not have the strength to reach dry land.
-Save us, we are drowning! Help – shout the poor lepers.
-Don’t worry! Keep calm! Damien answered loudly.
Father Damien struggles to help them all to get to dry sand. Hoku overcomes her fear and approaches. She helps him to cover the shivering bodies with some blankets. In this way many times the sick arrive to Kalawao. The captain is frightened, doesn’t stop the boat and throws the lepers overboard hundreds of metres form the shore, so that they have to make their own way. For some time Kamiano has watched the coast and helped those who try to complete the journey.
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