Page 22 of Try Easy

The Graveyard

Keoni

Keoni had beenten years old when they’d moved to the graveyard, and the stone lions with their all-seeing gray eyes had scared him half to death.

In their country home in the mountains of Maui, Keoni had run free and wild. In Honolulu, they lived in an apartment with two bedrooms for seven people. In Maui, his father couldn’t find work, but there was plenty of work at the docks of Honolulu for a strong, hard-working man like Keoni’s father. Loki Makai was used to working the ranches of Maui from sunup to sundown. He was tall and broad, and even though he was uneducated, he was smart. Loki worked at the docks for a few months before he found out about a job where his family could live rent-free on thousands of acres of land. The only catch was that they had to maintain the property, and it was a cemetery.

Keoni and his siblings had been scared at first, but they had learned to love the cemetery. The land stretched out like their own private park, with the Ko’olau Mountains as the backdrop. Views of Waikiki and Kane’hoe Bay could be seen from the tops of the hills. Keoni could ride his bike five miles and arrive at the cliff-side beaches of Black Point or Diamond Head.

But it wasn’t all play for the Makai children, they had to work hard to keep up the grounds of the cemetery. The sprawling acreage didn’t take care of itself, and the family had to put in a lot of hours of work. Keoni and his brothers and sisters had spent countless hours doing mundane chores like weeding and mowing. And then there were the less ordinary jobs of digging up graves to excavate the bones and prepare them for the Bone House according to Chinese customs.

Once their work was done, they were free to do as they wished. They didn’t have a television, but five thousand acres of land was plenty to keep them entertained.

Like most Hawaiian families, the Makais were poor, but they never went without. There was always food to eat. Mango, papaya, and guava trees dotted the hills of the graveyard, and the ocean was a short drive away. There was an ancient fish pond, with curving walls made of stone at Black Point. Fish swam in through the sluice gates at high tide and became trapped. Keoni or his brothers and sisters would be sent down to collect fish if food was short, and his mother canned enough fruit to feed everyone in their extended family.

Whether it was work or play, there was always something to do on the graveyard. The Makais became well known on the island for their hospitality. Keoni had grown up with a revolving door of guests and relatives. There was always an extra seat at the table. There was always food and drink to share. There was always aloha.

And the graveyard became the center of Keoni’s world.

He glanced over at Lou, wondering what she thought of his universe.

She was looking out the window. The breeze caught her hair and tossed it into her face, and she shoved it away with an impatient hand. Feeling his stare, she turned to look at him, and Keoni saw that her eyes were ablaze with curiosity.

“You grew up here?” she asked.

He nodded, plucking a strand of her hair that had stuck in the short hairs of his beard.

“What was it like?”

Keoni smiled, his eyes softening. “It was everything.”

He had nothing but fond memories of growing up in the graveyard. It had been hard work for him as a kid, and it still was for his parents, but it had been full of joy. He felt guilty sometimes that he had left and moved to Hale’iwa.

It helped that Keoni’s older brother, Tau, had built a small house on the property and lived there with his young family. There was a whole new generation of Makais to grow up on the cemetery.

“It’s beautiful,” Lou said.

Keoni felt a surge of pride. “Thanks.”

“It didn’t spook you out living here?” Penny asked.

“Nah,” Keoni said.

“Keoni has all kinds of crazy stories about growing up here,” Bones said.

Penny and Lou both turned to look at Keoni. Bones met Keoni’s eye in the rearview mirror, and they shared a smile. One of the most entertaining stories was the one of Bones’s nickname, but that wasn’t Keoni’s story to tell.

They drove along the narrow road that cut through the manicured lawns of graves until they reached the center of the valley, where several small houses were built in a clearing. Half a dozen cars were already there. Keoni recognized Kimo’s truck among the others. He gritted his teeth and looked away.

Keoni would be glad to see Kimo one last time before he left, but he wasn’t looking forward to another confrontation with his bull-headed brother. Suddenly feeling cooped up in the small back seat, Keoni couldn’t wait to jump out and stretch his legs. Bones had barely rolled to a stop next to the other cars when he opened the door and climbed out.

“How big is this place?” Penny asked.

Keoni glanced over the top of the car to look at Penny. “Five thousand acres,” he said.

Lou climbed out of the car and walked to the far end of the gravel drive, staring up the hills at the tombstones.

“She’s gonna want to take some pictures,” Penny warned.

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