The Dive

I noticed today that Paka was not up to his normal self. Nanny Flowers said he was feeling sorry for himself. I wondered why. Uncle Rawiri explained that Paka was trying to find the next leader of our village. One of the tests he had the boys do was fetch Paka’s carved stone. He threw it down until it hit the bottom of the seafloor. He told them that one of them must bring the stone back to him. Although many of the boys tried, none of them got it.
So then Uncle Rawiri took Nanny Flowers and me to go see where Paka threw out the stone. It was very deep. Nanny Flowers said, “No wonder these boys couldn’t get it. This is deep. Did Koro really want it back.”
I decided I would get it. After all, I hoped it would make Koro, that old Paka, happy. It was amazing. I was looking for the stone, almost out of breath when two dolphins came by me and showed me where the stone was. I could tell Nanny Flowers was worried because she was treading water, trying to look for me. So to make her feel more content I giggled, “I’m alright Nanny.”