Anakela, who was one of the youngest members of the Aloha tribe, sat on a large rock not too far from the tiny village of Aloha Key. She smiled to herself as she watched her family and friends go about their daily chores. Her smile widened even more when she saw her uncle Manu stop working for a moment to wave to her. Even with a baseball cap half covering his eyes, they sparkled in the early morning sun.

To an outsider, Anakela and the other Aloha tribe members all looked like dolls, barely more than a foot tall. They were all decoratively dressed and always seemed ready to offer a hug. Little did the outsiders know, that the people of the Aloha tribe were all part of a secret world that grownups could never enter, nor could they ever understand.

Aloha Key, even if to the grownups was nothing more than a pretty store decoration, was in reality a small village, partially hidden in a tiny cove. There never had been more than 300 people living there at any one time. Anakela knew everyone and everyone knew her. She loved how people were always smiling and acting friendly towards each other and how the sounds of laughter often filling the air.

As she looked out towards the ocean, she could see the sails of a tall sailing ship as it slowly disappeared below the horizon. Anakela could see dolphins playing out past the point. Half daydreaming, she watched as they raced each other, jumping high out of the water and as they rode the waves into shore, then turning quickly to swim back out to sea. They were always playing and having fun. Dolphins were the children of the sea, she thought.

Perched on her rock with one knee tucked under her chin, she giggled, as each newly drawn smiley face would slowly disappear as the waves washed ashore, giving her a nice clean place to draw new faces.

As mid morning approached, she noticed something a bit further up the beach. ‘That rock is moving… Rocks can’t move…’ She thought, as she watched it move very slowly along the water’s edge.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, she jumped off her rock. Her feet made two deep impressions in the sand as she landed hard. She grinned as the waves filled them in and made them slowly vanish. She looked at where the moving rock was and it was gone. ‘Oh no, now I’ll never know what it was.’ She pouted, her lips curling slightly.

“Are you looking for me, young lady?” She heard the voice say from behind her.

Turning quickly and saw no one. There was no one there except for a large turtle, with its neck stretched out and tilted upwards. ‘Someone is playing a trick on me.’ She thought, ‘Everybody knows turtles can’t talk.’

She looked up and down the beach, trying to spy someone hiding, but there was no one. Looking down at the turtle, it actually looked as though it smiled back at her. Her eyes widened, as she very shyly and in a very soft voice, so no one would hear, asked the turtle, “Did you just say something?” She was hoping to hear laughter from behind a rock, but there was none.

The turtle blinked its eyes, and continued to smile. The only sounds she heard were those of the waves brushing up against the shore.

“I must have imagined it, maybe it was something I ate this morning, maybe it was the waves, and it just sounded like words.” Anakela was beginning to think it was all part of a dream and that her imagination was playing tricks on her.

“I’m sorry, young lady, I was daydreaming, I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

Falling back in disbelief, Anakela was awestruck that the turtle actually spoken to her. “Oh my, you did, you really did speak!” She said with a look on her face that the turtle must have found funny.

“You don’t think that only Aloha tribe members can speak, do you?” The turtle paused for a moment or two before speaking again. “I am San’deka, king of the Wai Kenaka. There are not many of us left who can still speak, so I must be very careful when choosing my friends.”

As the turtle spoke, Anakela still couldn’t believe her ears. Never in her life had she heard of any kind of sea creature being able to talk.

“Why did you choose to speak to me? I am just a little girl, not even old enough to go to school.” Her voice trembled slightly, but she wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t sure how to act, not sure what to say.

“I could see into your heart and I saw that you are a warm and gentle person. Besides, who would believe someone as young as you, if you were to tell them you saw a talking turtle?”

The turtle’s question made Anakela laugh, she felt safe and somehow, she knew she was with a friend. “You are very smart for someone so small.”

“I may be small, but I am almost 200 hundred years old. There are none in your village who have seen the things I’ve seen.”

Anakela and San’deka sat and talked for hours and hours. They laughed, sharing stories and secrets with each other. She was having so much fun that she didn’t even notice how quickly the time had passed. The sun had begun to set and Anakela had to say good-bye to her newfound friend. She had to get home before her family started to worry about her.

The frown on her face said more than the words, “It’s late and I must go. I wish I could stay and talk with you more, but if I do my family will worry.”

“I understand, and yes, it is very late. We can talk again tomorrow, if you like.”

“Oh yes, I would love that, yes let’s talk again tomorrow.” Her eyes lit up and the whole of her face seemed to glow.

Leaning down, Anakela gave San’deka a kiss. To her amazement, it looked as though he was blushing. She giggled as she stood up.

San’deka, who wasn’t accustomed to being kissed by anyone, wished he could hide his shyness.

“One day, I’ll reveal the secret behind the words you and your people so often hear whispered in the wind.” He promised.

“I’m not sure when that day will come, but on that day, you will finally know the secret.”

Anakela’s head tilted slightly at what San’deka said. “Everyone in our village says the words are carried by the winds from a nearby island. It will be good to finally know what they are, and what they mean.”

Crouching down, Anakela again gave San’deka a kiss, stood and waved back. With a huge smile on her face, she skipped happily along the beach towards her village.

Approaching her house, she again heard the words that she had heard so many times before. They were low and barely audible as the warm evening breeze carried them along. She hoped that one day she would learn their secret. Maybe San’deka would know and be able to explain them to her, hopefully one day soon… As s    he rested her head against her pillow, those words once again echoed softly as she drifted off to sleep, “Attention shoppers…”