his mother’s face.
“What is it?” she asked again. “What’s wrong?”
Michael’s mind raced, but before he could reply, he heard Josh answering his mother’s question.
“One of our friends died last night.”
Katharine’s mouth dropped open. “One of your friends?” she echoed. Her eyes shifted from Josh to Michael. “You mean one of the boys you were out with last night?”
Michael nodded, “Kioki Santoya,” he said. “He was on the track team.”
Katharine sank down onto a large boulder. “How?” she asked. “What happened?”
Slowly, Michael and Josh told her the little they knew about Kioki’s death.
“And he just died?” Katharine asked as they finished. “In the middle of a cane field?”
As Michael and Josh nodded, Katharine instinctively stood and put her arms around her son. “How awful,” she said. “You must feel—”
“I’m okay, Mom,” Michael said, his face reddening with embarrassment as he pulled himself out of her embrace. “I—I hardly even knew him.” His eyes darted toward Josh, and he was instantly sorry for how the words must have sounded. “I mean—” He floundered for a moment, then: “Oh, Jeez, I don’t know what I mean!” Turning away, he stumbled up the trail toward the deep cleft in the face of the ravine that was the ancient fumarole. A moment later, almost hidden by the dense foliage that surrounded him, he dropped onto a fallen tree.
Shit!
What the hell was wrong with him? Why had he said that?
Suddenly, he saw a movement a few yards down the trail. Great! Now his mother was coming after him, like he was still ten years old.
Or still had asthma!
But a second later it was Josh Malani who appeared, and once more Michael felt himself flush with embarrassment. “Look, I didn’t mean that about Kioki. I mean—”
“It’s okay,” Josh told him, dropping down onto the log next to him. “I say things I don’t mean all the time.”
Michael felt the heat in his face dissipate a little. “Still friends?”
Josh grinned. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” The two boys sat quietly for a minute, listening to the singing of the birds and the splashing of the waterfall. Then Josh spoke again. “How come you didn’t want your mom to hug you?”
Michael’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a little kid anymore,” he groaned. “I mean, Jeez, Josh! Do you like it when your mom hugs you in front of your friends?”
Josh turned to look straight at Michael. “I wouldn’t know,” he said. “My mom never hugs me.” He stood up. “Maybe we better go back down there, huh?”
Michael and Josh were just starting down the trail when Rob Silver appeared from around the bend. “Hey, what are you two up to?”
“Nothing,” Michael said. “Just talking.”
“Up here?” Rob asked, wrinkling his nose against the sulfurous fumes that filled the air. “How can you stand the stink?”
Michael and Josh looked at each other. “What stink?” Michael asked.
“That fumarole,” Rob replied. “Can’t you smell the sulfur? Your mom and I have been practically choking on it all afternoon.”
Michael was about to say something, but once again Josh spoke before he had a chance.
“It’s not so bad. I’ve smelled a lot worse.”
Rob Silver rolled his eyes. “Not unless you live in a landfill. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They walked back down to the clearing where the skeleton was, and Michael, unable to stop himself, gazed at the skull once again, the odd feeling washing over him stronger than ever, as if commanding him to stoop down once more, to take a closer look. Then, as he forced himself to back away, he realized that the strange feeling in his chest—the feeling that he was about to lose his breath—was gone.
Five minutes later, as they were getting back into Josh’s truck, Katharine called out to them. “You guys want steaks for dinner?”
Michael glanced at Josh, who nodded. “Sure.”
“Will you stop in Makawao and pick some up on the way home?”
“No problem!” Josh called. Gunning the engine, he popped the clutch and shot out of the clearing.
Katharine watched the truck disappear, shaking her head. “Do you suppose he always drives that way, or was he just showing off?”
Rob slung his arm around Katharine’s shoulders. “Will you stop worrying? Believe me, Josh knows exactly how to drive that truck. I only had to pull him back on the road once on the way out here.”
Katharine couldn’t tell from Rob’s tone whether he was kidding or not.
Michael hung onto the dashboard as the pickup bounced along the ruts, wishing it at least had seat