When I was a little kid many years ago on the island of Maui, where I grew up, I used to go fishing with my uncle and my dad a lot. I was about eight or nine. It was quite a journey at that time, always at night.

My dad and uncle fished at one point on Honolua Bay, and I would wait for them at Oneloa Bay. That’s beyond Kapalua on the north shore of Maui, on the road to Kahakuloa. Dad would leave me on the beach, make a little fire. My uncle would tell me, “Be still, stay there. Don’t walk around. Sit down with your legs crossed.”

I used to kind of wonder why.

Then one night we went fishing, and Uncle left me at Oneloa Bay. He told me to sit still, no move, cross legs. So I sat there with my legs crossed, by myself, crying my heart out, wondering when they were coming back to get me.

Then I felt sand falling on my legs, and I looked on both sides of where I was sitting on the beach, and all I saw were huge footprints just appearing like a whole tribe walking by. You know how sand kicks up when you walk? Well, it was kicking up behind the footprints and the sand was falling on me.

But I didn’t see anything else. There was nothing expect huge footprints appearing and sand kicking up and landing on my feet. I didn’t dare to move. I just sat still, my legs crossed, and the sand kept falling.

When Uncle came back I told him, and he said, “Oh, yeah, it’s just them going down to the ocean. They’re going back home.”

“Who? “ I asked.

“Oh, just them,” Uncle said. “It’s just them, passing through.”

“But I no see ‘um, just footprints and sand kicking up.”

Uncle just smiled at me and said: “When you’re older, you’ll know.”

When I got older I found out that over there, that’s where they found the heiau at Oneloa. My cousin, Anthony Kekona, was the one who took care of it. He was like the guardian. I found out who was passing through, but, funny thing, you know, even now, all grown up, with a son, I live on O’ahu now, and I never go back there. No way.