He Tai Pari (Upoko Tuawhā / Chapter Four)
Illustrations By Jenny Cooper and Translation By Kaharau Keogh
Dec 19 ● 15 min read ●
To read previous chapters go to Stories
Upoko Tuawhā
Ka mātakina e Ari te karaka i a te wā ka whakatata atu ki te toru karaka. Me puta tere ia i te kura ki te hiahia ia kia kauparea e ia ngā pātai a ōna hoa. Me kaua rātou e mōhio mō āna hapa i taua rā.
Ka ringi mai te pere, ka rere tārewa atu a Ari ki te kuaha, nā, ka puta. Ka kohia tōna pēke, ā, ka whakawhiti i te whīra kia tae rawa ia ki te huarahi e hoki ai ia ki te kāinga. I rongo ia i te reo o Dan e karanga atu ana, nā tērā, ka tere ake te parahutihuti a ōna waewae i te whīra.
Taihoa, ā ka mutu te oma a Ari. Ka kitea te kaha whero a ōna pāpā, me tana kaha pahupahu haere. I āhua anini tōna māhunga. Hakoa tana oma, kāore anō ia kia rite ki te hoki ki te kāinga. I konei, kua tino mōhio a Māmā mō āna mahi.
Ka paoa tōna murikōkai ki te kākano paramu. Ka toro atu i tōna ringa ki te huti ake i te kākano, ā, ka rongo i te hua nei, kua kōpenua ki ōna makawe.
Kotahi noa iho te tangata i mōhiotia e ia, he tangata e pērā rawa ana te pai o tana whiu. Tana hia pai anō hoki ki te whiu kākano paramu ki a Ari. Ka tatari a Ari kia hura mai ia.
Ka puta mai a Kiri, i muri i tetahi rākau e huna ana. “Mō taku hē, e taku tungāne. Kāore au i whakapono ka paoa koe e au. Taku tawhiti hoki.” Me tana mingo atu ki a Ari.
“He aha tāu?” te kōhete a Ari. Kāore ia i te paku hiahia ki te kite i a Kiri.
“He hiahia noa iho nōku ki te kōrero mō āu mahi inanahi. He aha koe e pukuriri nā?” Ka whakatata mai a Kiri.
“Ehara i te take nui.” Te whakahoki a Ari. “Kāore i pērā rawa te pai o aku mahi. Ko au nahe i reira.”
“E āhua mōrearea ana tō āhua, me te mea nei e whakamā ana koe i tētahi mea.”
Ka putē ngā whatu o Ari ki tōna tuakana. Te hanga nei, e mōhio ana a Kiri ki tana mahi, nā, ka kore e makere i a ia te whāki atu ki te ao. Ka rongo anō a Ari i te roimata e whati mai ana.
Ka whakatika ngā mata o Kiri ki runga i a Ari. Ka pūkana rāua ki a rāua anō mō tōna kotahi miniti pea. Ka heke mai te roimata i te kanohi o Ari. Ahakoa āna roimata, ka mau tonu a whakangita ki tōna tuakana.
Ka koke whakamua a Kiri … ā, ka awhiawhi atu i tana teina.
Ka pakaru mai te tangi a Ari, tē taea te aukati i āna roimata.
“Māku koe e whakahoki ki te kāinga, e Ari.” Te kōrero o Kiri. “Kei te pai, e tai. Kei te pai!”
Ahakoa tana tangi meme, kāore tonu a Ari i hiahia ki te hoki ki te kāinga.
“Akuni pea ka muia te huarahi nei e ō hoa kura, me koke tonu tāua.” te whakamārama a Kiri.
Ka timata tā rāua haere tahi. Ka ngū tā rāua hīkoi ki te kāinga. Nā tēnā ka whai wāhi a Ari ki te whakatau anō i tōna mauri.
Ka tuki tahi ā rāua tāwhainga, he mea pai tēnei hei whakangā i te wairua a Ari, kia tau anō ai.
Ka rongo a Kiri, kua pai anō te wairua a Ari. Nā konā ia ka pātai atu: “He aha koe e kore nei e kaha pahupahu mō āu mahi autaia mō Koro?” Te pātai o Kiri.
Ka whakaaro a Ari ki a ia anō, he pai rānei kia mōhio a Kiri ki tēnei mea huna.
Ka mutu, ka whāki atu a Ari, “Kāore e taea e au te ingoa o te tiriti te whakahua tika! Nāreira, i mate ahau ki te tuku i te waea ki a Koro, nāna i whakamārama atu nā runga anō i taku kuare.”
Ka tungou atu a Kiri, ā, ka tauawhina te pokowhiwhi a Ari. Nā, ka hīkoi tonu rāua.
Ka rongo rāua i te tōhau o te ua ia a rāua ka tomo atu ki roto i te whare mā te arapiki o mua. “Pai mutunga! Kīhai kōrua i mau e te ua.” te karanga a Māmā. I whakapae a Māmā ka pērā. I kuhu mōata atu ia ki te kohi i a Emmy, nā konā ia ka kite i te hau e huhū mai ana, i ngā rau rākau e awheawhe ana.
Kua timata tō Māmā tapatapahi i ngā huawhenua mō te kai o te pō. I hanga koa te ngākau a Ari ki te mōhio i te rautaki a Māmā i te mea ka rite tonu tana mahi ia rā, ia rā. Kua mōhio hoki a Ari, he pereti pihikete kua horaina e Māmā mō te kai paramanawa.
“Me kōrero tāua, e Mā. E wātea rānei ana koe?” Te pātai o Kiri.
“Ā, tēnā! Taihoa ake!” Te whakautu o Māmā.
Ka tukuna e ia ana māripi, ka horoia e ia ōna ringa. Ka haria mai e ia te pereti pihikete, ā, ka noho ki tō Kiri taha.
“E noho, e Ari,” te tono o Kiri. Kua mahue tana reo ngāwari i te kuaha, ā, kua hoki anō mai te wairua taniwha. “Me kōrero tahi kōrua ki a kōrua anō, e kare mā.”
Ka āwangawanga a Māmā i a Ari ka noho mai ki te tēpu.
“Kua whara koe, e Ari? He aha kē te mate?” Te pātai o Māmā.
“Kao, e Mā. Kua hara ahau! Kāore au e mōhio ana me pēhea e tika ai.” te utu a Ari.
“Kahore he mea katoa i tēnei ao e kore e taea e māua ko tō Pāpā te whakatika, e poi. Me te hanga nei, e hiahia hoki ana tō tuakana te awhi mai. E whakapono ana ahau ka pērā hoki tō koroua.”
Ka rongo ana a Ari i tōna Māmā e kōrero ana mō Koro, ka hunaia tōna kanohi ki ōna ringa.
Ka whakatata atu a Māmā me te mirimiri i te tuarā o Ari. He pērā hoki tana mirimiri nōna e kōhungahunga ana. Ka mātai atu a Kiri ki tana teina me te penapena i a ia ki te kōrero.
“Ehara i a au te torohū nei, e Mā. Ehara hoki i a koe! Hei awhea a Pāpā hoki mai ai?” Te pātai a Kiri. “Māna a Pāpā e kōrero.”
“He tika tāu, e Kiriana. Ehara i a tāua te torohū nei.” Te whakaae o Māmā. “Ka pai ake pea, me ka kōrero koe ki tō Pāpā, e Ari. Mukua āu roimata, e poi. Tikina he kai māu.”
“Kātahi rā, e Mā!” Ka torotika mai a Kiri, ka ūmere ki a Māmā. “Te nui hoki o te whakamā i waenganui i a tātou!”
Ka whakamau atu a Ari ki a Kiri, me tana tiro whakahē ki āna kōrero. He aha hoki tēnei riri, te whakaaro a Ari.
“Kia tau, e kō. Kei oho i a koe tō koroua.”
“Tēnā koa! Whākina atu, e Mā.” te īnoi o Kiri. Kīhai ia i te hiahia tatari ki a Pāpā.
Ka peia te tūru e Ari, ā, ka torotika tana tū.
“He aha nā? He aha hoki tāna, e Mā?” Te ui a Ari ki te tokorua rā.
“Kao, e poi! Kāore e taea e au te whāki. Ehara māku.”
“Nā tātou katoa ināianei, e Mā!” Te ūmere anō o Kiri. Kua tino hōhā ia ināianei.
“Kiriana Maree McInnis! Pouri atu ki tō rūma!” te patō o Māmā. Ka rere hoki ia ki tōna rūma.
Ka whiua e Kiri tōna pēke kura ki te papa. Ka puta tahi rāua ko Māmā i te takiwā. Kua pahū mai te whare i te pukuriri.
Ka ngū katoa a Ari me tana kotahi e noho ana i te kīhini. I aha ia? He aha hoki te torohū nei?
He take rānei kia mōhio ia ki tēnei tino torohū. Ākuanei ka hoki mai a Pāpā ki te kāinga. Kāore a Ari i te hiahia tuku i tana nawe ki a Pāpā.
Na konei ake a Ari ka kite, kāore pea he take tōna noho ki te kīhini. Nāreira, ka puta ia mā te kuaha o muri, ka mokowhiti atu ia i te takiwā. Kotahi noa iho te wāhi pai māna.
Ka kuhu atu ia ki te mātotorutanga o te ngāhere, ka heke ki te awa hauangi, ki te awa pōuriuri.
Ka tā tōna tinana i a ia ka whakatata atu ki te awa.
Ka wetekina ōna hū, ā, ka kuhu ia ki te wai. Kei te ngana kia kore ia e ware ki ngā tuna. Te mātao hoki o te wai i tēnei rangi, tēnā i te mutunga wiki kātahi anō kia taha, me te kaha hoki o tōna rere i te rangi nei. E huri ana te tai, tōna whakaaro ki a ia anō.
Nā tōna kaha aro ki ngā mea nei, kīhai ia i kite i ngā kapu pouri i te rangi e whakatata mai ana.
Ka karohi whakarunga a Ari i te awa, ka huri i ngā pikonga kia tae rawa atu ia ki te wāhi e tika ana kia puta. Auē, te paripari hoki. Nā, ka whiua e ia tōna pēke ki mua rawa kia pai ai tana piki i te pari nei. Ka kaha menemene a Ari i tana kitenga atu i te poti e noho huna tonu ana i muri i te pā harakeke. Ka piki ia ki roto, ā, ka noho ki te puku o te poti. Ka hītako a Ari, nā, ka mahara ake ia mō te korenga ōna i paku kai i te rangi nei, kāore hoki ia i tino moe. Ka ngunguru mai tōna puku, nāreira ka toro tu ia ki roto i tōna pēke ki te tiki kai māna. Engari, kāore he kai i reira.
Tē aro i a ia mehemea i kohia e ia āna kai i tēnei ata. Mehemea i horahia rānei i te wā paramanawa, ā, i wareware pea ki te whakahoki. E aua hoki!
Ka whātoro tōna ringa i muri i te hoe, ki te wāhi huna o te tiakarete i waiho mai tōna rua wiki i mua. Ahakoa tāna tawhito, ahakoa he āhua ngohengohe ināianei, he reka tonu. Nāreira, ka kainga katoatia e Ari.
E penapenatia ana ngā rau harakeke e te hau, kia pakepake mai rātou. Ka tau mai te makariri ki roto i a Ari. Ka whakaaro ia mō te hoki ki te kāinga mō te wā poto noa iho.
Ākuanei pea, tōna whakaaro ki a ia anō.
Ka koropuku a Ari ki raro i taua uhi tawhito rā. Ka whakatūngia te hoe hei pou mō tana whare kia pai ai tana tīkaro i te ua. Ka timata te pahī te ua i ngā rākau, ka tau ki runga i te uhi. Ka taumaha ake te ua, ā, ka kōpipiri ake tana noho.
Ka papā mai te whaititiri i te rangi.
Aiare, kua tau! Te whakaaro a Ari. Kua mau ahau ki konei mō tēnei wā.
Ki timata tana korowhio i tētahi o ngā tino waiata o Koro, engari ka mokemoke ake ia i tēnā.
Nā te patopato o te ua i tana uhi, me te kaha hemo kai āna, ka tere moe a Ari.
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