Witi Ihimaera
Stories
1
Chapters
21
Words
32.7 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 h, 43 m
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She was the whale rider. Astride the whale she felt the sting of the surf and rain upon her face. On either side the younger whales were escorting their leader through the surf. They broke through into deeper water. Her heart was pounding. She saw that now she was surrounded by the whale herd. Every now and then, one of the whales would come to rub alongside the ancient leader. Slowly, the herd made its way to the open sea. She was Kahutia Te Rangi. She felt a shiver running down the whale and,…-
32.7 K • Completed
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Nobody saw her slip away and enter the water. Nobody knew at all until she was halfway through the waves. Then the headlights and spotlights from the cars along the beach picked up her white dress and that little head bobbing up and down in the waves. As soon as I saw her, I knew it was Kahu. ‘Hey!’ I yelled. I pointed through the driving rain. Other spotlights began to catch her. In that white dress and white ribboned pigtails she was like a small puppy, trying to keep its head up. A wave would…
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32.7 K • Completed
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Yes, people in the district vividly remember the stranding of the whales because television and radio brought the event into our homes that evening. But there were no television cameras or radio newsmen to see what occurred in Whangara the following night. Perhaps it was just as well, because even now it all seems like a dream. Perhaps, also, the drama enacted that night was only meant to be seen by the tribe and nobody else. Whatever the case, the earlier stranding of whales was merely a prelude to the…
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32.7 K • Completed
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