“Seems foolish now,” Daniel continued, “but I waited so long for him to come back. When I was young, I used to tell the other kids at school that my father had an accident at work and had lost his memory, and that’s why he never came back. It was because he didn’t remember where we lived. I was afraid I was the reason he left, that I was in the way.”

Koji didn’t know what to say. He knew Franklin’s leaving had to have affected him, but he never knew to what extent. Daniel was so young, and he tried to step in for his father in whatever way he could. Koji realized now that he never really could have taken Franklin’s place.

“You were never in the way. You and your mother were the best things to ever happen to Franklin, yeah. Don’t ever think otherwise. Your father had his own problems.”

“Why didn’t she tell me? Why keep it from me then?”

“It wasn’t so simple; you were still a boy and she didn’t want you to hate him.”

“So you both lied to me.”

Daniel pursed his lips and Koji glimpsed his greatest weakness, his shortsightedness when he felt left out. He wondered if it would have eased his fears if Franklin hadn’t left them.

“It was never about lying to you. We just wanted to save you from the hurt, yeah.”

Daniel remained quiet in thought. “I shouldn’t have run off.”

“I should have told you sooner,” Koji said. He turned to him with a smile. “Time to stay put, yeah. I’ve found running only makes you tired in the end.”

“Exhausted,” Daniel said.

We are talking again, Koji thought. It’s a step in the right direction.

* * *

The farther they drove away from Hilo, the thicker and fuller the vegetation grew, the enormous trees, shrubs, and foliage overgrown and unmanageable, the lingering scents of night-blooming jasmine, white ginger, and wild orchids spilling onto the road. The island never failed to surprise Koji, how a raw and wild rain forest teeming with life could suddenly open up to miles of black, barren landscape, leveled by large swaths of smooth pāhoehoe or jagged ’a’ā lava. As they drove farther up the mountain, Daniel leaned out of the open window and Koji knew they were nearing the lava flow by the bitter smell of burning in the air.

“Getting closer, yeah,” Koji said, and pointed. “Just beyond the trees there, eh.”