A low hum filled the fish market as Nori watched the crowd from behind the counter. The young, thin geologist had announced that the lava flow had stopped just miles from the watershed. The fissures were no longer spouting hot lava, only the last remnants of steam and smoke. Nori saw him stand straighter as he said, “We’re happy to announce that the bombing was a success.”

It brought very little response from the locals, who believed it had nothing to do with the bombing, but knew the haoles wanted to make sense of the air show they’d put on. “If the bombs had succeeded, the flow would have stopped a week ago,” voices whispered. “No, this was all Pele’s doing, yeah.” Nori couldn’t have agreed more with them. As a little girl, Mama told them all the stories of Pele’s power and might. “Pele does as she pleases; her fire is always burning, yeah, moving at her will.” She imagined Pele had grown tired of all the noise and nonsense, simply deciding to stop the flow toward Hilo as if she were blowing out a candle. Nori paused to take a breath and steady herself. She was relieved the lava flow was over and they could get on with their lives. She watched the crowd of locals disperse as quickly as they came to spread the good news.

Nori turned, startled when someone touched her arm, only to see Koji standing next to her.

“Saw you standing here staring at nothing,” Koji said. “Daydreaming, yeah?”

Nori smiled, clearing her thoughts. “Was just thinking Pele finally had enough of all this foolishness,” she said. She looked up at his tired eyes, the glaring raw tracks of his wound above his right eye, and asked, “How are you feeling?”

They never did find time to talk about his accident.

Koji touched his forehead. “Fine, yeah. I had a good doctor.”

Nori shook her head and turned serious. “You scared me,” she said. “You could have killed yourself up at the lava flow. You’re too old for such foolishness.”

“Everyone’s entitled to be foolish once in a while, eh,” he teased.

“Doesn’t make it any less foolish,” Nori returned. “And selfish, yeah, thinking only about you. What would we have done if you’d gone and killed yourself up there?”

She’d already lost so many; Razor, Mariko, and now Mama, who was one step closer to leaving them. Nori couldn’t bear to think of losing Koji, too.

Koji became quiet. “I didn’t,” he managed to get out.

“Mariko never would have forgiven you,” Nori said, her words suddenly caught in her throat. She swallowed, fingering the small scar on the back of her hand. “I never would have forgiven you.”