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Back The Color of Air Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Mauna Loa: November 21, 1935
  5. 1. Mangoes
  6. 2. Watching Over Him
  7. 3. Rising Winds
  8. 4. The Okawa Fish Market
  9. 5. Beauty and the Beast
  10. 6. Homecoming
  11. 7. Waiting
  12. 8. In the Quiet
  13. Ghost Voices
  14. Carrying On: November 23–25, 1935
  15. 9. Sanctuary
  16. 10. Fire and Ice
  17. 11. The Sugar Train
  18. 12. The Green Bungalow
  19. 13. The House Call
  20. 14. The House on the Hill
  21. Island Voices
  22. The Past, the Present: November 25–26, 1935
  23. 15. Island Boys
  24. 16. Hide-and-Seek
  25. 17. The Bulletin Board
  26. Ghost Voices
  27. You Can’t Hide: November 27–December 4, 1935
  28. 18. A New Direction
  29. 19. One Step Forward
  30. 20. Awakening
  31. 21. Puli Plantation
  32. Island Voices
  33. Lost and Found: December 6–8, 1935
  34. 22. Ashes
  35. 23. The Surprise
  36. 24. The Scenic Express
  37. Ghost Voices
  38. And Then . . .: December 11–16, 1935
  39. 25. Restless
  40. 26. Collecting
  41. 27. Sugarcane
  42. 28. A Visitor
  43. 29. Run
  44. 30. Nightmares
  45. 31. Packing
  46. Ghost Voices
  47. Secrets: December 17–18, 1935
  48. 32. Town Boy
  49. 33. Nori
  50. 34. Naupaka
  51. Ghost Voices
  52. Answers: December 18–20, 1935
  53. 35. Lava
  54. 36. Uncle Koji
  55. 37. The Truth of It
  56. Ghost Voices
  57. Waiting: December 22–26, 1935
  58. 38. Revelations
  59. 39. Safe Places
  60. 40. Mele Kalikimaka
  61. Ghost Voices
  62. Shooting the Moon: December 27–31, 1935
  63. 41. Blackbirds
  64. 42. Mosquitoes
  65. 43. Faith
  66. 44. The River
  67. Ghost Voices
  68. A New Year: January 1–2, 1936
  69. 45. The Beating Heart
  70. 46. January 2, 1936
  71. 47. The Living
  72. Ghost Voices
  73. Hilo: July 28, 1936
  74. 48. The Mango Tree
  75. Acknowledgments
  76. About the Publisher

Daniel arrived not long after. Maile looked across the tracks to the platform on the other side and saw him emerge from the small station, looking for her. It took another moment for Maile to believe that all of this was really happening. Just a few weeks before, she’d been walking along the streets of Honolulu’s Chinatown, stopping among the sad stalls of pungent salted fish and vegetables wilting in the afternoon heat, never imagining she’d be here now. Maile looked across the tracks and watched Daniel, wearing a white shirt and dark pants, always so handsome, still recognizing his quick, lanky movements, his shorter haircut, and his caring, inquisitive eyes that suddenly looked across the tracks and caught hers. She couldn’t help but wonder again why he would still be interested in her. Daniel smiled, then waved to her.

“You’re on the wrong side!” he yelled over.

Maile smiled and waved back to him. She hadn’t thought about which direction they were heading. She hadn’t thought about coming or going; she simply knew it was with someone she wasn’t afraid of, someone she knew for years and could depend on. Maile’s tongue swept over her lips and she tasted the sweetness of that feeling again.

24. The Scenic Express

24

The Scenic Express

* * *

THE HAWAII CONSOLIDATED RAILROAD

ANNOUNCES THE SCENIC EXPRESS.

EXPERIENCE HAWAII LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.

RIDE AND DINE IN THE COMFORT OF OUR LUXURY TRAIN CARS.

ENJOY THE SPECTACULAR VIEWS ALONG THE HAMAKUA COAST.

—TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE HILO RAILWAY STATION—

* * *

Daniel had first seen the ad for the Scenic Express tacked on the Okawa Fish Market’s bulletin board the night he returned. He’d thought nothing of it until he saw Maile again. In Chicago, he’d spent most of his days and nights at the hospital, leaving little time to spend his salary. During his residency, he sent money home whenever he could, but his mother was already gone by the time he began working full-time at the University of Chicago’s Medical Center. Even in these lean times, he reasoned he had worked hard for this small extravagance, and there was no one he would rather share it with than Maile.

“Our train should be arriving soon,” Daniel said as they waited on the platform.