passed her from behind and hit the brakes,
stopped and backed up to her, window slightly down.
“ Hop
in, I'm going to Kapoho.”
Janet
stared at the older woman inside of an old Toyota Tercel. She had
beads in her hair and was wearing some kind of hippie print dress
“ I
wasn't hitchhiking,” Janet deadpanned.
“ Well,
you should be! Hop in before you get run over.”
Janet
stood and stared another long moment, almost in a daze. However,
when the lady put the car back into first gear, she rallied and
reached down for the door handle.
“ Honey,
you're soaking wet,” the lady exclaimed, seemingly surprised.
“Reach into the back there and get my beach towel. I won't
need it now anyhow.”
Janet
couldn't quite read this lady. Did these rural people really pick up
strangers in the rain? “Thank ... thank you.”
The
Toyota struggled through the first few gears getting back up to
speed, before the lady let it coast a bit in the heavy rain
She
looked at Janet for a long moment before watching the road again.
“Who you running from honey? Not that it's any of my business.
I just want to know who might be coming up fast in my rear view
mirror.”
Janet
immediately turned around to look behind them, but saw nothing, but
heavy gray rain.
“ Seriously,
is someone looking for you, now?” The lady looked in the mirror
herself and sped up a bit.
Janet
looked over at her again and saw something friendly, something that
moved her to the first bit of honesty in months. “The
military, I guess.”
The
lady looked up at her haircut again and then back to the road.
“ OK,”
she said, pausing just a moment. “So where are you going
then?”
Janet
fidgeted a bit with her bag. These were sure a lot of questions.
The rain was still coming down hard and she would rather ride than
walk, even if the questions were coming fast.
“ The
airport. Hilo I think is what they call this one up ahead?”
The
lady looked at her again with a bit of a confused expression. “The
airport honey? Are you kidding? The military will certainly have
that covered don't you think?”
Janet
had not considered that in her haste to leave Cabin #94. No doubt
they would have police looking for her soon. They would find her
abandoned car and soon figure she had caught a ride to Hilo.
“ So
where are you going, again?” Janet asked, trying hard to smile
just a little.
“ I'm
going home, to the Kapoho area.” She looked at Janet one more
time before putting on her right blinker for the turn into Pahoa
town. “You're welcome to come with me. I live with several
old hippies you might find interesting. Some of them are still on the run, some forty years later.” She laughed out loud.
Janet
felt ten thousand weights lift off her chest. What she needed right
then was a good idea, and here was an excellent one. “OK, that
sounds good.” She looked at the beads in the lady's hair
again, they gave her hair a rainbow of colors. “I'm James...”
she coughed a little. “I mean Jimmy.”
The
lady looked over at her again. “Jimmie with an ie on the end?”
Janet
nodded.
“ Cool,
I'm Starshine Aloha.” In another moment she turned the old
Tercel sharply to the right and punched the reluctant accelerator as
they found a good long stretch of downhill road ahead of them. “Nice
to meet you Jimmie,” she said fidgeting with the windshield
wipers. “You can just call me Star.” She looked down at
her car and punched the dashboard slightly, “I think I've got
at least one headlight working.” She was right.
Janet
saw the dark blue of the ocean ahead at the bottom of the long road
they were on. Star glanced over and caught her looking.
“ We
live at the end of the road. I'm going swimming at Champagne pond
before dark. You want to come along?” Star asked.
The
clouds seemed to be lifting as they descended from the higher
altitude Belt Highway, the rain suddenly disappearing. Janet could
feel the air warming up as well. The road was
stopped and backed up to her, window slightly down.
“ Hop
in, I'm going to Kapoho.”
Janet
stared at the older woman inside of an old Toyota Tercel. She had
beads in her hair and was wearing some kind of hippie print dress
“ I
wasn't hitchhiking,” Janet deadpanned.
“ Well,
you should be! Hop in before you get run over.”
Janet
stood and stared another long moment, almost in a daze. However,
when the lady put the car back into first gear, she rallied and
reached down for the door handle.
“ Honey,
you're soaking wet,” the lady exclaimed, seemingly surprised.
“Reach into the back there and get my beach towel. I won't
need it now anyhow.”
Janet
couldn't quite read this lady. Did these rural people really pick up
strangers in the rain? “Thank ... thank you.”
The
Toyota struggled through the first few gears getting back up to
speed, before the lady let it coast a bit in the heavy rain
She
looked at Janet for a long moment before watching the road again.
“Who you running from honey? Not that it's any of my business.
I just want to know who might be coming up fast in my rear view
mirror.”
Janet
immediately turned around to look behind them, but saw nothing, but
heavy gray rain.
“ Seriously,
is someone looking for you, now?” The lady looked in the mirror
herself and sped up a bit.
Janet
looked over at her again and saw something friendly, something that
moved her to the first bit of honesty in months. “The
military, I guess.”
The
lady looked up at her haircut again and then back to the road.
“ OK,”
she said, pausing just a moment. “So where are you going
then?”
Janet
fidgeted a bit with her bag. These were sure a lot of questions.
The rain was still coming down hard and she would rather ride than
walk, even if the questions were coming fast.
“ The
airport. Hilo I think is what they call this one up ahead?”
The
lady looked at her again with a bit of a confused expression. “The
airport honey? Are you kidding? The military will certainly have
that covered don't you think?”
Janet
had not considered that in her haste to leave Cabin #94. No doubt
they would have police looking for her soon. They would find her
abandoned car and soon figure she had caught a ride to Hilo.
“ So
where are you going, again?” Janet asked, trying hard to smile
just a little.
“ I'm
going home, to the Kapoho area.” She looked at Janet one more
time before putting on her right blinker for the turn into Pahoa
town. “You're welcome to come with me. I live with several
old hippies you might find interesting. Some of them are still on the run, some forty years later.” She laughed out loud.
Janet
felt ten thousand weights lift off her chest. What she needed right
then was a good idea, and here was an excellent one. “OK, that
sounds good.” She looked at the beads in the lady's hair
again, they gave her hair a rainbow of colors. “I'm James...”
she coughed a little. “I mean Jimmy.”
The
lady looked over at her again. “Jimmie with an ie on the end?”
Janet
nodded.
“ Cool,
I'm Starshine Aloha.” In another moment she turned the old
Tercel sharply to the right and punched the reluctant accelerator as
they found a good long stretch of downhill road ahead of them. “Nice
to meet you Jimmie,” she said fidgeting with the windshield
wipers. “You can just call me Star.” She looked down at
her car and punched the dashboard slightly, “I think I've got
at least one headlight working.” She was right.
Janet
saw the dark blue of the ocean ahead at the bottom of the long road
they were on. Star glanced over and caught her looking.
“ We
live at the end of the road. I'm going swimming at Champagne pond
before dark. You want to come along?” Star asked.
The
clouds seemed to be lifting as they descended from the higher
altitude Belt Highway, the rain suddenly disappearing. Janet could
feel the air warming up as well. The road was
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