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The stars were just starting to twinkle in the sky as the village of Motunui came to life. Fires blazed, their red-orange flames casting a warm glow on those who were gathered. A group of dancers swayed their skirts to the beat of the drums while children chased one another between the fales.
Moana's mind raced as she made her way through the village. Her thoughts bounced back and forth between Maui, Tautai Vasa, the sea, her sister, and the pottery relic.
Her mother, Sina, walked beside her, eyes on the relic in Moana's hands. She gave her daughter a hug, so proud.
As Sina made her way over to her other daughter, Simea, one of the villagers approached Moana with a haku lei in her hands. She gestured for Moana to lean forward, then placed the collection of flowers on top of her head. The villager turned and disappeared into the rapidly growing throng around Moana.
Loto appeared, her ever-present adze in hand, startling Moana.“I'd like a sample of that,”Loto said, reaching toward the pottery relic.
Jokingly—sort of—Moana pulled the relic closer to herself. She loved Loto, but there was no way she was letting the relic get anywhere near that adze. She needed the recovered object to stay in one piece at least until she figured out the answers to her questions.
Even Moni, who prided himself in knowing everything about everything, seemed perplexed when he, too, appeared by her side to stare at the object. His eyes narrowed, and Moana knew the wheels in his brain were whirling.
Moana continued to move toward the center of the village. Everyone was in a festive mood. And yet, glancing at the feast that had been laid out, she realized that no one was eating. Why was no one eating?
Clearing her throat, she yelled,“Well, eat up! Don't want the pork getting cold!”A groan at her feet made Moana look down. Oops, she thought, spotting Pua. Gotta stop doing that.
Just then, the music went quiet. It felt as though the village collectively held its breath as Chief Tui approached. One by one, torches were lit.
“Moana, my dear, tonight isn't just a feast,”Chief Tui said as Sina and Simea joined him.
Stepping forward, he put a strong arm around Moana's shoulder and squeezed. Her heart began to pound.
Chief Tui led his daughter forward, allowing the villagers to form a circle around them.“Long ago, there was a title given to the last great wayfinder with dreams as big as yours. More than a chief: a tautai. Leader of land and sea.”He paused, taking in the significance of this moment.“My dear, would you honor us tonight by accepting this title—our people's first tautai in a thousand years?”
Moana's breath hitched. Was this really happening?
“And show us all just how far we'll go,”he finished, proud tears in his eyes.
The words flooded through her, the importance of this request hitting her hard. Tautai? Like Tautai Vasa? Was she really worthy of such a title? Her eyes drifted from her father to her mother, and then her sister, who was looking up at her with total admiration. And in that moment, she knew the answer.
Smiling, Moana nodded. Yes. It was a definite yes.
A short while later, Moana found herself sitting across from her father in the fale closest to the water's edge. It felt fitting for the official ceremony naming her tautai to occur near the water that was so much a part of her. Moana looked at her people happily. She felt their immense love, as well as the responsibility of what had been asked of her.
Outside, the ocean waves gently broke against the beach in a soothing rhythm. A breeze picked up, rippling over the crowd, marking a change in the weather. But no one besides Sina seemed to notice. They were focused on Moana and her father.
Chief Tui began.“Tonight we drink from our ancestors' bowl, as Tautai Vasa once did, to bestow this title on you. To connect to our past, our present, and the future that lies beyond.”Lifting a bowl in his hand, he tilted it, letting some of the liquid inside splash onto the dirt floor as an offering to the ancestors. Then he drank the rest.“May the ancestors continue to guide us.”
Then he looked at Moana. It was her turn. Stepping forward, Moni offered her a bowl of her own. Moana held it in steady hands as she gazed around at those she loved. Then she raised the bowl and echoed her father's words.“May the ancestors continue to guide us.”
But as she raised the bowl to her lips, she saw her reflection in the liquid and paused. Something was there, rippling on the surface. A shiver ran through her. Something strange was happening. Outside the fale, the wind grew stronger, whipping through the leaves. Suddenly, a crackling noise seemed to come from all sides of the fale. An eerie light began to build around them, making the space glow brighter and brighter until . . .
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning flashed in the air.
Then everything went black.
Moana's eyes snapped open. Above her, a ring of clouds created a halo around a clear, star-filled sky. In the middle, brighter than the rest, a constellation brilliantly twinkled.
Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet shifted. Moana stumbled, trying to keep her balance. Looking down, she realized that she was no longer in the fale. Instead, she was standing on the deck of a massive, ancient canoe. When she looked up, she gasped. The same images etched on the relic she'd discovered were stitched into the sail: the same island, the same constellation.
As her gaze traveled farther along the canoe, she spotted a lone man standing at the bow. The wayfinder cut an imposing figure as he stared out across the sea.
Moana knew exactly who this was.“Tautai Vasa,”she whispered in awe.
Somehow she knew that while she could see him, the legendary wayfinder—and the others operating the large boat—were unaware of her presence. She was witnessing a moment from the past. But how? Why?
She followed Tautai Vasa's gaze. Her eyes grew wider still. He was looking up at the bright constellation! It matched the one on the relic exactly.
“Motufetū,”he said to himself, his expression worried.“Should be under the stars . . .”
As Moana watched his eyes move from the stars to the waters around them, she realized why Tautai Vasa seemed so worried. A huge storm had encircled them. Darkness had descended upon the sea, turning the blue waters black. The wind picked up and ripped at the sail. The world was thrust into inky chaos.
“Bind the sail! Light the oar!”Tautai Vasa called out to his crew.
“Vasa? We're lost!”shouted one of the voyagers.
Tautai Vasa stood, shaking his head, terror evident on his face. He didn't have the answers for what to do next. The unpredictable, dangerous storm was growing wilder by the moment. The same feeling washed over Moana, as though she was experiencing every emotion Tautai Vasa was in the moment. She struggled to stay upright in the strong wind.
With a lurch, Tautai Vasa's crew was thrown off the canoe. He lunged to save them, but he wasn't fast enough. Tautai Vasa landed hard on the deck. He turned and looked up. Something above terrified him.
Then the canoe was slammed by a massive dark wave. Moana was thrown backward into the water.
She sank beneath the surface, the loud sounds of the storm instantly muted by the water. But she wasn't sinking. The water was unlike anything she had ever encountered before. She seemed to hover in the thick substance, suspended. She watched as an enormous whale shark slowly swam past. Its sides were covered with glowing tattoos.
Awed by the creature's majestic beauty, she reached a hand through the water . . .
. . . only to suddenly find herself back on the shores of Motunui.
The beach was empty. The island seemed deserted. Moana looked around, confused. What was happening?“Where are my people?”Moana whispered to herself.
“Tautai Moana.”
Spinning at the sound of her name, she found herself once again looking at Tautai Vasa. Only this time, he was aware of her presence. His body glowed and shimmered in the darkness. Moana could sense that he was troubled.
“You've come so far, but you must go farther. You must reconnect our people, or this is how our story ends,”he said mysteriously.“In isolation there is no future. Find the island of Motufetū, reconnect our people, restore the never-ending chain . . .”
His voice was fading. Panic flooded Moana. He couldn't go yet. She didn't know what he meant.“Where? It's under stars I've never seen,”she said.
“The fire in the sky will guide you,”Tautai Vasa explained.
“Wait, I don't even know how far it is,”Moana said, her voice small and full of uncertainty.
“Farther than I was able to go,”he replied cryptically.“Find Motufetū, reconnect us all.”
And then he was gone. In the water, he returned to his whale shark form. As he swam off, he left a trail in his wake, like a comet in the sea. It led straight to an island that appeared to hover over the water a short distance from Motunui.
When the whale shark reached the island, glowing channels surrounded the island, lighting up the sea and Motunui.
As she watched, the island and the water began to glow brighter and brighter.
Could this be Motufetū?
Moana felt certain of it.