Paikea

"This speech is a token 

of my deep love and respect...

for Koro Apirana, my grandfather.

My name is Paikea Apirana

And I come from a long line of chiefs,

stretching all the way back to hawaiiki...

where our ancient ones are...

the ones that first heard

the land crying and sent a man.

His name was also Paikea...

And I am his most recent descendant.

But I was not the leader

my grandfather was expecting...

And by being born...

I broke the line back to the ancient ones.

It wasn't anybody's fault.

It just happened.

Who is to blame?

But we can learn.

And if the knowledge is given to everyone,

we can have lots of leaders. 

And soon, everyone will be strong...

Not just the ones that've been chosen.

Because sometimes,

even if you're the leader

and you need to be strong... 

you can get tired.

Like our ancestor, Paikea,

when he was lost at sea...

and he couldn't find the land,

and he probably wanted to die.

But he knew the ancient ones

were there for him...

so he called out to them

to lift him up and give him strength.

This is his chant.

I dedicate it to my grandfather. "

Yumeji's theme

The sound of cello painfully invades my brain making it remember things or create images of it's own. Right at the first note I tremble and take a deep breath. And it's almost like I want to stop breathing until the end. 

This dreary waltz with your own heart... who could've thought. A few simple notes, the dim light in the alley, the poetry in everyday robe and I'm there forever. 

The way she gracefully hides her pain in dresses, the way he dives into the haze of his own thoughts, the way they find comfort in passing by each other... and suddenly it all has meaning.

Let the phone ring three times. 

I still question everything I've seen, even after so many times... maybe this is why it's so great. Always the same thought- what would be my choice? At which point I would stop dancing with my own heart and started with someone else's. If... 

The courage to start asking questions. 

What if only things that are distant can become poetry...? 

What would I leave in a heart of someone...?

Steps on the street, fear of coming home, still waltz with my own heart... cries about things that could've happened, uncomfortable feeling of being in someone else's skin and realising that at some point- it's your own.

Will there be secrets for me to whisper...? 

Is there something within me strong enough and yet fragile, I could be faithful to? 

It's amazing how one moment you're filled with sadness and brutality of the world and the other- so... in the mood for love.