Best Wishes Mualani

It was morning, and the sun's rays glistened on Mualani’s skin, waking her up. She slowly opened her eyes and turned around to see that Kinich was gone from his side of the bed. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she checked her calendar. To her surprise, it said 8/03, meaning it was her birthday. “It’s my BIRTHDAY!” Mualani said to herself. The surfer put on her slippers and ran out of the room, greeted by the aroma of her favorite food.

In the kitchen, Kinich was cooking up a storm. Mualani saw pancakes, fruit, chocolate, quenepa berry juice, and a huge 3-layer blue and white cake, with an assortment of small candies decorated around the table in the middle. Flattered by the nice surprise, she decided it was time to make her presence known.

“Kinich? You did this for me?” She was starting to tear up.

Kinich was assorting fruits in a bowl when he heard his wife. He turned around casually, as if he had already sensed Mualani enter the kitchen a while ago.

“Happy birthday, Mualani.” Walking towards his wife, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sit down, enjoy your food. I still have a few things to take care of.

Mualani, now beaming with happiness and smiling so hard you’d think her face was stuck that way, went to cut the cake as she asked Kinich a question.

“Want to cut the cake with me, Kinich?”

“Of course, Mualani.”

Walking over to the counter, he grabbed 2 knives and handed Mualani one as they both stood beside the cake

“Ready, Kinich?”

“Ready whenever you are.”

3..2..1.. Slice! Slicing the top layer in half, Kinich let Mualani cut the rest of the top. Mualani then sliced the top layer into 6 pieces and proceeded to give Kinich one and grabbed herself one. They both ate and enjoyed the cake fully.

“Mmm, that was delicious Kinich! You sure are the best cook and baker I’ve ever seen!”

“Thank you, Mualani. I’m not done just yet. Get dressed and meet me outside.”

“There’s more!? Ah, okay!”

Mualani rushed back into the room to change out of her pajamas, almost forgetting to put her seal headpiece on. Running outside, she was greeted by Mavuika, but Kinich was nowhere to be found.

“Happy birthday, Mualani! Hop on!” Mavuika said.

“Alright!” Mualani got on the flamestrider. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Mavuika chuckled.

Revving up the flamestrider, they started to speed off, passing by the Children of Echoes and the Scions of the Canopy, finally arriving at Toyac Springs. Mavuika started slowing down the flamestrider and came to a halt in front of a beach with a huge area decorated with blue stuff alike. Mualani could see that multiple people from a lot of tribes had come to celebrate with her. Some of the Children of Echoes were looking at music discs. Others from the Collective of Plenty were challenging each other to see who would last in the hot springs the longest. Many others from all of the different tribes seemed to be doing lots of other activities, but most were in the hot springs

Near the food bar, she spotted Varesa and Chasca having a food-eating competition. Before Mualani could even say anything, everyone turned around and screamed, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Mualani couldn’t believe what she was seeing and almost forgot to say thank you.

“Who.. Organized and did all this?” Mualani asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

A guest at the party responded, “Kinich! He invited all of us to come to the party. He’s the one who organized this and planned all the decorations. Oh, and he REALLY knows how to cook!” But before Mualani could ask where Kinich was, the guest walked away, drinking her slushie.

Mualani then went to find Kinich. Walking down the steps and onto the boardwalk where the party was going on, she passed a few areas filled with food that she knew Kinich had made. She could smell his cooking anywhere. Along her mission to find Kinich, she bumped into Kachina and Iansan building a sandcastle

“Hi Kachina! Hi Iansan! Whatcha building?”

“We’re going to build the tallest sandcastle in the world!” Kachina said.

Iansan chimed in with, “Yeah, and this castle is taller than us so far. We want to make it double your height, Mualani!”

“Alright! Once I find Kinich, we’ll both help you make it TRIPLE our heights combined!!”

“Sounds good, Mualani!” Kachina gleefully said.

Continuing her walk, she passed by what seemed to be an ongoing dance competition. Xilonen and Mavuika were dance battling each other as Thrain watched. Mualani decided to watch along with Thrain and the other bystanders to see who’d win. To everyone’s surprise, Mavuika defeated Xilonen by a long shot. Seems being alive for 500+ years gives you dance skills that pay off for sure.

Mavuika proudly walked away and saw Mualani and Thrain. Changing her route from the cotton candy stall to the duo, she came towards them, waving hi with her left hand as her right hand was occupied holding her new trophy.

“Hey, you two! Did you see my dancing skills?” Holding her trophy in the air

“I saw Mavuika! Let’s dance battle later. I bet I can beat you!” Mualani confidently said.

“Don’t be so sure, Mualani. She has some dancing tricks behind her back that may or may not make you lose,” Thrain added.

Mavuika laughed. “Of course I have tricks! So Mualani, are you enjoying your party?”

“Yep! It would be better if I could find Kinich and thank him for all this.”

“Why didn’t you just say so? The last time I saw him was with Citlali. She’s over by the book stall reading novels.”

Mualani was thankful for the info Mavuika just gave her and bid farewell to Mavuika and Thrain as she headed over to the bookshop. She could see Citlali and Ororon reading a book together. Looking to her right, Mualani spotted Kinich standing in the sand near a palm tree. Before she headed over, Mualani had to ask Citlali something first.

“Are you showing Ororon the awesome world of novels?”

Citlali, startled by Mualani’s presence, whom she hadn’t noticed before, accidentally threw the book in the air, and it landed right on the shaman’s head.

“UGH! Mualani, you scared me!”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to! And to answer your question, yes, I’m teaching Ororon how interesting novels are.”

Ororon didn’t even notice Mualani because he was so interested in a superhero novel he had found.

“Ah, okay! I’m going to head over there and go talk to Kinich!”

Before Citlali could even say bye, Mualani sped off full speed towards the palm tree. 

Arriving at the tree, she leaped onto Kinich to give him the hugest hug she could.

“Kinich! You did all this for me? Thank you so so soooo much!”

“It was no problem at all, Mualani,” Kinich said while drinking from a coconut cup.

“Come enjoy the day with me, Kinich!” Mualani grabbed his hand and dragged him off to the dance competition area. “I’m going to be dance battling Mavuika! I want you to watch, okay?”

Kinich only nodded as Mualani ran to get Mavuika for the dance battle. A few minutes later, Mualani came back, dragging Mavuika and Xilonen along with her. Both of them got on the dance floor as they asked Kinich to do the countdown and Xilonen to throw down a beat for them to dance to.

“Kinich, start the countdown!” Mualani enthusiastically said

“3..2..1.. Go!”

Mualani won the dance battle. Mavuika’s dance tricks couldn’t save her. Now, Mualani and Mavuika had their own trophies. The surfer went up to Kinich to ask him to take a picture of them.

“Kinich! Can you take a picture of me and Mavuika?”

“Sure.” Kinich pulled out his camera. Mavuika and Mualani got into their positions and posed.

“A little to the left, Mualani. Hold your trophy higher, Mavuika,” Kinich instructed.

3..2..1.. Snap! The picture was taken, and they loved the photo. Daytime turned into nighttime as they partied the night away.

At the end of the night, Mualani opened all her presents and loved every one of them. But Kinich had a special gift of his own.

“Mualani?”

“Yes, Kinich?”

Kinich held up a blue box with a white bow. “Here’s my gift for you. Open it.”

“Aw, but you’ve already done so much for me. I’ve had such a blast! You didn’t need to get me a present.”

“I insist, Mualani.”

Seeing as Kinich wouldn’t take no for an answer, she took the box from him and slowly started unwrapping it. Inside were two small figurines of the both of them. It looked like the handiwork of both Xilonen and Kinich.

“Kinich, these are so adorable. Thank you!”

They were both interrupted when fireworks shot up into the night sky.

“YOU GOT FIREWORKS TO KINICH?” Mualani was over the moon with happiness at this point.

“Of course I did. Happy birthday, Mualani.”

They both watched the fireworks as the sky was painted in mesmerizing colors, lying on each other’s shoulders.