Galvanized by the sun and our morning spread from the fruit stand along Kuhio Highway, the day was ripe for a sobering hike. We weaved along the muddy switchbacks and scaled the rocky slope up to our rewarding view: an unfettered panorama of mountain and ocean encircling us. It was a beautiful day in tropical paradise, and from such great heights, it felt majestic.
We sat there for a while. It was quiet, aside from the occasional rooster crow and the whimsical cacophony of cow moos from the surrounding fields. I looked at him; at our sweaty bodies and muddied legs side-by-side. “What do you want?” I asked him. He turned his head toward me, squinting from the bright sunlight. “This.” I smiled. “Me too.”