"RAINBOW MAGIC"
Another October storm had just passed through the valley. For two days it had rained, hailed, and blew. And the thunder and lightning had put on a show to the envy of every old horror movie. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The kids were cranky from having to stay inside, and my nerves were strained, too.
They are all great kids, buy being in close quarters too long affects everyone. So as soon as the clouds broke they wanted out. And I turned them loose, so long as they stayed out of the mud. Their Mom might be upset when she got home, but then, that's part of my job. Theirs is just to have fun. They had only been outside for a few minutes when 7 year-old Jay ran in, out of breath.
"Steve! Steve!" Jay cried excitedly. " Come see, a real rainbow!" His rich, blonde hair looked stark white against his flushed face.
"Okay, relax! It'll still be there!" I reassured him as he pulled me to the door.
As we reached the front yard, I could see a full spectrum, full-arc rainbow. It glowed and sparkled against a pastel blue sky. And was touched off by the flare of sunset orange setting on the horizon behind it. All the kids were talking about it's marvelous appearance.
"Steve, how did it get there?" Asked Cara, the only 10 year-old, and the resident neighborhood general.
"Well, it's a long story." I commented, as I, too, enjoyed the beautiful vista that I knew would shortly fade.
"That means he doesn't know!" rasped little Robbie. He was small even for his age. He was Jay's best friend, and junior partner in crime.
"No." I replied calmly. " God gave Noah the very first rainbow, as a sign of His promise never to flood the Earth, again. But, God is too busy to make every rainbow, everywhere, every time it rains. So, He assigned regular duties to certain friends of mine. But, since it is a long story, why don't all of you play out here for awhile. Then when you have to come in for the night, I'll tell you the whole tale."
They all giggled when I said that I knew who made the rainbows. And there were several off-the-shoulder comments which might not have been acceptable by Mom. But I allowed them, under the circumstances. They set about their games, and I set about making dinner.
Since it was late October I had intended to tell ghost stories that night. Now, I had a direction, and a story I had been saving for just such an occasion. I made a comfortable fire in the living room. Prepared their very favorite meal, my home-made nachos, and plenty of fruit punch. There were sleeping bags, blankets and throw pillows on the floor. The day's activities were all over, and baths were now completed. Chips and punch were distributed. And time had arrived.
"all right. Settle down. I'll tell the tale you have all been waiting for." I paused long enough to let everyone quiet down and get settled into comfortable positions.
"As I said this afternoon, " I continued, " after the Great Flood, God gave Noah the first rainbow. But since it rains somewhere all over the world, everyday, He just doesn't have the time to run around popping up rainbows, and taking them down. So, God created a system to ensure that His promise was always kept, even without His personal attention.
"Now, you all laughed when I said that my friends were given this very eternal responsibility. But, as you all know, I'm well traveled and have been educated in several realms. In addition, my obviously short stature is evidence that I have an unusual background." I spoke lightly, and gently changed my accent, till my Irish brogue was complete. "And I have accepted many barbs and snickers about my size. Even from all you little people. I can ignore them all, though, because I am proud of my heritage. For, you see, I really am a Leprechaun." They were all giggling, but the expressions of their faces said they were listening very closely.
"Cara and Jay were too young to remember," I continued after the giggles died down, "but when we all lived in Hawaii I discovered the facts behind this little tale. On the island of Oahu there is a very beautiful valley that goes from near the beach near Pearl Harbor, high into the mountains, through the Pali Pass, and back down to the beach at Kaneohe. The passage into the mountain is so high, in fact, that the clouds come right down and touch the ground."
There were several 'nahs' and 'no ways'. So I said, "Ask your Mom, she's sitting right there." I pointed at Penny, who simply nodded her head, and smiled.
"All along the path, " I continued, " up the mountains, you can really see parts of rainbows rising out of the ground. Just as though they were growing there." All five heads turned towards Penny, again, who just nodded in agreement.
"But who does it?" Asked Jay, whose patience is shorter than his legs.
"The Menehunes." I answered flatly.
"Many what!" They all cried.
"Men-eh-hoo-nees." I pronounced it very slowly. "They are cousins to we Leprechauns and the Faeries. They are very tanned, very tiny, and dress like all the native Hawaiians.
"How big are they?" Inquired Robbie, interruptorily.
"About 5 inches is the average for most adults." I explained.
"Then how do they make such big rainbows?" jumped in Jay, vocally supported by four other others.
"Everybody relax." I said lightly, waving my arms gently to enhance the order. "Wait and I'll tell you. You have all watched your mothers knit and crochet. Well, the Menehunes use a similar technique. Yet, it is a little different.
"The Menehunes work in different departments. Some make the thread, some make the frameworks, and some make the colors. The thread is made from the magic silk spun by very special silkworms that only live in the Pali Pass. The frameworks are made from the thread, into specific tubes like straw. The fabric of the tubes is wide, to let the wind blow through the rainbow. And that lets it float in the sky. Then the colors are blended and brushed over the tubes. As each section is made and colored, the magic silk rises into the air...." I began the next thought, but.
"How do they know how long to make it?" demanded Cara.
"They've been doing it for almost 5,000 years." I replied cutely. "As each rainbow rises into the air, it still has some real physical weight. So after so much of it is made, it begins to lean over. And it leans, and it leans, and it leans, until it touches the ground, again. Then it is finished."
"How come nobody ever brought one home?" asked little Cinnamon, who was 8 years-old, but much smaller than the rest. She had been very quiet, all along, pondering the magnitude of this story.
"One of the most important responsibilities that the Menehunes have is to protect the rainbows. And ensure that people can't steal them. Because, if people could just go up and pick the rainbows, then there would never be enough available to keep God's promise. So, whenever anyone tries to catch a rainbow, the Menehunes have to move it. But, since it is very heavy when it is all spread out, they can only move it a little bit at a time. Always keeping it just out of reach, until the person gives up trying. Then the Menehunes take a long rest." I paused imitating a very tired little Menehune. The gang appropriately giggled.
"How do they get rainbows everywhere else, if they're only made on Oahu?" ordered my little general, still trying to trip me up.
"That task is set aside for others. And still others are the ones responsible for letting you see the rainbow after each storm." I responded, authoritatively. "Sprites are responsible for the transportation and delivery of new rainbows. As well as returning all the old, used ones for replacement. To help them are two very good friends, the Dolphins and the Unicorns." There was an abundance of oohs and ahhs.
"But Unicorns don't exist, anymore." challenged Cara, again. "All the books I've read said that Unicorns are a myth. They don't exist!"
"So much for the books you've read." I returned with an impish smile on my face. "But those same books say that Leprechauns, Faeries, Sprites and Menehunes don't exist, either. So, who do you want to believe? People who say such things because they have never seen one. Or, me, because I have seen and talked to them?"
"Just finish the tale!" exclaimed Jay. "Who cares whether it's real or not?" The others readily agreed.
"Okay. Dolphins carry the Sprites and bows to all the waterfront lands, and the Unicorns carry them to all the deep inland and high mountain kingdoms.
"Once the rainbow arrives at its appointed destination, it is turned over to those responsible for its care and use. And for its eternal protection in the field. And they are the Leprechauns!" I paused, bowing, but before anyone could start, "That's right! We little Leprechauns are the ones who show off the bows!" I was more than just a little pompous.
"All right. How do they move the rainbows all over the world, without we seeing 'em? demanded Cara, still thinking up trips. "Where are they kept?"
"First of all, it's "without us seeing them". Use proper grammar." I corrected, like a good adult. "Remember, they all work for God. If He wanted you to see every-thing, He would show you everything." I replied quite matter-of-factly. "But, I'll answer that question with another question. What is it that Leprechauns have that everybody is always trying to find?"
"The pot-of-gold!" The choir responded, in chorus, about 400 decibels above necessary.
"Correct. Now, you know. The golden treasure in every pot isn't gold, but a real rainbow. That is why there is always a pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow. And, that's why the Leprechauns must hide and protect the pot so carefully. Folded up, the bow is very light and small, so that any grown Leprechaun can easily carry the pot."
"Okay." Cara, again. "If we accept that what you've said is true. If! How did you find out?" She was getting very smug, she was sure she had caught me this time.
"I've told you many times that my height is directly attributed to the fact that I'm part Leprechaun." I had drifted out of it, but now I was back in my best brogue. "You have always laughed. But the Menehunes didn't laugh. They could see my aura, and they knew. Then I was free to see the works. And, I even helped build a very special rainbow."
"Where did your rainbow go?" asked Penny. Which truly surprised me, as much as it did the children. And the look on her face told me that something special was on her mind.
"To Haleiwa." I replied, as calmly as I could manage. "They told me about the hurricane that we would experience in the islands. So, I asked permission to help make that rainbow, for you." Speaking directly to Penny.
"That what you meant when you said, you gave it to me!" She smiled at the memory. I blushed, a little. And the kids sat around, amazed.
"Well, it sounds good, Steven. But, I don't believe it." Cara declared with the voice of someone announcing that Santa Claus doesn't exist.
"Sweetheart, it is very healthy to be suspicious." I commented. "But, as you know, it can be very embarrassing to call me a liar." My voice ran softly, with a suppressed giggle in it. I turned to Cara's mother. "Penny, do you still have that old, strange medallion and chain that gave you, a very long time ago?"
"Yes, of course." Penny said, sounding a little injured that I might accuse her of losing it. Then she realized that the look on my face was asking her to go get it, not judging her. Penny rose and started to walk to the bedroom.
"Did you ever figure out how to open it?" I inquired, as she left the room.
"No." She hollered back down the hall.
There was a short pause in the conversation. The pack of little midgets pondered what they had heard, and filled up on the almost forgotten nachos and punch. And I held my breath, trying to appear quite unimpressed and relaxed. When Penny returned she handed me the small antique ornament.
I turned my back to everyone, and exaggerated the difficulty of unlocking the tiny, sealed chamber inside the medallion. It wasn't very hard, really. I had found it on my travels in Europe, made by a very ancient little jeweler in Switzerland. It would be several years later, before I found what to hide inside it. I turned the chain clasp around, halfway. Spun the face of the medallion clockwise, twice. Then pulled the backcover down, slightly.
"Penny, now you can pull open the chamber." I said as I turned about and returned the ornament to her possession. All the children jumped up and ran forward. They crowded around Penny's chair, and waited for her to open the mysterious little trinket. Everybody wanted to know what was inside.
Penny was, herself, very nervous. She must have tried to open that thing any number of times over the past few years. Very carefully she slid the backcover down, and saw the tiny pin she would have to push to release the lock. The children were squirming like a bunch of worms on fishing hooks. Finally, the back popped open and the room was filled with oohs and aahs. Penny reached inside and carefully pulled out a very tiny piece a rainbow.
"It's a piece of the rainbow they let me build for after Hurricane Ewa. And I always told you I had made it for you." I looked straight at Penny. Then sat back and relaxed. There was nothing else to say.
Not Necessarily The End/SST
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