By Dave Hangman
“The taniwha traveled in the canoes of our Polynesian ancestors. They were kaitiaki, life-protecting guardians.” The stocky Islander gazed over the water, his slumped shoulders, usually strong, reflecting his regret. “The white settlers, on the other hand, brought the black rats in their boats. Those filthy predators extinguished almost all of our island’s endemic animals.”
Priddel opened his mouth in shock, searching for something to say, but closed it without saying anything.
They sat on the ship’s deck and watched a pair of lanterns slowly ascending the vertical rock wall in the middle of the night. A choppy ocean surrounded them. They were anchored next to Ball’s Pyramid, the world’s tallest marine volcanic stack. It rose like a sharp jagged spire nearly two thousand feet high above the restless Tasman Sea.
“Why are you telling me about black rats?” asked Priddel finally, daunted by being in such an isolated place.
“You’re a scientist. You should know the history better than I do.”
“Humor me,” Priddel said.
“Eighty years ago, a steamship called Makambo ran aground near Neds Beach.” The captain pointed toward the northern end of the invisible Lord Howe Island. “Only one passenger died. She drowned when her boat capsized during the evacuation. The Makambo was aground for only nine days before being refloated. But that allowed the rats to jump ship and cause an environmental catastrophe on the island. They wiped out several species of birds, lizards, land snails, beetles and other endemic animals, including the stick insect you’re now looking for.”
Priddel shifted, unwilling to meet the captain’s gaze and instead focused on the dark wall blocking the view of the starry sky. The two lanterns continued their slow and painful ascent.
“You, Captain, are not Māori. Your features are European. Why do you dislike white people so much?”
“My great-great-grandfather was Nathan Thompson, an immoral settler who brought three girls from the Gilbert Islands to himself, taking advantage of the fact that they were fleeing arranged marriages. The youngest, Bogue, was my great-great-grandmother. She kept our people’s traditions alive, but with each generation, my Polynesian blood, culture, and our ecological diversity have been diluted.”
Priddel sensed it was going to be a very long night with the bitter Islander.
“I think they must have climbed over five hundred feet by now,” Pridell said, pointing to the moving lights far above their heads. “That’s the area where we found the melaleuca bush peeping out of a crack and what looked like the fresh droppings of some large insect.”
“I hope the taniwha that saved those creatures is still protecting them.”
“Do you really think a supernatural being brought those insects here?”
“How they got here I don’t know. Maybe they traveled with fishermen or hitchhiked on birds,” the Islander said in a raspy voice, “but no doubt a taniwha protected them.”
Priddel hesitated whether to continue the conversation, but that would make for a long night, so he decided to press on, keeping his voice amicable. “I thought those beings were predators, kidnapping women to keep as wives.”
“At sea they often appear as whales or great white sharks. In inland waters they take the form of a gigantic lizard. The taniwha make sure that the restrictions imposed by tapu are respected and punish any violations.”
“Tapu?”
“You say taboo. Tapu is something inviolable or sacrosanct. Something that cannot and should not be touched by humans.”
“I see. You think those beings are going to punish us for coming here.”
“The taniwha devour people they have no connection with, especially if they are from other tribes.”
“I’d hate to end tonight inside the stomach of a giant lizard.” He tried to make it a joke, but a shiver trailed up Priddel’s spine.
Flashlights signaled from the dark wall.
“Look, I think they’ve found the insects!” shouted Priddel.
Camera flashes illuminated the rock wall again and again for a few minutes.
Suddenly, a scream rose above the sound of the surf. The two men locked their gazes on the lights. What was happening up there?
A sound like an explosion was followed with another even more terrifying scream. The two lights tumbled down the cliff and disappeared into the ocean. Priddel’s gut twisted with the certainty that the men had fallen along with their flashlights.
He and the captain exchanged twin horrified looks. A shower of rocks scattered over them and the boat’s deck.
“A rockfall!” shouted Priddel. “We must get away from here.”
Something enormous crashed into the ocean beside them with a deafening roar. The shockwave lifted their small boat and then, almost in slow motion, capsized it. Both men plunged into the dark depths of a restless and likely shark-infested sea.
Priddel surfaced, but all was darkness, heavy swell, and the roar of the waves. He grabbed a piece of wood and clung to it. Water swirled around him. What if some giant lizard jumped into the sea and devoured him? Or some other deadly animal?
Eventually, dawn broke, revealing his shattered boat, its keel pointing skyward. Exhausted and shivering in the rolling surf, Priddel caught a glimpse of the Islander, who had climbed onto some floating planks. Although they both paddled with their hands, it took nearly than an hour to find each other.
“Carlile and Hiscox are alive too,” the captain said, his voice surprisingly light. “They’re sitting on the rocks at the foot of Ball’s Pyramid.”
Priddel almost let go of his plank with relief. “It’s a miracle. They fell from over five hundred feet dragged by rocks.”
“Is that what you think? Look up there.” The captain indicated to a big round hole in the middle of the pyramid-shaped islet. “There lived the taniwha who saved your stick insects. “The place was tapu, but he has decided not to wipe out the invaders. He knows you want to save that species. He has lifted the ban and turned it into noa. He’ll let you do your job.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wow this is great, and so creative. I’m trying to digest everything. It’s amazing how much imagery is displayed in such a short story, and at the end of the day anyone can change. Love it!
Very immersive story!
Thank you so much, Beth, for your kind words. They encourage me to keep writing. I wanted to write a story that would show how nature protects life, often and unfortunately in spite of us. Although the story has several suggestive readings.
Very original story. It grabs you, I couldn’t stop reading, Surprising ending. I Liked it very much.
I like the idea of the taniwah being active, but more than just vengeful spirits.
Great imagery and message.
Nice twist! Loved the ending and the message of conservation.
I like seeing a story where someone is trying to save a species that isn’t “charismatic megafauna” (like tigers or pandas) for a change. Let’s hear it for stick insects!