Pondering her Future

When Lillie saw the clothing they wore, she was astounded -- they were even more beautiful. They took the wa'a to the beach. Lillie had rented a car and drove them to the stadium. She signed in as a competitor while the other ladies were shown to their seats. They found that they were sitting with Lillie's parents, Jon and Roberta Johansen. They were all getting along very well. Hopoe even danced for them, much to the delight of the crowd. Lillie dressed in her uniform: Sweats, tight shorts, a competition top. She would not throw in the sweats, since it was a warm, sunny day. When it was time for the prelims, she first went to Hopoe to get the leis. She then bowed to her guests. She walked to the competitors' bench, gave each one a lei, and bowed to them to thank them for attending. She then gave a lei to the judge and bowed to her. Hi'iaka had sent the three gods standing on the scoreboard a lei each. Lillie bowed to honor them. She knew Thor and Odin were to be there and was pleased when Pele showed up as well.

The preliminaries showed quickly that Lillie was back in form. She qualified with 84.37 m. She made no real effort for distance. She stayed out on the field, and, when the men came out, she honored each as she had done with the women. The men were amused with the leis, even more so with her bows. Lillie qualified, in first place with an impressive 85.53 m. The men were a little worried. None had been over 80 m. Everyone saw her speed. Later that afternoon, the finals were held. True to form, Lillie set the mark at 90.31 m in the women's and 88.96 m in the men's, on her first attempt.

Up on the scoreboard, Pele commented to her companions that the woman was impressive. Odin was thinking the same thing. They could all tell she was not using her godly powers. As usual, Lillie made her best throw on her final throw in her last women's competition. She blasted a 95.84-m throw. The crowd went crazy. She kept the show going in the men's with an 89.39-m effort. It would only be noted with an asterisk. Her male competitors carried her on their shoulders around the 400-m track in a show of their recognition of her feat. At the medal ceremony, her female competitors bowed before her as a group. Jon and Rhonda shouted their joy, and Rhonda tried to hula with Hi'iaka. She was not bad for someone who had just learned. The men's ceremony was somewhat problematic. Lillie could not be given the gold medal. She stood by and watched, applauding each of the medalists. She was asked to mount the podium and was given a special award, to the roars of the crowd. All at once Hopoe, Hi'iaka, Omeo, and Rhonda ran out on the field and started an ancient hula form. As they danced, women poured out of the stands to join them. Security could do nothing but watch.

The dancing went on for about half an hour. People in the crowd clapped out the beat that would normally be drum beats. Lillie was overcome with happiness. The best summer of her life was ending like a fairytale. The sports shows were filled with the images that were committed into Hawaiian history. One scholar later figured out who Hopoe and Hi'iaka were. This caused a great uproar in the church.

Lillie arranged for a post office box and changed her mailing address everywhere that she could think of. She assured her parents that she would be in touch on a regular basis. Much of her funds were moved into local accounts to facilitate her access. She went back to live with the ladies. She and Omeo had become lovers, as close as Hopoe and Hi'iaka. None were jealous, so there was a mixing of partners regularly. Lillie had found a life that satisfied her. She learned how to find fruit and edible plants from Omeo and Hopoe. Those two taught Lillie to speak Hawaiian, although they laughed at her accent. Hopoe and Hi'iaka taught her all the hulas they could remember. It was hard because her muscles were not flexible enough. Over time she gained the skill, since she was a tireless student.

Thor brought back her hammer and watched her dance, to his great amusement. Hi'iaka gave Hopoe immortality so they would never be parted. Lillie and her friends were invited to visit Odin's home of Asgard. This was facilitated by Hi'iaka. She was the goddess of the winds and clouds so they traveled on a cloud. The ladies impressed the Norse gods with dances and their grace. Hopoe brought leis for everyone, to honor her hosts. And they were all invited to return whenever they wanted.