Page 41 - Mistified Update June 2020_Neat

I dismissed the look and began telling her about my
mom hiding and then declining my acceptance, our
terrible fight, her accident and that since there was no
one worrying about me or holding me back I was here
to pursue my dream.

Then I told her a little bit about my crazy cousin
who knew where I was, but was sworn to secrecy until I
got myself settled or ended up going back. I left out the
part about my Aunt and Uncle who didn’t have a clue
where I was.
We wandered through the grove and picked the
berries from several of the trees along the small, but
beautiful lake’s edge.

She explained that there was another wonderful
grove of trees by the stream that flowed into the river.
However, Aroha said she had been warned by the
Professor never to venture into that area because it was
filled with what was called tomo or wai tomo.

Wai is the Maori word for water. The tomo are large
sink holes that can appear unexpectedly in the
landscape and are often filled with water from
underground streams. The professor believed the ones
in this area to be very old, deep and dangerous.
While berry picking, Aroha shared with me a bit
more about her personal life. She was working for the
31