Wen I wuz 12 my madda wen let me staht babysit foah da neighbahs' keiki. Da one 'ohana wen call me da most wen stay up around da loop from weah I wen stay. Dey get 5 keiki, from one yeah old to about 10. Da makuahine, ho, she no like clean da hale, wuz alla time all mess up. So wen I wen ovah deah, I would clean da kitchen foah her cuz I wen feel bad she get so many keiki an so much hana foah her to do. Wen I stay pau wit dat den I watch TV till dey get home.
Da time of dis story da makuahine wen call me foah babysit. Dat day dey had went to da beach an all da keiki wuz full of sand lidat. So I wen geev dem all baths, read 'em story, den dey wen moemoe. Den I wen clean up da kitchen like always, but I nevah wen clean up all da stuffs dey wen bring home from da beach dat stay all ovah da floah. By dis time wuz late, about 10 p.m. so I wen watch TV. Cuz I stay plenny lolo, I always like foah watch da "Creecha Feechas" dat wen come on late Friday nites.
Deah I wuz, all alone in da hale except foah da keiki, all dem moemoe, watchin one scary scary movie. How lolo can u get? Ho, da peecha staht getting plenny scary, wuz almost midnight. Dis hale no stay too fah from da old Chinese Cemetery up Mânoa Valley side anden I stay getting' plenny sked. But I no stop watch da peecha cuz I stay so lolo.
Suddenly, I wen heah dis scratchin noise from someweah insai da hale! Ho, da chicken skin staht on my ahms. I wen spock all ovah da place but no could spock nottin, so I tink, "ho, Mokihana, u lolo, deah nottin deah". So I wen spock da peecha again. By dis time da peecha getting even moah scary. Suddenly I wen heah da scratchin again, but no could spock nuttin, but I stay so sked I no can move. Da chicken skin was now all ovah me. I no could even get up foah turn off da TV I stay so sked! So I stay sked from da TV and sked from da scratchin sound. I wen try tell myself I just makin up all da kine, cuz I stay watchin da scary peecha, but da scratchin no stop. I tink, "is dis one obake from da cemetery?" I wuz goin call one of my friends, but wuz so late lidat, no could. So I just wen sit deah, sked like crazy. Da outsai tempachah wuz warm, but I wuz so cold from all da chicken skin all ovah me.
Den, da worse ting, da scratchin wen staht foah come right up da back of da couch! I could heah it getting moah close, comin up right behind my back! And on da TV, all da screamin from dis one wahine so sked from da creecha dat is tryin foah get her! Closah an closah came da scratchin. Closah an closah wen da creecha on da TV. Pooah Mokihana stay so sked she almost wen shi shi right deah!
Right wen da scratchin wen come up to da top of da couch, I wen slow spock behind me, an saw I stay lookin right into da maka of dis big crab! Hui, I almost wen hit da ceiling! I wen spock da floah, an all across eet wuz moah crabs comin in my direction! Da buggahs had come from insai da papah bag on da floah dat da 'ohana had bring back from da beach dat da makuahine nevah wen clean up.
To dis day, I no can remembah wat I wen do den. I like to tink I stay so relieved dat I wen pick up all da crabs anden put dem back insai da bag wit da sand. But one ting foah shuah, from den on, wenevah I stay babysit at dat hale, I always wen azk da makuahine eef dey wen to da beach dat day!
About Author
Mokihana White was brought up in the Manoa area on the Island of Oahu. She attended Manoa Elementary, Robert Louis Stevenson Junior High and University High School. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a managerie of animals. Mokihana and her husband have a real estate appraisal business and live 15 miles southeast of Portland in Boring, Oregon.
