Friendship, After the Fire

They say when the lava cools, the land it leaves behind is stronger. Richer. Ready to grow again.

That’s how friendship feels after loss.

Not everyone understands what it’s like to start over when your world’s been burned down. To rebuild trust when the people you once called family turned out to be storms in disguise. When you’ve been lied to, used, or made to feel like your pain was too loud, your children too much, your grief too inconvenient.

I’ve been there. I carried the weight of that silence. The whispers that tried to convince me I was too broken to be loved again—not just romantically, but platonically, too.

But here’s the truth: I am not a burden. My keiki are not burdens. We are the heartbeat of a story still unfolding. We are joy. We are thunder. We are the soft return of the tide, steady and stubborn in our comeback.

And still—I show up. I try. I offer kindness even when my hands tremble. I laugh, even when it catches in my throat.

Because sometimes, when you least expect it, a soul finds yours.

You don’t see age or background. You don’t care if they know your past. You just feel them. And they feel you. There’s no performance, no pressure. Just ease. Just presence.

That’s aloha.

Not just love, but breath exchanged between stories. The sacred knowing of “I see you. I’m staying.”

Friendship like that? It doesn’t ask for perfection. It asks for real. It stays when the skies turn. It reminds you that connection isn’t something you chase—it’s something you recognize.

And for someone like me, who didn’t think she’d ever let someone in again, that kind of bond is more than a blessing.

It’s healing.

It’s rebirth.

So if you’ve been hiding, hurting, or holding your breath—come out from the wreckage.

Because somewhere out there, someone is waiting to meet the truest version of you.

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll remind you that the heart still blooms—especially in places the world thought were barren.

“E kau ka mana i loko o ka pilina—ʻo ka ʻoiaʻiʻo ke kahua e ola ai.”

Let the mana dwell within the connection—truth is the foundation that gives life.

— Tiki