5: Yusef.

Stretching out on the cot, I think about how I got to this point and what this might mean. I close my eyes and think about home, wishing for sunshine and the smell of salt. Praying for the day when I can feel the sand under my feet again and the wind of my island around me.

My mother was from the Philippines and came to Hawaii as a small child. Her family was poor, but when she was old enough she began to work in a restaurant to make extra money. She cleaned tables and washed dishes until she was old enough to cook, then eventually she took over the kitchen. That’s how she met my dad. He was born in Molokai and came to Lanai for work. He was asked to deliver supplies to a restaurant one day, and that’s when he saw her. He told me that with one look he knew, even though he’d never spoken a word to her.

They were married soon after and had me almost exactly nine months later. My parents didn’t have much, but they gave me everything that mattered: a safe home filled with love and an educ