Two years had passed since the return of the heart of Te Fiti in the goddess chest, and life had resumed slowly but surely in the archipelagos of Polynesia. The water of the ocean, crystalline under the rays of the high sun, danced gently with the soft wind. On the island of Motunui, a real paradise of greenery and rocks, life was in full swing and the village prospered as usual.

By this late morning, all the inhabitants are at their daily tasks. Some men and women looked after the plantations and crops around the village, checking the ones that looked good to start harvesting, and seeing those that could not give enough and needed to be replaced. Other people were climbing trees, with surprising agility, and with machetes cutting the coconuts, allowing them to fall into the baskets down up that other people held in their hands and stood ready to catch the fruit. To the wooden huts with foliage roofs, the children were gathered in small groups and followed the teachings of the village elders, telling them the stories and other legends of their people, but also the way forward to become men and women of the tribe, and all this under the supervision of some parents ensuring that no child decides to leave to have fun.

Further away from the village, on the side of the beach and the sea, a young man of thirteen, with semi-long hair and braided behind his neck, stood straight and motionless, water up to his waist and brandished a spear above him. The young man stared at the water around him, without moving an eyelash. He smiled a satisfied smile and a quick but rather clumsy shot, gave a shot in the water, splashing all around him. Emerging from the water while coughing, he noted with disappointment that his spear was carrying no fish. Around him, all the fish had fled.

- "Raaah, still missed." said the scowling young man.

Sitting on a large rock at the edge of the water, hands on her knees, a young woman watched him with a certain amusement, but without making a mockery of it. This young woman was named Moana. She had a very beautiful face, the tanned skin of her people, brown eyes and long black hair, slightly undulating like waves. She wore a crop top made out of red tapa with a layered style accessorized with seashells along the perimeter. She wears a red sash made from the same material that wraps around her skirt made out of shredded pandanas and layered tapa. Around her neck, a necklace sporting a beautiful blue stone, the one that had contained the heart of Te Fiti during the long journey to cross the ocean. The same necklace that belonged to her grandmother, Gramma Tala, unfortunately deceased but whose spirit reincarnated in a manta ray and continued to make her presence felt and watched over the people of Motunui and especially Moana. For two years now, after rescuing the archipelago from an atrocious end, Moana had become chief of the tribe and took to heart her role of caring for her people.

The young man she watched return on the beach, disappointed and threw his spear on the sand, then sit, sulkily. Moana sighed slightly, smiling and gently shaking her head, then stood up and picked up the spear.

- "Mareto, what have I told you before?" Moana asked him as a teacher questioning a student. The young man named Mareto sighed.

- "Patience is one of the major assets of the fisherman."

Moana put her hand on his shoulder. Mareto was a very promising young man whom she had decided to personally take under her wing to prepare him to become a man, but Mareto lacked self-confidence and patience. She wanted to help him and she knew he was doing everything to learn, and that's why she did not want to let him down.

- "Yes, but it is not because the fish is within your reach that you must immediately seize it. You must give it time to get used to your presence, and you, take the time to study and to know its movements.... Look."

With these words, Moana, spear in hand, went in turn in the water, under the watchful eye of Mareto. By stepping into the water, Moana still felt that same thrill when she touched the ocean. From her adventure to Te Fiti Island, she felt even more connected to this element. The ocean was her friend, as she was his. This connection never stopped surprising her. Having water up to the waist level, Moana set herself motionless, motionless as a statue and the spear over her head, her gaze focused. On the beach, Mareto watched him without making a noise.

Under the crystal clear water, Moana could see the small moving forms of some fish, approaching more and more of her legs, and coming to swim around her. Although they were close, Moana let a few seconds past, watching their comings and goings, the directions they took around her and had already set her sights on those who seemed the least suspicious. A few seconds that seemed an eternity for Mareto passed. Then .... Now! Moana, with a quick movement, plunged his spear into the water, without falling backwards, and raised the point of the spear, having pierced two fish. Mareto was speechless.

Moana, smiling, returned on the warm sand of the beach, the fishes in her hand and gave them with a good heart to the young man.

- "Did you understand this time?" she asked carefully. Mareto nodded in response, which made the young woman smile.

- "But, it must be easy for you, Moana ..." said Mareto ... "You are the one who saved our world, who carried the heart of Te Fiti and defeated the demon Te Ka. You are Moana of Motunui. You've become a true legend, like the demigod Maui. "

Moana understood Mareto's fascination with that, and that he thought it was an honor to be the apprentice of the hero who saved the archipelago, but Moana did not see it that way. She had saved the world of course, but being considered a legend made her feel a little uncomfortable. She did not want cults to be created to her glory. All she wanted was to be able to live in peace with her people. She sits next to Mareto to talk to him.

- "You know, nothing is easy, even for me ..." she said frankly, looking at the ocean with a thoughful eye "... Just like you, I had to learn, to fish, to sail, to become an adult and a leader for our people. I am a human, made of flesh and blood like you, and being a hero or a legend does not change anything. I would even say it's even harder for heroes because they must continually exceed their limits so as not to disappoint those who believe in them ..... destiny wanted me to be so, and I accepted it, but you, Mareto... be also proud of what you are. Whether our names enter the legend or not, it does not matter, because that does not prevent us from existing."

Mareto listened to each word with the greatest attention and could not answer, but could only agree with her. The adventurous and insouciant girl that Moana was before had softened herself, and for good reason. Now she was a leader, she could not allow herself to leave for an adventure in the ocean just for the pleasure. Since she was chief, she understood better the point of view of her father, who had wanted to overprotect her when she was a child, but in a sense, she knew it was for her good. With these new words to ponder, Mareto got up and picked up his spear, then the fishes Moana gave him so kindly.

- "Moana .... Can I go back to the village?"

The young woman seemed almost emerging from a waking dream and turned to him.

- "Yes, yes, of course .... We will resume later, I want to stay a little lonely."

Mareto nodded and headed towards the village, leaving Moana alone, sitting on the white sand of the beach, and the ocean stretching out of sight in front and around. Rubbing her arm a little nervously, Moana remembered some memories of her adventure.... Her meeting with Maui ..... the journey through the ocean .... the descent into the world of monsters and the meeting with the giant crab Tamatoa .... and the clash with Te Ka, demon of fire and sick incarnation of the goddess Te Fiti .... Moana smiled at those memories that had changed her life forever .... As for Maui ..... It was almost a year that she did not had not seen again and wondered what had become of him. Sometimes she spent the night observing the sky, hoping to see him in the distance, arriving in his bird-like form.

- "Moana ...." a familiar, distant voice echoed suddenly from the waves of the ocean. Moana raised her head to the voice she recognized immediately, her face glowing with joy. In front of her, a human and trasparent figure, shining with a crystalline blue, appeared, walking on the water and coming to her with a smile. Moana shed a tear of joy.

- "Gramma Tala ..." Moana said with her throat tight and came to her. The spirit of Tala hugged her, and Moana did the same. They had not seen each other for several months. Tala being now a spirit of the ocean, she could not stay very long on dry land, but from time to time came to visit her granddaughter whom she loves with all her heart.

- "I miss you so much, every time ..." Moana said while hugging her. Tala smiled.

- "I miss you too, but do not forget that I'll never be far from you."

Moana knew it and nodded. After the embrace, the two women sat next to each other on the big rock overlooking the beach and admired the waves of the ocean rolling over the sand. However, Tala guessed that Moana looked worried and decided to break the silence.

- "Something tells me you're worrying about something, Moana, no?" Tala asked. Moana knew it was useless to hide it, Tala was way too smart for that.

- "That's ...." Moana started trying to find the words "... I'm worried about Maui, he has not come back for a year."

- "Oh, you know, the life of a demigod is very busy, you do not have to worry about him, I can assure you that he's fine ..... Tell me more about what you really worry. "

Tala was decidedly very clairvoyant and Moana sighed.

- "I've been the leader of the tribe for two years now, and despite everything I do, I always feel like I'm not living up to my expectations ... How can I give lessons to Mareto if I doubt of myself without showing it?"

Tala understood better now and put her arm around her shoulder to support her in this moment of doubt.

- "You're still very young ..." said Tala in a calm voice "... The weight of leadership is not easy to bear, but you, Moana, are strong. You have already proven, and you will prove it again. What matters is not that you succeed at the first blow and at any cost, but that you never stop believing in your goal, even if it seems impossible."

This time it was Moana's turn to listen carefully, which she did. Although she grew up, she would still have to learn too. As her father once said to her, "A wise leader learns to become one, and the wisest of them continue to learn even after learning." Moana agreed with that and kept in her mind what her grandmother had just told her. Tala gave a kiss on her granddaughter's forehead and got up to start heading for the ocean. Moana guessed that Tala was already leaving and joining the other spirits of the ocean. Tala, putting her feet in the water, turned one last time to Moana and laid a hand on her heart.

_"Goodbye, Moana, and remember, where your heart goes, I'll go too."

Moana, holding back her tears, also put her hand on her heart as a sign of salvation. Tala disappeared then, her body changing into water and becoming one with the waves, and went away in the form of a magnificent shining manta ray. Moana watched her, until the spirit disappeared on the horizon. Again alone on the huge beach, the warm sand beneath her bare feet, Moana stood for a moment and looked back at the ocean. Feeling both sad at the departure of her grandmother, but also reinforced by what she had told her, the young woman took a deep breath and was ready to return to the village to continue the work with Mareto. But before that, eating something would be welcome, Moana feeling her belly gurgle a bit and having to admit that she was getting hungry. Noon was approaching and nothing better than a good meal to start the afternoon. But as she approached the edge of the first trees along the beach, she heard regular noises nearby. Looking down, she saw Hei Hei, the small, round-eyed, sickly chicken with a certain lack of intelligence trying to peck a pebble. Moana sighed, arms folded, and watching the animal in its peculiar work.

- "Hei Hei ..... Decidedly, you'll never stop to desesperate me...." she said with a tone of humor. The little chicken looked up at her, making a curious little noise, before resuming what he was doing. Moana rolled her eyes and took Hei Hei in her hands, this one continuing to peck in the air without even realizing it. Moana sometimes wondered how he had managed to follow her during her adventure across the ocean, despite his non-existent intelligence.

But as she was about to leave, something suddenly made her stop. An immense doubt overwhelmed her suddenly. Then, turning to the ocean, she understood why and showed a surprised expression. On the horizon, a large ship with white sails had just appeared, and seemed to be heading for the island. The ship was large and very solid, and did not look like the one used by island tribes. The ship's white sails had a symbol that Moana did not know. A sun with seven waving branches. A sense of curiosity, but also distrust, grabbed Moana as she watched, and could see this unknown ship approaching her island.

-"What does it mean?" Moana said with a bad feeling.

- "Moana" suddenly said his father's voice. Moana turned to see her father, Tui, a man with a muscular frame, and her mother, Sina, come to her in haste, too, having seen the sails of the strange ship. Moana put Hei Hei on the ground and came to them.

- "Father, what's going on?" Moana asked with doubt, pointing to the foreign ship. Tui stepped forward, and with a closed face, also showed a form of anxiety, but also anger.

- "I don't know, but in any case, we must be prepared for any eventuality."