Moana’s POV

The sea has always been my lullaby. I was born to its rhythm, raised on its tides. Our island is small, just a cluster of wooden huts gathered along the shore, with the jungle behind us and the horizon stretching wide in front. To outsiders, it might seem too quiet, too simple. But for us, it is everything.

I’m eighteen now, and that means one thing, I’ll be married. That thought has followed me like a shadow these past months, filling my heart with both excitement and a ...