Haibu Lost in New York Read online

  HAIBU

  LOST IN NEW YORK

  Written by Blake Freeman

  with Tara Price

  Illustrated by Zoltan Boros and Gabor Szikszai

  © 2018 Haibu, a registered trademark of Haibu, LLC

  Edited by Michelle McCann

  ISBN: 9781513262208 (paperback) | 9781513262215 (hardbound) | 9781513262222 (e-book)

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters are both actual and fictitious. With the exception of verified historical events and persons, all incidents, descriptions, dialogue, and opinions expressed are the products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Published by Graphic Arts Books

  In Association with Admit 1 Studios

  Distributed by Ingram Publisher Services

  Download the Haibu app from your app store to learn more, play more, and read more.

  Find all things Haibu at www.haibu.love

  This book is dedicated to everyone who dared to dream and then took a chance to turn that dream into a reality.

  CONTENTS

  MONTOOKA

  THE JOURNEY

  A NEW FRIEND

  POLAR SHIFT

  DRIFTING

  IN A NEW YORK MAYOK

  OUT LIKE A LIGHT

  THE NOT-SO-GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

  LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS, OH LIE!

  RALLY THE TROOPS

  PRE-GAME

  THE PLANIMALS

  LITTLE BIG TOPPLE

  HOME

  MEET HAIBU

  “Hello, my name is Haibu, and I’m a Mayok, or as most people call us, the ‘People of the North.’ You say my name like if you were saying hello to a ghost: Hi, Boo!

  I live way up north, almost as far north as you can go, in a little place not even on a map, called Montooka. It’s a colorful little village, where all the houses are painted brightly. That way we can find them easily when they’re covered by snow. I live with my mom, dad, and brother, Amook. Sometimes Amook picks on me, but I don’t get angry because I know it’s just his insecurities. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I overheard my parents whispering about it one night.

  Anyhaibu … ha-ha, did you get what I did there? So, everyone in Montooka lives by the creed ‘Be Happy, Be Friendly, Be Family.’ I spend most of my days playing and working to be the best I can be at fishing and providing for my family. The problem is, I don’t want to just fish! I want to be Haibu the Adventurer! Haibu the Brave! Haibu the Great! I want villagers all over the world to know my name!

  Do you want to know something? They will! Some day, most of the world will know my name, and it’s all because, as you’re going to find out, I have a very special purpose in life.”

  MONTOOKA

  Haibu was running around the front yard, chasing after the dogs like she was in the middle of a great battle, when a neighbor approached. It was Mr. Toko, one of the elders in the village. He was a great warrior and hunter back in his day, and always took time to talk to the other villagers, especially Haibu.

  “Well, hello there, little Haibu,” he said.

  “Hello, Mr. Toko. I’m protecting the village from these ferocious polar bears!” Haibu yelled.

  Mr. Toko looked at the dogs that were climbing all over Haibu and licking her face. “Well, I thank you, and I’ll leave you be to save us helpless villagers from those wild beasts!” he said.

  “Okay, Mr. Toko, I will save us all!”

  Mr. Toko walked off in the snow and Haibu continued to play with her dogs. When Haibu’s father and brother appeared from behind the house, they were pulling a sled with several hunting and fishing tools.

  Haibu ran over, excited. “Atata! Atata!” she called to her father.

  Kneeling next to Haibu, her father spoke. “What are you up to, my little warrior?”

  Haibu knew that they were on their way to go ice fishing. She also knew that fishing was usually left up to the men in the village. But what her father and brother didn’t know was that Haibu wanted badly to prove that she could fish just as well as the boys.

  Haibu replied, “I want to come fishing with you, Atata.”

  Haibu’s brother, Amook, laughed. “You’re too small; you couldn’t catch your own shadow, much less a fish! You want the village to starve?!”

  Amook laughed some more and Haibu shouted back at him, “I could catch a lot of fish! Fish with big mouths, just like yours, Amook!”

  Chuckling, her father continued, “Haibu, I need you here. Who else is going to protect the village while I’m gone?”

  Haibu frowned. “But Atata, I am ready!”

  Father rubbed Haibu’s head and said softly, “Soon enough, soon enough.”

  Haibu was left behind as they disappeared into the snowy distance.

  After stomping through the snow, Haibu entered her house and slammed the door behind her.

  “Haibu, would you like to help me with dinner?” her mother called.

  “No thank you, Anana.” Haibu pouted. “I’m not big enough to help.” Haibu ran into her room and leaped onto the bed.

  Moments later, Haibu’s mother walked in and sat down beside her. “Haibu, what is wrong?” she asked.

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Anana.”

  “Is this because you wanted to go fishing with Amook and your father?”

  Haibu sat up. “Yes! Anana, I am as strong as Amook and as good a fisherman as anyone in this village. If they would only let me—”

  Haibu’s mother interrupted. “Oh my little Haibu, of course you are. But they are going far out to the ice shelf, where the ocean and the ice meet, and it’s quite dangerous. You could fall through the ice or stumble upon a nanuq looking for food. It’s just not safe.”

  Nanuq is the Mayok word for “polar bear.” From a very young age every villager was taught to stay far away from them. Besides the weather, polar bears are a Mayok’s biggest threat.

  But Haibu didn’t want to listen. “You think I’m scared of a fluffy ole nanuq, Anana?” She stood up on her bed with her hands in the air, mimicking a bear. “Have you ever seen a nanuq this tough, Anana? Rawr! Rawr!” she growled.

  “You are a very scary nanuq. It’s been a long day, Haibu. Why don’t you rest and I will call you when dinner is ready,” her mother said, as she headed back to the kitchen.

  Haibu dropped to her bed and muttered, “They’ll never understand.”

  THE JOURNEY

  Deep in thought, Haibu reached over and grabbed the Shookia given to her by Mr. Toko and the other village elders when she was younger. A Shookia is a bracelet, made to remind villagers that they can achieve anything they want, as long as they work hard and are true to themselves. It is a beloved piece of jewelry in the village of Montooka. The Shookia is made from yellowish rock crystals, and between each crystal sits a small, brown, flat stone. Each stone has a letter carved on it. On this bracelet, the letters spelled out HAIBU.

  Haibu slipped it on her wrist and repeated the mantra that had been passed down for generations, for each person to use their name at the end: “I can do anything I believe I can do. I can be anything I believe I can be. I can achieve anything I want to achieve. I am Haibu.”

  Haibu’s eyes opened wide, “I can do this! I’m going to do this! I will show all of them!” She quietly gathered a few things into a backpack and slowly opened the bedroom window for her escape. Quiet as a mouse, she dropped into the snow, brushed herself o
ff, and headed toward the shed in the backyard. As she crept past the side of the house, she stopped to peek into the kitchen window. There she saw her mother still cooking dinner.

  Haibu carefully etched a heart into the frost on the window and whispered, “I love you, Anana.” Then she sprinted to the shed, where she grabbed the fishing tools and bait and placed them on a sled.

  Haibu headed out, pulling the sled loaded with her supplies behind her. Haibu braved harsh weather as she traveled through the snow toward the frozen blue sea. The wind was howling and the snow made it very difficult to see, but she pushed forward.

  “Come on! You can do this, Haibu!” she yelled to herself.

  After hours of pulling the sled through the fierce storm, sleet and snow stinging her face with every step, Haibu finally reached the place where the land met the sea. She stood on the shallow ice and looked around for her father and brother. They were nowhere to be seen.

  “Good!” she thought. “They would just send me home.”

  With darkness setting in, she began building a snow shelter to keep her safe while she slept. Haibu cut block after block from the snow and stacked them perfectly to make the igloo. This was a difficult task for three villagers, much less one small one like Haibu, but she was determined.

  Haibu continued working until the igloo was finished, then crawled in and fell immediately to sleep.

  A NEW FRIEND

  DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.

  The shelter was melting in the morning sun, pulling Haibu out of a deep, dreamy sleep. She woke up full of energy.

  “It’s time to fish!” she shouted.

  No one was around, but the crisp, cold air felt good after her cozy sleep. Emerging from the shelter, Haibu squinted to see the ice shelf in the distance, way up the coast. The ocean waves were gently cresting the edge of the ice, where it met the sea. Standing perfectly still, Haibu took it all in.

  “Wow. You are a beautiful world,” she whispered. “But I’ve got no time to stare at you right now. There are fish to be caught!”

  CRACK!

  Haibu slammed her pickaxe into the ice, over and over and over again until …

  CRACK!

  SPLASH!

  The pickaxe broke through the ice and water splashed out of the hole. “It worked!” Haibu shouted. Haibu knew what she was doing and wasted no time grabbing the fishing pole and bait from the sled.

  Almost immediately after dropping in her line, Haibu started pulling out fish after fish after fish. Cheering with excitement, she shouted out to no one in particular, “I knew I could do this! These fish are bigger than Amook!”

  Smiling and laughing to herself and the fish she was catching, Haibu piled each of them neatly on the sled. It was one on top of the other, higher and higher. In no time, the stack grew so high that it was taller than the roof of the igloo! Exhausted, Haibu looked over to the pile of fish and then down at her Shookia bracelet.

  “I can do anything I believe I can do,” she whispered. “I can be anything I believe I can be. I can achieve anything I want to achieve. I am Haibu.” Then she smiled. She felt really good about herself.

  Suddenly, Haibu heard a string of thumping noises. The fish she caught were slipping off the sled and spreading all over the ice. Standing where the pile of fish used to be was a small, white, fluffy seal pup with eyes as big as full moons. He looked at her guiltily, knowing he had been caught trying to steal a fish.

  Haibu asked, “Now, who might you be, mister?”

  The seal lowered his head like he was being scolded.

  Haibu pointed at him and then at the fish. “No. Not yours! You better skedaddle, or I will make you into a fur cap!”

  The seal turned his big eyes back to Haibu, as if to say he was sorry. That surprised her, and she melted a bit inside. To make the seal feel a little better, Haibu grabbed one of the fish and threw it in front of him. The seal settled in for this snack while Haibu gathered all the tools. When she looked back, the seal was no longer eating the fish. Instead, he was staring intently at Haibu.

  “Go on!” Haibu urged. “I gave you a fish! Now eat it and go!”

  As Haibu continued to pick up tools, she heard a noise behind her. She spun around to find the seal’s face inches from hers. Surprised, but not scared, Haibu dropped the tools just as the little seal planted a big wet kiss right in the middle of her forehead!

  Wiping the slobber away, Haibu sternly replied, “No, Mr. Seal! You need to go home!”

  That did not happen.

  The seal scooted even closer to Haibu’s face and smothered her with kisses and more kisses. When he was done, he lay his head on Haibu’s shoulder and stared innocently at her with his perfectly round, midnight-black eyes.

  Haibu snuggled into him for a moment. It felt good. It made her think of good thoughts. Be Happy, Be Friendly, Be Family.

  “Okay, fine. You can have another fish if you’d like.”

  Happily accepting the offer, the seal continued to eat. “You’re lucky you’re so cute, Mr. Seal. I wouldn’t give just anybody my fish. I need these to prove to my family and my village that I am as strong as they are!”

  With his head cocked to the side, the seal seemed to be trying to understand all the words that were coming out of her mouth.

  “My name is Haibu. What’s your name? Nosey? Because you do seem a little nosey.” Haibu giggled. “Maybe I’ll just call you Kanuux,” she said, saying the word like Kuh-new. “Kanuux means heart! Your cute little black nose is shaped just like a heart.”

  The seal nodded at Haibu.

  “You like it? Great! That’s what I’ll call you then—Kanuux! By the way, a heart is my favorite shape, so you are now my favorite Kanuux. Do you want to come home with me? You can help me fish, and everyone in the village will know who we are! The dynamic duo!”

  Soon, it was midday, and Haibu had been fishing since early morning, pulling out huge fish that weighed nearly as much as Kanuux the seal. All that work made Haibu exhausted. Likewise, Kanuux was sleepy from all the fish he had eaten. Haibu yawned as loud as a ship’s horn. Kanuux’s eyelids grew heavy.

  Haibu turned to Kanuux with a good idea. “I think we should have a nap before our trip back.”

  She lay down on the ice and Kanuux lay his head across her stomach, and they both drifted off into their own little dreamlands.

  POLAR SHIFT

  Haibu’s eyes opened suddenly to an unfamiliar crunching noise. Confused, she whispered to herself, “What could that be?”

  Kanuux was still fast asleep beside her. As Haibu sat up to look around, she was horrified to see a large, full-grown, nine-hundred-pound polar bear just a few feet away. And it was eating all of her fish!

  Before she even thought about what she was doing, Haibu screamed at the bear, “Nanuq, NO! Not yours! Shoo!”

  The polar bear swung his head in Haibu’s direction and snarled, showing his large fangs.

  Haibu instantly regretted her actions. “Oh no…”

  There are many things for a Mayok to fear in the north, but none more terrifying nor dangerous than an angry polar bear. The ferocious bear lunged straight toward Haibu, stopping directly in front of her! Haibu heard the loud crack of the ice beneath them. She froze.

  Growling, the bear showed how tough he was by flashing his dangerous teeth directly in front of Haibu’s face. His growl was so deep that it shook Haibu’s entire body, making her teeth chatter and her hair stand up on her arms.

  “P-p-please,” Haibu begged.

  The bear leaned in closer to Haibu and with a voice that sounded like it was coming from somewhere deep, deep, deep in a cave, answered, “Please, what?”

  Yesterday was a long day and last night was a short night, so Haibu was more than a little surprised by the polar bear encounter. And now this … Did that polar bear just speak to me? And did I just understand him?

  Haibu wasn’t sure what was happening. She wondered if she was in a state of shock. “P-P-Please don’t hurt us. Just take the f
ish.”

  Now, bears are not known for their manners, nor have they ever been caught using a napkin. The hungry bear leaned even closer, baring his large, razor-sharp teeth and dripping saliva onto Haibu’s feet. He roared, “Do you think I need your permission?”

  The bear stood on his hind legs, towering over Haibu. Then he crashed back down on all fours and shouted, “I will take what I want, human!”

  Needless to say, the crash knocked Haibu to the ground. Kanuux, who was wide awake now, whimpered and scurried backward a few feet. Haibu couldn’t take her eyes off of the bear.

  She whispered to herself, “He can talk.” Slowly, she crawled to her feet, “I’m trying to be nice and offer you fish.”

  “And I am not asking you for permission! I will take what I want, just like you did!” the bear snarled.

  “Then take it and please leave,” Haibu shouted back.

  The bear began to circle around Haibu. “You humans are weak and pathetic. You take all you can, even when you’ve had enough.”

  “I’m not trying—”

  “I did not ask you to speak!” the bear roared.

  Haibu was terrified. She knew the bear could gobble her up in seconds, then turn around and do the same to Kanuux. Still circling Haibu, the polar bear continued, “You humans are the reason I have to resort to stealing fish. Day and night, I see you pulling fish from the great waters, taking them all with no regard to any other animal out here.”

  He stopped in front of Haibu and raised a paw in the air. Haibu squeezed her eyes shut, sure this was the end.

  CRASH! The bear slammed his paw down on the ice. “You humans are the reason this ice is breaking so easily!” he yelled.

  The ice started cracking even more, and this time the sound lasted longer. Haibu looked down, slowly retreating from the sound of the crackling ice. “Not all of us are b-b-bad.”

  “I know who you are,” the bear snarled.