Growing up in Kaimuki was fairly normal for me. That is until the fifth grade. That was the year that everything changed.
After school, my best friend Mary and I would hangout at the Kaimuki Rec Center. Miss Kato and Mr. Ko from the Parks and Rec allowed Mary and I to help in the art class.
One day as we washed paintbrushes, we heard Miss Kato quietly talking with Mr. Ko.
"What are you two whispering about?" Mary asked.
Miss Kato turned to us with a concerned look. "I’m telling Mr. Ko about Henry Orbitz and what happened to Beverly Tanaka," she said.
"What happened to Beverly and who is Henry Orbitz?" I asked Miss Ko.
Miss Ko asked us to sit down and began to tell us a story:
"Henry Orbitz was known all across Hawaii Nei for having very big and strong hands. He was sentenced to prison for strangling someone in a single squeeze. A few years ago when the Wahiawa railroad track project began, Henry was selected for work furlough along with Joe Tanaka, his cellmate.
"One day the train was doing a trial run. It was a very hot day and tempers were rising too. On that day, Joe teased Henry excessively about his hands. Things got out of control and soon the men were beefing it out. Joe shoved Henry onto the tracks at the very same time as the train rolled by, and Henry’s arm was severed.
"By the time the police came onto the scene, Henry’s dead body lie limp across the railtracks — minus his missing right hand."
Mary and I sat glued to our chairs. "What happened to his hand?" we asked Mrs. Kato.
Mrs. Kato looked toward the women’s bathroom with quivering lips. "Being cellmates, Joe and Henry shared a lot of personal information, including facts about Beverly, Joe’s sister.
"Henry’s body was dead, but Henry’s hand took on a mind of it’s own. It wanted revenge. The hand was on a mission to kill and destroy Joe’s family, including Beverly.
"The hand crept slowly, inch by inch, mile by mile, methodically and fearlessly from Wahiawa through Kalihi, down King Street to McCully and finally arrived here in Kaimuki to this very room, looking for Beverly.
"One frightful night, Beverly was the only student here. I had left the art room for just a few minutes and when I returned, I saw Henry Orbitz’s hand wrapped around Beverly’s neck trying to strangle her. She was pale and faint. I screamed and Henry’s hand let go as Beverly crumpled to the floor."
Mrs. Kato nodded her head in the Ewa direction toward the bathrooms.
"Henry’s hand scampered into the women’s restroom," she whispered.
"I peeked into the restroom and I saw Henry’s fingers poking up through the drain cover in the sink. He had found a place to reside and was carefully trying to replace the drainage cover over his hiding spot.
"Since then, there have been odd things happening in the women’s restroom. Henry’s been on a rampage and emerges out of the drain and attacks without warning. Sue Motsmith was nearly clawed to death. Betty Pacheco was attacked as she washed her hands.
"Girls, do not go alone into the restroom. You don’t know when Henry Orbitz will attack next."
This story has haunted me all my life. A few years ago the rec center restroom was demolished. People reported seeing a hand creeping along Monsarrat Avenue. I know it’s Henry Orbitz, looking for another playground restroom drain to call home.
Beware if you enter Hawaii’s park restrooms alone. Henry Orbitz may live there.
