I asked him which star was Mailapaifang. He pointed to the one just off the North Star. Everything was visible—every single star I wanted to see was there, clear and bright on a cloudless sea with zero light pollution.

At this moment, the canoe became a world of the Satawal language. Once we successfully turned to the captain’s designated heading, the engine was cut. Most went to rest, leaving only a few to monitor our heading. We began to drift.

Finding the way step-by-step involves much hardship, but it allowed me to see Okinawa from an angle no tourist ever could. I saw the “smile” of Okinawa approaching from the sea to welcome us. This slow journey gave my heart the time it needed to fully experience the weight of “arrival.”