It was about 5 o’clock in the afternoon and I was laying on a windy beach about a mile out of Pa’ia, Maui. After a glorious weekend retreat, I was psyching myself up for the short flight back to Oahu, when I noticed a small spot of red tumbling around in the shorebreak. It was this beautiful halaconya. Just the flower part. I stood up and watched it for a while, wondering if it was coming ashore or setting sail. I grabbed my camera, and proceeded to snap about 20 shots or so. I stood over it, turning my camera this way and that, careful not to get my toes in the picture. The bright, waxy red flower eventually made it’s way up the sand, being prodded along by the surf. I missed my flight.