Puhi in the Coral Door

Puhi in the Coral Door

Puhi — the moray eel

The puhi keeps mostly to the coral doorway, opening and closing its mouth while clear kai moves through the reef. A cleaner shrimp steps close with impossible bravery, tending the speckled face like a little physician of the sea.

Around them, koʻa rises in pink, gold, and russet layers. The whole scene feels secret and courteous — a pause in the reef where even sharp teeth and delicate whiskers know how to share space.