Burned
Other books in the Soul Surfer Series:
Soul Surfer Bible
Fiction:
Clash (Book One)
Storm (Book Three)
Crunch (Book Four)
Nonfiction:
Ask Bethany â FAQs: Surfing, Faith & Friends
Rise Above: A 90-Day Devotional
ZONDERKIDZ
Burned
Copyright © 2007 by Bethany Hamilton
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86581-0
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bundschuh, Rick, 1951-
Burned / by Rick Bundschuh ; inspired by Bethany Hamilton.
p. cm. â (Soul surfer series)
Summary: On a surfing vacation with her family in Samoa, fourteen-year-old Bethany Hamilton has a run-in with an arrogant, angry young man and discovers a Samoan tradition that brings healing and forgiveness.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-71223-7
1. Hamilton, Bethany â Juvenile fiction. [1. Hamilton, Bethany â Fiction. 2. Surfing âFiction. 3. Chris tian life â Fiction. 4. Amputees â Fiction. 5. People with disabilities â Fiction. 6. Samoa â Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B915126Bur 2007
[Fic] â dc22
2006029320
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All Rights Reserved.
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 â electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other â except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan
Soul Surfer
is a trademark owned by Bethany Hamilton
Editor: Barbara Scott
Illustrations: Monika Roe
Photography: Noah Hamilton
07 08 09 10 ⢠10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Most people think that the life of a traveling surfer is glorious. In many ways, it is; discovering cool places to surf and exploring new cultures is fun
and
exciting. But as anyone who spends a lot of time out on the road will tell you, sometimes being away from home and family can be a bummer . . . especially if you like your home and family.
Because of this, Bethany's family often tries to plan their vacations around her surfing contests. As busy as they all are, the more remote the place is, the better. Spots well off the beaten path where there are no phones, computers, crowds, problems, or pollution are the best.
So, traveling to the beautiful island of Samoa in the South Seas for a surf camp sounded awesome.
But Bethany and her family soon discover that trouble can find you anywhere â even in the most remote of locations.
They will also discover that sometimes it's not the trouble â but how we react to it that's the true lesson . . . and
gift.
The Hamiltons are a typical family. Noah, the first son, is serious and business-minded. Tim, the second son, is a big goof-off who âthe last time I saw him â had cut his hair into a mullet in order to be so uncool that he was cool. Tom and Cheri are caring, loving parents with more than a hint of old surf dog in them.
Bethany is pretty much like any other young teenager, except that she can surf really, really well. She has her ups and downs. She loves God and yet she still has room to learn and grow as a Christian.
Oh, and she has one arm.
But I'm sure you knew that already.
Keep in mind that I'm telling you a story â but not a story that is so far out that it couldn't have happened. In fact, some of it actually did happen. But like any storyteller worth his salt, I am not going to tell you which is which.
Enjoy!
Rick Bundschuh Kauai, Hawaii
Bethany felt like she had stepped into another world â or
something
like that.
Still groggy from the plane trip from Australia, she blinked a couple of times and pulled her iPod headset down around her neck as she glanced around the busy little airport. Samoa didn't seem like the Treasure Island that her mom was so into talking about lately â but it did kind of feel like another world.
A world of giants.
Giants that wore knee-length wraparound skirts â or
lavalavas
as her mom called them
.
She watched the group of men as they passed her by with their suitcases and grinned to herself.
Bet no
one would mistake them for girls!
She glanced at Noah as he fell into step beside her.
“Big
people, huh?”
“I wouldn't want to play rugby against any of these guys,” Noah admitted.
“You wouldn't last playing rugby against any of the
girls
!” Tim said, eyeing Noah's thin frame with a sly grin.
“I don't know â the girls are really pretty,” Bethany laughed. “Might be worth the pain.” Her attention was suddenly drawn to the group ahead of them.
Had to be surfers
, she thought, eyeing the three young guys with their sun-bleached hair and trademark broad shoulders. The youngest turned and said something to one of the older boys. Bethany guessed him to be close to her age. He had long wavy hair and his nose and cheeks were speckled from constant peeling. The bright red shirt he was wearing had the logo of a California surfboard company on it.
Surfers â I knew it!
Bethany thought smugly.
“At least
I'm
not crazy enough to get a tattoo,” Noah said as he shifted the board bag to his other shoulder. Bethany glanced back at him, momentarily confused.
“Tattoo?” She looked between her brothers and frowned. That's what she got for sleeping on the plane; she always missed the good stuff.
“Samoan
tattoo,” Tim nodded excitedly. “They're awesome; a lot of geometric design. Really tribal.”
Bethany made a face. “Only thing I want on my skin is some sun.”
“You're not getting anything tattooed, Tim,” Bethany's dad said dryly from somewhere behind them as their mom laughed.
Tim grinned. “Or how about a
Maori
tattoo âyou know, the big ones that cover your face?”
“Might be an improvement, Dad,” Noah interjected.
“Don't give him any ideas,” Bethany's mom said exasperatedly, and they all laughed as they headed for customs.
Other than the surfboards, the Hamiltons traveled light; each had a carry-on with shorts, bathing suits, T-shirts, and one set of “going to dinner clothes.” They moved quickly through the line and into the night.
Outside, the warm humid air blew around Bethany, reminding her of home. She turned her face toward the star-spattered sky. Actually it
was
home, having her family with her. Even though it was almost midnight, she felt the excitement of being in a new place and couldn't help wondering what kind of waves she would catch this trip.
When she looked down again, she noticed a huge, dark-skinned man leaning against the van parked at the curb. He was wearing a flowered aloha shirt, a lavalava, and a pair of well-worn rubber slippers.
She saw his eyes take in their surfboard bags, and he began to wave wildly, charging over to grab the heavier of the loads.
“Talafoa
! My name is Tagiilima,” he said, extending a large palm to Tom, Bethany's dad. “You Hamiltons?”
Bethany's dad nodded, and Tagiilima vigorously shook his hand â along with the rest of his body. Bethany's mom looked at her, and they both tried not to laugh.
“I am driver for the surf camp,” Tagiilima announced with a wide smile to everyone as he began to relieve them of their boards and bags.
Then the Samoan caught site of Bethany.
He paused in his labors and stared at the tall, young blonde girl with a surfboard bag in her right hand and a knot in the T-shirt where her left arm should have been. A thoughtful look crossed his face as he took Bethany's board bag and secured it on the roof of the van with the others.
“I see you in magazine,” he said softly. “Brave, strong girl.”
Bethany smiled back shyly. It embarrassed her a little when people mentioned seeing her on TV or in magazines. She braced herself for the usual questions; “How big was the shark? Weren't you scared to surf again?
”
But the questions never came. Instead, the Samoan just smiled at her. There was something so honest and open about his face, she thought, almost like he was a kid in the body of a giant.
She liked him immediately.
The family piled into the van as Tagiilima finished cinching the surfboards on the roof rack. They were soon weaving their way down the amber-lit road that led from the airport to the town of Apia.
“Surf camp not far, but takes long time,” Tagiilima announced, tuning to a Samoan radio station. “You can rest, sleep.”
Bethany sat back and listened along to the strange mix of Western pop, Samoan, and Christian worship tunes as she tried to catch a glimpse of the dark island that raced past her window.
It was hard to see anything except for brief flashes here and there when a dim light shone from the porch or window of a building and, even then, the most she could make out was palm trees. Bethany sighed; it was hard to be patient when your whole body was itching to surf.
What was that her mom always liked to say about patience? She drew a blank and almost laughed out loud.
Guess I'm too wound up to
remember!
She glanced back at her family. Tim had commandeered the backseat and was sound asleep. Noah was wedged uncomfortably next to Bethany but had managed to doze off with the help of his ever-present iPod. Her dad nodded like a subway sleeper in the front seat while Tagiilima tapped his fingers to the beat from the scratchy van speakers.
Then she spotted her mom on the other side of Noah, impatiently straining her eyes toward the road as she tried to catch some passing scenery. Bethany couldn't help grinning.