Burned (8 page)

Why are you so mad, Liam?

Not knowing what else to do, he finally sat down on a large gravestone he spotted at the edge of someone's property. Then he pulled his legs up underneath him and quietly began to cry.

Back at the surf camp, Del and Hank had just returned to their fale after watching a movie with the Hamilton brothers when they both noticed Liam's empty bed.

At first they gave it little thought, figuring Liam was out messing around somewhere as usual. But as the night wore on, they started to worry. Finally, worry gave way to action, and they set out to scour the camp for Liam.

Bethany and Malia were sound asleep when Tim pounded on their door. Bethany struggled up and opened the door to find her brother staring back at her, hair all askew, eyes wide with worry. She suddenly felt wide awake and alert.

“What's wrong?”

“Have you seen Liam?”

“Um, no,” Bethany frowned. “Why?”

“We can't find him,” Tim said. “And we've looked everywhere. Del and Hank are starting to freak out.”

“I'll help you look,” Bethany said, reaching for her clothes.

“Me too!”

“No, Malia!” Bethany said, shrugging her shirt on. “You don't need to be hobbling around in the dark. You'll trip and fall in a hole or something —then I'll have two people to worry about. Just hang out here. I'll let you know what's up.”

Out of her dresser drawer, Bethany pulled a small flashlight and stuck it in the pocket of her shorts.

“God works in all things, huh?” Malia said, and Bethany paused at the door.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You said you would have two people to worry about,” Malia said. One being me — that means the other person would have to be Liam.”

With that parting comment, Bethany shut the door and disappeared into the dark.

The search for Liam had grown to involve almost everyone at the camp. Bethany's parents searched down by the docks with Clint while the boys searched the vacant fales. Bethany spotted Tagiilima sliding behind the wheel of the van and ran over to him just as he was starting the engine.

“Can I come too?”

“Yes, Miss Bethany,” Tagiilima said with a worried look on his face. “You come look, help find!”

“Can we pray before we go?” Bethany asked a little tentatively and then smiled when Tagiilima bobbed his head excitedly.

“Yes, Miss Bethany, we pray!”

Bethany grabbed his hand and said a short prayer asking God to lead them in the way they should search and to help them find Liam safe.

“Amen,” they both said together, and Bethany quickly slid into the van next to Tagiilima.

Crunching the tires over the crushed coral and gravel driveway, Tagiilima steered the van down the small road that served as the main highway around the island.

“We see if he is walking first,” the Samoan suggested. Bethany pulled the small flashlight out of her pocket and turned it on. The beam was narrow but bright.

“Thank goodness for new batteries,” she said, sweeping the light back and forth as the Samoan drove slowly down the road.

Please God, help us find him
, she silently prayed.
I do believe all things work together for
your good
.
Let something good come of this.

Several miles from the camp, Bethany's sweeping light ricocheted off something reflective. Hope surged though her body.

She swept her light back toward the object and held it firm.

The light was bouncing off the reflective strip of a daypack.

It was then that she saw the huddled figure of Liam.

“He's over there!” Bethany said excitedly as Tagiilima quickly swung the van around and drove up next to where Liam was sitting.

“Liam! Everyone is looking for you!” Bethany said gently as she stepped from the van.

Liam didn't move or even lift his head.

“They are worried about you. We were
all
worried about you.”

The boy slowly lifted his head. His long blond hair was swept back by a sudden gust of wind and Bethany saw the tears on his cheeks.

“I screwed up,” Liam said softly. “Screwed up big time.”

“I know,” Bethany said, easing closer. “But we all screw up every once in a while. Come get in the car. Please.”

Liam slowly unfolded himself and, like a man going to the gallows, he crawled into the backseat without looking at either one of them.

“Pick up your mat and go home.” Bethany whispered softly — not realizing she had even spoke the words out loud until she saw Liam and Tagiilima looking at her like she might be a little crazy.

“What?” Liam sniffed.

“It's something I read earlier — from my Bible,” Bethany felt her cheeks flush, but she took a deep breath, whispered her silent prayer for help, and went on. “It was about this crippled guy whose friends had so much faith that Jesus could help him, they took him to where Jesus was. Before the guy said a word, Jesus told him his sins were forgiven . . . and to pick up his mat and go home.”

“I thought you said he was crippled,” Liam said softly, and Bethany was surprised to see Tagiilima lean forward, as if he was anticipating the outcome of the story as much or more than Liam.

“That's the cool thing; Jesus didn't just forgive him of his sins — he healed him too. It was like, because he believed, he was forgiven and made whole.
Everything
was new. That's how it is with God; you don't have to feel guilty . . . or pay.”

“Pick up your mat and go home,” Tagiilima said softly. When Bethany turned and smiled at him, she was surprised to see tears in the big Samoan's eyes. “Like the repentance mat.”

Bethany nodded excitedly and turned to Liam and explained the cool similarity between the custom of the Samoans with the repentance mat and the story about Jesus healing and forgiving the crippled man.

“I feel like I've been under the repentance mat since I left camp,” Liam said quietly.

“But you don't have to stay there,” Bethany said. “We've all done things to hurt others. We've all put ourselves at the center of the universe. We've all wished we could be number one. So we all deserve to be put under the repentance mat.

“But the wonderful thing, the thing that makes it a different story, is that God comes to us and lifts off the mat. By dying on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve. Because of him, we are forgiven and free.”

“I'm not sure about all this religious stuff,” said Liam.

“I'm not talking about religion,” Bethany said with a smile. “I'm talking about having a relationship with God. Actually getting to know him!”

“How do you do that?” asked Liam.

“It's simple! Just ask forgiveness and put your trust in him. He took the mat off you and put it on himself!”

“We can pray!” Tagiilima said, suddenly beaming with that wonderful smile of his.

“Yes! Please, Tagiilima,” Bethany said. “You lead us.”

Tagiilima began to pray out loud, his imperfect English mixing with Samoan words.

“Please help me,” Liam whispered brokenly, surprising both Bethany and Tagiilima as he began to cry. “I've been so mad since my mom died . . .”

What happened next, Bethany knew she would remember for the rest of her life. She felt tears fill her own eyes as she watched the huge Samoan move to the back of the van and take Liam gently in his arms as he too began to cry, sharing in Liam's grief — as well as his new life.

By the time Tagiilima, Bethany, and Liam pulled the camp van into its parking slot, the mood at camp was frantic. Tim ran toward the van as Bethany leaned out and called, “We found him; he's okay!”

A timid and fearful Liam exited the van fully expecting the rage of his cousins and the rest of the camp. Instead, he found relief and joy as everyone surrounded him.

“Let's all go to bed,” Del said wearily — but happily, as he put his arm around his cousin's shoulders. “We can get the details in the morning.”

Figures slowly melted back to their fales, and Liam, tired but somehow released, climbed the stairs to his bed as well.

Bethany winced as soon as the screen door slapped shut.

“I tried to stay up,” Malia said groggily. “What happened?”

“You won't believe it!” said Bethany.

The two girls whispered in the dark for another hour and even then Bethany found it difficult to sleep.

“What a crazy day, God,” Bethany whispered. “This has been one crazy, terrible, and wonderful day!”

eight

The morning sun was high over the distant mountains by the time everyone began to trickle into the dining room for breakfast. As tired as they all were from the night before, there was no great rush to get to the boats.

Bethany loaded her plate high with fruit and yogurt as she struggled to wake up. Malia, the only one who did get some sleep, outdid her, piling her plate high with an impressive amount of eggs, several pieces of bacon, and some toast. Tim made pig noises as he passed their table, and Malia grinned.

“If I can't surf, I might as well eat,” Malia said airily.

“Hey, check it out,” Bethany whispered as all heads turned to watch Liam walk into the dining room. A weird kind of hush fell over everyone —like they were all trying to figure out what to say, if anything.

But Liam didn't look as if he had come for breakfast conversation — he looked like he had come to make an announcement. He glanced around the room and then cleared his throat. Bethany noticed that his cheeks were beginning to turn red.

“I want to tell you all,” Liam began and then swallowed, “especially you, Malia and Bethany, that I am so sorry for how I acted in the water. And even out of the water. There's no excuse for what I did. And Malia, I hope you can forgive me for wrecking your surf trip.”

For a moment no one said a thing. Bethany glanced at Malia and saw that her lips were trembling a little. Del and Hank looked relieved and grateful that their idiotic cousin had finally done something smart.

Then Malia walked over to Liam and gave him a hug.

Liam blushed and lowered his head. A small tear escaped from the corner of his eye, and he brushed it away quickly.

“All right, that's enough of the spotlight for you Liam!” Hank called out.

“Let's eat!” Tim said.

“Come, sit with us!” Malia added with a grin.

Liam piled his plate even higher than Malia — no small feat, but Bethany guessed his apology had allowed his appetite to return. She had been there herself, after all.

Between bites, Bethany whispered to him, “I'm sorry about your mom. That must be really hard.”

Liam nodded his head, smiled weakly, and forked up another bite. He glanced shyly at Malia.

“Do you eat like that all the time?” Malia asked with a teasing grin.

“Yeah,” Liam admitted with a small grin of his own. “Sometimes a lot more than this.”

Bethany chuckled. “Tim has met his match!”

As soon as breakfast was out of the way, the general consensus was that it was time to get back to the business of surfing. Pod had announced that the swell had peaked overnight and returned to a playful size. A short time later, their gear was loaded and they all climbed back on the boat with Pod.

Malia was the last to climb on board. She carried a waterproof bag slung over each shoulder. One contained a video camera and the other a still camera.

Noah and Tim had made her the official photographer for the rest of the trip and had given her a crash course in how to use their equipment.

All morning long, Malia recorded the images of her friends, Liam included, getting great tube rides, floating over crashing sections, and, in the case of the younger surfers, getting some air.

That evening, Noah hooked up the camera to the camp television, and the whole crew gathered around and watched the movies and stills Malia had shot. They hooted for each good ride and laughed and played backward any wipeout.

Afterward, everyone complimented Malia on her video and photography skills.

Every day for the rest of their trip, Malia sat in the boat again, cameras ready, batteries recharged. She even bugged Pod to move his boat around so she could shoot from different angles.

Little did Noah and Tim know, but their idea to include Malia was the start of something big for her. She discovered shooting movies was not only fun but something she was good at — a fledgling filmmaker was born.

On their last day in Samoa, Bethany talked Pod into taking her and Malia out for one final surf session. She made sure it was early enough so that the adults wouldn't be there to remind Malia about doctor's orders and other precautions.

The girls watched the sun come up over the Samoan jungle and turned and smiled at each other.

“How ya feeling?” Bethany asked.

Malia laughed. “After that sunrise? Great! I thought the salt water would sting some of my cuts, but they must be healed enough to handle!”

They threw their boards in the water and dived in. Bethany broke the surface and waited for Malia to come up.

“Okay. Here's my gift to you: You can have any wave you want today!”

“In that case, I want them all!”

“Don't be a wave hog!”

Malia started snorting and paddled for an oncoming wave at the same time. She was still snorting like a pig as she sailed past Bethany.

Bethany laughed, wishing she could've taped Malia like that — somehow freeze-frame the moment forever. It would be another memory of Samoa that she would keep in her heart for the rest of her life.

The flight back to Hawaii was scheduled to leave midafternoon. Del, Hank, and Liam were outbound on a ten p.m. flight.

After lunch, the Hamilton family busied themselves unscrewing fins, loading board bags, and packing up their gear.

Tagiilima trotted back and forth with surfboards, stacking them high on the rusty roof racks of the surf-camp van.