Mandy

[Verse 1]

This is Audible.

Cambridge English Readers.

Level 3.

Eye of the Storm,

by Mandy Loder.

Published by Cambridge University Press.

This recording

is

copyright.

This

recording

is

copyright.

[Verse 2]

Chapter 1

Calm Before the Storm

September 9

It was a wonderful September day in Miami,

Florida.

On the wide, white beach along the coast

of Key Biscayne,

the sun was hot on the sand.

A slim, young woman in her early twenties

was lying alone down by the sea.

She was beautiful,

but her face was sad.

Her long black hair fell over the book

she was reading.

From time to time she looked up from

her book and along the beach.

Then she put her book away in a

bag and sat up.

She looked unhappily along the beach again.

I can't tell him.

I just can't tell him, " she whispered

to herself.

[Verse 3]

The sea was flat,

calm, and clear. And

the weather was hot.

It was too hot to work,

too hot to play,

too hot to drive into Miami to meet

up with friends,

and it was too hot to stay at

home.

The wide green streets of Key Biscayne

and the parking lots of the tall white

buildings

were almost empty in the burning sun.

Everybody was at the beach.

Groups of friends lay on the sand,

talking,

laughing,

and listening to music.

Some were playing ball games.

Others ran into the water to swim.

Families with fat babies and sunburned children

lay under the palm trees that grew along

the beach.

Mothers watched carefully as their children ran down

to the sea

to play in the warm, shallow water.

And at the far end of the beach,

across the water,

the tall white buildings of Miami

stood out against the clear blue sky.

[Verse 4]

At the far side of the beach,

a narrow path ran between the tall white

apartment buildings.

It joined the green streets of Key Biscayne

with the wide white beaches.

A tall, good-looking man,

about the same age as the woman,

was coming down the path.

He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans,

and his arms and face were brown from

the sun.

At the end of the path, he stopped

under the palm trees and looked out across

the beach.

"'Ekemi!"

he shouted.

"'Max!'

The woman stood up and waved.

"'I'm here!

Over here!'

He saw her,

smiled,

waved back,

took off his shoes and came running towards

her over the sand.

He sat down beside her and moved over

to kiss her.

Max,

don't.

[Verse 5]

Don't?

Don't kiss you?

Why not?

What's the matter?

He asked

Akemi looked away from Max

I'm sorry, Max.

I'm so sorry, but we have to talk

There's something I have to say to you.

I wish I didn't.

I really wish.

Akemi?

What's the matter?

What's going on?

Tell me.

Akemi reached down and picked up a small

stone.

It's my father,

she said slowly.

He doesn't want...

You and I...

He says we're getting too serious.

He says...

Ikemi did not finish what she was saying.

Max took hold of her shoulders

and looked into her eyes.

Ikemi,

tell me, what does your father say?

Oh, Max,

he says I have to stop seeing you.

I can't see you anymore.

[Verse 6]

Stop seeing me?

But he can't do that.

Max looked at Akemi in surprise.

But she looked at the stone,

turning it over and over in her hands.

Ikemi,

look at me.

What's going on?

Why does your father want you to stop

seeing me?

What's the matter with me?

What have I done?"

Ikemi threw the stone into the beautiful, clear

water.

She turned and looked at Max.

It's not what you've done, Max.

It's who you are.

Who I am?

What do you mean?

You're American,

Max.

I know it's difficult for you to understand,

but my father does not want me to

date American men.

He says there are too many differences between

us,

between Japanese and American people,

between the way we live and the way

we think."

[Verse 7]

What?

You can't be serious, "

said Max.

How on earth can your father say that?

Your mother was American.

He married her, didn't he?

He married an American.

How can it be all right for him

to marry an American,

but not for you?

It's crazy!"

Ikemi looked away.

I don't know, Max. I just don't know.

But I do know that he isn't going

to change his mind.

Max shook his head.

Ikemi, I don't understand.

You don't agree with your father, do you?

Come on!

You were born in America.

You've spent all your life here.

You went to American schools, and now you're

studying at an American University.

You're American too, Akemi.

You're the same as me.

We're American

and we're free to choose who we see

and what we do.

You don't always have to do what your

father wants, you know."

[Verse 8]

Ikemi lifted her eyes and looked at Max.

You're wrong, Max.

I'm sorry.

I'm not free.

Yes, I do live here.

And yes, I went to school here.

But my father is Japanese.

And after my mother died, he brought me

up.

I can't go against my father."

Max looked down at Ikemi's face.

But what about me?

Max said quietly. And

what about us?

Ikemi, this is crazy.

Are you going to let your father decide

who you should marry?

Is what your father thinks more important than

loving someone?"

Ikemi did not look at Max.

She didn't want to see the hurt in

his face.

I'm sorry, Max.

I'm really sorry,

she whispered.

I...

But Max stood up and walked away

before she could finish her sentence.

She watched him walk slowly across the beach.

She wanted to run after him, throw her

arms around him,

kiss him.

She wanted to tell him she loved him.

Tell him that she loved him so much,

it frightened her.

[Verse 9]

At the top of the beach, he stopped,

turned,

and looked back at her.

Their eyes met for a moment,

and then she looked away, quickly.

She hated hurting him.

Max was the kindest man she knew.

It did not matter to her father that

Max was kind.

What mattered to her father was what a

man said

and what he did.

Her father thought the most important thing for

a man

was to be patient,

to be quiet,

to say nothing,

to be brave,

to be able to feel pain without talking

about it.

It was not surprising that he did not

like Max.

Max was loud. He was noisy.

He did not think before he spoke.

He was impatient.

He was everything her father hated in a

man.

It did not matter to her father that

Max was honest,

generous,

and helpful.

It was not important to her father that

Max made Akemi laugh

and feel happy.

[Verse 10]

Why?

She whispered to herself

as she watched Max disappear.

Why do I have to choose between them?

About 8, 000 kilometers away,

off the west coast of Africa,

the weather was very different from the beautiful,

calm, sunny day on the beach in Florida.

It was stormy in West Africa,

very stormy.

Large waves were crashing onto the sand,

and the leaves of the palm trees were

blowing noisily in the wind.

The beaches of Senegal were empty,

except for a few brave children who were

jumping in and out of the waves.

The sea was empty, too.

All the fishermen had come back to land.

They had helped each other pull their boats

high up onto the beaches,

away from the waves.

The fishermen sat in groups,

talking and laughing,

happy to be on the land and not

on the sea.

[Verse 11]

Soon the storms would pass,

The sea would become calm,

and they would go out fishing again.

The fishermen were right.

The storms did pass.

They moved slowly west,

away from the coast and out into the

sea.

And as they