Chapter 4, Miami, Florida Summary

The night is quiet and dark. There is no traffic, only a man. It is very peaceful. He says that peace is a hard thing to find. He is driving his street sweeper. He never saw a street sweeper until he was eleven, when his family came to Miami. He thinks about things while he drives. He thinks about the shearwater bird.

The man comes from Puerto Rico, where his family lives in the mountains until his father has to sell their farm to the power company. They move to San Juan, on the coast. People argue there all the time - for the government, against the government or about whether Puerto Rico should join the United States. One day a bomb goes off near their house. One month later, they fly to Miami. None of them speaks English...