Leaving it All Behind.

Disclaimer: I don't own Treasure Planet. Disney does. © Based on the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Leland Hawkins. I want to tell you a story. It is about one of, if not THE darkest day of my life. The day I walked out on my family.

I woke up early on that day. My wife, Sarah, was still sleeping. I quietly went downstairs. I rushed for the door. My hand was on the doorknob. All I had to do was turn it, and I'd be gone.

But just then, a hand fell over mine. I turned around. It was Sarah. She looked like she was going to cry. Her whole body was shaking.

"Where are you going?" she asked. I knew she was trying to stay brave. I didn't respond. Instead, I just turned back towards the door. "Leland, I'm talking to you", she said again. "Answer me!"

I still stayed silent. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell her why I was leaving. She wouldn't understand.

I just opened the door, and walked away. A boat was waiting for me at the edge of the dock. It was the boat that would take me to freedom.

Then I heard footsteps following me down the path. They were too quiet to belong to Sarah. So I knew that it was Jim. He was our son. He was eight-years-old.

Jim was also the reason I was leaving. It wasn't that he was a bad kid, or that I hated him. He was actually the best kid a parent could ask for. I loved him with all my heart.

It was because I felt as if I wasn't doing a good enough job as his father. He deserved so much more than I could ever give him.

I walked onto the boat. The gangplank was drawn. Then we shoved off. I turned around to take one last look at my old life. Jim stood on the dock. His arm was outstretched, and he was yelling.

"No! Dad, come back!" he shouted. "We need you. Mom needs you. I need you. Please, come back!"

The boy's words cut into my heart like a knife. Memories flooded into my mind. Sarah often told me of how she and Jim would stay up nights to wait for my return while I was away on business trips. Then I remembered this one time when Jim was five. I had just come home from work. Jim had made a toy boat. He stood up to show it to me. The only thing I did was pat him on the head, and walk away.

Remembering these times made me weep gently. "I'm sorry", I said. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm sorry, Jim. But this is the only way. You'd both be better off without me anyway."

I watched as the dock slipped further and further out of sight. Then it disappeared completely. That was it. I was gone. There was no turning back.

The End.

A/N: After this, I'm going to start writing for Pirates of the Caribbean again.