The Day the Sky Wept

By wolfblood16

The day we sent him off the sky was overcast and dreary. It was as if the world acknowledged it had lost a great man, despite his flaws, though few had realized it until his story had come to a close.

I couldn't believe he was gone. His ship reappeared at Shipwreck Cove only days after leaving but this time the oh-so-familiar crew members worked with a slowness, almost like a visible sadness that hung in the air of the dock. I knew the minute I saw one of his oldest and greatest friends, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and face red from crying, why the crew seemed so sullen.

I cried for what seemed like hours.

When I saw him, laying lifeless and cold on a wooden board, I wanted it all to be a grand prank, though I knew it wasn't.

His father looked overwhelmed as he stood near the back of all the guests, watching over the ceremony like a stranger. And he was, really. He had never really known his son. I held his hand through the service, the only gesture of comfort I could give.

I was glad I wasn't standing close to the body. From afar he seemed peaceful though I silently pleaded for him to sit up and laugh at us for believing his cunning trick.

The wound on his chest from a battle gone wrong with a merchant captain was covered by his shirt but I knew it was there, deep and terrifying. He'd fought to live for a day and a half before finally succombing to his fate. His friend had told me that if he'd held on just a day, one measley little day more, he might have survived, but neither of us believed it. We both knew the severity of his injury; of any injury on the sea.

Those who had known him said a few words in his honor. One man commented on how he wished he could have known his fallen comrade better and everyone agreed solomnly.

His father's words were the most moving. He admitted to never really being there for his son when he had been needed most. He spoke of the few memories he had from his son's childhood and how he wished things could have been better between them. He even added how hard it was for a man to bury his son, especially if they'd never really gotten along.

When the man everyone would miss dearly was buried at sea, lightning tore open the sky and thunder echoed in the distance, an unearthly final farewell.

The day we buried Captain Jack Sparrow, the sky wept.