Disclaimer: PotC is definetly not mine.
A/N: This is for the word Mascara. I saw the word and this situation just popped into my head... and it really has nothing to do with mascara. And it assumes that the curse is not broken (which I know it totally is, so don't worry). But just go with me here: its modern and Will is returning for his one day ashore, and meets someone surpsing. Its very angsty. And random. And probably terrible. And too long. But... I'm still posting it. If it makes any sense to you whatsoever, I'd love to here so in a review. Thanks for bearing with me through this one :)
Will spent the day roaming around the boardwalk, taking in all of the tourist attractions and beachside stands. He could hardly believe how developed this place had become in ten years' time: going from virtually unpopulated to a massive beach resort. People were everywhere, taking pictures and flying kites and enjoying the surf. How he wished he could join them, carefree and content. Will sighed and continued to stroll along, unnoticed, just enjoying the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet. Soon enough… soon enough he would have to go back.
As he walked along, he noticed a family sitting on the beach for a picnic. The two children, a boy and a girl, were building sand castles and then playfully knocking them down when they had finished. Each time the sand crumbled to the ground, both exploded in a fit of giggles. Their parents, watching from a few feet away, smiled at their children's innocent fun. He noticed the couple was holding hands, completely and blissfully carefree.
Will turned away, feeling the tears in his eyes, and mentally shook himself. After this many years, he had to be strong.
Gazing at the horizon out of habit, Will realized it was late in the afternoon. There was still one more place he had to visit. He decided to go now, and spend the rest of his day there.
He took a beaten trail along the beach, one that led him well beyond the tourists and development. Within minutes he had completely lost the sound of the vacationers. Will knew to get to his destination he would have to walk along the shore for at least a mile, but he didn't mind.
The minutes passed, and the sun slipped lower and lower in the sky. He quickened his pace, hoping he would still have at least an hour to spend in his special place. Almost there, he thought, climbing around a few rocks that stuck out of the shore.
Finally he arrived. He smiled despite himself as he looked around the familiar beach. This was where he would come every ten years' to spend his last few minutes on land, before returning for another decade of servitude to Calypso. This was his special place… their special place. The beach he had spent the most wonderful days of his life on. Where he spent his honeymoon, and then where he met his son, and then later his daughter. Where, every decade for 50 years, he would return and find his wife and family waiting for him to return. Yes, he would spend his time where he felt closest to those he loved.
He closed his eyes and breathed in the sea spray, but opened them suddenly when he heard a dry sob coming from the far end of the beach. He looked around quickly, and his eyes fell on a young woman of no more than twenty sitting on one of the rocks and crying her eyes out. She had pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her head as if to protect herself from the harsh reality.
Something tugged at the place where Will's heart used to reside. He couldn't stand and watch someone in pain… so he slowly began to approach the girl. She apparently heard his footsteps over the noise of her tears because she looked up at him almost instantly. Her face was streaked with salty tears- the mascara in her eyes was beginning to smudge. Upon seeing him, she quickly
took the sleeves of her sweatshirt and wiped her face, sitting up straighter in order to maintain composure.
When Will was a safe five feet away from her, he stopped and asked gently, "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she mumbled, clearing her throat. "Yes, I'm fine."
And without warning, she burst into tears again.
Will moved to sit next to her and tentatively put his arm around her, surprised that she didn't pull away. She sobbed into his shoulder for a few minutes before she offered any sort of explanation.
"I'm… sorry…" she murmured, drawing ragged breaths. "It's just that I never expected it to be this hard…"
Will felt his fatherly instincts surfacing for the first time in years, as he sat there waiting for her explanation.
"My husband… he's… he's…. not here," she began. "He's in the army, and they pulled him to fight overseas. We were newlyweds… barely spent a day together before they called him in…" A fresh round of tears began to form in her eyes. "I just don't know when he's coming back… or even if he's coming back. I didn't expect anything to turn out this way- I didn't think I would be alone so soon- and they're talking about this ridiculous new thing like a ten-year tour overseas… saying it would be really good training for the new soldiers… I can't last ten years by myself!"
She was sobbing into Will's shoulder again at this point. Will felt an agonizing pain where his heart should have been; this story reminded him of his own. Newlyweds… barely spent a day together… torn apart too soon… possibly for ten years… only in Elizabeth's story she would have been…
"… and I'm pregnant."
Will gasped inaudibly. This girl's story was almost exactly the same as his and Elizabeth's. He imagined Elizabeth in the same situation as this girl… she had probably sat in this exact spot and poured her heart out to the horizon, just like this girl was now.
He let the girl cry, holding her closely and whispering words of comfort. She seemed to calm down a bit after a while, pulling away from him a bit and straightening up. Will looked at the horizon- he only had a few minutes left to say what he needed to say.
"Would you believe me if I said that I understood what you are going through?" he asked tentatively. She didn't respond, so he continued. "My wife and I were newlyweds when we were separated as well- I was pulled away from her for a long time. She actually used to come here, just like you, and stare at the horizon, just waiting for me to return."
The girl looked surprised. Will decided not to go into detail about how similar their stories really were, as it might raise her suspicions. "But the most important thing is… we got through it. Both of us. I survived, and so did she. It was hard (almost impossible, really) but we made it through. Love… it kept us together. It sustained us… it was what we lived for. We knew our love was strong, and we… we just made it through."
Will's voice choked up a bit as he reassured the girl, knowing that this wasn't the complete truth. He and Elizabeth had never really been reunited… save for five days out of their whole married life. But this girl was looking so hopeful, and he comforted her the best he could.
"You'll get through it too, I just know it," Will finished, looking into her deep brown eyes.
They stayed silent for a moment, just absorbing all that had been shared. Here they were, two complete strangers, and yet they had confided in each other like they had known each other all of their lives.
"Thank you," the girl whispered, breaking the silence.
Will smiled. "My pleasure…" He realized he did not know her name.
"Claire," she supplied for him. Will relaxed a little. He half expected her name to be Elizabeth.
"Claire Turner," she continued. Will's breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. This girl couldn't be …. no, she couldn't.
"My pleasure, Mrs. Turner," he said with a trembling voice.
"And your name?" she asked him politely. "I like to know the names of the random strangers I pour my heart out to… not that this happens often." She winked.
"William- but I go by Will," he responded. No need to mention his last name.
"Really?" she said, her face lighting up, "That's my brother's name! Apparently it runs in my family… passed down from my great-great-great-great grandfather or something like that," she continued delightedly.
"That's interesting," Will mumbled. Still, the odds were very slim. After all, Claire was married, so she obviously took on the name Turner from her husband. "But I suppose Turner is your married name, then?"
"Oh no," she said, and Will almost fainted, "No, I kept my name."
Will looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time- could this girl really be a distant granddaughter of his? After all… she came from a family named Turner, and her brother's name was William… passed down through the family... still, Will couldn't be sure.
"Tell me, Claire, how do you know about this place?"
"Oh it's another family tradition. I think my family must have been pirates or something, discovering a place like this so far secluded from everywhere else! But you want to know something interesting… see those swords over there?"
Will looked over, and his eyes found the swords that he and Elizabeth had planted into the sand over a century ago… miraculously still crossed, a symbol of unity. He had the desire to run to them… touch where her hand had been so many years ago.
"Those are supposedly my great-great-great-great grandmother and grandfather's swords... or something like that," she finished.
Will's heart stopped for a split second. Claire was his family… he had run into one of his granddaughters of many generations by accident. And now she was in the same situation as he and Elizabeth … it was all too much. There was so much he wanted to say, so much that he needed to tell her. He could help her, he could comfort her, he could pass on the little he remembered of his life to her … but the sun was almost completely below the horizon now.
"Listen, Claire, I have to leave soon, but just remember… you'll get through this. I promise you, you'll get through this."
Claire nodded, thanking him again. Will hugged her quickly before running off along the shore. He had to be far enough away so that she wouldn't see him go back to the ship.
She waited and watched, seeing him disappear as he ran down the shore. She wiped her face off again, removing all traces of the stained mascara from her cheeks.