Captain Jack Sparrow was well known on that island, particularly in that pub. He had traveled through the area many times over the years, and his face was easily recognized. But no one had ever heard him tell of his life before. He'd bragged, of course, as all pirates do, about his accomplishments in commandeering and piracy. But personal things like childhood and loss were not discussed, and as he related his tale to the young girl, the other inhabitants of the pub crept closer, listening to a story they could hardly believe.
A pirate as hardy and spirited at Jack Sparrow could not have suffered so. Such tragedy as he described could kill a man. But Captain Jack was very much alive, prospering, and downright cheery. A dead mother and a satanical father were not hardly parents they'd imagined for him. It was always thought by most who knew him, that Jack Sparrow was the son of gypsies, from Italy maybe, or Spain. A gypsy tramp who'd taken to the sea in order to earn his fortune. Not an orphan boy from Liverpool, who'd been banished by his own father.
But Jack continued, drunk and in the gravest of natures. "From that house, I went straight to the dock," He nodded. "I'm not sure why. I suppose I meant to find employment, but instead I sat down atop a barrel and cried my bloody eyes out. My young heart was broken and I thought for sure I would die. Then I met Tom Long. He was a skinny man, tall and dark and fearsome. He approached me and said, 'Boy! It's unnatural and unhealthy for a boy your age to be wailing like a ninny. What ails you?'
"And I told him of my mother not dead a week, and my father who was hateful and deserved to die, and of my own hopeless predicament. 'Likely', I told him. 'I shall starve to death.'
"'Boy,' he sighed. 'I grieve for your mother and your father, who'll get his turn in hell. But if you starve it's thanks to your own foolishness. A boy your age should know quite well how to get on in his world, and I'm disgusted that you don't. But, nevertheless, you're an orphan and if god wills it, I shall help you.'
"He took me by the collar, stood me upright, looked me over and said, 'Yes, yes you'll do. Have you ever worked on a ship, my boy?'
"I shook my head. I'd looked out on the ocean nearly every day of my life, but I'd never been upon it. Tom smiled and said, 'Well, we'll remedy that, see if we don't.' and that very day he signed us both on to a cargo ship that was headed for the Americas.
"I spent a week living in an Inn with him, before the ship left and I found that he was a curious man. Every night he prayed but every day he lied, cheated and stole. Bloody sinner if I ever met one, but he repented every night and bid me do so as well.
"'Jack,' He'd always begin.'You're a good lad, but even the best of lads may go awry. Ask god for forgiveness and you too, will be permitted to heaven.'
"I never have prayed. It ails me to think that wretched people must only pray to reach heaven. And I feel that no matter how I beg, I don't deserve heaven at all, and it's bloody well fine with me. But I must say, darling, it wasn't fine with Tom. Tom desperately wanted to be forgiven for all he did...but he could not stop being what he was."
"We boarded the cargo ship along with fourteen other men. Our captain was Kendall Merchant, and he was a fine enough man, of good moral and merit. The best type of man to sail a cargo ship. And we were the best type of crew. We obeyed his every command and worked until our fingers blistered, and he trusted us.
"Meanwhile, as we made our way across the Atlantic, Tom taught me the trade of sailing. He explained the ship and all the parts and processes–I won't bore you by repeating it all my dear–and I learned quickly, and became much healthier, much stronger than I had ever been in England. The sea, I found, was where I belonged and I swore that I would never take employment elsewhere. Sailing is the best feeling, love, better than anything else any man can ever feel, ever dream of feeling! I had found happiness, and health, and spirit, and it has kept me alive all these years, I swear it."
A pirate as hardy and spirited at Jack Sparrow could not have suffered so. Such tragedy as he described could kill a man. But Captain Jack was very much alive, prospering, and downright cheery. A dead mother and a satanical father were not hardly parents they'd imagined for him. It was always thought by most who knew him, that Jack Sparrow was the son of gypsies, from Italy maybe, or Spain. A gypsy tramp who'd taken to the sea in order to earn his fortune. Not an orphan boy from Liverpool, who'd been banished by his own father.
But Jack continued, drunk and in the gravest of natures. "From that house, I went straight to the dock," He nodded. "I'm not sure why. I suppose I meant to find employment, but instead I sat down atop a barrel and cried my bloody eyes out. My young heart was broken and I thought for sure I would die. Then I met Tom Long. He was a skinny man, tall and dark and fearsome. He approached me and said, 'Boy! It's unnatural and unhealthy for a boy your age to be wailing like a ninny. What ails you?'
"And I told him of my mother not dead a week, and my father who was hateful and deserved to die, and of my own hopeless predicament. 'Likely', I told him. 'I shall starve to death.'
"'Boy,' he sighed. 'I grieve for your mother and your father, who'll get his turn in hell. But if you starve it's thanks to your own foolishness. A boy your age should know quite well how to get on in his world, and I'm disgusted that you don't. But, nevertheless, you're an orphan and if god wills it, I shall help you.'
"He took me by the collar, stood me upright, looked me over and said, 'Yes, yes you'll do. Have you ever worked on a ship, my boy?'
"I shook my head. I'd looked out on the ocean nearly every day of my life, but I'd never been upon it. Tom smiled and said, 'Well, we'll remedy that, see if we don't.' and that very day he signed us both on to a cargo ship that was headed for the Americas.
"I spent a week living in an Inn with him, before the ship left and I found that he was a curious man. Every night he prayed but every day he lied, cheated and stole. Bloody sinner if I ever met one, but he repented every night and bid me do so as well.
"'Jack,' He'd always begin.'You're a good lad, but even the best of lads may go awry. Ask god for forgiveness and you too, will be permitted to heaven.'
"I never have prayed. It ails me to think that wretched people must only pray to reach heaven. And I feel that no matter how I beg, I don't deserve heaven at all, and it's bloody well fine with me. But I must say, darling, it wasn't fine with Tom. Tom desperately wanted to be forgiven for all he did...but he could not stop being what he was."
"We boarded the cargo ship along with fourteen other men. Our captain was Kendall Merchant, and he was a fine enough man, of good moral and merit. The best type of man to sail a cargo ship. And we were the best type of crew. We obeyed his every command and worked until our fingers blistered, and he trusted us.
"Meanwhile, as we made our way across the Atlantic, Tom taught me the trade of sailing. He explained the ship and all the parts and processes–I won't bore you by repeating it all my dear–and I learned quickly, and became much healthier, much stronger than I had ever been in England. The sea, I found, was where I belonged and I swore that I would never take employment elsewhere. Sailing is the best feeling, love, better than anything else any man can ever feel, ever dream of feeling! I had found happiness, and health, and spirit, and it has kept me alive all these years, I swear it."