Dear Melia,
Well love, what's there to tell you? We're on our way to Port-au- Prince. Lovely town. Ever been there? This will be my...third or forth time I believe. Perchance after the baby is born I'll be able to take you for a visit, eh? Maybe not...
I haven't made any progress in naming my ship yet. I was thinking the Black something. I want to be able to strike fear into the hearts of men just by the name being murmured. The thing be, I don't rightly know what the kind of thing that strikes fear into the heart of all men would be. As you know, I'm not one who get afraid very easily. Though there is one thing, maybe two. What those two are, I highly doubt you'll ever know, though, you're the only one who could ever make this fear a reality.
Have you chosen any names for your little one yet? Or are you as stuck as I? I reckon naming a living thing be quite a bit harder than naming an old relic such as me ship! You know I know of no good names, they aren't exactly my area of expertise, though, I am equally wonderful at everything I try, baby names are far too trivial.
Good news! The way I sees it, we'll be back in Tortuga a few weeks before the kid is born! Now iffin that's a good thing or not, you'll have to decide.
In spite of myself, I miss you, Melia. Take care, by the time you read this I'll be halfway back to Tortuga, unless this letter is delivered faster than I had expected, which I doubt.
Captain Jack Sparrow
Melia looked over the letter again, then a third time, searching for hidden meanings. She heaved a sigh. The man was so confusing! One moment she thought he might be harboring feelings for her, the next it was like the only one he cared about was himself. She ran her hand over the sheet of parchment, studying his handwriting. His letters beginning a paragraph were large and had many flourishes, but the rest of his handwriting was rather cramped and spidery. Quite like hers actually, bur hers had less flourishes and was smaller and in a different kind of cursive. When he normally wrote in pen and ink, she was lucky borrow a scrap of a pencil off of Treva. She had a bit of stationary that the previous occupant of her room had left, she made a mental note to ask Jack to send her some of her paper that she had packed away in her trunks the next time she wrote him. Her meager supply was running very short. And for a couple of pencils.
She grabbed a book off the the table next to her bed and remeoveda few sheets of paper from the middle of it, then she pulled open the tables one, small drawer and took a stub of a pencil out of it and began writing.
Dear Captain,
So you're on your way back then? You'll be quite early if you're already halfway back. There are still five more months before she comes. Yes, it's a she. I decided so, thus she is.
No, I've never been to Port-au-Prince, don't plan ever visiting it either. I've been thinking, and I finally decided that it would be better to raise my little girl in a proper home, not somewhere in the middle of the Carribean.
Melia swallowed back tears, willing herslef not to ruin the paper with her tears as she finished it. She folded the paper up and stuffed it in the same envelope that Jack had sent his last letter in. She took her candle and held it over the evelope until enough droplets of wax had gathered there for her to press her fingerprint into it. She stood up and hurried to the docks to find a ship that was about to leave so she could beg the captain to give the letter to Captain Jack Sparrow should they run into his ship. Now all she could was wait.
****************************************************************************
"Cap'n there be a ship on the horizon." Mitty poked his head into Jack's quarters, frowning slightly at the mess it was.
"Friend or foe?"
"Has the appearance of a buckeneer ship, Sir."
"Where's it headed?"
"North of us."
"They won't be havin' any booty yet, we'll catch 'em on there way back."
"Yer just gonna let 'em pass?"
"Why not?" Aye, aye, Sir."
"Good man." Mitty started to leave when Jack's voice stopped him. "Mitty?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Where fo ya s'pose they came from?"
"Tortuga most likely." Jack's eyes lit up.
"On second thought, Mitty, stop them, I'd like to have chat wid their captain."
"Aye, aye, Cap'n. May I go now?"
"Go on."
An hour later the two ships met and both captain's were at the helm having a shouting match.
"Where ya come from?" Jack yelled at the older man on the other ship.
"Tortuga, two maybe three weeks ago."
"Haven' t stopped since?" Aye, aye, Sir."
"Good man." Mitty started to leave when Jack's voice stopped him. "Mitty?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Where fo ya s'pose they came from?"
"Tortuga most likely." Jack's eyes lit up.
"On second thought, Mitty, stop them, I'd like to have chat wid their captain."
"Aye, aye, Cap'n. May I go now?"
"Go on."
An hour later the two ships met and both captain's were at the helm having a shouting match.
"Where ya come from?" Jack yelled at the older man on the other ship.
"Tortuga, two maybe three weeks ago."
"Haven' t stopped since?" "Nay. Yoor ship 'ave a name?"
"Not at the moment, why?"
"A pretty little lass back at Tortuga asked that if I should run across a ship with no name to give it's captain a letter."
"Did she day the captain's name?"
"A.....Jack Sparrow, I believe. You know of 'im."
"Aye, I know him."
"Would you be so kind as to give 'im dis letter? It's been weighin' on me mind fer quite sometime now."
"Glad to, send it over." The burly man spoke to the wiry, little man next to him and then nodded. He withdrew an envelope from his breatpocket and handed it to the man who tucked it in his pocket.
"Throw over a rope!" Jack did so, a knot tightening in his stomach. This was the first time he'd ever let a man belonging to a different crew on his ship.
The man grabbed the rope, flew over to Jack, handed him the letter and was back on his own ship before the amount of a minute was up.
"Thank you kindly, Captain...?"
"Barbossa. And yer welcome."
Jack watched for a few minutes as the ship went one way and his went the other. Towards Tortuga, within a months time he be there, back with Melia. He took the letter ans slid it out of the envelope. He read the greetings and the first paragraph, smileling at her insistence that her baby would be a girl. The next paragraph made the smaile vanish. He reread it, willing his eyes to play tricks on him. He read it again. There must be some mistake. There was no way. It was just a practical joke. It had to be. He read it again. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.
I have decided that I want to go back to Jamaica. No, I don't want to go back, but one can't raise a child on the open seas. It's far too dangerous. In more ways than one. What if she fell overboard? What if pirates attacked? The what ifs are far too many and far too real to be ignored. So, I have decided it would be best if you took me and my child back where we belong as soon as she's old enough to travel.
Please don't read this and think I'm not grateful. I truly am, you have no idea what great pain it causes me to pen these words. If it were just me I was thinking of...Well, it's not just me, so I won't bother you with my wishes. It's my baby I'm thinking of and her well-being, not my heart's desire.
Melia
Well love, what's there to tell you? We're on our way to Port-au- Prince. Lovely town. Ever been there? This will be my...third or forth time I believe. Perchance after the baby is born I'll be able to take you for a visit, eh? Maybe not...
I haven't made any progress in naming my ship yet. I was thinking the Black something. I want to be able to strike fear into the hearts of men just by the name being murmured. The thing be, I don't rightly know what the kind of thing that strikes fear into the heart of all men would be. As you know, I'm not one who get afraid very easily. Though there is one thing, maybe two. What those two are, I highly doubt you'll ever know, though, you're the only one who could ever make this fear a reality.
Have you chosen any names for your little one yet? Or are you as stuck as I? I reckon naming a living thing be quite a bit harder than naming an old relic such as me ship! You know I know of no good names, they aren't exactly my area of expertise, though, I am equally wonderful at everything I try, baby names are far too trivial.
Good news! The way I sees it, we'll be back in Tortuga a few weeks before the kid is born! Now iffin that's a good thing or not, you'll have to decide.
In spite of myself, I miss you, Melia. Take care, by the time you read this I'll be halfway back to Tortuga, unless this letter is delivered faster than I had expected, which I doubt.
Captain Jack Sparrow
Melia looked over the letter again, then a third time, searching for hidden meanings. She heaved a sigh. The man was so confusing! One moment she thought he might be harboring feelings for her, the next it was like the only one he cared about was himself. She ran her hand over the sheet of parchment, studying his handwriting. His letters beginning a paragraph were large and had many flourishes, but the rest of his handwriting was rather cramped and spidery. Quite like hers actually, bur hers had less flourishes and was smaller and in a different kind of cursive. When he normally wrote in pen and ink, she was lucky borrow a scrap of a pencil off of Treva. She had a bit of stationary that the previous occupant of her room had left, she made a mental note to ask Jack to send her some of her paper that she had packed away in her trunks the next time she wrote him. Her meager supply was running very short. And for a couple of pencils.
She grabbed a book off the the table next to her bed and remeoveda few sheets of paper from the middle of it, then she pulled open the tables one, small drawer and took a stub of a pencil out of it and began writing.
Dear Captain,
So you're on your way back then? You'll be quite early if you're already halfway back. There are still five more months before she comes. Yes, it's a she. I decided so, thus she is.
No, I've never been to Port-au-Prince, don't plan ever visiting it either. I've been thinking, and I finally decided that it would be better to raise my little girl in a proper home, not somewhere in the middle of the Carribean.
Melia swallowed back tears, willing herslef not to ruin the paper with her tears as she finished it. She folded the paper up and stuffed it in the same envelope that Jack had sent his last letter in. She took her candle and held it over the evelope until enough droplets of wax had gathered there for her to press her fingerprint into it. She stood up and hurried to the docks to find a ship that was about to leave so she could beg the captain to give the letter to Captain Jack Sparrow should they run into his ship. Now all she could was wait.
****************************************************************************
"Cap'n there be a ship on the horizon." Mitty poked his head into Jack's quarters, frowning slightly at the mess it was.
"Friend or foe?"
"Has the appearance of a buckeneer ship, Sir."
"Where's it headed?"
"North of us."
"They won't be havin' any booty yet, we'll catch 'em on there way back."
"Yer just gonna let 'em pass?"
"Why not?" Aye, aye, Sir."
"Good man." Mitty started to leave when Jack's voice stopped him. "Mitty?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Where fo ya s'pose they came from?"
"Tortuga most likely." Jack's eyes lit up.
"On second thought, Mitty, stop them, I'd like to have chat wid their captain."
"Aye, aye, Cap'n. May I go now?"
"Go on."
An hour later the two ships met and both captain's were at the helm having a shouting match.
"Where ya come from?" Jack yelled at the older man on the other ship.
"Tortuga, two maybe three weeks ago."
"Haven' t stopped since?" Aye, aye, Sir."
"Good man." Mitty started to leave when Jack's voice stopped him. "Mitty?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Where fo ya s'pose they came from?"
"Tortuga most likely." Jack's eyes lit up.
"On second thought, Mitty, stop them, I'd like to have chat wid their captain."
"Aye, aye, Cap'n. May I go now?"
"Go on."
An hour later the two ships met and both captain's were at the helm having a shouting match.
"Where ya come from?" Jack yelled at the older man on the other ship.
"Tortuga, two maybe three weeks ago."
"Haven' t stopped since?" "Nay. Yoor ship 'ave a name?"
"Not at the moment, why?"
"A pretty little lass back at Tortuga asked that if I should run across a ship with no name to give it's captain a letter."
"Did she day the captain's name?"
"A.....Jack Sparrow, I believe. You know of 'im."
"Aye, I know him."
"Would you be so kind as to give 'im dis letter? It's been weighin' on me mind fer quite sometime now."
"Glad to, send it over." The burly man spoke to the wiry, little man next to him and then nodded. He withdrew an envelope from his breatpocket and handed it to the man who tucked it in his pocket.
"Throw over a rope!" Jack did so, a knot tightening in his stomach. This was the first time he'd ever let a man belonging to a different crew on his ship.
The man grabbed the rope, flew over to Jack, handed him the letter and was back on his own ship before the amount of a minute was up.
"Thank you kindly, Captain...?"
"Barbossa. And yer welcome."
Jack watched for a few minutes as the ship went one way and his went the other. Towards Tortuga, within a months time he be there, back with Melia. He took the letter ans slid it out of the envelope. He read the greetings and the first paragraph, smileling at her insistence that her baby would be a girl. The next paragraph made the smaile vanish. He reread it, willing his eyes to play tricks on him. He read it again. There must be some mistake. There was no way. It was just a practical joke. It had to be. He read it again. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.
I have decided that I want to go back to Jamaica. No, I don't want to go back, but one can't raise a child on the open seas. It's far too dangerous. In more ways than one. What if she fell overboard? What if pirates attacked? The what ifs are far too many and far too real to be ignored. So, I have decided it would be best if you took me and my child back where we belong as soon as she's old enough to travel.
Please don't read this and think I'm not grateful. I truly am, you have no idea what great pain it causes me to pen these words. If it were just me I was thinking of...Well, it's not just me, so I won't bother you with my wishes. It's my baby I'm thinking of and her well-being, not my heart's desire.
Melia