Sins of the Father

Young Will Turner stood at the window, clutching the sill with his small hands. He was waiting for his hero to return, his father. His brave and loving father who would surely gave more wonderful stories to tell about his adventures out at sea. He might even bring Will a small trinket again, like last time. Will hoped so, he loved his father very much and was anxious to see him again.

"Will...cher(dear)...why are you waiting by the window?" Will's mother, Andrea, asked him softly, even though she knew the answer.

Will managed to tear his eyes from the window to look at his mother. "Mother, I'm waiting for Da..." He replied. Andrea smiled wanly.

"Of course you are." She whispered, coming to stand beside him.

"He's coming back to us...right?" Will also whispered, feeling his excitement draining away at the sight of his mother's sad face.

"I don't..." Andrea began, but thought against it. "I hope so cher, he'll come back...he loves you." Andrea replied, now assuring herself as well as her son. "He loves you Will, no matter what anyone says, no matter what the townspeople say, he loves you."

Andrea was referring to the rumors circulating around her and Will. She tried to ignore the comments she heard whispered about her and her husband when she went out to the market place. She held her head high and whispered to herself that Bill loved her and that he was coming back.

And Will had to ignore his friends talking about how their fathers were passing down their crafts to them, or how their fathers let them help break the colts, or go sailing with them, or fishing or anything to the like.

Whenever Will was asked about his father, he would always reply;

"My father is gone right now, but he'll come back and when he does, we'll do as those things as well."

He spoke his well practiced speech with such confidence that it made the boys stop questioning him.

At night, when Will thought his mother was sleeping, he would go to the office room and spread the maps out on the wooden desk, trying to figure out where his father could be right now. Sometimes, looking at those maps depressed Will, because he realized that this world was so big, the oceans were so wide and that his father could be anywhere. And maybe, Will would think to himself, maybe he's too far away to come home again.

Andrea knew Will did this though and it hurt her heart to see him sitting there at the desk, his soft brown eyes so intent and focused that she knew he was wondering where his father was and imagining being with him out there somewhere.

"Mother, why are you crying?" Will murmured softly as he sat next to Andrea on the window sill. She had her face hidden in her hands, but Will knew she was crying by the trembling of her shoulders. When she heard him speak, she took her hands away from her face and held open her arms. Will climbed into her lap and she closed him in her thin arms.

"Don't worry mother, Da will come back and everything is going to be alright again." Will said gently. Andrea nodded, but wished she could believe her son.

Will wished even more that his father was here, his mother was always so happy when he was here, so happy that she could never stop smiling. Sometimes though, he would hear them arguing in their room next to his, but mostly he would hear them whisper to each other as their bed creaked.

No matter how much Will told himself and his mother that his father would return, he began to lose hope as well. Until at last a package came for Will. It was addressed to him and looked old and worn, and it was curiously heavy. Will tore at the envelope eagerly. Maybe it was a letter saying that he was coming back. Maybe his father was coming home!

But the letter said no such thing. It was written in queer, thick, red ink that smelled faintly of copper. The words were printed in thin, spidery writing that looked like the hand that was holding the pen was rushed. It said this;

'Will,

Bad times are upon me and I won't be able to make it back to you. I'm so sorry lad, so sorry for all that has happened to you and all that will happen to you in your future. I know you don't understand it all right now, but you will one day and you'll have to face some hard facts and learn some things you never wanted to learn about me and about yourself.

Just remember that you are my only son and I love you. Be good to your mother, take care of her, for by the time you get this, she's all you'll have left. I love both of you.

Always.'

Will re-read the letter with tear blurred eyes. What did this all mean? Will looked in the envelope again and saw something else was in it. He turned the envelope upside down and dumped the contents into his small palm. It was a large golden medallion.