A fortnight passed with Elizabeth occupying the captaincy while Jack amused young William. The woman never monitored her coordinates, but basically allowed the compass to guide the Empress rightfully. Elizabeth's thoughts remained on Jack's instilled hope of seeing Will even though she fully knew the man had an alternative motive. On Friday morning with the flaring sun drifting into view, the woman shouted Jack's name repeatedly, bringing her son and the man in dreadlocks to her side.

"The compass," she cried in slight panic, "won't stop spinning!" Jack's eyebrows rose as he peered at the instrument in intrigue.

Unaware of his mother's desire, William tapped the compass and murmured, "I think it is broken."

"Not broken," Jack replied, ducking below deck for a moment and returning with an empty rum bottle and a scrap piece of paper. He etched out the message, "We're here." The pirate dropped the curled paper into the bottle, secured the cork while beaming at the prospect, and chucked the container into the ocean. William and Elizabeth left the wheel and leaned over the railing as Jack commanded his crew to drop the anchor.

The bottle bobbed in the waves for only a few moments. The waters (in that diminutive section) vibrated and began to churn, thrashing the bottle in a circular motion and foam spat into the air. A strident sucking sound emerged, and the bottle was abruptly slurped by the dark void.

William shrieked with enthusiasm, "Can we do that again?!"

Neither adult answered as the sea bubbled for a second time. "Jack..." Elizabeth trailed off as a lime green bottle popped out of the sea. Within a few minutes Jack was able to scoop the container out of the water, and he tossed the rum bottle to Elizabeth who promptly read the fresh inscription.

"It's from Will!"

"What does it say?" the three year old inquired as Elizabeth's eyes scanned the sheet of paper.

"He misses me, and Will never imagined that we could come in contact. And he says that he knows his heart is secure..."

"But we already knew that." William huffed, draping his arms over the edge in disappointment.

"Oh Jack, thank you. Thank you..." She lifted her eyes from the note. "Is there a way to visit Will?"

The man sauntered toward the pair and met Elizabeth face to face. "To descry a detection of a way to see your dearly beloved you must find it by your own means once again."

Unfamiliar with Jack's discreet approach, Elizabeth cast her eyes to the ground, wiped the hair from her face, and ambled away from her male companions, gripping the note in her right hand. She entered her room and after removing paper and ink from the trunk, Elizabeth collapsed in the hammock and began to scribble her thoughts to this effect:

Dear Will,

I cannot express how lovely it is to read your words! I never thought we would communicate over these ten years, and I have wonderful news of your legacy, my love. You have a three year old son named William. He is a replica of you in so many ways. It is a comfort to have him around, and I have taken the liberty to inform him of all of our grand adventures. We owe all the credit to Jack though because he has supplied this supernatural way of speaking to you, even though I am positively sure he is up to something. He says we can visit you somehow, and I'm doing all I can not to jump in after this bottle and swirl into your world.

The woman suddenly halted in her writing, wadded up the letter, and reclined in the hammock to collect her thoughts. "Swirl into your world..." she thought over and over. "Jump. Jump. Jump."