Captain Hook Untold (English Version)

10. After so much pain...

The days went by. James had built a small shelter out with wood from the trees to have a place to shelter. In addition, on that island, he had something to eat, with coconuts and various types of exotic fruit from other trees, but he ate less and less, given the situation. He was getting worse and worse and kept scolding himself for not being able to take his own life to stop suffering once and for all. One day, the current brought a wooden crate ashore. James, intrigued, ran to open it and found some bottles of rum inside. He recognized them, they came from his ship. "Thanks, Roger!", he said, speaking to the sea, "You haven't completely abandoned me yet!". He uncorked a bottle and began to drink. He came halfway and smiled. By drinking, he could partially drown her pain. He continued drinking until he fell to the ground drunk. He laughed and sang the pirate song he learned from Blackbeard years ago. In the evening, he lit a bonfire on the beach and danced around it, singing and continuing to drink rum. When he was tired, he sat by the fire and looked up at the starry sky. He longed to have Elizabeth with him right now, just as once did. This thought saddened him again, so he drained the bottle and fell asleep.

The next morning, someone was shaking him to wake him up. James opened his eyes. His vision was a bit blurred due to alcohol and it took him a while to recover. He thought he had dreamed, but instead he was shaken again. He whirled his head and saw two children in front of him, a boy and a girl. He tried to get up, but after the last night's drink he felt too weak. He raised his arm with the hook and said to them: "Who are you? What do you want? How did you get here? If Peter Pan sent you, I swear that...". One of the two, the male, interrupted him: "Are you Captain Hook?". James, glaring at him, threatened him: "Don't be smart! I know your tricks! Back off, you brats!". The child, however, was not frightened. He let him vent, then, when he was calmer, he said: "We're not part of the Peter Pan gang, we can swear to you. We are here because in our family they have talked so much about you to us as no one else has ever done, but above all we have something very important to tell you, captain". James lowered the hook and listened to him. Had their family talked to them about him like no one else? What did he mean? The child continued: "We are your great-great grandchildren". James's eyes widened. How was it possible? Had he become great-great-grandfather? Was it the truth? And then, how did they manage to be there where he was? He tried to grab him with his hook, without succeeding. "Don't be silly, you gnat!", he screamed. "It's the truth, captain", the boy insisted. James laughed: "Ah, ah! Sure, do you have proof to prove it to me? I warn you, I hate kids, especially the insolent ones!". The child took out of his pocket a pendant with a gold chain. James stopped laughing. He took a good look at him and seemed familiar. He took it and opened it. Inside it was a portrait of Elizabeth as a child with her parents. It was the same pendant she had shown him when they first met. He remained motionless for several seconds, with his eyes fixed on that object. Then he looked back at the children. He had black hair, while she had long blond hair and two very sweet blue eyes, just like his sweet love. She looked like Elizabeth's copy. That pendant had convinced him. Who else could have had it, besides his family? He had a million questions. He told them to sit next to him and asked: "Okay, I believe you. I recognize this object. But first tell me: how did you get here?". This time the girl spoke: "Inside the pendant, well hidden, there was a bit of fairy dust". James was amazed. Elizabeth had kept it hidden all that time without saying anything to anyone and now their great-great grandchildren has used it to go to him. He asked many other questions. The boy told the whole story. He told him that their great-great grandmother Elizabeth had passed down to the whole family a lot of stories about Captain Hook, a fearsome but good-hearted pirate who had saved her life as a young man before leaving forever to sea. Elizabeth had also told that Peter Pan is not the hero of the fairy tales that people used to tell, after her misadventure, and therefore also for this Captain Hook had returned to the Neverland for fear that he could do to their child what he had done to the two of them and wanted to stop him forever. Elizabeth told these stories in the evening, while during the day she worked , and as a job she had used the money that Hook had left her to be able to manage a large orphanage for lost children, to be able to give them a home and a family. She started with one, then, with her earnings, she built other orphanages for many other children. Everyone loved her for this. In the family, in addition to talking about Captain Hook, she had also passed down the secret of her pendant, explaining to everyone that, if they wanted to see James, to use the fairy dust inside it, obviously also using a happy thought to be able to fly. She had also shown the map James had left her, as proof that everything she was telling was true. Unfortunately, however, no one succeeded to do it. Either they stopped believing it when they got older, or they just didn't feel like it. Map and pendant were handed down to the great-great grandchildren, who had always believed all those stories and were very curious to meet the famous Captain Hook in person. While telling the story, the boy also said that their parents had died when they were still little ones. They had absolutely no memory of their father, having died immediately after their birth. Their mother, on the other hand, died of an accident a few years later. They felt lost, but one day a woman decided to adopt them and had become their mother figure. James still had many more questions to ask, but for the moment he listened, more and more taken by this whole story. Elizabeth had never stopped loving him, despite his abandonment, plus she had spoken well about him to the whole family. It was the first time that children had admired him. Tears began to fall off his eyes. He had been away from home longer than he had to and hadn't been able to see his son grow up, as well as having lost a couple of generations. He was glad that his family had arrived to his great-great grandchildren and that Elizabeth had moved on with her life without ever giving up, but that didn't take away that guilt that was consuming him slowly. "You shouldn't have come here!", he said, sobbing, "I don't want to ruin your life to you too! Please, go away!". The girl replied: "We weren't happy where we were before. We no longer have anyone from our family. Some have died, others have moved. It's just us and our adoptive mother and we have wanted to meet you for a long time". James looked at her. He reminded her a lot of Elizabeth. "You could have stayed with your new mom", he told her, "She's gonna be worrying about you right now". After this sentence, he heard a female voice behind him: "I worry about them, but we have decided to come here together". James turned around. A beautiful woman came towards him. She was tall, with long black hair, she wore a long, elegant black dress. "And who are you?", James asked. The woman smiled at him and replied: "My name is Scarlett. I'm the foster mom of your great-great grandchildren, Charlie and Bethany. After what happened to them, I decided to adopt them. I'm an orphan too and it was only thanks to Elizabeth that I was able to find a home. I had time to meet her just before she passed away. She was like a grandmother to me, very sweet and caring. She had chosen me among all the other children in the orphanage, telling me that for her I was special. In the evening, before going to sleep, she would tell me so many stories about you, captain. Then, one day, she found me a family. After her death, I often visited her descendants, telling them how lucky they were to have had such a good and unselfish woman in the family. When I learned that Charlie and Bethany had been orphaned and there was no one left in that house, I took them with me. I told them the same stories about you that have been passed down in their family and one day I found the pendant and the map in a drawer. Elizabeth had told me about it and I told the children when I told them fairy tales. Having found these objects, I realized that there was some truth in Elizabeth's stories and a few days ago we found the fairy dust inside and decided to go to search you. We have nothing left where we were before. The rest of the family, as Bethany explained earlier, are gone. We wanted to make a new life elsewhere, maybe with you, captain". James was more and more amazed. So many things had happened since he left. He lowered his gaze and said sadly: "But what do I have to offer you? Look at me! Look what happened to me! What do you hope to do by staying here with me?". In response, Charlie pulled something out of his pocket. It was a bright white pearl. "This is a magical pearl", he explained, "We have read many stories about it. Before coming here to you, we all went to look for her together on an island not far from here. Scarlett has a talent for looking for hidden treasures and thanks to her we found her almost immediately. This pearl was created by a mermaid and, according to legend, it can only grant one wish for one person, forever. We wanted to use it for you, captain. In your stories there was always suffering and pain and we are here to help you finally have some happiness". Scarlett, Charlie and Bethany clutched the pearl and started to say something, but James stood up and took it in his hand, stopping them. "No, do not say anything", he told them, "I deserve nothing, I have already made my beloved Elizabeth suffer, don't waste that one wish for me. It is you who deserve all the good in this world, not me. I'm glad I met you, but I don't want to ruin your life. So, I would like to be the one to grant this wish for you. I want to do something good for my family, once in a lifetime". He held the pearl tightly and continued: "I want you to be happy for the rest of your life, however you want, as long as you'll always be happy". Expressed the desire, the pearl shone and, immediately after, something came out of the water. Slowly, a huge galleon came to the surface. James gasped. It was the Jolly Roger, and it was intact! The pearl stopped shining. "But... but how is it possible?!", James said, still confused, "That wasn't what I asked!". Scarlett smiled at him and replied: "Instead it is just like that, my dear captain. You wanted our happiness. Well yes, we are happy to have found you and we'll always be happy if we'll always be together as a real family, sailing the sea". James was beside himself with delight and amazement. He hugged Scarlett, then also his great-great grandchildren. "Is this really what you want?", he said, still embracing them, "To be at sea with me all my life and to dedicate yourselves to looting? Are you really sure?". The children, returning his hug, nodded. James, however, wasn't completely convinced. He too had started early with piracy and had become the only thing he was capable of doing in his life. But it was also true that he was alone with Blackbeard, while in this case he was with his new family and together they would support each other. The children had said that they had nothing left in the real world, their only point of reference was him now, besides Scarlett. He agreed to take them with him. He took the last few bottles of rum and his gun, then they all boarded his ship. In the future, that island would become their new refuge, as a memory of their first meeting.