America the Beautiful (United States of America #1)

Rhode Island

1636. It was the year the new colony Rhode Island would be born. It started after Roger Williams migrated to the "new world" with other colonists, such as the feminist Anne Hutchinson, who had been banished from Boston not only because of her feminist beliefs, but also for her religious beliefs.

America guessed that was where her son, Benjamin, developed his gender equality and slight religious ideals.

Ben, like America's older children, had been conceived and born the way they have, and he was also her fourth child with England. As soon as she saw him quietly whimpering in her arms, America had remembered naming him after Benjamin Franklin, for something told her to name him that.

As the years passed, America sometimes thought her son was nearly like Benjamin Franklin, a very good man. That Ben was like another father to America, and she still misses him dearly after he passed away in 1790, though his spirit did come to visit her from time to time. 

To him, America was like a daughter, which he would often remind her of.

Back to her son, Ben bore a striking resemblance to both of his parents, with his father's appearance, including his thick eyebrows, but he was calmer and more accepting than the older man when that portion was concerned. He also liked simple things, so he would often be seen wearing a farmer's shirt and trousers. Due to his more colder climate and fishing, he would often love to fish in his spare time.

Also, Ben had inherited his mother's ability to see spirits, which was both a blessing and a curse in itself. If you thought about it, it's more of a curse than a gift, because more than often, America and Ben would experience trapped and pained souls, who would beg the two of them to help them and save them from their pain. Sadly, the only thing the mother and son could do was try and make the pain as bearable as possible.

That was all they could do to help them, and it would often haunt the two of them for years, maybe longer.

In many ways, Ben was a lot like his father, except he saw spirits of the dead, like America.

Once, Ben had asked her this; "Mother, why are these people in pain?"

Truthfully, America didn't know the answer to that, as there were many ways for people to be in pain, even in death, but she just went for what first came to mind. "I don't know Ben. I really don't know."

America truly didn't, and she couldn't bare to lie to her child about something like that.