Rough Seas Ahead

Chapter 2

It's been eight years since my father's ship was attacked in the middle of the Caribbean sea. My mother has been getting weaker and weaker with every passing day. Just last month, she broke her back and her left shoulder. The doctor said it was a miracle she didn't break her neck while falling down the the hill to town. It's been very hard these last couple of years, but somehow we manage to scrape by.

Richard and I don't get to play very often anymore. There's always things that need to be done around the house. But today was an exception. Richards mother came over and decided to take over my chores for the day, and spend some time with my mother.

"Richard's getting a bit lonely. Says he misses you. Maybe you two could spend the day together! Now go have some fun. I'll take care of your deeds for the day."

I eagerly thanked her, and sped off towards Richard's house. He was sitting on the steps staring off into space.

"Richard! Hey!" I called out. He stopped his day-dreaming and looked around for the source of my voice. His face lit up when he saw me. Richard eagerly jumped up and ran to great me.

"It's been forever since I last saw you! Are you here for long?" Richard asked as he gave me a hug.

"I can hang out all day! Your mother came over to take over with my chores for the day."

"We have the whole day to ourselves, right?"

"Yep."

"What do you want to do first?"

"I got my allowance yesterday. Maybe we can go down to the harbor and get some candy from one of the stalls."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll pay for my own, though."

"Race you!" I quickly sped down the path into town.

"No fair! Cheater!"

Our laughter filled the air and was carried away by the wind, just like when we were younger. When the word was a better place in our minds. When I still had a father who loved me. I have a step father, but we barely ever see him. During the daylight, he is a carpenter. He uses the shed out back for small projects. But for bigger ones he has to work in his shop in town. When night falls, he wanders around town spending almost all of his hard earned money on ale. I hate it when he comes home drunk. He gets very angry, and sometimes tries to harm me or my mother. I wouldn't really call him a father at all. Just another filthy drunk.

Richard and I sped down the paths and roads that made up the town of Boston. We ran past all the busy shops and all the people going about their daily business.

We ran down the road to the docks. There were a few ships docked, but not many. All the traders and merchants will be coming home in a couple of weeks. I still want to cry when I remember my father won't be coming back with them ever again.

Once Richard and I had purchased our sweets at one of the stalls, we decided to go back up to the fields and play tag. It may be just the two of us, but a lot of the other kids don't like us.

The younger ones aren't much of a deal. They just think we're weird, and they don't really like us. A lot of them are older than us, so they always pick on us. They always say my dad was a horrible person, and he deserved to be killed by pirates. Sometimes they say that my father wasn't really attacked by pirates, but didn't really love me and just left to join the pirates. Although that may seem like much, they pick on Richard a lot more.

They make fun of him because his dad was a drunk, and left his family when Richard was only a small child. They call him an accident. Someone who wasn't supposed to be born, or even exist. They say he will never find love because of the scar that goes from the edge of his left eyebrow, it didn't get his eye but it goes across his nose, and down to his bottom right cheek bone. They also call him ugly because of his freckles. They say he's poor because of how skinny he is. They say his mother doesn't really love him, and that she was a drunk as well. Richard has become depressed because of it. The nicer kids just tell him to "get over it," and to "just move on," when they'll never understand the pain he feels everyday. The things he had to go through, all his life. To be honest, I really don't know what keeps him going.