Phases Eight

Phase 1 The Broken Promise

"You promised you'd never leave my hand

You promised you'd never let me suffer

You promised you'd stay with our daughter...

Then why did you break those promises?"  brooded Will, kneeling next to the tombstone of Selena.

It had been long since William Turner became a widower, but the death of his beloved has been tugging at the bottom of his heart. He found himself guilty for her death. He loathed his own existence. Love is the rarest flower that blooms inside a person and longs to be cherished . Even though Will's flower was gone, he showed up with blossoms every year as a homage to his spirit which she took along to her grave.

Mild pink colored carnations, Selena's favorite, were kept at the bottom of the tombstone. Will knew very well that his wife wasn't actually there, nor any of the passengers of the Poseidon. They became ashes on the cruise, five years ago. The graveyard was just a memorial formed by the government for the deceased.

Every year, on the month of September, Will toiled to make up his mind not to cry before his daughter. Pathetically he failed in every most-prepared attempts. His fake belief of Selena being alive in some corner of the world, turns to bitter reality on that particular day. Knowingly or unknowingly, tears rolled down his cheek whenever he stood before Selena's grave. He gnawed at his lips to refrain his tears.

Will felt a warmth spreading over his body, as the delicate hands of his daughter embraced his neck from behind.

"Don't cry daddy. Everything is fine" whispered Jeanne in his ear. She was a warm shoulder to Will, whom he can always lean onto. Jeanne's heart broke whenever she saw her father breaking down to tears.

Jeanne was just two years old when her mother passed away. But she perceived what was death, at that young age. Selena's demise broke down Will, so he spent most of the time consuming heavy alcohol. He tried to drown in alcohol to death. Jeanne knew well about the consequences of her father's witless actions.

One day, three year old Jeanne, took a half-drunk whisky flask in hand and stood before Will.

"Jeanne, what are you doing? Put it down" scowled Will

"Dad, whom you like the most, me or him?" asked Jeanne, holding out the flask to Will.

Will felt like he was stabbed in the chest with a knife. He smashed the bottle into pieces and abandoned drinking from that day onward. He decided to be a caring father to his daughter. He later realized that his daughter was the best medicine to get over his wife's death. Will, at times believed Selena's ghost possessed his daughter, as Jeanne was inquisitive about each and every action of his.

Will wiped the moisture on his face and turned back to his daughter. Jeanne examined Will's face with her calm blue eyes. She presumed his psychological state through his eyes.

Try to get over mom Daddy. I can no more see you hurt.

"Hey dear. Why should daddy cry when you're there for me?" said Will, running a hand through her curly blonde hair, "Isn't it time for school? Can you go along with Tom just for today? Dad wants to stay here for awhile" Jeanne sensed that Will was sending her away so that he could cry by himself. Though she wanted to stay stubborn and not leave Will, her conscience twitched.

Sometimes it is better to cry alone to caress the scars of life

Jeanne nodded her head. "Bye dad. See you" said Jeanne pecking Will's cheek. Will kissed her forehead and then their driver Tom, took Jeanne to school.

Like a switch turned on, his refrained tears trickled down his chin. By the time Will's eyes were dried of tears, he was diverted by the clink of a bicycle's bell. The wheel's buzzing slowed down and abruptly stopped as the bike came to a screeching halt.

A girl with swollen face and puffy eyes walked towards his direction. Her legs felt heavy and it trembled on each and every step she took. Her ghostly pale and thin hands clenched the flowers that she brought from her bike casket. Her long locks of brunette hair, brushed over the different colors of roses. Will couldn't take a closer look at her face as she was turned to the opposite side.

She had seven roses in hand, and none of them were of the same color. She took a white rose and subtly placed it before one tombstone. Then she took a pink rose and placed it before the next tombstone. Following that, a  red, yellow, black, purple and finally a blue rose were rested on seven graves.

Will noticed that the headstones had a common name- Hamilton. The Hamilton's were quite popular, as they owned a group of twelve hospitals in and around NYC. The Hamilton's were also victims of the cruise explosion.

A lump formed in Will's throat on realizing that the girl who was standing next to him, has lost her entire family in the accident. Losing one, was agonizing enough for a lifetime, but losing an entire family... A mortal soul would never be able to bear such immense pain for a lifetime. They would end up in suicide or with a mental disorder. Her clean wrists indicating her desire to live after a grave loss appalled Will.

How can she do that and not me?

Will absentmindedly walked out of the memorial. The roads of Brooklyn were wet due to the downpour, early morning that day. He walked past the traffic and entered an isolated street. The street was dead silent. A flower of apprehension bloomed inside Will. The familiar clink of a cycle bell was heard out of the blue. It was the girl from the memorial who pedaled swiftly past him.

Will kept watching at the uniform pedaling movement, until she turned at the corner. Unexpectedly, a sharp pain surged through Will's spine.

What the hell?

He turned behind, and found a group of men standing with iron rods in their hands. They were the exact definition of whom people would call as ruffians.

"Hey..

Before Will could reason with those hoodlums, he was given a tough blow on his gut with the iron rod. He lay on the floor, clenching his stomach.The pang reached his spine and traveled allover his body. He wasn't able to move a limb, in midst of the excruciating pain.

"Hey Jake. Shall we have a race?" said the most gruesome-looking man in the group .

Will realized why he was being attacked.

OH CRAP! THEY MISTOOK ME FOR JAKE!

AN: Did everyone like the story? Please comment your reviews and don't forget to vote.

Thank you for reading.