Journey of a Lifetime

Past:
Mila was coming with us. I did like her, truly. She was kind to me, taught me things I’d never learned. She treated me as a daughter. But something didn’t feel right. There was something neither she nor father was telling me. I couldn’t figure it out. I played with the charm on my necklace. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about Peter. He had consumed my thoughts since I had left Neverland, but now my mind thought of the secret that was being kept from me.
I went up the deck for some fresh air. I’d finished putting away the things I had bought from the market. An older man with a walking stick had fallen on the deck. What would a man like that be doing on the ship?
“On your feet for the captain,” A member called to him. Two other members jerked him up. What is going on? There’s no need to be like this.
“I remember you from the bar,” The man said, pointing at father.
“Well, it’s nice to make an impression,” Father laughed. “Where are my manners? We haven’t been formerly introduced. Killian Jones. Now, what are you doing on my ship?”
I listened to the man tell Father that he’d taken his wife. Mila… An anger rose in me that I hadn’t felt in a very long time… not since mother left us. My father laughed at the man. It made my heart clench in my chest. This isn’t right.
“A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets,” Father said when the man wouldn’t pick up the sword. It didn’t sound like him anymore. My father was not cruel.
“Please, sir. What am I going to tell my boy?” the man asked. A son. Mila had a son. How dare she leave him!
“How about the truth? That his father is a coward,” Father replied, turning to go up the stairs. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“The only coward is that woman!” I protested. Every crew member fell silent. Father stopped mid-step to look down at me. I didn’t wait for any response. “Don’t you see she’s the cause of all our problems?”
“Bite your tongue, girl,” One of the crew members beside me said.
“I most certainly will not.”
“Lucy, what is the meaning of your outburst? Why are you saying these things? I thought you liked Mila?” Father came down the stairs and toward me.
“I do like her,” I replied. I saw the man’s shoulders drop in defeat. “That doesn’t make this right.”
“Why are you acting this way?” Father asked. He ignored my statement.
“Because she has a son!” I shouted. Can he not see that this isn’t right? Father’s eyebrows rose and he tilted his head to the side just slightly, like he did when I was in trouble.
“My cabin,” he ordered.
“No. You’ll just throw him onto the docks and leave.” If I comply, this is over. I won’t be silenced.
“Lucy Eleanor Jones. Now.” I folded my arms and stood my ground. Father shook his head slowly and grabbed my arm. He jerked me toward him and bent just a little so that could pick me up over his shoulder.
“Father!” I barely got out before I was in his cabin and back on my feet.
“What is the matter with you?” Father asked. I straightened my dress.
“This is wrong! Can’t you see that?” I asked, exasperated. I shifted on my feet. I rarely argued with Father. I hated confrontation.
“The only thing that is wrong is your behavior. Why do you say these things about Mila?” Father asked. He stood between me and the door.
“She’s no better than mother if you do this,” I replied. I can’t allow it. I won’t.
“Lucy-”
“That man isn’t a coward. He loves her.” Please see that.
“I love her. I can give her what she wants,” Father said.
“Like the man mother left with? He gave her stable life. She left us. Me. Her daughter. And you would do the same? Take a mother from her son? How can you be so cruel?” I asked, my voice shaking. This isn’t the man who raised me to do what was right. He wouldn’t do such a thing.
“I gave him a choice to fight for her,” Father said. Like you fought for mother? I couldn’t bring myself to speak to him like that.
“Please don’t do this,” I begged. I know how it feels to have a mother disappear and I do not wish that upon anyone.
A knock came at the door, interrupting our silence. The door creaked open after my father gave the permission to enter. I sniffed and wiped the stray tear off my cheek.
“What shall I do with the cripple, captain?” I shook my head. Father didn’t take his eyes of me.
“Get him off my ship. Set the course as planned.”
“No! You can’t do this!” I yelled and ran for the door. Father grabbed me, holding me back. Tears fell from my eyes and sobs wracked my body.
“Lucy, please,” Father said and held me tight.
“No!” I screamed and pulled against him. “Please! Please don’t be like him!”
Father listened to my screaming until we were far from the docks and I had collapsed from the tears. We are horrible people for letting this happen. I will not forgive Mila. She will never be anything to me.
There was nowhere to go now. Father set me on the bench seat against the wall. He went to the door and stopped. He said, “I’m sorry, Lucy. I love you both too much to let go.”
He is no better than the man who took mother away from me. I wanted to tell him that but I couldn’t. I loved him too much to say such a thing. Instead, I pretended to be asleep until he left me alone.
I unlatched the necklace that Peter had given to me. I held it in my hands and sighed. What do I truly want? Not this. Not a life of stealing and lies. I closed my hands around the charm and let my eyes slip shut. I have no idea of how this will work. All I know is that I have made my choice. I want to return to Neverland.