GLIMPSE OF THE PAST
Chapter Two Author's Note: Well I would like to thank and dedicate this chapter to Kate (Florencia7) for reviewing once again. You are amazing! I do hope there are more readers than just one. Please do review as it means the world to me to know that my work is being enjoyed. So anyways enjoy! The town was dark by the time she arrived, all the business had closed up for the night, the candles that kept their shops illuminated had long since been extinguished. All except for one shop which resided at the end of the street, it was a small shop which sold mostly books and parchments, it made little money, just enough to keep it in business. Above the shop was a small home; this was where Mary lived. Her nephew James, who also took care of Mary on a daily basis, ran the shop and with the money he earned helped support her. Elizabeth hurried down the cobbled street, her bare feet grazing themselves along the rocks and stones that lay in her path. Her left hand still remained protectively on her stomach, her right hand was by her side, ready to support her if she were to stumble or trip. She made her way to the shop in a matter of minutes, with her free hand she pushed open the small wooden door. The closed sign, which hung outside was thrown to the ground and ignored as Elizabeth entered. Without wasting a second Elizabeth ran up the shaky wooden stairs, her left hand clinging to the rail as her right hand took over protecting her unborn child. The sound of voices helped direct her to the right room, it was the second room to her left, a shabby green door was closed in front of the room sectioning it off from the rest of the house. She approached the door quietly; as she got closer she noticed a faint light seeping from the cracks on the door. She paused outside for a moment, her hand hovering above the wooden door handle. As she reached to grasp it fully the door swung open. She was hit with a blast of light, temporarily blinding her before her eyes adjusted. Elizabeth stepped towards the light and was greeted by the sight of two people standing around a bed, a pair of feet sticking out from under the covers. A short woman wearing a simple green dress that hung awkwardly on her body turned to face her. Her warm green eyes and small smile made Elizabeth feel comfortable. “Come my dear, don’t be scared” the woman called out softly, outstretching a hand. Elizabeth moved nearer to the woman, her hands dropped to her side, for the first time in the last few hours, no longer protectively holding her stomach. The woman wrapped her outstretched arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder, bringing her closer. They now stood at the side of the bed, their legs touching the wooden frame. Laying at ease in the bed was Mary, a serene expression on her face. Her face broke out in a large grin, her eyes dancing with happiness at the sight of Elizabeth. “Elizabeth, my child come closer” she instructed softly, her voice surprisingly hoarse. Elizabeth slowly lowered her body towards Mary, her arms outstretching and gently wrapping their way around the older woman’s neck. Mary extended her frail arms around Elizabeth, holding on as tightly as her strength would allow. The sweet smell of cinnamon surrounded Elizabeth, filling her eyes with tears. The scent was so homey and brought with it memories of her mother from all those years back. Elizabeth gently pulled back, catching a glimpse of something happen to Mary’s face. She blinked, standing up straight and looked at Mary once more. She could have sworn she saw the version of Mary, which now belonged in memories. A younger, happier, and beautiful version of the Mary she knew now. She discarded this thought almost instantly; it was absurd, absolutely ridiculous and completely impossible. “What happened?” Elizabeth asked the man to her right, who she recognized to be Dr. Samuels, the local town doctor who was currently monitoring her pregnancy. “Nothing, just a small tumble” Mary answered reassuringly before the doctor could get a word in. Elizabeth turned to face the doctor, knowing full well that a tumble would not put her in this condition, and bring so much worry to young Jacob. “Mary, it was no tumble,” the doctor told her firmly, before he turned to Elizabeth to elaborate further. “She had a minor heart attack this afternoon” he continued. Elizabeth’s eyes widened, concern and anxiety evident on her face. Heart attacks was something that Elizabeth was more than aware of, she knew what they were, and the devastating consequences of experiencing one. She had lost her grandmother to a heart attack; she had been so young at the time, unable to understand the change in her mother’s demeanor. The pain of the loss had affected her mother greatly, she often found her mother in the attic tears rolling down her face as she clutched an old book, or a piece of cloth. “A few weeks in bed, carefully monitored and in no time she’ll be better, I’ll stop by once every other day to check up on things.” Dr. Samuels informed her and the woman to her left, before he glanced at Mary and offered her a small nod. “Take good care of her,” he told Elizabeth with a comforting smile. He bent down to right and picked up a large brown pouch, he wrapped the strings tightly around his fingers, before he let it go allowing it to dangle. He then turned and exited the room leaving the three women alone. The green door closed once more, and after a few minutes Elizabeth turned her gaze to the woman at her left, who she hadn’t had the chance to formally introduce herself. She had merely presumed that this was Mrs. Williams. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name” Elizabeth said her voice light with false happiness. “No need to be sorry my dear, I’m Clarissa, and you must be Elizabeth” the woman answered pleasantly. Elizabeth nodded in response, unsure of what else to say to this woman. “Well it’s very nice to meet you dear, I hear quite a bit about you from Mary” Clarissa continued, apparently in no short supply of words or things to say. Suddenly a loud gasping of breath caused the two women to jump in alarm, frantically they looked at Mary, both worried at what they would find. Mary Adams had always been a healthy person; she had grown up as the daughter of the town’s Doctor. She had been raised on the belief that fruits and fresh vegetables were essential to ones diet, not only to prevent scurvy, a disease which frequently killed numerous tradesmen, pirates, and fishermen. As her family had been quite wealthy, they were often the talk of the town’s people, so her mother had always ensured that Mary was impeccably clean and dressed in the finest clothes. During her childhood Mary rarely got sick, something that was strange for children during those times. Years went by and her parent’s died, when her husband finally passed all those years back, Mary had been forced to support herself. Unable to achieve the right amount of nutrition due to lack of money, Mary’s health had lowly begun to decline over the years. She had been forced to consume foods that had not been fresh or cooked well, and drunk dirty water, all of which had taken its toll on her body. All of which had greatly weakened her immune system. Now, Mary lay in her bed, her body covered in sweat, her mouth open and desperately gasping for air as if unable to locate any. Her eyes wide open with shock, and her whole body rigid with strain. “Mary!” Elizabeth cried leaning closer, hysterically scavenging the bed for any sign of what was preventing her breathing. Clarissa had taken one look at Mary and had wasted no time in hurrying out of the door in desperate hope of catching up with the doctor. “’Lizbth…get…Jack” Mary choked out between frantic breaths. Elizabeth stood there confused. Who was Jack? Did she mean Jacob? “Mary, who is Jack?” she asked silently praying that Mary would be fine, and that this would pass, or at least that the doctor would arrive soon and help Mary. “My…son…next…room...hurry……pl..please..” Elizabeth nodded before she picked up the ends of her white dress and dashed out of the room, through the open door and down the hall. She wasn’t sure which room it was but the door, which was slightly cracked open and emitting a faint light, looked the most promising. “Jack, come quick” she cried as she stopped outside the door. The sound of loud thump accompanied by hurried footsteps alerted her that she had found him. Without waiting for this child she had never heard of, let alone met before, she hurried back to the room where Mary lay. Elizabeth ran back into Mary’s room, leaving the door wide open for Jack to enter quickly. Just as she was about to return to her spot at the side of the bed she froze. Before her, lying in bed, gasping for air was not Mary. Instead, lay a woman in her late twenties, her light brown hair tied in bun. Her light eyes matched those of Mary’s only they were younger. This woman also had the same panicked expression on her face that she had seen on Mary’s moments ago. The woman opened her mouth to call Elizabeth closer, but was unable to, her gasps became faster and more desperate, she wouldn’t be able to continue this much longer. A figure suddenly appeared behind Elizabeth and dashed towards the bed. The figure looked to be around sixteen years old, with a mop of black hair, and dressed in a white puffy shirt, and an old pair of brown pants. His knees collided with the ground as he leaned over his mother’s figure and wept on her bed. Elizabeth watched silently as the obviously dying woman, extended her hand out to rest on her son’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. A loud strangled intake of breath filled the room, before all that remained was eerie silence and the sobs of the young boy. Elizabeth rushed to his side, and pulled the boy from his mother and up to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let him sob his heart out into her shoulder. The boy clutched her dress firmly in despair. Soon her own tears began to fall from her eyes even though she had never seen this woman before in her life. The pain of the young boy in her arms was enough for her. Elizabeth found her eyes drifting back to the woman, she was still and lifeless, her body was slowly beginning to lose its color. In spite of this she was still beautiful, her features distinct, and her face unblemished. Unexpectedly, the boy’s grip on her loosened and he crashed to the ground a few feet away from her. Just as she was going to pull him back into her embrace the sound of pounding footsteps getting louder by the second filled the room. She spun around and headed towards the door, only to be knocked aside by Clarissa and the doctor as they rushed in. Elizabeth walked over to them about to inform them that this was not in fact Mary, and that this was the body of a strange woman, when suddenly she caught a glimpse of the lifeless figure in the bed. Her eyes darted to the boy that remained on the floor in tears; he looked up at her without warning. She gasped, and fell to the ground in shock. That face, granted was younger and cleaner looking, but it was him nonetheless. There was no doubt about it, his hair, his features; those warm chocolate orbs. They belonged to none other than Jack. Not Jack, Mary’s son, but her Jack, the man she had traveled across the oceans with, the man who had saved her life countless times. Jack Sparrow. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she plummeted into the awaiting darkness.
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