Storms

Chapter One

He woke up to the sound of his own screams. The last thing Franklin remembered was his parents arguing and his father losing control of the car.  Calmly he told himself that everything was all right, and that is was just a dream. As he looked around the room he noticed that he was not in his room. Franklin was not in his own bed and his head throbbed more than he could stand.  “What am I doing in the hospital?” Franklin thought. He collapsed on the pillow and began to dream again. 
    He dreamt that he and his sister, Kara, were traveling with their parents as they did every summer. They always went to the Cape to visit Grams and Gramps. Driving in the midst of a summer storm he awoke in the backseat to the sound of his parents arguing. He looked over at Kara who was awake and listening to her iPod. Kara looked back at him, “They’re arguing again, go back to sleep. Everything will be fine.” Suddenly the car swerved to the side, Franklin awoke with a start. Next to him, Kara was screaming and holding on to the door handle in fear. In a moment Franklin felt as if he were floating, the car rolled and Franklin hit his head, he blacked out. 
    Awake again he noticed a shadow moving at the foot of his bed. “Good, you are awake. My name is Doctor Jacobson; you can call me Doctor Tom. You’ve been in a car accident, how are you feeling?” Doctor Tom asked. 
Franklin replied hoarsely, “My head hurts like I’ve been kicked. Why is my vision so blurry? Can I have some water please?”
“Here, drink this. It will help to heal the muscles in your throat. Your head hurts because your head hit the roof of the car when it rolled over. You can’t see as well due to the swelling on your right side. I will give you some aspirin for the pain and your throat should be fine in a day or two. Also your head will hurt less tomorrow and hopefully the swelling will be down enough that we can send you home with your grandparents by the end of the week.” Said Doctor Tom.
“I am allergic to aspirin, but not ibuprofen. What do you mean I am going home with my grandparents, where are my mom and dad and my sister?” asked Franklin tearfully.
“Franklin, your sister, Kara, will be fine. In fact, we released her yesterday with a broken arm, cuts and some bruises. The car your parents were driving was hit in the front by a semi-truck. Unfortunately they did not survive the ambulance ride. We were unable to save them. I am very sorry for your loss.” Looking to his left Doctor Tom said, “Franklin, this is Pastor Johan, he is willing to talk to you about the accident if you’d like. If there’s anything else you need just ask a nurse to find me, okay?”
Franklin couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. His parents were gone, how could they leave us, he thought. Soon after Doctor Tom left the room a nurse came with ibuprofen and to see how he was progressing. 
Pastor Johan took a seat at the edge of his bed. “Franklin, I know that you’ve been through a terrible accident. It’s never easy to lose a family member, and I cannot begin to imagine how you must feel knowing your parents have left this world. I want you to know that you are not alone. You have your sister, your grandparents and other family members that care for you deeply. Most importantly the one looking down on you from above, Christ is here to help you in your life’s journey. Have you spoken with Him recently?” he asked.
Franklin replied with an angry tone. “I know that my family is here for me. You want to talk about God? How’s this for a question, how could God do this to me. I’m only 12 years old. I need my parents.”
“Franklin, we all have needs. Some needs are more important than others. I know it is tough to understand that your parents are gone, and you may never know why. God’s plan is in his time, and his plan is always perfect and not without meaning. I’ve said enough, I’ll let you rest. We can talk more in the morning if you’d like.”

The next morning his grandparents came to visit. They had left Kara at home so that she could prepare Franklin’s room with things from their old house so he would feel comfortable and welcome. Franklin’s grandmother cried when she saw him sitting up in bed reading the comics in the newspaper. 
“Franklin, you look wonderful today, dear. Gramps and I have come to visit with you and join you for lunch. Is that okay with you?” Grams asked sweetly. 
Franklin smiled when he saw them, “That sounds great. I’m so happy you are here. How is Kara doing with her broken arm?” 
Gramps chimed in, “Just fine, she will have her cast for a few more weeks, but we are here to see you. We know this is a difficult situation and we want you to understand that we love you and your sister very much. If there is any way we can make your transition easier just let us know. Doctor Jacobson tells us that you will be here for a couple more days, is there anything you’d like to have here with you?”
“No, thank you. I just want to get out of here. Have you scheduled a funeral for mom and dad?” Franklin asked.
“Yes, we have. The funeral will be one week from tomorrow. Your parents had a will that gave clear instructions if anything such as this were to happen, they made most of the funeral preparations years ago.” said Gramps.
Franklin told them about his conversation with Pastor Jovan. His grandparents agreed that there is no reason to be angry, but they understand why. Just then, Franklin’s watch beeped noon and they headed towards the elevator. Two floors down was a large cafeteria with tall glass windows and doors that opened to a beautiful patio. Franklin went through the line first and chose his favorite, chicken tenders with tater tots, a cup of jell-o and a carton of chocolate milk. Gramps and Grams went through and both got roast turkey sandwiches with a cup of tomato soup on the side. Franklin loved his grandparents, he loved the way his grandfathers eyes were so blue they matched the ocean where they lived. Grams made the best oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. They were the best because she made sure not to cook them all the way. In the middle they were just soft enough to melt in your mouth.
Lunch was great, Gramps told stories of his pilot buddies from when they were in World War II. Gramps flew fighter planes and was stationed at Pearl Harbor shortly after the bombing by the Japanese. His team helped train new pilots and prepared them for battle overseas. Grams was wonderful as well, she spent her younger years on a farm in Illinois before joining the red cross as a volunteer nurse. She and Gramps met at a dance while he was stationed in Hawaii. She always said that it was the most beautiful place she’d ever been. They had both lost friends in the war but knew that they had sacrificed their lives for something more important.
Feeling tired Franklin said his goodbyes and returned to his room for a nap. He couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital and sleep in a normal bed. Hospital beds are so bumpy and uncomfortable.

    The next day the swelling and pain in his head was mostly gone. Doctor Tom and a nurse came to remove the bandages from around his head. Franklin could see much better and was able to walk around the halls unattended. He went to movie night on Thursday in the cafeteria. The feature film was Treasure Island and Franklin watched in amazement and was thrilled in the idea of the thought of buried treasure. He had heard through the news and also by reading the newspaper over the years that treasure indeed existed and had been found by some lucky divers. 
    Franklin wished he had a computer so that he could do his own research. He wanted to know if any pirates had buried treasure near his grandparents home. The coast along the Cape was very popular for pirates and offered many different hiding places with huge cliffs. The hiding options must be endless, he thought. As if a light went on inside his head Franklin realized that he was missing his phone. Shortly before the end of school mom and dad bought him a brand new iPhone as a reward for his grades. Franklin rushed to his room and found his backpack on the floor next to his bed. He opened it and dumped the contents onto a chair. His iPhone was not there. Puzzled by this he decided to check all of the side pockets. Sure enough there it was, as clean and beautiful as the day he got it. He grabbed the charger that was on the chair and plugged it in, hoping to have enough battery life to browse the internet. Dead, the battery had died since he had not charged it since the night before the trip. Franklin sighed and cleaned up the chair. 
    While the battery charged he decided to explore the hospital and asked a nurse if the hospital had a library. At least I can read a book to pass the time, Franklin thought to himself. He found a nurse who told him that there was a library across from the cafeteria and was open 24/7. All that was asked is that the book be returned before he left the hospital. 
    Franklin went to the elevator and pressed the button for the second floor. Walking out of the elevator and to the left he found the library. There was a desk at the front but he didn’t see anyone in charge. There was a note that said, “If checking out a book, please write the date, book name and your room number, then your initials. If you are returning, please fill in the date you are returning your item. Thank you and enjoy your book.” Franklin looked to see if he knew any of the books that were recently checked out, he didn’t recognize any of the names. He proceeded to a computer and typed in his search. Two books popped up on the screen. One was “Treasure Island” and the other titled, “Treasure: A History of Pirates.”
    Franklin chose the book about the history of pirates. He returned to the checkout desk and filled in his information. Returning to the elevator he pressed the button and proceeded to open the book. He found the chapter list and turned to the section about legends on the eastern shore of the United States. Almost immediately he found a story of a ruthless captain who supposedly lived on the Cape in what is now a restricted national seashore. The legend states that Captain Jonathan Crowe sailed the seas from the Cape to the Bermuda islands. He chased and burnt ships traveling through the waters. At one point in his journeys Capt. Crowe and his crew overtook a Spanish galleon loaded with several chests of silver. When opening the chests Capt. Crowe was overcome with greed and slaughtered the ships entire crew. Capt. Crowe and his cabin boy, Patrick Hale moved the chests to the ship of Capt. Crowe and set the captured galleon ablaze. They sailed away watching it sink into the ocean.
    The chests were never found, but in the mid 1980’s a diving crew found the wreck of a wooden ship that had been burned along with several skeletons only a few miles from the shore of the cape.
    The elevator bell rang signaling that Franklin had reached his floor. He walked out of the elevator still reading the book and returned to his room. Exhausted from the drugs and busy day Franklin fell asleep in his hospital bed.
    
    Early the next morning Franklins’ grandparents came to bring him home from the hospital. He was ready to go with his bags packed. Doctor Tom came by to give him a prescription for painkillers in case he had headaches from the injury. Franklin thanked him for all of his help and headed for the exit, his backpack in hand. When they were on the road Franklin opened his backpack, inside was the book on pirate history. With one special page marked.

Author's Note

How is the flow of the story? Any comments on chain of events, etc?