black sam epic treatment

8/2/2019 Black Sam Epic Treatment

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/black-sam-epic-treatment 1/26

BLACK SAM

A Pirate’s Tale

A Spec Script Treatment

by Ran Cartwright



BLACK SAM treatment/2

BLACK SAM

A Pirate’s Tale

Time - contemporary. Two young sisters, Maggie and

Mary, walk along a Cape Cod beach. They see an “old crone”

walking with a cane, apparently homeless. The old woman

stumbles and falls. The two sisters hurry to help her.

They help the old woman to her feet; she stares into

Mary’s eyes, startling her. There’s something about this

old woman, Mary can tell, something this old woman knows

and has kept secret. There’s a deep wisdom in those old

eyes far beyond her seemingly ancient years.

The old woman invites the two young sisters to tea and

they accept. Steadying the old woman, Maggie and Mary help

her home to an old tar paper shack with blanket door that

the sisters don’t recall ever being on the beach.

Night falls; they sit in lawn chairs around a camp

fire, tea cups in hand, shadows dancing on the nearby walls

of the tar paper shack. The old woman, a woolen shawl

around her shoulders, pauses and stares into the fire.

There’s a strange light in her eyes. She asks the sisters

if they’d like to hear a tale about a pirate and a witch, a




true story, she says.

“Black Sam Bellamy. Now that’s a story to tell! A

tragedy that happened right here,...,” the old woman says,

and with a distant look in her eyes, she slowly raises her

head and looks out to sea. “...just off shore. This very

night...in 1717.”

The sisters want to hear. And so the old woman begins

her tale...

* * *

Flashing back - Wellfleet, MA, 1714, Sam Bellamy

arrives from England to live with his uncle’s family. He

intends to acquire enough money to buy a ship, form a crew,

and sail to the Caribbean to salvage sunken ships for gold

and silver. Sam meets many people who will shape his

immediate future. Included are Palsgrave Williams, a

jeweler, and 15 year old Maria Hallet whom he meets in a

cemetery. Maria and Sam fall in love and develop a

whirlwind relationship. Sam settles into a life of

smuggling that’s fronted by a local tavern. Included among

the smugglers are Sam’s Uncle Israel, Palsgrave Williams,

and a crusty old ex-pirate named Joseph Rivers.

During this time Maria becomes pregnant and springs

the news on Sam. With the pregnancy, Sam deems it even more




imperative to get a ship and find his fortune. He goes to

Palsgrave, asking the jeweler to finance Sam’s enterprise.

Pals agrees on the condition that he comes along as Sam’s

quartermaster. “...you’ll need someone who’s honest to keep

tabs on all that gold...,” so says Palsgrave. It’s agreed.Pals acquires a ship; they recruit a rather mangy crew and

set sail for the Caribbean. Prior to leaving, Sam promises

Maria that he’ll be back for her, and make her and the

child so rich that all of Cape Cod will be envious.

By the time Sam and Pals arrive at a treasure wreck

site, a sunken 1715 plate fleet off the Florida coast, they

find the gold and silver already picked over. They search

for weeks, but don’t find any gold. The crew is despondent,

ready to desert. They don’t want to go back to the toils of

the Royal Navy or join the Merchant Marines or return to

Cape Cod to worthless jobs. Sam gives them a pep talk,

offering his crew a deal...

“We can return to Cape Cod; spend the rest of our

lives paying off our debts. We’ll be poor, working for rich

masters! It will be the only life we’ll ever know. Or...we

can be our own rich masters! We can go on the account;

become looters of nations!”

A crewmen holds up a recently made flag - black with




white skull and cross bones.

“All we have to do is raise this flag! This flag

represents not death, but resurrection. Never again will we

be slaves of the wealthy. From this day forward we are new

men. Free men! What say ye? Do we work for our masters ordo we become the masters?”

It doesn’t take long for the crew to decide. They

choose piracy.

* * *

Back at Cape Cod, Maria’s father demands to know the

identity of the baby’s father. Maria won’t say. So, being

puritanical New England, Maria’s father throws her out of

the house. She finds a hayloft in a neighbor’s barn to live

in and have the baby. And with Sam nine months gone, Maria

has her baby. It’s a boy and looks like his father - black

hair, blue eyes.

Maria hides the child in the hayloft while she spends

time on the streets of Wellfleet, panhandling for a living.

One day while on the streets, the child chokes on a piece

of straw and dies. The child is found dead. And now, not

only is Maria considered and adulteress, she’s also viewed

as a murderess. Devastated, she’s thrown in the stone

prison in Eastham.




* * *

Back in the Caribbean, Sam and Pals team up with

pirate Henry Jennings. Jennings is useless, lazy, tries to

get others to do his dirty work. Sam and Pals go along with

Jennings, but soon tire of him. The pirates plot to attack

Bayo Hondo on Cuba’s north shore, Sam to lead the assault.

As they sail into the harbor, Jennings fires his canon

nearly causing disaster for them all. Hearing that another

ship loaded gold had recently left the harbor, Jennings

hazardously goes after the ship while Sam and Pals stay

behind. While Jennings is gone, Sam steels Jennings’ gold

and leaves. Jennings returns, throwing a fit when he finds

Sam and his treasure gone.

* * *

In prison, Maria’s sick and weak, but still manages to

escape on a number of occasions by charming the prison

guards. Some of the locals begin to believe it’s the

Devil’s work and brand her a witch. Each time she escapes,

she makes her way to the Outer Banks of Cape Cod to await

Sam’s return. And each time she’s caught and brought back

to the prison in Eastham.

* * *




Sam, Pals, and their crew meet up with the infamous

pirate captain, Ben Hornigold, and members of Hornigold’s

crew, including Edward Teech (Blackbeard) and Richard

Noland. Sam tells Hornigold about their adventures with

Henry Jennings, and how they tricked Jennings and made off

with his treasure. Hornigold finds Sam’s tale hilarious, is

impressed with the young Sam, and offers to teach Sam and

his crew the “fine art and science of my ancient and bloody

profession.”

Sam, Pals, and their crew agree. They “go on account,”

joining Hornigold’s crew. Hornigold notes that Sam’s a fast

learner, perhaps a little “too” fast. And Sam learns

something about Hornigold - the pirate captain is still

loyal to the English Crown and does not like to take

English ships or ships with English captains. And after

several months of pirating, things are coming to a head.

* * *

It’s night. Maria slips through the shadows of Eastham

Commons, having talked her way out of prison again. But try

as she might, she doesn’t go unseen. She’s spotted, the

witnesses again convinced that the Devil is behind her

continuous escapes and that she’s a witch.




She makes her way across country to the cliffs above

Nauset Beach. There she falls asleep only to be awakened in

the morning by guards who have come to take her back to

prison.

* * *

“...she’s an English ship with an English captain, Mr

Noland!” Captain Hornigold angrily proclaims. “I will not

take that ship!”

The crew are outraged, and lead by Sam, they claim

that ALL merchant ships are fair game. A vote is taken.

Hornigold and crew agree to relieve the ship only of its

supply of liquor. Later, on Samana Beach, another vote is

taken, one to replace Hornigold as fleet captain. That

night, on the beach, a moon reflecting on the water while a

breeze rustles the leaves of palm trees, Hornigold learns

of the vote. He’s displaced, the crew electing Sam as their

new captain. Though understanding Sam’s position and

agreeing with the taking of English ships, Blackbeard

proclaims his loyalty to his old captain.

Thus, Hornigold is allowed to freely leave. He and 26

others, including Blackbeard, set sail in a ship Sam

provides to them.




* * *

A Guard at the Eastham Prison informs the Prison

Constable that Maria Hallet has escaped again. The

Constable sits back at his desk, sighs, shakes his head,

and glares at the Guard.

The guards find Maria at the edge of the cliffs over

Nauset Beach, staring out to sea. They take her and start

back to Eastham. The guards lead her through the streets,

people in doorways and along the streets taunting her as

she passes by. And this time the townsfolk fall in behind,

forming a procession to the prison.

As the guards, Maria, and townsfolk approach the

prison gates, the find the Constable standing there

awaiting their arrival. The Constable rises a hand. The

procession stops. The crowd grows quiet. The Constable

paces back and forth, hands clasped behind his back.

“Miss Hallet, no one has ever escaped from my prison

before, yet you have on four occasion,” he says. “There has

been talk that you charmed my guards and...”

“She’s the Devil’s whore!” someone in the crowd

interrupts.

“...and accusations of witchcraft,” the Constable

continues. “Frankly, Miss Hallet, I’m tired of having my




guards chase after you. I’m tired of you making a mockery

of my prison. As far as I’m concerned, despite what others

might say, you pose no threat to this community. I don’t

care where you go...just go.”

Released, Maria skirts the taunting, jeering, and

stone throwing crowd as she runs back to town, then beyond

to the cliffs overlooking Nauset Beach. There, she falls to

her knees and softly sobs, then breaks down and cries.

* * *

Sam, developing a flair for piracy, roams the

Caribbean, taking ship after ship. He’s well known as a

‘gentleman pirate,’ taking on crew who wish to join and

setting others free after looting their ships. In time his

small fleet increases in size as does his crew.

* * *

As winter settles over New England, Maria has built a

small ramshackle tar paper hut with blanket door on the

cliffs above Nauset Beach. She spends her time selling what

trinkets she can to local villagers. In her spare time she

waits and watches for Sam’s return. Exiled and branded a

witch, Maria wanders the sand dunes alone, no matter the

weather, no matter the wind, not knowing that Sam has




turned to piracy.

* * *

February 1717, a lookout shouts: “Approaching galley

aport, 3 leagues away!” Off the port bow in the distance is

the 300 ton, 28 gun galley, Whydah. A “slaver” just having

dropped off her cargo in Jamaica, she’s making her return

voyage through the Windward Passage on her way back to

England.

Sam gives chase. It takes the pirates three days and

nights to catch the galley. Finally, the Whydah gives in

without fight. Sam and his men board the ship and are

surprised to find the hold full of gold, silver, and ivory.

Sam has made his fortune and claims the Whydah for his

flagship.

By early April 1717, Sam and Pals have met with much

success. They decide that the next winter they’ll terrorize

merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. First,

though, Sam surprises everyone by wanting to sail north

again - back to New England. Maria awaits. And so, the two

pirate ships turn north...

* * *

The two pirate ships sail north. It’s a calm day; some




pirates are playing cards on a hatch cover, others lounge

on deck, one plays a pipe while another dances an Irish

jig. Sam stands at the starboard rail, looking out to sea.

There’s a storm brewing. He can feel it.

Soon after the sky has grown dark, heavy overcast, a

storm tossing the Marianne and Whydah on the waves.

Lightning and thunder flash and rumble. Wind whistles

through the rigging; the small sails still set flap on the

wind. Rain pours down on the decks, the waves pounding the

ships. A work crew on the Whydah’s main deck tugs on a line

to further shorten sail.

On the Marianne, Palsgrave stands on the rain washed

main deck, watching a work crew pull a line to tighten the

already double reefed mainsail. A wind gust catches the

sail. It begins to unfurl, tearing the line free from the

work crew. The sail swells full, and with a snap like

cannon fire, it tears away from the yard, catches in the

rigging, then shrouds, then the wind carries it away into

the darkened storm, the broken lines from the missing sail

whipping around in the wind.

Later, the storm ended, the sky partly cloudy, the two

ships rest gently on the water, their sails furled or

dangling, the main sail of the Marianne still gone. There’s




general chatter as work crews scurry about repairing storm

damage.

* * *

Maria sits in her tiny hut, a quilt wrapped around her

for warmth. A lantern hangs from the roof, casting shadows

into the corners. There’s a sudden rap on the wall of the

hut. Maria, startled, looks up. Another rap, then more.

Maria reaches for the lantern, rises, and steps outside.

Four young boys stand several feet away. One holds a

torch; the others throwing stones at the hut. They pause,

step back, then begin to throw stones at Maria. After

taunting her, they run off into the night.

Maria pauses, looks to the northern horizon as soft

thunder rumbles and lightning flashes in the distance, then

turns and disappears back into her hut.

* * *

Storm damage repaired on the Whydah, Sam recommends a

celebration. The crew decide to put on a play - “The Royal

Pirate.” The play commences as a small group of pirates

remain asleep below decks, sleeping off a drunk. In the

middle of the play, the sleeping pirates awaken. Hearing

shouts above, they scramble up a ladder in time to see a




fellow pirate on the verge of being hung.

Not knowing it’s a play being staged by their

shipmates, the newly awakened pirates break open a gun

cabinet below deck, and rush those above, creating a mêlée

in which others are wounded and a fellow pirate killed. The

fight is finally stopped. Sam orders the attacking pirates

to be placed in chains below deck. The murdered pirate is

buried at sea. Sam swears it’s the last time a play will

ever be performed on his ship.

* * *

Just off shore at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod a death’s

head pirate flag flutters on the breeze, its edge tattered

and worn. Beneath the tattered flag rides the Whydah,

enveloped in an eerie glowing mist, a ghost ship with torn

sails and dangling lines.

Maria stands at the water’s edge, watching and

waiting, the breeze billowing her hair. A cloud billows

across the water toward her. Out of the cloud steps Sam,

walking on the water. They come together, embrace, and kiss.

The kiss broken, Maria looks up, finds Sam changed.

His face white, drained of blood, dark circles around his

eyes, a gash on his forehead, skin decaying. He smiles.

She’s uncertain, afraid, struggling to break free. She




finally pushes free, forcing herself...

...awake as she sits up, gasping from the nightmare.

She peers around wide-eyed, throws off the quilt, jumps up

and hurries outside. Afraid, Maria hurries to the edge of

the cliff top and stares out to sea. There’s nothing there.

* * *

Three ships at anchor, their sails struck, the

Marianne tethered to a small sloop captained by Simon Beere

who’s been brought aboard the Whydah. Sam likes Beere, asks

Beere to join him. Beere defiantly and haughtily declines,

denouncing Sam and his profession at the same time.

An enraged Sam then chastises Beere: “Damn my blood!

I’m sorry they won’t let you have your ship...we’ll sink

her! And damn you, Captain Beere, you’re a sneaking puppy

and so are all who’ll submit to be governed by laws that

rich men have made for their own security! The cowards

haven’t the courage otherwise to defend what they get by

their knavery! Damn all of ye! Damn the crafty rascals and

you who serve them - all of you a pack of hen-hearted

numbskulls! They call us cutthroats and villains! The only

difference is they rob the poor under the cover of law! We

plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage!”

Still angered, Sam has his gun crew sink Beere’s ship,




then orders Beere and his crew to Pals ship. Sam doesn’t

want Beere aboard the Whydah.

* * *

A hard rain drenches Maria as she runs through the

streets of Eastham, aprons draped over an arm, holding her

shawl over her head with the other hand. She rounds a

corner, runs headlong into two ruffians. She spins, looking

at them fearfully as they return her stare, and then she

turns and continues running, heading home to her tar paper

shack on the cliffs above Nauset Beach.

Arriving at her shack, she ducks inside, lights the

hanging lantern and pulls her quilt around her for warmth.

She rocks back and forth, her knees drawn up under her

chin, the rain pouring down on her hut.

* * *

Dark clouds gather on the northern horizon. The Whydah

and Marianne are at anchor, their sails trimmed. Another

gathering storm. The crew are becoming alarmed, thinking

they may be cursed.

Later that evening, the storm rages, lightning and

thunder roaring around them, waves crashing against the

ships. Sails are furled, lines secured. Then…




The lines and shrouds of the Whydah’s mizzen mast whip

in the wind. There’s a sudden loud crack and the upper part

of the mizzen mast crashes to the deck.

Below deck hanging lanterns swing, water leaks through

cracks, pours through the grating of some hatch covers.

There’s another load crack. The main mast, at a slight

angle, the deck above buckled, has been broken loose from

its wooden braces.

Later, the storm is over, the clouds clearing. The

Whydah’s anchored, the crew busy themselves with repairs.

The storm separated the two ships. There’s no sign of the

Marianne. Soon, the Whydah, alone, continues north, the

mizzen mast gone. The Lookout spots a sail and the Whydah

overtakes a small two masted ship, the Ann. The Ann lays-

to, her mainsail lines loosened, wind dropping from the

sail. With the Ann taken captive, the two ships continue

north.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Marianne, Palsgrave spots two ships

on the horizon. His crew begin to ready for an attack, and

then realize they are pursuing the Whydah and another ship.

The Marianne rejoins the Whydah, making their small fleet

three ships.




Pals decides he wants to stop at Block Island off the

New England coast to visit his sister and mother. Sam

concurs, deciding to continue north with the intention that

he and Pals will meet up again in two weeks at Green Island

in Canada. So, approaching Block Island, Pals takes the

Marianne and departs the fleet while the Whydah and Ann

continue on.

* * *

A hard steady rain falls on Nauset Beach. There’s

occasional lightning and thunder. Maria’s little garden is

washed away. Later, the storm over, the morning sun pushes

through sparse cloud cover. Maria stands looking at her

garden. She shakes her head, looks to sea, and then turns,

walks to her hut, and enters.

Sitting, Maria lights the hanging lantern. She begins

to weave on a loom, quickly gets bored, and sits back. She

grabs her shawl, rises, and leaves the hut. Shawl about her

shoulders, Maria slowly walks along the water’s edge, tide

lapping around her bare feet. She pauses and stares out to

sea.

Later, Maria goes to Eastham with an armload of aprons

to sell. Everyone either ignores or threatens her while an

old man with horse drawn cart watches. Later he shows up at




Maria’s hut with baskets of vegetables for her. He

understands her plight, having lost a daughter who was

about Maria’s age.

* * *

The Ann and Whydah, cannons run out, flank the small

three masted Mary Anne, an Irish ‘pink’ (not to be confused

with Pals ship the Marianne) loaded with wine. Sam assigns

seven of his pirates to run the Mary Anne with three of her

original crew. They continue north, the Mary Anne lagging

behind, the pirates taunting and teasing the three crewmen.

And all the while the Mary Anne drifts farther and farther

apart from the Whydah and Ann.

Then, on the northern horizon, they see fog drifting

across the water. Unknown to the pirates, the largest

nor’easter in decades is building and the three ships are

sailing straight toward it. And as night begins to fall,

the winds pick up as the storm clouds rapidly gather.

As the Whydah and Ann lose sight of the Mary Anne,

another ship is spotted - the Fisher . Sam ‘persuades’ the

Fisher’s captain to guide Sam’s ships safely through the

storm and to port on Cape Cod. But the Fisher’s captain has

other ideas - run the Whydah and her crew toward the rocks

along the shoreline.




* * *

Maria stands on the cliffs above Nauset Beach, looking

out to sea, occasionally glancing north at the gathering

storm as it nears - lightning more frequent, thunder

roaring, the wind picking up.

* * *

On the Mary Anne, the storm approaches; lightning and

thunder roll across the sea. A light rain falls. The seven

pirates, drunk, and three crew are on deck, watching.

Now night, the rain a major squall, the seas rough,

tossing the Mary Anne between growing waves. The wind

whistles through the lines and shrouds, straining the

sails. Lightning and thunder are heavier, more frequent.

The rain pours heavily while waves wash over the deck. The

crew and pirates grasp anything for support as the storm

rips sails, lines, and masts free. Finally, terrified and

soaked through, they hurry below deck, thinking they are

doomed.

Below deck the pirates and prisoners huddle together

in a corner of the hold under a rocking lantern. Cold, wet,

and scared, they shiver as the raging storm echoes through

the hold. Empty wine bottles and trash roll across the




floor as the wind and waves roll the ship back and forth.

The timbers of the ship groan under the battering gale. A

pirate instructs a Mary Anne crewman to read from his Book

of Common Prayer .

* * *

The Whydah and Ann sail on, lead by the Fisher . The

howling gale tosses the ships, dangling lines snap in the

wind, waves crash against the hulls.

* * *

Maria sits in her shack, her arms curled around her

knees drawn up under her chin. She peers around fearfully,

the lantern rocking. Outside the storm rages, wind, and

rain buffeting her shack.

* * *

A huge wave hits the Mary Anne, rattling the timbers.

The pirates, grasping their wine bottles, and crew, cry

out. The lantern flame flickers, then steadies. Death is

coming.

* * *

Ten miles north, the storm rages around the three

ships as the Fisher turns inshore, luring the Whydah toward




the rocks. The Whydah is battered by the storm, huge waves

breaking across her bow. Howling wind blows the torrential

rain horizontal, cutting through the shrouds and lines.

Pirates race around the ship to make her steady, trim

sails, secure lines.

Sam realizes it’s a losing cause; he’s been tricked.

He can hear the nearby breakers. He orders the anchors

dropped to save the ship from crashing into the rocks. The

Whydah lurches as the anchors take hold and the ship begins

to swing around, stern shoreward, dragging the anchors with

it. It does no good. The anchor cables are cut to free the

ship.

A huge wave crashes into the ship, pitching it on its

side. Cannons break loose, crashing across the deck. Below,

more cannons break loose, crashing through bulwarks and

bulkheads, and into the sea. Pirates are swept overboard,

sliding across the decks, washed from the lines and shrouds

- Sam among them.

Masts snap and are washed away, shredded sails flap in

the wind, dangling lines snap like gunfire. All across the

rolling ship desperate pirates attempt to jump and swim

only to be swept under. Finally, the ship completes its

roll, capsized, keel up, like a turtle shell being battered




by the waves.

And in the surf just offshore, there are only two

survivors of the 146 crew and prisoners who were aboard the

Whydah.

* * *

The morning sun rises on Nauset Beach. Ironically, the

Whydah has crashed ashore within sight of Maria’s tar paper

shack. Ship debris is everywhere, including many bodies of

pirates and prisoners. Off shore rests the over turned hull

of the Whydah. Scavenging villagers wander the beach,

whispering among themselves that the witch on the cliffs

above caused the wreck. And Maria stands above, staring

down, knowing the truth of what she sees.

* * *

Ten miles south, the storm is ended, the sky partly

cloudy, a brisk breeze blowing. The pirates and three crew

of the Mary Anne stagger on deck, realize they’ve survived

the nor-easter, their ship grounded on a sandbar.

Delighted, they sit in the sand in the shade of the hull,

drinking what’s left of the wine until two locals come by,

offering help. They accept, but are eventually caught by

authorities as the identity of the pirates are revealed.




* * *

Sam, dazed, pained, battered and broken like his ship,

staggers across the marshy landscape between brush and

bushes, making his way to Wellfleet. He makes it to the

tree cemetery where he had first met Maria. Then, with

effort, he lies down and curls up by the tree trunk. He

falls asleep and sometime during the night he dies. He’s

later found by locals.

* * *

Six days later - Block Island, Palsgrave and his crew

ready the Marianne to sail when a surviving crewmen from

the Whydah suddenly shows up. Battered and beaten, the

crewman relates the tale. Saddened at the loss of his

friend and fellow shipmates, Palsgrave releases Beere and

his men, and then Pals and his crew sail, turning their

ship south toward Nassau.

* * *

Returning to the present - so ends the old woman’s

tale of the pirate and witch of Cape Cod. The campfire

flames dance, soft orange light reflect on the faces of the

old woman, Mary, and Maggie. The old woman smiles,

chuckles, then pulls out a locket Pals had made for Sam as




proof of her tale. She hands the locket to Mary.

The sisters inspect the locket closely, taking note of

the inscription. The old woman sits back and sighs. The

wind kicks up, a soft peel of thunder in the distance. She

looks out to sea; a misty fog bank is rolling in on the

shore. She begins to rise from her chair. “These old bones

don’t take to foul weather like they use to,” she says as

the two sisters also rise.

With the storm approaching, it’s time to leave. Mary

and Maggie thank the old woman for her hospitality and

kindness then start home, Mary unconsciously taking the

locket. They disappear into the dark. The old woman smiles,

watching them go, and then turns and slowly walks to the

edge of the cliff, watching the gathering storm, the fog

thickening off shore.

Mary absentmindedly glances at the locket, realizes

she still has it. She stops in her tracks, knowing she must

return it. She tells Maggie to wait, and hurries off into

the night back toward the old woman’s shack.

Back at the hut, the campfire still burns, but the old

woman nowhere to be found. Mary notices a soft golden light

coming from the beach below. She walks to the cliff edge

and looks down.




On the beach below Mary sees the old woman slowly

approaching a glowing misty fog on the shore. In the fog

offshore is a ghost ship with shredded sails and dangling

lines. Out of the fog steps the ghost of Sam Bellamy.

The old woman pauses as Sam’s ghost approaches. Sam

smiles as he holds out his hands and takes her hands in

his. She changes into the young and beautiful teenage Maria

Hallet. They embrace, and then smile up at Mary atop the

cliff. Mary smiles as she hears Maria’s voice in her

thoughts: “Keep the locket,” she hears Maria say. “And when

you look at it, remember the story an old woman once told

you.”

Mary smiles, tears in her eyes. She glances at the

locket in the palm of her hand, and then clenches the

locket in her fist, holding it close to her heart. And she

watches as the ghosts of Sam and Maria turn and, arm in

arm, walk away, disappearing into the night, the ghost ship

riding off shore.

THE END

black sam epic treatment

Documents