Coloma Gold - Dreams Are for the Young

Franklin road up to the house with a bit of hesitation. It was clear that whatever was on his father's mind was no little thing. Mr. Williams rarely if ever showed any emotion at all, yet here he was on the porch with sweat dripping down his brow and his forehead in his hands. "Papa, I'm just in from town is everything alright? " Franklin asked, as his father looked up with a dazed over look in his eyes. "The heat Is getting to your mother, did you get the medicine from Doctor Searcy?" Mr. Williams said. Franklin pulled the small pouch containing the medicine and gave it to his father.

Franklin and his father ate in silence at the dinner table that night for the most part. Franklin's mother would wake up and ask to see him occasionally. Mr. Williams would oblige her and let Franklin go to her side. She would only manage whispers and ask for water. Every time he saw her, he knew he had to make the trip to Coloma. "It will be okay Mama, you will see." Franklin said before heading back to the table to talk to his father.

Conversations of this sort have no real beginning point or end point, they just happen. Before being able to speak, Mr. Williams shot Franklin a glance and said, "So come out with it, somethin' been on your mind all night." Franklin tried to manage the courage to look him in the eyes, but could only manage short glances. "Papa, I was talking to Heath earlier, and I think I have found a way to help with paying for Mama's medicine and maybe get her well." Franklin waited for the beating of his life, but was surprised that his father just sat there looking at him over the food that was now cold. Franklin kept going, "We heard about this town in California called Coloma. They struck gold and Heath and I are going to make a run at it to try to get a share." At this point, Mr. Williams stood up and just walked to the front door. He walked out on the porch and sat down quietly.

Franklin followed him out and just looked at him. No way to tell what he was thinking at all. His father looked over to him and said, "Franklin, I know I haven't been the best father, and I can't stop you from going on this trip. You are seventeen now, and you have to blaze your own trail." Mr. Williams paused and looked out to the horizon and then said something that Franklin never thought he would hear him say, "If you are going, I can't give you money, I can't give you advice, but I can give you some food to start you out, and your grandfather's pistols." Franklin had experience shooting guns, but never wore guns. He was too young to fight in the conflicts over the New Mexico Territory when Texas, Mexico and the French were all trying to take the land. He learned how to use a gun from Heath and some older boys, but he had only seen his grandfather's pistols twice. His father went to the back room of the house and pulled up a board in the floor. He pulled a belt, two holsters, and a wooden gun case. As he opened the case, Mr. Williams turned to Franklin and said, "You take these and go blaze your trail Frankie." Franklin picked up the six shooter pistols and tried to conceal the grin on his face. That was all for the night. Franklin told his father that he was leaving in the morning, and that he loved him. He asked that his father tell his mother anything else as a story to keep her satisfied. He knew when he got back, he would be gold rich and his mother would get the best medical attention possible.

The smell of the earth was sweet that next morning. Franklin hadn't slept much all night due to being excited. At the first sign of dawn, he started getting dressed and ready. He packed a small bag with some bread, bullets, and water in a stomach pouch. He looked down on the bed and picked up the pistols and put them around his waist. Turning around to head for the door, Franklin's mother was standing in the doorway. "So, you can't go boy. That's that." Mrs. Williams said to Franklin as she coughed heavily. " I love you mama, but I am going so that we can afford everything you need." He walked up to her and held her tightly. She started to cry and he walked her back to her bed. She began coughing fiercely and he said goodbye one last time. Franklin walked outside and was not surprised to see his horse already saddled and ready, and Heath sitting on the porch. "Thought you'd never make it out." Heath said with a smirk. Franklin was surprised, however, to see Millie. "What the hell is she doing here, Heath?" Franklin asked. Before Heath could answer, Millie got up and in Franklin's face, "Who are you to tell me where I can go and where I can't? I'm going like it or not." Franklin would have argued, but he knew they needed to get going to get ahead of the sun.

As they set out, Franklin turned around and kept looking at his parents' house until it was a little spec on the edge of the earth. Ahead of them was the desert, and a lot of it. There were Comanche, Apache, and some desperados that would love to tear them to shreds. Heath straightened his hat and said, "Well, if we are going to get there anytime soon, we better get going." With that, Heath reached back and slapped Franklin's horse on the rear. Franklin's horse took off running and Heath and Millie followed. They were young, and had no idea how to get where they were going. What could go wrong? Millie was focused on Franklin as the gold she was after. California would be a dream, but Franklin would be her life, she was determined about that. Coloma was ahead and was calling them like a soft whisper over the desert.