Brandy's Story

I am writing this based on Brandy, the 1972 song by The Looking Glass.

1872 England
Hello. My name is Brandy. I am a gypsy girl of eighteen years who was raised at a work house until I was thirteen years of age. I was abandoned at the Work House by my gypsy family when I was a baby. My parents weren't married. I grew up at the Work House and a Mrs. McNeal who worked and lived there took care of me. Mrs. McNeal's husband had died and she was evicted out of her cottage home. Mrs. McNeal looked after me. She bought me a new dress and shoes every year. I loved her like a mother. When she was alive, the over seer and others who worked at the Work House left me alone. I helped cook food in the kitchen. After her death, I was being slapped around and locked in the basement. The basement was dreadful. It was dark and so full of rats and I had one candle to light that didn't last. I was literally thrown crumbs of food and given small amounts of water. After four months of this, I broke a window one night in the basement and I squeezed through it. I had to crawl over the fence. The dogs did't bark at me because I had made friends with them years ago. I had only been outside enough times to know that there was an ocean near by. Mrs. McNeal and I had lunch outside at times. I sure missed her. She told me that someday she was going to buy another cottage where we both could live. We both knew it wouldn't happen but it was fun to pretend.

It was night time and I ran through the streets of London scared to death. I was free now and I would never go back to that Work House. I saw a lot of docked ships at the bay. It was so dark and the ships were quiet. I went aboard one of them. I heard one of the sailors say that they were leaving at first light. I went into a room that had a cot and there was enough light from the lighthouse that I was able to see the room. I fell asleep on the cot. I was free! I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care.

The next morning I was awakened by an angry sailor who pulled me out of bed and called me a stowaway. I was so scared. What if these men were the awful pirates that I had heard about? They would surely kill me! The sailor was dressed shabbily but didn't look like a pirate in the books that I had seen. The sailor presented me to a man called Captain Murdoch. He was a handsome man. He had black hair and blue eyes that looked kind but romantic like in the books that Mrs. McNeal had given me to read. He was dressed in dark blue pants and a navy blue tunic to match. I thought he was a Prince. He smiled and told Niles, the sailor that he would take it from here. He was so kind. He asked who I was and why I was on his ship. I told him about the Work Place, Mrs. McNeal and how awful things were. I begged him not to send me back. He promised that he wouldn't. I was going to sail with him and his men to Ireland. He knew a family that would want me. I was going to have a real family. I spent a lot of time with Murdoch. He was so handsome. He gave me new dresses to wear. He was twenty-one years of age. I was in love with this man. He didn't have a wife or girlfriend. I was too young but I knew that someday he would see me as a woman. He told me all about the ocean and I loved how his eyes danced. He was the light of my life.

We docked at a bar in Ireland and I met the owners Mr. and Mrs. O'Riley. I loved them immediately and they had no children and they took me in. Murdoch and his men didn't stay long. Murdoch hugged me and wished me well. He gave me a gold chain with a locket that he had got from Spain. I knew that I would treasure it always. I helped the O'Riley's cook and clean. They were so good to me. I kept thinking of Murdoch. He and his men returned three years later. What a surprise! Murdoch hugged me and told me that I was beautiful. We walked along the beach and he told me about his adventures. He told me that I would be a good wife to someone but his lover, his lady was the sea. I went to town and had his name engraved on the locket that he gave me. He also gave me a emerald ring. I was so sad when Murdoch left. He was the man that I wanted. He embraced me before he left and kissed my cheek. I could tell that he loved me but he wanted the sea more.

Murdoch came back seven months later. I was seventeen years of age. One of his sailors made a pass at me and Murdoch punched him. His mother had just died and Murdoch felt so guilty for not spending more time with his mother. This time, he didn't talk about the sea so much. He told me that he had an estate a few miles from the O'Riley's. He took me to see his home. I had never saw a mansion before. It was huge and decorated in blue and the furniture was so fancy. The O'Riley's and I lived behind the bar and it wasn't fancy but it was nicer then the Work House. Murdoch's father had died years ago and he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with the mansion. I wanted to tell Murdoch that I love him and he could give up the sea and be with me. Mrs. O'Riley warned me not to.

Murdoch looked at his mother's jewelery and paintings that she had collected and he told me how much his mother had meant to him. He cried and I hugged him. I had to be there for him. He kissed me and I had waited so long for this. He told me that he loved me. I remembered telling him that I love him, too. We made love and he was so gentle and passionate. He told me that he would love me forever. Murdoch is a honest man and I knew that he meant it. I will always treasure that night.

Murdoch left for the sea again and I was so lonely. He kissed me but not in front of everyone. It was only a few months later that I found myself three months pregnant. What was I going to do?

A big storm happened at sea and a lot of ships had been lost. No one had heard from Murdoch. A lot of sailors came into the bar and they all knew Murdoch and his men. I feared that he was dead. I told the O'Riley's that I was pregnant. I was afraid that they would throw me out and call me names. They didn't. They told me that they loved me like a daughter and they would help me with the baby. They liked Murdoch and didn't think bad of me.

I was four months along. I didn't work out in the bar anymore. I stayed in the kitchen and didn't go to town, either. Murdoch was gone and everyone feared that his ship had went down. I would go to the cliff where many women had threw themselves over waiting for their husbands and lovers who would never return. I knew that I had to go on. I would sit and cry every night. I had my baby and the O'Riley's to think about. I stayed at the cliffs along time every night. One night, I fell asleep there. I was awakened by a man and I was so scared. It was so dark. "Brandy, Dear, I'm here." It was Murdoch! I could hardly focus. "It's Murdoch. I am home for good. The storm almost killed me and all I could think of you was you. We had made love and I love you. Oh, Brandy, I was so scared when I saw you here just now. I was afraid that you would jump in the ocean. The sea can be cruel. She doesn't love those who love her. I know that now. Our ship almost didn't make it. I kept seeing your face and I promised God that if he let me and my men live, I was coming home to make you my wife. Do you know how much I love you?"

I wasn't dreaming. He was really here. He hugged me. I told him how much I loved him, too. I was so afraid that I lost him. I told him that I wanted to marry him. Murdoch kissed me for the longest time. I told him about the baby. I was afraid he would be mad. He was so happy. He knew that God had answered his prayers.

Murdoch and I were married and we have twin sons and a daughter. Sometimes, I catch Murdoch looking at the sea but he assures me that he will never return to the sea. The O'Riley's are doing well and they visit us at the estate all the time. I am so thankful for Murdoch, the children and the sea every day.