From the deck of the ship Hopewell, John White stared up at the beautiful blue sky impatiently. Soon he would see his daughter, Ellinor Dare.

John imagined what he would do when he greeted her on the sandy shores of Roanoke Island. He would embrace his daughter, kiss her, and apologize for his absence. Then he would greet his son-in-law, Aeneas Dare, and his good friend, Daniel Black, an Indian from the Croatan tribe. His Indian name was Manteo, but the settlers used his Christian name. After all, Daniel was a far more civilized name than Manteo.

And after greeting the trio, he would finally see Virginia. He would hold his granddaughter, cradling her- no. Virginia was no longer the infant John saw three years ago. She most likely could walk and talk on her own.

Suddenly, John realized how he had missed of Virginia's childhood. he wondered what Virginia thought of her grandfather, and what Ellinor had told her. Had she told Virginia that he was a painter and mapmaker, or did she tell the Dare that her grandfather governed the land on which she had been born?

"The only way to find out is to ask her myself," he murmured. "I hope I don't frighten her."

White had been sent by the much favored Sir Walter Raleigh in a second attempt to colonize the island of Roanoke. He had been a member of the first colony and had barely survived. Nonetheless, Raleigh asked him to return to the island as governor. White had planned to refuse until he heard his pregnant daughter was to be one of the colonists. He attempted to sway her, but she remained firm. He had reluctantly accepted the offer.

As soon as his expedition had settled on the island, Ellinor had given birth to a girl- Virginia. Virginia was the first English baby born in the new world, John believed. Unfortunately, only nine days after her birth, he had been forced to return to England for new supplies. However, when he reached English soil, John learned that his country was at war with Spain and until Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth had defeated the mighty Spanish Armada, not a ship could be spared. John was trapped in England.

It took him three years to obtain a ship to take him back to Virginia. The journey had been perilous, especially for him. He had been attacked by French pirates, and had been shot, stabbed by a pike, and had sustained other grievous wounds.

But none of that mattered any more, for John could see the shore of Roanoke. Praising the Lord, he ordered the captain to prepare the longboats.

He was the first into the boat. The captain quickly joined him along with several sailors. John found himself anticipating the landing even more, as the longboat smelled of sweat, gunpowder, and vomit.

But as they neared the shore, John noticed something strange. A sudden pang of fear stabbed his gut.

"I don't see anyone on the shore." The captain shrugged.

"They aren't expecting us, Mr. White. They have no way of knowing that we're coming."

"Good point, Mr. Thompson, but when I was with the colony-"

"Calm down, Mr. White," Thompson said. "They can't disappear on us now, can they?"

John remained silent for the rest of the ride. But he had a deep feeling of dread as the sailors grunted and pushed and pulled the oars, back and forth, back and forth.

At last, they had reached the island! Unable to wait any longer, White leapt out of the boat and ran into the woods, halting when Captain Thompson called out to him.

"What is it, Captain Thompson?" John asked impatiently.

"We don't know if it's safe. A lot can change in three years."

"So I've noticed," he said to himself. The path he and Daniel had cut three years before was almost entirely overgrown.

"We'll cut a much bigger path later. But we must reach the colony first," he told himself. He had to see if Ellinor and Virginia were all right.

The men walked quickly through the woods, cursing as they cut themselves on thorns, and entangled themselves in vicious vines. After fifteen minutes of walking they came upon a clearing. John did not recall a clearing like this: it was a perfect circle, neatly trimmed, and empty.

"What the bugger is this?" One of the sailors asked.

"Maybe they're going to build a pub," another suggested.

"It doesn't matter," White said, though the circle sent tingles up and down his spine. "We'll reach the colony shortly."

Minutes later, John saw the edge of the colony. He ran forward, serenity forgotten, shouting, "Ellinor! Daniel! Aeneas! It's me, John!" He ran toward the center of the small town, waiting for them to come, waiting for Ellinor to come-

But no one came. No one was there.

"No," he breathed. He ran into each and every house, only to find that they were all empty. He ran into the makeshift church where the colonists were meet, pray, and eat. Where Virginia had been baptized.

There were twelve tables in the room. All the chairs had been pushed away from the tables, as if everyone had gotten up and walked away. The food on the table was several month's old, rotting and stinking. But no one was there.

"No!" John scream and fell into a dead faint.

***

John dreamed he was sitting on the shore of Roanoke Island. He was painting a picture of Ellinor and her baby, singing a son he could no longer remember. Suddenly a short, dark-haired man came out of the woods. It was Manteo.

"Daniel!" John called out. He noticed the Indian was clutching a tiny bundle. "What do you hold? Where are the others?"

"The sky has taken them. I hold the Gift." Manteo's face showed no emotion. "Only I and the Gift escaped."

"Daniel, wait!" White cried as Manteo turned and ran back into the forest. He began to pursue, but it proved futile, for Manteo was gone.

***

White awoke and found himself on a bed. The ship rolled under his feet as he rose. ship!

He ran onto the top deck and looked toward the stern. He could not see Roanoke. He turned angrily to the captain.

"Why did you leave? We could have found them! I've been waiting three bloody long years to see her-"

white fell to his knees. He could blame many people. The captain for leaving too soon. Raleigh, simply for sending them in the first place. Ellinor, the sailors, Queen Elizabeth, himself, the-

"The bloody war. Bloody Spaniards," John spat. He rose and looked out to the sad, gray sea. The pain and sorrow inside him twisted and crashed, and like a whirlpool sucked all his feeling out of his mind, leaving only emptiness.

An emptiness that could not be filled.

***

Three years later, John White, mapmaker, painter, governor, and grandfather, died. He died from bad health, unhealed wounds, hatred, and grief. He had no known heirs alive at the time. It is said that he found a message on a tree that the settlers had supposedly left for him to find, and White's captain died trying to reach an island called Croatan, which the settlers had named with their message.

There are also theories explaining the disappearance of the colonists. Some say that a hostile Indian tribe massacred them, while there are beliefs that the colonists joined with some friendly Indians and left. Others yet suggest alien abduction.

But in truth no one knows what happened to the Roanoke Colony. It has been America's greatest mystery, and will remain so forever.