She does not know why she still keeps it. If anything, it only holds a myriad of painful memories, memories that would haunt her in the dead of the night, screaming to be told. In her burning heart, they would flutter and thrash, threatening to escape. But she would never dare to let them out. She would burn in silence.
But now it is different. How was she to know that, more than eighty years later, her burden would be lifted? She laughs at it now as she fingers the intricately cut diamond. For the first time that she can remember, tears do not threaten to spill from her eyes as she looks at the jewel.
This diamond, a rare blue gem cut into the semblance of a heart, is the reason why she has been freed from the binds of her memories. Without the diamond, she would still be silently suffering. It is ironic how this one diamond could be the cause of so many painful memories, but all the while, it was the key to lifting the burdens from her soul.
The salty sea breeze wraps around her as she hobbles out to the deck. Each step causes her pain; her old limbs can barely support her body.
"Aren’t you afraid, Nana," her granddaughter asked earlier, "to be on a ship again, after the Titanic?"
It is true that she has not been on a ship since the Titanic. But she is not afraid, at least not now. She doesn’t fear that this boat will sink. And if it does, she will gladly be carried into the murky depths of the ocean along with it. She has lived her life, told her story. Her promise has been kept.
The night is silent except for the gentle lull of waves hitting up against the side of the ship. She can remember another night like this, one that has forever changed her life. It was the night she nearly took her own life, and that fact now seems so trivial compared to the events that followed. The only thing that matters about that night is that Jack became a part of her life.
"You jump, I jump," he told her.
She can still remember the way his lips formed those words. In his simple promise, he had forever intertwined their lives.
"I will join you," she whispers as she hoists her aching body up onto the railing. "Soon."
In her hand, she holds the diamond, the long sought prize of the men aboard this ship. How furious they would be if they knew she had it in her possession at this very moment. She hopes, though, that after her story, they have begun to think of it as more than just an expensive diamond.
The diamond glistens in the moonlight. Its deep blue color matches the endless expanse of sea. She smiles.
In one single motion, the diamond falls into the depths of the sea.
There is no regret, no hesitation. She only watches as it shimmers, falls, and finally disappears.
It is where it belongs, dans le coeur de la mer.
The End.
