AFTER TITANIC
Chapter One
As Rose stepped onto the
Carpathia, a man in a uniform placed a blanket around her shoulders and handed
her a mug filled with hot fluid. She was dimly aware of what was going on, and
she looked at the man, almost confused. "Well, don’t just stand there,"
the man said impatiently. "Drink up. You look chilled."
Of course I am, Rose thought. I just spent two hours
in freezing cold water. She brought the mug to her lips and took a sip. The
taste was unusual. It took her a moment to realize it was coffee, maybe with a
little brandy mixed in. It didn’t taste good, but she was so cold! All she
cared about was the fact that it was hot. Rose just stood there for a while,
silently sipping her drink, not knowing where to go. The man in the uniform,
who had been helping others aboard, turned around and noticed she was still
there.
"What are ya doing just
waiting there, staring like a stupid sheep?" he asked. Rose didn’t
respond. "What class?" Still no response. She was confused. Confused
and tired. She hadn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours. "What class are
you in?" the man asked again.
"Firs…er…steerage," she
said. "Steerage." There’s no way I’m going back to Mother and Cal.
No way.
"Whatever you say,"
said the man. "Right this way." He led her across the deck and down a
set of stairs, still on the exposed boat deck. She spotted a bench and slowly
walked to it and sat down, sighing with relief as she did so. The man turned to
walk away, and then stopped and turned around. He put a hand on Rose’s shoulder
and asked, "Did you lose somebody?" Suddenly, the events of the
previous night came flooding back to her, and she froze with terror.
"Miss?" asked the man.
She blinked and shook her head,
bringing herself back to reality. Then she nodded. "Yes," she
whispered.
"I’m sorry for your
loss," said the man, and then he turned on his heel and walked away.
Rose turned toward him with very
wide eyes. Then, slowly, she turned back and looked at all of the steerage
people. Almost all of them were crying. There was a woman a few feet away who
was crying like a baby. A young woman, perhaps her friend or sister, or maybe
even a complete stranger, came up to the crying lady and put her arms around
her, trying to sooth her. But the lady pushed her away abruptly. And she just
sat there, bawling.
Rose continued staring. There was
a young mother, holding a little girl and a little boy. "Mama, why isn’t
Jacob coming back?" asked the tiny boy.
"Where’s Papa?" sobbed
the girl.
"I’m sorry!" cried
their mother. "They…they’re gone."
All around her, people were
crying for those who were gone. But then two little boys ran past her,
laughing. Rose took it as an insult, even though they weren’t laughing at her. You
can’t laugh yet. I may never laugh again. Hundreds of people just died. That
woman’s husband, that little girl’s father. And Jack. Rose suddenly
remembered Jack. It wasn’t that she had forgotten him. Perhaps she had been in
a state of pure shock before. But now she suddenly remembered everything about
him. Every word they had exchanged, every time they had kissed, and their time
in the water. He had died there. My God, Rose thought. He’s dead.
Rose began to breathe heavily. She felt tears gathering in her eyes. Rose stood
up. She felt exposed. She eyed a nice piece of deck space, secluded by the
ropes and a lifeboat from Titanic, just big enough for one or two. She walked
over to it. Rose sat down on her knees and felt the tears getting bigger and
heavier in her eyes. Then, she could bear it no longer. Upon thinking of Jack,
she burst into heart-wrenching sobs. She began to cry like she had never cried
before.