A LOVE FOR ETERNITY
Chapter One
Live
The shouts of the people in the
water had long since died away. The sky was full of stars that were shining
down onto the sea and gave the ones who were still alive a little hope, and their
soft light comforted them. It lighted a field of more than a thousand people,
most of them dead. Every now and then, a shooting star crossed the sky and
announced that another soul was going to heaven. Time passed without anyone
noticing.
The water was lapping against the
wood Rose was lying on. She looked at the sky and tried to count the stars, but
soon stopped because they were just too many. Where to, miss? To the stars…suddenly,
she remembered what she had said to him, to Jack, only a few hours ago. It
seemed like ages ago, before her life had changed, before a luxury hotel had
gone down. Would we be safe in the stars? she wondered. In the stars she
would be able to fly again.
"Come Josephine in my
flying machine, going up she goes, up she goes. Come Josephine in my flying…"
She sang softly, remembering her flying lesson.
Then she heard a strange noise,
and a bright light hit her face. She turned her head, and saw that it was a
boat, looking for survivors.
"Is anyone alive out there? Can
anybody hear me?" Was it really a boat for their rescue, or a boat to
bring them to the other side? No. This was it, their chance. They could be
saved. Rose turned to lie on her stomach. She shook Jack’s hand.
"Jack, there’s a boat. Jack,
there’s a boat. Jack." He didn’t respond. "Jack, there’s a boat.
Jack." By then, she was crying hard. He looked so peaceful. His eyes were
closed, and ice framed his handsome face. She wanted so desperately for him to
open his eyes, but somehow she realized that he wouldn’t. She couldn’t believe
that he was dead. It was so–unfair. How could she go on without him, without
half of her soul? Rose looked at the boat—it was going away. Her chance was
over. She would also die. She laid her head close to his and closed her eyes.
You must do me this honor. You
must promise me that you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how
hopeless…
She was giving up, but it really
was hopeless. No. She couldn’t break her promise. She wouldn’t honor him by
dying right there.
She raised her head. The boat was
so far away, but it was worth a try. "Come back! Come back!" she
shouted, but it wasn’t a shout, only a whisper. Rose then realized that she
could do only one thing, and it would be the hardest in her whole life. She
breathed on their hands to break the ice, and then kissed his hand for the last
time.
"I’ll never let go. I
promise," she whispered, and then let go of his hand. She watched for a
few moments as her only love sank down towards the bottom of the Atlantic.
Rose rolled off the wood she was
lying on. The water was so cold that she thought it would kill her. Somehow,
she managed to swim over to a dead officer and took the whistle from his frozen
lips. She put it into her mouth and blew it as hard as she could. Soon, the sound
reached the boat and Officer Lowe, who was in it, yelled, "Come
about!"
The boat returned, and Rose was
pulled in. Someone put a warm blanket around her, and she lay down on the hard
bottom of the boat. After a few moments, she fell asleep.
Suddenly, Lowe heard something.
It was a mix of shouting and splashing water. He turned his flashlight in the
direction of the noise. Looking into the darkness, he saw a lonely figure
holding onto a piece of debris.
"Hey, men! We have to go
over there," Lowe said, pointing out the spot.
The boat turned again and rescued
the man, who was wet from his blond hair to his shoes. He was also given a
blanket, and laid down next to Rose. He looked at her lovingly and put his arms
around her. Then he softly kissed her forehead and whispered, "You didn’t
let go." With one last look at his love, Jack fell asleep.
*****
When Rose awoke hours later, she
saw Officer Lowe waving a flare, and the next time, she saw the Carpathia beside
the boat. She didn't want to wake up. What use had the day without Jack, why
should she go on?
Then she remembered her promise.
She had to do what she had promised. She had to do him the honor. Rose didn't
know that her beloved Jack had also been rescued. But when she looked around,
she saw him lying beside her.
Jack woke up at that moment and
saw Rose looking at him with surprise.
"Oh, Rose," he said,
and hugged her tightly. "I knew you wouldn't give up and break your
promise."
Rose was unable to speak. How?
How did you survive? she wanted to ask, but the words wouldn't come.
Jack kissed her cheeks and then
her whole face. "Your don’t have to say anything–but I do, and I'm sorry,
so sorry I didn’t tell you before," Jack said. "I love you. I love
you more than life itself. I have loved you since the first time I saw
you."
Rose began sobbing softly, but it
was because she was so happy.
"I also feel so. Jack,"
she could only whisper.
At that moment, they reached the Carpathia,
and the two of them were brought up to the nurse’s station. Rose only went
there because she wanted to be with Jack.
A doctor looked Jack over.
"He's all right, but he needs rest. I suggest you go to the dining hall
and eat something."
So the two lovers left, arms
wrapped around each other.
After they had eaten some hot
soup, they went out on deck and sat down on a bench. They were so close that
there wasn't an inch of air between them.
Rose looked at Jack, and saw
those deep blue eyes looking at her–the eyes of a man she had thought was dead.
I could have lost him, she thought. What would I have done then? I
would have died in my old cage, my old life. I don't want to go back to Cal and
Mother. I'm going to stay with him, my only and true love.
Just as she wanted to tell him,
it was Jack who spoke up.
"Rose," he began.
"I’ll understand if you want to go back to your crowd. They have much more
than I do."
Rose looked deeply into his eyes,
and said, "Maybe they have money, but they can't give me what I get from
you every second—love, Jack. I missed love before I met you, but now I have it.
If I go back, I'll lose it like after my father's death."
"You know that I'm the
luckiest man alive–only because of you," Jack whispered in her ear.
"And it makes me so happy that you'll stay with me."
He kissed her again. Rose closed her
eyes to shut out the whole world and only be with Jack. Then she fell asleep in
his arms.
When she awoke, she saw Jack
looking at her.
It was night, and they were the
only people on deck.
She sat up and rubbed her neck.
"Let's go for a walk," Jack said, and stood up. While Rose had been
sleeping, he had thought about a lot of things. He decided to do it now. Now or
never.
They stood close to the rail and
looked out onto the blue sea. The air was cold, and so they huddled closer
together. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts, in their own world.
Suddenly, Jack spoke up.
"Rose, I have to ask you something."
She looked into his eyes, and
said, "Whatever it is, tell me, please."
He took a deep breath. This was
it. The most important moment in his whole life. He looked up and saw Rose
smiling at him. This gave him the strength to begin.
He took another breath, and said,
"Rose, you're the most amazing, astounding, wonderful woman that I've ever
known. I only met you a few days ago, but I can't imagine my life without you
anymore. I want you to do me this honor—make another promise and keep it like
the first. I have nothing to give you except for my love. Now, I ask you, will
you do me the honor to marry me?"
He fell to one knee and waited
for Rose's answer.
"Yes, yes, yes. I would be
honored to," she answered.
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
Jack got up and kissed her with
passion.