AN ETERNAL LOVE
Chapter One
Rose Calvert gently slipped under the covers
of her bed upon the Keldysh. She felt totally at peace. The aching in her bones
had stopped, and her breathing came easy. She closed her eyes and whispered to
herself--or maybe someone else, "I am coming home..." With that, she
felt herself gliding into a dark abyss. Lights shone upon her, and suddenly she
was back; aboard the Titanic. Her dress sparkled with silver and glass beads.
She looked at herself and she knew immediately what she was wearing. It was the
dress she had worn the night they had danced. Only this time, it was an angelic
white.
The doors opened, and it was if she had found
the piece of her that she always thought was missing. She looked around her to
see all the people she had known on the unsinkable ship: Tommy, Cora and her
father, Fabrizio, Helga, Mr. Andrews...and then she saw him, standing at the
top of the Grand Staircase, just the same as the night they went to a real
party. She delicately walked up the stairs as he turned around and offered her
his hand. That same sensation was still there; the feeling she had every time
Jack had touched her, even in the smallest way. Would the magic still be there
in the kiss?
They both leaned forward until their lips
met. A frenzy grew between them and it was if they had never been parted. The
passion grew and they both seemed to not notice their surroundings, even when a
thunderous applause erupted. At last, the kiss ended, and Rose’s head seemed to
be spinning in all different directions. He smiled at her, and he whispered,
"You made it count."
Neither one had realized it, but all the
people that had gathered for Rose’s arrival had left in respect for their
privacy. They stayed there for quite some time, just holding each other and
listening to each other’s heartbeats. They had been apart for far too long.
They walked to Rose’s old cabin on B deck.
The paintings hadn’t moved, and the roses never wilted; time had no meaning.
"Rose," Jack said softly. "I love you. I’m sorry I never got the
chance to say it, but I do." Tears came to his eyes, and then to hers. She
embraced him, and she placed his head on her shoulder.
"I knew, Jack. I knew." She stroked
his soft, golden hair. It was long, but she liked it that way. He lifted his
head and looked deeply into her blue eyes. She just smiled, gently caressing
his face with her hand.
"Take me to the stars, Jack..."