JASMINE
Chapter One
My name is Jasmine. I was on board the
wonderful ship Titanic. What a wonderful ship it was, I tell you! Anyway, I saw
a very lovely young woman standing behind the ship. She looked pretty as a
picture, and she must not have been any more than the age of eighteen. I loved
her clothes, with the fine Edwardian dress. But I looked at her face, and I
surmised that all was not well with her. I could see on her face that she was,
interminably, trapped by some cage. Since I have known all about cages for my
entire life, and for centuries, I could sympathize with her. I could see the
unhappiness written plain as day on her face, and it clearly expressed to me
that she was just longing to escape from the trap. She was just crying to get
out of her life. I closed my eyes, and suddenly, a premonition came to me that
she was in a place, in a class, an echelon that she did not belong in. She
should be frolicking around in the open countryside, and having fun, or, at
least, more fun than I ever would in my life.
I closed my eyes, raised my head, and sighed,
as I rehearsed, in my mind, what I would tell her, were I to get a free moment
with her. I pictured her at the hull of the ship, her golden-reddish hair
flying freely with the wind, and with such a robust and exuberant spirit that
only God could describe. Her face was pointed towards mine, and she was leaning
towards the hull, with an intensity written all across her face, as she was,
intently, listening to what I was saying. "Rose," I told her, and I
shook with shock, because I had no idea her name was Rose. "My name is
Jasmine. I, too am trapped. I have sensed that you don't belong where you are,
from the moment I saw you. You could not see me, but I could see you, and I
could see your soul, and I could see and sense that you were, interminably,
trapped in your life. I saw you next to your future husband, I guess, and let
me tell you, you had such a look of unhappiness and despair on your face that
you looked as though you wished to vomit. I have rarely seen such an expression
on a young damsel's face. You must escape from your life, because that is the only
way you will find true happiness. I saw from your clothes that you are trapped
in your life. My God, to me, your dress became a straitjacket. I mean, I have
never seen such a thing in my life before. I see from your spirit and body that
you were meant to travel with the wind. Go. Take my blessing, and take God's
blessing, and find yourself."
I looked down, and was startled when I heard
the whistle from the ship. I swear, that noise always rattled my nerves. I saw
all of them, including her fiancé, who boarded the ship with her, and an older
woman, who I surmised to be her mother, board the ship. Simultaneously, a chill
wind blew my direction and enveloped me with a strange chill. It was not just
any chill I felt, but the ominous chill that something terrible was about to
happen on this ship. But then I felt warmth in that wind, which signaled to me
that the ending will not be entirely tragic, and it will be beneficial to both
me and her, especially.
I smiled to myself with optimism, because,
though I had never met her, I would love to meet her, because something deep
down inside tells me that my faith is intertwined with hers. In any case,
premonition told me that, somehow, there is more than one life, emotional, and
spiritual parallel between her and me. I began to get the feeling that fate had
thrown us together to meet each other, and to touch and change each other’s
lives forever. Oh boy, I thought to myself, as I headed for the lower
deck. I can hardly wait to meet this lovely lady. That intuition has told me
her name is Rose signifies to me that she must be special in some way.