JOHN AND MIRIAM
Chapter Twelve
Miriam went to bed early that evening, but
had difficulty falling asleep. When at last she did fall asleep, she was
plagued by dreams of icy water closing over her head.
Late that night, as she was dreaming of home,
she felt the walls of her old room jolt suddenly, and begin to make a
screeching, ripping sound. She jumped awake, but the sounds continued.
She felt John reach for her hand. He had
heard the sounds, too. For a moment the ship moved on as if nothing had
happened, but then, slowly, ominously, the engines came to a stop.
Miriam sat up in bed, shaking. "What
happened? Why have the engines stopped?"
John got out of bed and turned on the lights,
looking around the room. Mary still slept peacefully. Miriam was standing
beside their bunk, shaking, her face as white as the sheets.
"Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe there’s just
a problem in the engine room, or maybe it’s too dangerous to travel out there,
so they’ve stopped the ship for the night."
"What about that screeching noise we
heard?"
John shook his head. "I don’t know. I’m
going to go out and find out. Why don’t you stay here with Mary?"
Miriam was shaking so hard she had to sit
back down. "We’re sinking!"
John tried to soothe her. "Not
necessarily. This ship was designed not to sink, remember? Even if something
has happened, they’ll likely be able to repair the damage. And if not, everyone
will just get into lifeboats and wait for a rescue ship."
Miriam was slightly mollified. She tossed
John his robe.
"Hurry. Find out what the problem is.
We’ll wait right here."
John slipped on his robe, gave Miriam a quick
kiss, and headed out the door.
Miriam sat on the floor beside Mary’s bunk.
The child was beginning to awaken, and Miriam held her hand and began to pray.