Written by Black Amber
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

I woke up to the sound of yelling and screaming from the neighboring rooms. As I got out of my bunk, my feet landed in icy cold water. I quickly hopped back onto my bed.

"Mama, what’s going on?" my younger sister, Carly, asked.

"I don’t know, love," she replied, looking worried. She was about to say something else when someone rapped on our door and yelled, "Put your lifebelts on! Come on! Put your lifebelts on!" Mama quickly got down three of the lifebelts and handed two to me.

"Help your sister with hers," she told me sternly.

As I helped my sister with hers, I tried to think of what would rattle my mama so easily. She had always been the pillar of strength in the family, never crying when Da died, just comforting us. It worried me that she seemed so nervous about this mess. After we all had our lifebelts on, Mama opened the door and stepped out. My sister and I quickly followed her, trying not to get separated in the big mass of people. My sister suddenly started to cry, loud sobs that sounded like they were being torn from her. Mama immediately crouched down in front of her and wiped away her tears.

"Carly, honey, I need you to be strong for me. All right?"

She sniffled loudly and gave a shaky nod.

"Thank you, darling," she said gratefully. She stood up briskly, took each of us by the hand, and led us to one of the staircases that would take us to the top deck. When we got there, there was already a huge group of people crowded around the gates at the top. Mama managed to get us three-quarters of the way up, where we could see all that was happening. I felt so confused over all that had happened in the past fifteen minutes.

"What are we doing, Mama?" I asked nervously.

"We're just waiting, dear. When they finish putting first class people in the boats, they'll be starting with us, and we'll want to be all ready, won't we?" she replied.

Suddenly, a young man and a young woman came running up, pushing and shoving everyone in their way. I recognized the young man as Jack Dawson. I had never met him personally, but I had seen him around the ship. He hugged a man up there and they started to confer quietly. One of the people next to Jack turned to the stewards blocking the way out and yelled, "For God’s sake! There are women and children down here!"

Disgusted, he turned away and involved himself with Jack’s conversation. Finally, they reached a decision and all five of them turned and went back down the stairs, I assumed to find a different exit. We waited for another half hour before Mama turned around, head hung low, and headed back to our room. On our way back, we saw foreign people trying to figure out the English signs. As we walked by them, Mama just shook her head and kept walking. When we reached our room, she opened the door slowly and stepped inside. We quickly followed suit. Mama helped us undress, first the uncomfortable lifebelts, next our warm coats. When she was done, she told us to go lie on the bed and wait for her. As she started to strip off her outer clothing, I had a sudden thought.

"Mama, are we going to die?"

She turned around so suddenly, I thought that she would fall.

"Don’t you ever say that, James O’Cory!" she said, so fiercely that for a moment I was terrified of her. Then she calmed down. She smothered me in kisses as she whispered her apologies. "I am so sorry, honey," she said. "Please, can you forgive me?"

"Of course, Mama," I replied, shocked that she should even have to ask.

"All right, honey. How about you go lie down next to your sister in the bottom bunk and I will tell you a story, all right?"

"All right, Mama," I said quietly. I climbed into the bunk next to my sister and waited for Mama to start the story. It was one of my favorites and I closed my eyes, listening to the soothing sound of Mama’s voice talking. When she was reaching the last bit of the story, I opened my eyes and tuned in.

"And so they lived happily for three hundred years in the land of Tir Na Nog, the land of eternal youth and beauty." Her voice choked on the last word and she turned away from us, hastily swiping her face dry. I could feel the tears start to fall freely from my eyes. Mama quickly turned to face me and said quietly, "Honey, calm down. Everything will be all right."

She started to stroke my hair and repeat that over and over again. I could feel my eyes drooping and slowly sleep started to come over me. The last thing I saw was my Mama’s face leaning over me and finally, I closed my eyes. I don’t know how long I was asleep for, but I woke suddenly to the feeling of icy cold water all around me. I didn’t panic, though. I let the water wash over me, consuming me. The water closed over my face and I breathed deeply. As water filled my lungs, I thought, Good-bye.

The End.

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