ODE TO TITANIC
Chapter Four
Voices. That was all they were.
Voices. She couldn’t take it anymore! She had to end it. Not only the annoying
voices. But the annoying life she had been leading for years now. It was all
meaningless. Meaningless and boring. Pushing away from the table, she took off
at a fast run. She didn’t know how long she ran. The only thing she cared about
was getting away from the life she hated. To find a way to end it all. Before
she knew it, she was at the stern of the ship, looking down at the black ocean.
Come, the water seemed to beckon. Come. I’m
a perfect escape from them. Come. Drown in me.
Crawling over the rail, hanging
on with shaking hands. She looked down into the ocean, offering her a sweet
escape. She didn’t notice the young man coming up from behind.
"Don’t do it." He held
out a hand, his blue eyes full of recognition and worry. It was the boy from
down in steerage. She could never forget those blue eyes.
Rose:
Life’s a show and we all play a part
And when the music starts,
We open up our hearts
It’s all right if some things come out wrong
We’ll sing a happy song
And you can sing along
Where’s there’s life,
There’s hope
Every day’s
A gift
Wishes can
Come true
Whistle while
You work
So hard
All day
To be like other girls
To fit in this glittering world
Don’t give me songs
Don’t give me songs
Give me something to sing about
I need something to sing about
Life’s a song
You don’t get to rehearse
And every single verse
Can make it that much worse
Still my friends
Don’t know why I ignore
The million things or more
I should be dancing for
All the joy
Life sends
Family
And friends
All the twists
And bends
Knowing that
It ends
Well that
Depends…
On if they let you go,
On if they know enough to know
That when you bow
You leave the crowd
So give me something to sing about
Please give me something.
Jack:
Life’s not a song
Life isn’t bliss
Life is just this
It’s living
You’ll get along
The pain that you feel
Only can heal
By living
You have to go on living
So that one of us is living.
"Come on. You don’t want to
do this." Jack held out his hand, hoping that Rose would take it. He was
relieved when she smiled and gripped his hand with hers. She had changed her
mind. She wanted to live.
Rose:
I touch the fire and it freezes me.
Jack:
I die.
Rose:
I look into it and it’s black.
Jack:
So many years ago.
Rose:
Why can’t I feel, I just want heal…
With Jack’s help, she stepped to
come back over the railing, but her foot slipped on the back of her dress and
soon she’s dangling over the ocean, facing certain death. But Jack was still
there, clutching her arm with both of his hands, determined to pull her up as
Rose desperately struggled to grab one of the rails with her free hand. Her
long dress prevented her from getting any hold on the deck and she let out a
shriek when she once again lost her hold on the rail.
When she looked up again, she
finally noticed Jack who was yelling at her, trying to get her attention.
"Listen!" he shouted
again and again until she was finally actually listening. "I've got you! I
won't let go!"
Rose gazed into Jack’s piercing
eyes, which seemed to penetrate her once again, just like they had done that
afternoon.
Rose:
How can you see into my eyes like open doors
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
Wake me up inside
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Now that I know what I'm without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life
Wake me up inside
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Bring me to life
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life
Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead.
Jack:
All of this sight
I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark
But you were there in front of me.
Rose:
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
I've got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought
Without a voice
Without a soul
Don't let me die here
There must be something wrong
Bring me to life
Wake me up inside
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Bring me to life
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life.
With all his strength, Jack
finally managed to get Rose over the railing and together they fell onto the
deck, Jack slightly on top of her. But Rose’s accident didn’t remain unnoticed.
Hearing Rose’s desperate screams, Quartermaster Rowe immediately rushed to the
stern, just to find Jack and Rose in a very compromising situation.
"Here you, stand back! Don't
move an inch!" he yelled at Jack and before Jack even knew what was
happening, Cal Hockley was rushing towards him, grabbing his collar.
"What made you think you
could put your hands on my fiancée? Look at me, you filth! What did you think
you were doing?" he demanded to know, but Rose immediately grabbed his
arm, begging him to stop.
"Cal, stop! It was an
accident."
Cal eyed her with a perplexed
expression on his face.
"An accident?"
"Yes," Rose replied,
almost laughing at her silliness to make her story seem credible. "It
was...stupid really. I was leaning over and I slipped. I was leaning way over,
to see the...ah...propellers. I slipped, but Mr. Dawson here saved me and he
almost went over himself."
She searched Jack’s eyes and
noticed the slight confusion in his face.
"You wanted…she wanted to
see the propellers!" she heard Cal exclaim and she didn’t miss the amused
tone in his voice.
He put his arm around her
shoulders in an unpleasant way and led her away from the gathered crowd.
"Let's get you in. You're
freezing," he told her, but he was stopped when he heard someone clear his
throat. Colonel Gracie, who had joined the little crowd, pointed towards Jack.
"Ah...perhaps a little
something for the boy?" he asked, since Jack actually seemed to have saved
Rose’s life. Cal turned around and first gazed at the Colonel and then at Jack.
With a smarmy grin, he stepped closer to Jack, who was still staring at him
distrustfully.
"Oh, right. Mr. Lovejoy. A
twenty should do it."
Rose let out a little laugh and
turned around to face him.
"Is that the going rate for
saving the woman you love?" she asked in an almost amused tone and Cal
stared at her once again with that familiar superior expression.
"Rose is displeased.
Mmm...what to do?" He turned back to Jack.
"Mr. Dawson…perhaps you
could join us for dinner tomorrow, to regale our group with your heroic
tale?" He suppressed a malicious grin as he imagined the scene in front of
his eyes. Jack, the ragged steerage rat, in the middle of the fancy first class
world? What a nice opportunity to have some fun.
Jack, however, was gladly willing
to accept the challenge and, looking at Rose once again, he raised his chin.
"Sure. Count me in."
He saw Cal grabbing Rose’s arm
again and slowly but firmly leading her back inside. Rose took one last
thankful look at Jack, a thankful and adoring look since he didn’t reveal what
had really been happening.
When Lovejoy passed him, Jack
stopped him, asking for a cigarette. Lovejoy smoothly pulled out his cigarette
case and Jack grabbed not just one but two and stuck one behind his ear.
"You’ll want to tie
those." Lovejoy pointed to Jack’s shoes, which were still unlaced from his
attempt to convince Rose not to jump. "Interesting that the young lady
slipped so suddenly and you still had time to take off your jacket and your
shoes."
Jack ignored the satisfied grin
on Lovejoy’s face, who finally left him, and concentrated on Rose’s image
instead. He was thrilled and more than willing to see her again, but at the
same time he was extremely uncertain. He knew now that Rose was desperate and
he was eager to find some was to make her realize that she had to save herself.
But he laughed at the unbelievable thought that he, he of all, might be able to
show her some way out of her world. But…hadn’t she sung to him when she was
dangling over the ocean?
Without your love darling, you
are the life among the dead…
He turned around to walk back
inside, still confused what he should think.
Absentmindedly, he began to sing.
You can’t manufacture a
miracle
The silence was pitiful--that day
And love is getting too cynical
Passion’s just physical--these days
You analyze everyone you meet
But get no sign--the loving kind
Every night you admit defeat
And cry yourself
If you can’t wake up in the morning
‘Cause your bed lies vacant at night
If you’re lost, hurt, tired, or lonely
Can’t control it--try as you might
May you find that love that won’t leave you
May you find it by the end of the day
You won’t be lost, hurt, tired, and lonely
Something beautiful will come your way
The DJ said on the radio
Life should be stereo--each day
And the past that cast the unsuitable
Instead of some kind of beautiful
You just couldn’t wait
All your friends think you’re satisfied
But they can’t see your soul, no, no, no
Forgot the time feeling petrified
When they lived alone
If you can’t wake up in the morning
‘Cause your bed lies vacant at night
If you’re lost, hurt, tired, or lonely
Can’t control it--try as you might
May you find that love that won’t leave you
May you find it by the end of the day
You won’t be lost, hurt, tired, and lonely
Something beautiful will come your way
Some kind of beautiful
Some kind of beautiful
Some kind of beautiful
All your friends think you’re satisfied
But they can’t see your soul, no, no, no
Forgot the time feeling petrified
When they lived alone
If you can’t wake up in the morning
‘Cause your bed lies vacant at night
If you’re lost, hurt, tired, or lonely
Can’t control it--try as you might
May you find that love that won’t leave you
May you find it by the end of the day
You won’t be lost, hurt, tired, and lonely
Something beautiful will come your way
You won’t be lost, hurt, tired, and lonely
Something beautiful will come your way…