AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Seventeen
Rose thought back to earlier that day when
she and Jack had flown at the bow. She could hear the song in her mind.
"Come Josephine in my flying machine, and it’s up she goes…up she
goes." She sang the song quietly, barely able to hear her own voice. She
was slightly aware of a light coming from her right side. When she turned her
head, she saw that it was a boat. She faced Jack, shaking his hand. "Jack!
There’s a boat!" she whispered urgently. We’re saved! she thought
in relief. She shook his hand again, trying to get him to wake up. "Jack!
Jack?" The realization hit her then, going straight to her heart, tearing
it in two pieces. "There’s a boat, Jack," she said again, but she
knew that he was gone. It was too late. Tears started to stream down her face.
"Jack," she whispered as she laid her head next to his. She was going
to wait to die, too; she just wanted to be with him, even if it meant giving
up.
"Promise me, Rose, and never let go of
that promise."
The words rang through her ears. She knew
that she had to get on that boat. She had promised. He had saved her in so many
ways, and he had died loving her. She had to live…for him. She looked at the
boat, watching as it slowly floated away.
"Wait, come back!" But she could
hardly get the words out. "Come back." She couldn’t get her voice to
work.
Suddenly a thought came to her. The
whistle! She looked at Jack and kissed his hands one last time. "I’ll
never let go, Jack. I promise." She thought of how ironic those words
were. She said them as she let him go in the water. But she knew what they
meant. She would never let go of his promise, or her love for him. She watched
as his face disappeared beneath the dark sea. Her heart ached so badly.
But she had a promise to keep! She threw
herself into the ice cold water once again; ignoring the pain as it pierced her
body. Her only focused was that man’s whistle. He was no longer blowing on it.
He had passed just like everyone else had.
Reaching the whistle, she took it out of his
mouth and put it in her own. She blew on it with all of the strength she had
left. She didn’t stop until the boat came to her. Two men pulled her in with
their strong arms. The men immediately put blankets over her shivering body.
She closed her eyes, barely able to keep them open. She wouldn’t allow the pain
of Jack’s death into her heart yet; right now all she could do was fall into a
deep and dreamless sleep.
*****
Jack woke with a start. He was suddenly so
cold. When he opened his eyes, he realized two things. He noticed that it was
pitch dark. He also noticed that he was holding his breath. He started to kick
his feet, finding a strength that he hadn't known he had left. When he reached
the surface, he frantically searched for Rose, but he didn’t see her anywhere.
What he did notice was a boat floating toward him; his sudden splashing had
alerted them that he was still alive.
A moment later, he was pulled into the boat.
He looked around the boat, but didn’t see Rose. A second later, his world went
black again.