Written by Swim Geek
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

We set off...on the great RMS Titanic...

Mother, Grandmother, and I were all on the Titanic, going to meet Father in the new country called America. He was an investment banker and had been transferred to this, as they called it, America, to help start a new bank on the East Side in...what they called...New York.

I wasn’t very happy to be going. What fifteen-year-old would want to drop her whole life to come to this sketchy America? It made no sense. I was happy to be in first class on the Titanic, though. It was her maiden voyage. What other sea craft would wealthy folk like us travel on?

I stood at the bow of the ship, wind rushing through my hair. The wind was so strong that I closed my eyes for a minute. Just for a minute. I didn’t even see it coming. I heard a noise behind me. I opened my eyes, and then I felt two strong hands push on my back and send me over the railing of the ship. I heard shouting. I tried to grab onto something, anything. I felt a hand catch mine. Someone pulled me up and set me on the deck of the ship. I felt cool water flow over my face. I opened my eyes and looked up. There were three men standing in front of me. One looked like a policeman. He was holding another man who was trying to get away. I saw another person...not a man...yet not a boy. He looked around the age of sixteen, maybe seventeen. He gazed down at me, poorly dressed and the smell of sea all over him. I gazed back at him and wondered if he had saved me.

I stood up and pointed my finger arrogantly at the man the officer was holding. "He tried to send me over the railing!" I cried.

"I saw him try to push her over," said the sea-smelling man. The officer held tighter onto the man, who was trying to get away from his grip, without much success, might I add?

He muttered something in what sounded like Italian. Those Italians...they are just much too rowdy. The officer said, "I will put him in the ship’s hold, miss."

"You will not get away with this!" cried the Italian criminal. He said something else in pure Italian and was pushed into the ship.

I was left standing on the deck with the sea-smelling boy/man. Who was he? Was he the one who saved me from this terrible nightmare?

"And who do I thank for my rescuing?" I asked with my English accent.

"It was no problem, and my name is Jake," said the boy/man.

"Well, thank you, Jake. Is there anyway I can repay you?" I continued.

"You could tell me your name," said Jake.

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth Wilkins."

I thought that we would just go off and never meet again, but soon I found out that Jake was my true soulmate.

After Grandmother and Mother heard my story about being rescued, they told me to find Jake and ask him to dinner.

"Jake, I would like to invite you to dinner to thank you for my rescue," I told him.

"These are the best clothes that I have, Elizabeth," Jake muttered.

"I can fix that," said a voice behind them.

"Molly! You are such a fashion expert!" I cried.

"No need to kiss up, child. Just so happens I have an extra suit on my hands that I was trying to get rid of."

"So, Elizabeth, where is your rescuer?" asked Mother.

"He’s coming..." I answered. I was starting to wonder where he was myself.

All of a sudden, as if on cue, Molly appeared with Jake, and they came and sat down for dinner. I motioned for Jake to come and sit beside me.

Now, Jake was a second class passenger, and he didn’t really know what to do at these types of dinners. Molly and I coached him through the whole evening, though, and everything turned out all right.

Then, it happened. It was April 14, 1912. We had gone up on deck and we were looking at the sea all around us, as far as the eye could see. And then, all of a sudden, an iceberg appeared. We ran for the opposite side of the ship, and just in time before chunks of ice fell aboard the ship to journey on with us. As the iceberg screeched against the side of the ship, everything went quiet.

"What was that?" I wondered out loud.

"Looks like an iceberg to me," said Jake. I could tell that something was wrong, though. Then I thought about this situation again. This was an unsinkable ship! Nothing could make this ship sink! But I was wrong. Anything but right.

I needed to find out what had happened. I searched through the ship until I found the captain. "Captain!" I cried. He turned towards me and walked calmly into our direction. "I saw the iceberg hit the ship. Tell me the truth. What is our situation?" I managed. From the look on the captain’s face, it didn’t look very good.

"I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I am not authorized to tell you these things."

"I saw what happened, Captain," I said slowly. "Please tell me the truth."

"All right." He sighed. "We are going to sink tonight. Please try to get yourself into a lifebelt and in a lifeboat as quickly as possible. Good-bye, Elizabeth." He leaned over and hugged me. I did not understand.

"What are you talking about?" I cried. "You must get in a lifeboat yourself!"

"A captain goes down with his ship--always. I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I really am. Until we meet again in a better place...good-bye." He hugged me one more time and walked quickly off. I did not understand.

Jake took my hand and led me off to find a lifebelt. "We must get you into a boat quickly."

I yanked my hand away. "I will not go without you!" I cried. "You must come with me. I will not go without you!"

"You must," he said, quietly but firmly.

How could I just say that I wanted to die because he was dying? Well, I guess I could, but it wouldn’t have made much sense.

"All right, then. I must go. Will you escort me to the boat deck?"

"Of course, milady."

The upper deck was buzzing with people and half-filled lifeboats being lowered down to the icy cold water. Jake and I made it up to the deck without much trouble, but then we started the difficult task of trying to find a lifeboat.

Half-crazed men, women, and crying children all filled the deck. It was a very terrifying sight. I didn’t know how much longer I could take all of this chaos.

"Elizabeth, I know that you’re going to make it out of this alive..." he said. I was too busy focusing on his eyes, and they looked more scared than his voice sounded. I snapped out of his eyes when he said, "No matter what, I’ll always love you."

He leaned forward and...well, you know what happened next. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. I didn’t want to go now. I wanted to be in his arms forever.

We found the nearest lifeboat and I sat down in the nearest seat. What looked like a firework was set off, and I was lowered down with the lifeboat. All of a sudden, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. I knew then that I had to give up my wealthy life for something even more valuable to me...Jake. I leapt out of the boat and two men caught me. I didn’t even thank them. I had to find Jake. No matter what, I had to find him and stay with him.

"Jake! Jake! Where are you, Jake?"

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, is that you?"

"Jake!" I ran towards his voice and tripped. I plunged into his arms.

He took my hand and kissed me once again. We started running towards the stern of the ship. The Atlantic water was rising quickly and we needed to get to the higher part of the ship. We reached the stern and climbed over the railing as the ship stood almost parallel in the icy water. The middle of the ship cracked and the bow plunged down with many, many people on it. We went down with a thud.

There was a huge splash of water that hit my face and soaked my hair, but I didn’t care.

Jake put his arm around my body to keep me steady as we went up, now perfectly parallel. We sat there for a few seconds, and slowly, then faster, the ship plunged into the icy water. Jake and I hit the water together and the RMS Titanic sucked us down.

"Ah!" My head came out of the water and I heard people shrieking and screaming. "Jake!" I cried. "Jake!"

"Elizabeth!" I heard a hoarse voice cry.

I swam towards the sound of Jake’s voice.

"Jake!" I cried. "You have no lifebelt!"

"We have bigger problems," Jake shouted over the screams in the water. "In this cold water, we could all freeze to death in seven minutes or less."

I thought this over for a minute. "What if we keep on moving around in the water? Would it help us to stay warm?"

"No. It wouldn’t help one bit. We would still freeze. It would help if we got atop something, though! Something that’s not in the water," he finished.

"Then let’s try to find a boat--or at least a piece of drifting wood!" I shouted over the cries and whistles.

We swam over to a bed frame and climbed aboard. We hugged each other to stay warm. "This has been a dreadful night," I said soberly.

"Yes, but it has been wonderful to spend it with you," Jake said.

I blushed. "Thank you," I said as I gave him a quick kiss.

We waited, and eventually, I fell into a deep sleep in Jake’s arms.

I awoke what felt like hours later to a whistle. There was a girl blowing an officer’s whistle to get a lifeboat’s attention. Jake roused, and then was wild-eyed. It was morning now, and the lifeboats were coming to see if anyone needed help. Jake and I hoarsely screamed and waved our hands wildly in the air.

The girl kept on blowing the whistle until the lifeboat reached her. We also climbed in, and we found out the girl’s story and we told her ours. Hers was somewhat like mine, in a way. She didn’t know where she belonged, and once she had found where she belonged, it was taken away.

A week after we docked, Jake died from heart failure. He died peacefully in his sleep, but it was very tragic for me.

I remarried during the Great Depression and my husband and I were very close. We shared everything with each other. I even shared my story about Jake and how I loved him, and he understood.

We had four beautiful children, three girls and one boy. They all became very interested in the Titanic. Their descendents went on with searches for the sunken Titanic.

I never really knew how to explain my story in a way that anyone would understand it, but somehow, I did. Now, as generations and generations after me hear or even read my story, they come to realize how important life is and how much we have that we should be thankful for.

I had one final look at my husband and my children before I passed away. My children would forevermore pass down the story of Elizabeth, Jake, and the RMS Titanic.

The End.

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