Titanic

(Just watched "Titanic" completely through for the first time and wrote this)

 “The great unsinkable ship.” The words mocked me now as I ran down the passageway from my room to the upper deck. Water was already beginning to flood the lower decks and the screams of the other passengers chilled me.

 Fear of the water had nearly kept me from boarding the great ship, the Titanic, and now I wished I had

Simply stayed at home. But no, I just had to face my fears. And on what better ship to do that than on the mighty unsinkable ship that everyone had so praised? Yet here we were, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sinking steadily.

 The impact of the ship hitting the iceberg had been what had woken me up, and I had instantly known that something was very wrong. Despite what the stewards told us, that all was well and we shouldn’t worry, I had anyway and was determined to find out what was happening.

 So, with a great woolly shawl wrapped around my shoulders and heavy boots on my feet, I had made my way to the main deck. Despite being stopped several times, I had managed to make it all the way to where the Captain and his officers were. After demanding to be told what was going on, they had told me the grim news.

 In shock, I had returned to my room, the elegance now seeming pointless. Others were calm, convinced that everything would be alright, but I had known the truth, and telling them seemed more of a cruelty than anything.

 My old fear of water had caused me to have a panic attack, and I went into my closet to try and calm down. Unfortunately, the door had locked from the outside and I couldn’t get out. The entire situation made me laugh so much that my fear of water subsided, for the time being.

 It took me hours to break the lock and get out of there. By then, all the passengers knew what was going on and many of the lifeboats had already left, full of the upper-class women and children. I ran as fast I could down the hallway, the alarms ringing shrilly.

 Yet I wondered why I ran so quickly. There weren’t nearly enough lifeboats for everyone. And even if I escaped from the ship, what would happen to us then? The air outside was freezing and help wouldn’t come for hours and hours.

 Even if I survived, I knew what life lay ahead of me. I’d been traveling to New York to live with my strict grandmother. She had already picked out a husband for me, and I was expected to marry, have children and then be a good wife and mother for the rest of my days. Both my parents were dead and if I didn’t live with my grandmother, then I would be alone and penniless.

 Or I could simply let the water take me. The thought made me stop running and I looked back. While others panicked, I felt calm. The water was edging up the hallway, and, turning, I began to walk towards it. I still felt some fear, and yet it was like greeting an old friend. Closer, and closer, and then the cold shot through me. Deeper still, until the water passed over my head. I had beaten my fear completely.