A Narrative They Said Didn't Matter
And they called it "unsinkable"
It had been only about four days sense the ship set off. We had been in the lower decks that night dancing and listening to the random notes played on different instruments. The first and second class were upstairs drinking and eating from tiny plates while we flowed around the other decks and sang without certain key.
I was exhausted. Only a few days and already Teyah was one of the best friends I had ever known. We went to bed late, but not drunk like the adults had. My eyes closed easily over the noise of the parties I could still hear from the room hallways.
Alexandre` yanked the pillow from under my head so I fell on the side of my face. My eyes opened in slits and I saw Teyah and him standing in front of my bottom bunk matters looking distressed. I sat up right away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked sounding more desperate than I had intended but not caring at that moment. Teyah grabbed my arm and pulled me from the bed.
“Get you warmed cloths and a coat, now!” she ordered me. She also, I realized, was digging through her belongings pulling a long coat and some small trinkets from boxes. water puddled on the ground. Alexandra had his bag filled with some of his own things.
“The boat hit a chunk of ice, it’s going down. FOR GOODNESS SAKES’ ANNE GET UP AND GRAB YOUR COAT WE HAVE TO GET OUT!” Alexandre` yelled.
I desperately grabbed and pulled on my warmest articles of clothing and shoved some of my personal belongings in a bag. We ran into the walkway and it was crowded with people, some of them dirty from working on the boilers. I grabbed a hand of both my brother and Teyah. I could not loose them in the confusion. This was to unexpected to seem real. It was too sudden to be true. I was shoved down and lost both of the hands I had grabbed. I felt myself being stepped on, I screamed and looked desperately for my companions.
I was being picked up, and I wasn’t sure who by until I saw Alexandre` ‘s face. he ran with me back to where Teyah was. we traveled at a steady pace even with Alexandre` carrying me and Teyah with all of our things.
We, after what felt like hours, got to the main deck in the midst of an almost familiar crowd. I heard children crying even without being lost, and people in panic without knowing what yet was happening. Alexandre` put me down to walk for myself. I felt blood around my ankle where I was have been hurt when I fell, but I brushed the idea aside.
I climbed desperately up higher on top of a metal table. It seemed that everything I was doing in those few moments was desperate and I wasn’t even sure if we really were sinking or if some one had just spread the rumor as a joke.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know if I wanted to know.
I just tried to understand how this might have happened.
Alexandre` called me down from where I was. I tried to get to him but again, half in my clumsiness and half in the bustle of everyone around me, I almost fell. He grabbed my hand and handed it to Teyah so I could be held up. My other hand reached my face. It was ice cold.
The cold was sudden. It drained all feeling from me as I realized we were somewhere that would make the water freezing. I ran away from Teyah and Alexandre` and i heard them call after me, but I ran. I shoved people out of my way and then reached the edge. Chunks of ice floated distantly in the water, some larger than others.
The color drained from my face. I could feel myself pale and then heat. The heat shocked my face going from one extreme to another, and then a draft sent me back into a numb cold.
Teyah ran up behind me panting as she stopped her sprint.
“Whets wrong, Anne?” She asked then looked out into the water. She looked shocked but not as worried as me. She didn't get that 2200 people couldn’t manage in freezing temperatures for very long, even with the added alcohol in there blood. She, without any other words, dragged me back to Alexandre` who was now farther from the crowd.
“They’re ordering us to stay calm. I think we--”
“HOW CAN WE STAY CALM?!?!” I cut him off, my emotions rushing from astonishment to grave panic in a matter of seconds. He glared at me.
“Woman and children are to get on the boats first. You two are going and I am to stay and help more people. all right?” Teyah nodded but I felt a scream build in myself. Then my thought drained of letting any word come from my lips. He was staying. My brother wasn’t going to come......he was going to die. He recognized what I was thinking through the look I gave him then he hugged me tight. I will be fine, all right? you just get going so you get off, I’ll follow, don’t worry.”
“Promise?!” I asked, nearly yelling at him. He said nothing. He hugged Teyah shortly then shook her hand, and ran back the direction we had come from.
Teyah seized command as soon as my brother left. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to. I would have rather died than left without my brother; my best friend.
Teyah dragged me and shoved me onto a boat next to her. Most of what had been in our bags was now in our pockets so that enough room was left for more passengers. I said nothing. I couldn’t watch the boat be lowered into the water, but I felt gravity move us slightly then stop abruptly as we hit water, water that had top be freezing.
Teyah grabbed my wrist and squeezed it. It helped to have even the friend of only a few days there. I felt freezing tears gather around the creases of my eyes them run down my cheeks.
We rowed the oars for a while, getting farther and farther from what had been only a four day home. Suddenly I saw Teyah stop rowing, and I turned around. The boat was in two pieces. one was sticking nearly straight into the air with poor people clinging on for life, as others fell into the icy water. I screamed, even there in the middle of silence.
I felt no gaze meet me. I looked and no one had moved their eyes from the horrific sight.
“ROW!” I ordered. That time they looked at me. I couldn’t stand to watch the ship, and I started rowing.
Only half of them joined me. But I understood once I calmed down.
I thought. I thought about how my brother would never know how much I respected him at the moment he made us leave. I thought about how I wouldn’t be able to tell my family what had happened. I though about how Teyah would have to leave and find her old life leaving me alone. I thought about What would happen to me when i got home and was the only child...if I would still be just Alexandre`’s little sister. And I thought about how I would wake up after more sleep, and expect to see the wall of our cabin, just to be unpleasantly surprised.
I was exhausted. Only a few days and already Teyah was one of the best friends I had ever known. We went to bed late, but not drunk like the adults had. My eyes closed easily over the noise of the parties I could still hear from the room hallways.
Alexandre` yanked the pillow from under my head so I fell on the side of my face. My eyes opened in slits and I saw Teyah and him standing in front of my bottom bunk matters looking distressed. I sat up right away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked sounding more desperate than I had intended but not caring at that moment. Teyah grabbed my arm and pulled me from the bed.
“Get you warmed cloths and a coat, now!” she ordered me. She also, I realized, was digging through her belongings pulling a long coat and some small trinkets from boxes. water puddled on the ground. Alexandra had his bag filled with some of his own things.
“The boat hit a chunk of ice, it’s going down. FOR GOODNESS SAKES’ ANNE GET UP AND GRAB YOUR COAT WE HAVE TO GET OUT!” Alexandre` yelled.
I desperately grabbed and pulled on my warmest articles of clothing and shoved some of my personal belongings in a bag. We ran into the walkway and it was crowded with people, some of them dirty from working on the boilers. I grabbed a hand of both my brother and Teyah. I could not loose them in the confusion. This was to unexpected to seem real. It was too sudden to be true. I was shoved down and lost both of the hands I had grabbed. I felt myself being stepped on, I screamed and looked desperately for my companions.
I was being picked up, and I wasn’t sure who by until I saw Alexandre` ‘s face. he ran with me back to where Teyah was. we traveled at a steady pace even with Alexandre` carrying me and Teyah with all of our things.
We, after what felt like hours, got to the main deck in the midst of an almost familiar crowd. I heard children crying even without being lost, and people in panic without knowing what yet was happening. Alexandre` put me down to walk for myself. I felt blood around my ankle where I was have been hurt when I fell, but I brushed the idea aside.
I climbed desperately up higher on top of a metal table. It seemed that everything I was doing in those few moments was desperate and I wasn’t even sure if we really were sinking or if some one had just spread the rumor as a joke.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know if I wanted to know.
I just tried to understand how this might have happened.
Alexandre` called me down from where I was. I tried to get to him but again, half in my clumsiness and half in the bustle of everyone around me, I almost fell. He grabbed my hand and handed it to Teyah so I could be held up. My other hand reached my face. It was ice cold.
The cold was sudden. It drained all feeling from me as I realized we were somewhere that would make the water freezing. I ran away from Teyah and Alexandre` and i heard them call after me, but I ran. I shoved people out of my way and then reached the edge. Chunks of ice floated distantly in the water, some larger than others.
The color drained from my face. I could feel myself pale and then heat. The heat shocked my face going from one extreme to another, and then a draft sent me back into a numb cold.
Teyah ran up behind me panting as she stopped her sprint.
“Whets wrong, Anne?” She asked then looked out into the water. She looked shocked but not as worried as me. She didn't get that 2200 people couldn’t manage in freezing temperatures for very long, even with the added alcohol in there blood. She, without any other words, dragged me back to Alexandre` who was now farther from the crowd.
“They’re ordering us to stay calm. I think we--”
“HOW CAN WE STAY CALM?!?!” I cut him off, my emotions rushing from astonishment to grave panic in a matter of seconds. He glared at me.
“Woman and children are to get on the boats first. You two are going and I am to stay and help more people. all right?” Teyah nodded but I felt a scream build in myself. Then my thought drained of letting any word come from my lips. He was staying. My brother wasn’t going to come......he was going to die. He recognized what I was thinking through the look I gave him then he hugged me tight. I will be fine, all right? you just get going so you get off, I’ll follow, don’t worry.”
“Promise?!” I asked, nearly yelling at him. He said nothing. He hugged Teyah shortly then shook her hand, and ran back the direction we had come from.
Teyah seized command as soon as my brother left. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to. I would have rather died than left without my brother; my best friend.
Teyah dragged me and shoved me onto a boat next to her. Most of what had been in our bags was now in our pockets so that enough room was left for more passengers. I said nothing. I couldn’t watch the boat be lowered into the water, but I felt gravity move us slightly then stop abruptly as we hit water, water that had top be freezing.
Teyah grabbed my wrist and squeezed it. It helped to have even the friend of only a few days there. I felt freezing tears gather around the creases of my eyes them run down my cheeks.
We rowed the oars for a while, getting farther and farther from what had been only a four day home. Suddenly I saw Teyah stop rowing, and I turned around. The boat was in two pieces. one was sticking nearly straight into the air with poor people clinging on for life, as others fell into the icy water. I screamed, even there in the middle of silence.
I felt no gaze meet me. I looked and no one had moved their eyes from the horrific sight.
“ROW!” I ordered. That time they looked at me. I couldn’t stand to watch the ship, and I started rowing.
Only half of them joined me. But I understood once I calmed down.
I thought. I thought about how my brother would never know how much I respected him at the moment he made us leave. I thought about how I wouldn’t be able to tell my family what had happened. I though about how Teyah would have to leave and find her old life leaving me alone. I thought about What would happen to me when i got home and was the only child...if I would still be just Alexandre`’s little sister. And I thought about how I would wake up after more sleep, and expect to see the wall of our cabin, just to be unpleasantly surprised.