Finally, it's April 10, 1912. I've been waiting for this moment a long time. My name is Lela Wittes, and my mom just barely managed to save up the £3 needed to get just a third-class ticket on the Titanic. She worked several hard jobs. But that is in the past. Once we get to America, it will be easier, I hope. People say that it's one of the best places on earth: jobs, a good government, and a better chance to wake up and see tomorrow again.
The mean ones always teased me with the phrase: "Lela's got no Wittes! Lela's got no Wittes!" Just because I always failed in my arithmetic class.
"Lela! Lela!" my father yelled, pulling me along. "We must go! We must go before we're too late!"
I gave my room one last, long look, and then went to my father, and headed out the door.
The Titanic was huge, a monster of iron. It had three smokestacks, rising high into the sky. I'd say she was about 300 meters long. I stayed staring at the behemoth for about two minutes until my mother came and had to almost drag me to snap me back to reality.
We had to go up the gangway to get to C Deck, where the entrance for third class was. Since we weren't first class, we couldn't go on the main deck, which bothered me a little.
The first thing I realized once we got to our cabins was how new everything looked, the sinks were shined to perfection, There were beds on top of beds on both sides of the room, and squashed in the middle of the small space was a compact sink.
When we started moving forward, it was an odd feeling. I had never been in a boat (or a luxurious ship before, for that matter), and didn't know what to expect. It felt smooth like sledding down a smooth hill in wintertime. But as we were pulling out of the dock at Southampton, I saw a smaller ship swing towards us! It was sure to hit us! But then I remembered something people had always said when talking about the Titanic, that it was unsinkable. It's fine, it's unsinkable, I told myself. Eventually some tugboats came and brought the little ship back to the dock, and after an hour or so delay, we left the port.
I don't believe in omens or anything like that like my mother does, but when I saw her face all pale from the near-collision, I couldn't help but feel the same.
After two whole hours of nothing but sitting in my cabin and staring out the window, I made sure that my parents and brother were asleep, then headed off in search of some adventure.
I went down several hallways and through many doors. I found an interesting room that probably should've been locked, but it wasn't. I went through it and it led me down more puzzling corridors, until I came to a room full of men in overalls, covered in blackness, while shoveling black rocks into large ovens. I had never been more frightened in my life. For all I knew the ovens could have led me straight to the devil, and that the men were really demons, shoveling cursed souls to their punishment.
When I got back to my cabin, my family was still asleep. But Bert, my little brother heard me and woke.
"Did you go somewhere?" he asked.
"No," I lied straight to a five-year-olds face.
"Oh, I really like this ship! I wonder what the first-class rooms are like?" Bert said before heading off to bed.
The next day, I managed to figure out from some of the crew that there were 2,222 people on board1! One of the crew members kind of ran off when I was done talking to them. I knew it was because I smelled bad; I meant to take a bath yesterday, but there were only two bathtubs in all of third class, and there was a very long line. But the point is, I was in third-class, and there wasn't much to do rather than fill my head with utterly useless facts.
We had dinner around eleven o'clock. We had roast beef and gravy, plum pudding ( which was delicious, by the way) and some tea. Afterwards, I went up onto the bridge deck to take in the afternoon air. It was a beautiful day, and Queenstown could be seen as we drew nearer. When we stopped in Queenstown, I fell asleep with the gentle rocking of the ship. By the time I woke up, we were already out to sea once more.
The next day, I followed the same routine: eat, sleep,eat,sleep. Though, at times, I went outside to enjoy the air, but it still was basically the same as before. If only I was first-class, then I'd have more to do. Then, an idea hit me in the noggin. I ran quickly to the loo and washed myself, then began to carry out my plan…
I acted as naturally as possible whenever a steward passed by, pretending to be one of the wealthy, first-class children enjoying themselves on the Promenade deck. Eventually, I became so good at acting this way, that I could even call the stewards to bring me a glass of water.
Around 1:00 P. day, I went to the Gymnasium and learned how to use the various machines they had aboard from Mr. T.W. McCawley2. But I saw someone else there, a first-class boy. I summoned up all of my strength and walked over to the boy so I could introduce myself.
"Hello, what's your name?" He actually said it, not me.
"Oh, uh, I'm Lela," I replied.
"I'm Arne," he said, flashing a brilliant smile.
"So, where are you from?" Where are you from? Of all the things you could have said, you idiot.
"I'm actually from Queenstown; we're going to America on vacation."
"Oh, ok. See you some other time then,"
"Wait! Have you seen the Staircase yet?"
Arne showed me the Grand Staircase; it was amazing. There was an intricate carving of oak with a clock in the middle that Arne explained to me was called "Honour and Glory Crowning Time", it had a bedazzling chandelier of a million tiny crystals, and an amazing glass dome roof adorning the top of the staircase. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life. I went to sleep that night, finally knowing that I had a friend.
The next few days went like the previous, but nothing, not one thing, could prepare me for the horror that ensued on Sunday night.
I was snooping around the Radio room that night. The workers there were getting warnings of ice in the area. I reacted similarly to the way they did.
One said, " Shut Up! Shut Up! I'm trying to work!"
But I thought, Ice can't sink a ship this safe and large, and I chuckled ( yes, chuckled) silently to myself.
I woke up to a jolt around 11:00 P.M. that night. Stewards also came and told us to get up on deck with our life jackets. There were questions, but the steward continued to tell us to just get up on deck.
So, my family and I headed up on deck. It was very cold, and a lot of people were on deck, going into lifeboats, confusion was everywhere. When we found out what was happening, they said the ship was sinking. Impossible. But then I felt the ship slightly tilt, and thought again. I rushed to the first-class rooms. I found A8, Arne's room. It was empty. I ran back to the deck to find my parents, but I couldn't find them anywhere. Did they get in a lifeboat? Then I spotted Bert. I scooped him up and frantically began searching the ship for my parents..It was at 1:40 that I had just finished searching the ship. The Titanic was tilting upwards dramatically; I had no time left; I needed to find a lifeboat.
I held on the to the deck's railings, scrutinizing the dark sea for a nearby lifeboat. I saw my chance, and jumped. The water was unbelievably cold, like being covered in ice. But I refused to give up, I swam as fast as I could with Bert crying, holding onto my back.
I eventually got close enough to the lifeboat that I could call to them. It seemed as if they were looking dead at me, but they weren't: it was the Titanic pointing all the way up, then slipping below the surface.
We drifted in the boat for what seemed like days, looking for any signs of life. Some of the people in the boat said we would be better off dead than looking for help. But above it all, we rowed on, our will to live was greater than our desire to die. And just as the sun was rising, the Carpathia could be seen. We were taken aboard, where I was reunited with my mom. I saw no sign Of Arne, his family, or Dad. They left this world with the Titanic.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)
1 "RMS Titanic Infographic - Titanic Facts." 2012. 14 Jan. 2015
2 "CHILDREN OF THE TITANIC Their story - Adams Memorial ..." 2012. 14 Jan. 2015 titanic/Children%20of%20the%