Chapter 1
Rose sits in front of an oval mirror, staring at herself in the mirror as her stylist slowly applies cream powder to her pale face. Her eyelids are a dark gray from the eyeshadow, and her eyelashes are a stunning black from the mascara applied before.
"Excited for filming today, Miss Dawson?" her stylist, Cornelia, asks as she slowly puts the powder away.
Rose nods slowly, her eyes following the short woman whose eyelids are a dark green and whose cherry lips glow brightly in the dim lighting.
Rose turns away, staring back at herself in the mirror. She barely recognizes herself in all the make-up, and she lets out a nervous sigh.
Today is her first day filming for one of the great silent movies produced in Hollywood.
Cornelia makes her way back to Rose, beginning to lace her red curls into a bun, but Rose frowns.
"Is something the matter, miss?" Cornelia asks, her fingers still interlaced in Rose's hair.
"Do you think we could keep my hair down today?" Rose asks, letting out a deep sigh.
"Let your hair down? Are you sure you're feeling alright, Miss Dawson? I've never seen you without your hair up!" Cornelia exclaims, letting go of Rose's hair so it falls back down on her back.
"I just feel it would be better to keep it down today," Rose explains, facing her stylist.
Cornelia eyes her suspiciously, but she does not hesitate, and she leaves Rose hair as it is.
Rose smiles as she walks away, and she gazes at herself in the mirror, twirling one of her spiral curls. Jack would've wanted her to keep her hair down. She knew he liked it when her hair hair was down.
Rose sighs once more, letting the curl fall. It's been nine years since Jack has ever stroked her hair.
Jack. Rose cannot go one day without thinking of his beautiful blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and smile that seemed to light up the whole world.
Nine years. It's been nine years since Titanic sank, since Jack died, since Rose cut herself off from her family.
Rose does not know how she has made it here in Los Angeles, California. She had lived her days on the streets of New York, desperately looking for some type of acting job, though little had she known that the studios had moved to California and that she would be forced to gather up money or even find an airplane company willing to fly her to California.
After years of saving up money, working late nights in shops, she was finally able to afford a trip to California, and here she sits now, in the very studio she imagined she would sit in.
The past years have been hard for Rose, and she has even thought of selling her necklace that had been given from Cal to her, but she knows she didn't need his help, and the necklace still sits in her pocket.
Though Rose has finally achieved her dream job, she still feels empty and depressed, and she knows why. She longs for Jack. She longs for him to hug her, kiss her, comfort her. But now she has no one and sometimes thinks back to how she managed to survive nine years without him by her side.
"A half hour until filming begins, Miss Dawson," an attendant speaks as he slightly opens the door.
"We'll be ready by then," Cornelia reassures him, and the door shuts loudly.
Rose turns, looking at herself in the mirror again. She knows that Jack would be proud of her. She knows Jack would've wanted her to live this dream. But it feels as if she can't live this dream without him.
