Tripp 5
Kaylie A. Tripp
6th hour Literature
Short Story
November 18, 2009
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I'm sitting in my favorite rocking chair. The sound of the birds outside my window calms me. To make me feel even more at ease I gently pet my calico cat Carpathia. Her gentle purrs making me giggle like the young girl I used to be. I pull my hand through the silvery curls that are atop my head. My granddaughter then enters the room and turns on the radio, a news cast is going on like any old Saturday morning. I listen in to what the reporter is saying," Barbara West Dainton of Turo, England died today at the age of 96, nearing her 97th birthday. Barbara was known for being one of the last members aboard the Titanic…" I let the radio drone off so I could focus on my own thoughts. So old Barbara was dead. The words one of the last go through my head. One of the last two I thought. I remember the day Titanic was supposed to shove off. I'll never forget the decision that made me not get on that ship.
April 10, 1912
Morning
I felt the cold air curl around me as I fell from some great height into a body of icy water. The last thing I saw was a faint shade of red and blue. My body was dragged under and I slowly felt life drifting away from me. Then a sudden switch flipped inside me and I found the strength I needed and started to climb to the surface of the water. My face broke the surface. I took the biggest breath I had ever taken, and I screamed.
I sat bolt upright in bed shaking with cold sweat. The dim sunlight of another morning shone through the crack in the thick cashmere curtains. I quickly looked around, trying to get my bearings of where I was. I was in my own room, not under water. I was very much alive. What a strange dream. I stood up and walked over to the window and shoved the curtains aside. The room flooded with light. To my left I could see the early morning sun rising over Southampton and to my left the harbor, where the mightiest ship in the world lay awaiting its passengers. The R.M.S. Titanic. I was finally able to go home to America. I looked behind me to the clock on the wall. 9:00 A.M., so I had 3 hours till I had to be safely aboard the gargantuan vessel.
"Good morning madam." Silvia, our housekeeper, was standing in the doorway. I had known Sylvia since I was a child when she was still my nurse. I remember all the days I insisted that I help her in the kitchen.
"Good morning Sylvia."
"Did you get any sleep madam?"
"Some, but I hade the most bizarre dream," Sylvia made a face and opened up her mouth to say something, but shut it instantly. She wasn't one to pry.
"Don't Worry Sylvia it was just a dream."
Sylvia helped me dress quickly. The velvet fabric of my traveling outfit slid over my skin like a water fall. The Dress was a deep shade of sapphire blue, and was lined in silver thread. The beadwork, which was added by my mother, took the shape of waves at the bottom and lilies at my side. The dress had also belonged to my mother.
"Tell me more about my Mother." I asked Sylvia as she did up the laces to the back of the dress.
"She was a wonderful woman. She had curly gold hair just like yours. She loved music and her cats. You remind me so much of her." I always tried to piece Sylvia's description of my mother into an actual image, but there were always pieces missing. My mother was awaiting me in America, and I couldn't wait to see her for the first time in 13 years. Sylvia finished the laces and spun me around so she could see me.
"Your mother and father are probably more excited to see you then you know." She hugged me softly. In the middle of our embrace we heard the impatient sound of a car horn blaring.
"I best run down stairs. All of the bags are packed, and Gerard appears to be waiting with the car," Sylvia said with a small laugh. Gerard was my brilliant butler and bodyguard. Before he came to work for us, he had been a police officer who had fought in the Spanish-American War with my father, whom I didn't get a chance to know. During the war Gerard had broken his leg and was therefore booted off the battle field. He then began to search for work and found me and my family.
"I'll be down in a minute" I assured Sylvia. I quickly ran my brush through my hair and stuffed it into my purse. I ran my hand through the locks so much like my mothers, or so I've heard. A sudden mee-uf-ow and tiny sneeze grabbed my attention to the bench behind me. My Cat, Victoria, meowed impatiently beside me. I couldn't take her with me on the ship because of the dogs, so I had decided to give her to my friend Emilie. I was going to miss my beloved Victoria. I quietly sighed then quickly scooped her up and trotted downstairs to catch up with Sylvia.
11:30 A.M.
Sylvia, Gerard, and I had just left the tavern and were making are way towards the docks. We had spent the morning gathering last minute things I would need in America. I had emptied my bank account; the money was now in the blue safe carried by Gerard. Also I bought a few shawls because it would be cold during the trip across the iceberg infested Atlantic Ocean. Finally, I bought a book on American History so I could learn about my new home. As my butler and nanny followed behind me, we finally came upon the docks and Titanic. It was then that I came to realize just how big the ship was. Most people called Titanic the "Unsinkable Ship", but how could that be possible with its size? The ship looked as if it could hold all of Buckingham Palace.
"Hurry up Ladies!" Gerard shouted over the large crowd. His words automatically snapped me out of my state of awe. We had a few minutes so I decided to walk around the front of the boat. I told Sylvia of my plans to look around.
"Hurry up so we won't be late" They both told me. I politely nodded knowing I would whine if I opened my mouth. It took 10 minutes to reach the bow of the ship. Yep, it was huge. As I began to study it more, I realized that it seemed very familiar. I puzzled over it for a few minutes. I glanced down to the bottom of the boat where the navy blue met the red stripe at the bottom of the ship. I suddenly gasped.
Of course I recognized the ship. I fell off of it in my dream last night. The ship had been sinking and I had been sucked into the Atlantic Ocean. I knew that ship could not stay afloat! I ran back to Gerard and Sylvia as fast as my feet could carry me.
At last after what seemed a thousand years, though it was only 5 minutes, I reached Sylvia and Gerard. They were quite confused by my frightened face. I didn't tell them about my dream; they would have thought I was crazy. Instead I told them I had gotten sick and that we would have to sell the tickets to somebody else. The health inspector, upon hearing this, declared that we could not board the ship. We found someone to buy our tickets and went home. A few days later the Titanic was in the newspaper. I assumed that it was talking about its success in getting to Long Island, New York. My dream couldn't have come true, it was far too outlandish. I started to read the article and froze. The titanic had sunk in the early morning of April 15th. The report stated that 1,517 people had died. I then realized that I could have been one of them if I had boarded the ship.
Present Day
I laughed as I remembered those days. Thanks to a miracle vision I was alive. I grew up to have 2 beautiful children, a wonderful husband, and a cozy home. We now all reside in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This included my parents, who were ecstatic that I didn't get on the Titanic. I remember my first day in America. I'll never forget that day. But that's another story.