On the night of 9 to 10 April, London

London was beautiful, but the city did not impressed me so much. Even Big Ben was much smaller than I thought.

Waterloo Station was amazing. From there, trains departed straight to Southampton. Directly to the seaport. The building itself struck me with its beauty. At first, I thought it was Buckingham Palace: sculptures, stucco on the facade - everything emphasized the capital.

Nothing special inside. Conventional terminal with ticket offices and covered platforms. There was no time to look at everything in detail. The train to Southampton was ready to go. Small toy passenger cars. Some kind of children's railway. Near a hundred years to wait for Eurostar trains.

Quite a big number of cars in London-Southampton train – twenty, actually.

The steel snake stretched along the entire platform. Unusually a lot of smoke. In 1912, everything smoked: the chimneys of residential buildings heated by coal, steam locomotives, steamships. Coal and steam were the head of everything. There was no life without coal. The coal strike meant the shutdown of enterprises, the losses of shipping companies and railways. The steam engine was the pinnacle of progress.

Because of the coal dust, the stokers suffered from asthma, tuberculosis, and conjunctivitis. And not only stokers. The crews of military and civilian ships also often had occupational diseases associated with coal. Sad, of course, but anyway there's nothing better yet.

I showed the ticket and quickly entered the car. The inside of the carriage was similar to the one in which Harry Potter traveled to Hogwarts.

Sliding doors with a transparent top, a shelf for hats. Two huge sitting places. Big window was really cool. To enjoy the landscapes. Unfortunately, my trip at night.

I slept the whole way from London to Southampton.

1 am. April 10, Southampton

I didn't see the city. The central railway station is located right next to the port. There's no time to walk around. Time to come to the captain and take a job. I'll explore Southampton another time, if I have one, of course.

The pier, near which Titanic is moored, I found out from the prompts of the dockers, who explained to me that it is necessary to focus on the high port crane, without turning anywhere.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the seaport was the heart of the country dominating the seas. Cargoes from the colonies to the metropolis went through the ports, passengers were transported, mail delivered to all countries of the world, export-import operations, in the absence of aviation, could only be provided by ocean liners.

Cranes rattled day and night; coal poured into the bottomless bunkers of ships. The workers shouted. Vessels departing on a voyage and returning from distant lands were buzzing. Mechanism debugged for centuries. It smelled of stagnant water, dust and parting.

A couple more steps ... five, four, three, two, one ... Yeah! The real Titanic. It can't be described in words. No movie can convey this beauty and power. It's like I'm inside a movie. No…not movie. Fairytale.

For several minutes, I simply, silently smoke and turn my head looking at the riveting, the lights on the decks, the gigantic masts that go into the black night sky.

I went up to Titanic through the gates on D deck. And immediately almost bit my tongue with admiration. In front of me was a piece of art. Have you seen the movie? Forget about it. In reality, everything is much more perfect.

From the hallway I found myself in a huge hall filled with wicker tables and chairs. In combination with stained glass windows, everything resembled a Moroccan palace. The walls are white paneled with Victorian decor. Everything was mixed in the interior, though tastefully.

I made my way to the grand staircase, the famous staircase where Jack and Rose were reunited forever, and I set down my suitcase, frozen in awe.

Nothing betrayed me as an impostor mariner, except for the head spinning in all directions.

Trying to remember the faces of the officers, I climb the stairs to deck C and see Charles Lightoller passing by. You can't confuse him with anyone. A very strange face. At first glance - cute, cute. Then - contempt for everything around. The hero of Dunkirk, the father who lost two sons in the WW2 and knows nothing about it yet.

By the way, he doesn't look like an actor who played him in the movie directed by Cameron. At all.

In the hall of deck A, I noticed that floor covered with linoleum. I never knew that in 1912 this material was used. At first glance, it is indistinguishable from tiles or marble.

Then I felt someone's eyes behind me.

Turning around, I see a man in a good, slightly wrinkled suit with pleasant face and blueprints in his hands. There is an insane obsession in his eyes, a kind of fanaticism. I'm trying to remember who is he ...Bloody hell! The first ghost of the abyss appeared.

Thomas Andrews - shipbuilder. Looks at me in surprise.

- Good night, Mr. Andrews, it's good to see you again, - I shook his hand.

- And I'm glad too, Mr. Wilde. Do you like the design of the premises?

- I like everything. Titanic is the greatest creation of human hands. She ... she, - I'm trying to find a word, - is perfect.

- I did not expect such enthusiasm from you, Henry, You were transferred from Olympic. Almost the same ship.

- Not like that at all. Outwardly yes, but no...

Andrews laughed.

-I'm glad you like it. I will contact you all the way with some technical questions.

-Contact me at any time. Always happy to help.

- You look different today, - Andrews muttered, puzzled.

- Enjoying the life. I was born again, - smiling, I picked up my suitcase and went up to the boat deck.

I'm looking at lifeboats. How to fill them with 60 people? A maximum of 40 people will fit here. I tap on the board with my fist.

- Hello, Henry! Seeing boats for the first time? - smiling captain Smith is walking towards.

He's exactly like in the photos. We shake hands.

- Gorgeous, sir. There are no words. I am very happy to be here. - I smile broadly, - who else are sailing with us?

-Murdoch, Boxhall, Lightoller, Moody and Lowe.

- Heard a lot about Moody and Lowe. Excellent officers. Truly speaking, I don't personally know them.

- Let's go show you the cabin and introduce them to you.

The cabin was excellent. Everything is fresh, new, the bed is near the window. Waking up in the morning, you can admire the ocean and the sky. Very cozy. In the corner there is a desk, a wardrobe. Washbasin, a clean bed. The bed itself is brand new, made of shiny lacquered wood with high sides so as not to fall out during pitching.

Kicking the suitcase into the cabin and follow the captain to the bridge. There stands a thin young man who looks like German Field Marshal Paulus - this is probably Boxhall, the second guy is about 25 years old , maybe Moody and with them another officer. Around 30 years old, dark-haired, sharp-eyed. Looks a bit like a younger version of millionaire Osgood from "Some like it hot", who said "Nobody's perfect".

Greeting everyone, I shake hands.

-Very nice to meet you, welcome to Titanic. I'm really glad that office sent you.

I see confusion on their faces. Lowe and Moody, after all, could not know about their legendary status.

- Start at six in the morning, and I'm going home. I'll be at half past seven in the morning. You are in charge here, -said captain.

- Yes, sir.

After captain left, I went to take a shower. I should write to my children and sister, but I have absolutely no idea what to write about to people whom I barely know. Simply copying Wilde's letter from my world would be false. And I don't know the text. Need to think.

Returning to my cabin after a shower, I hear a quiet conversation from Murdoch's ajar cabin. Sounds like Lightoller.

-Will, you should have seen Wilde talking to Moody and Lowe "oh nice to see you", "welcome"... Can you explain that?

- Well, he was just being polite. What is special here? Lights, you're paranoid.

- I'm telling you; he's changed.

- Will, open your eyes. When was the last time Wilde smiled? 2 years ago? Today he glowed.

-He's very polite to the stewards and stewardesses. Mind-boggling!

- And the stewards, in your opinion, are not a humans? - Murdoch yawns, - Lights, go to sleep. Don't waste my time. In 5 hours I must wake up.

Lightoller flies out of the cabin, almost knocking me off my feet. He's funny.