Dream A Little Dream
Chapter 5
A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter – I was just waiting for inspiration to come!
Julia woke up with a start. "Rose DeWitt Bukater…" she murmured. Her dream-self had finally gotten an identity. And it was NOT the one Julia had really expected. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up the article that over the past few days she had practically memorized. The dreams had a meaning now. In her dreams, she was Rose DeWitt Bukater, the same Rose who would later become Rose Dawson, the same Rose who died on board the Keldysh on July 14, 1996. July 14, 1996. Exactly nine months until Julia would be born. It was, in fact, the night Julia had been conceived. What did this mean? Julia had never really believed in things of Eastern religions – things like reincarnation. But it seemed to her that all of the facts added up. Rose DeWitt Bukater died on the same night that Julia Dawson was conceived. And Julia had the dreams returning to her, full force, at age seventeen – Rose had traveled on the Titanic at age seventeen. Was this reincarnation? Was Julia really Rose?
It seemed to her the most logical explanation. But what did it mean? Was Rose trying to get Julia to do something for her, to live something that she had not? Though Rose had lived a healthy, and most likely happy, life, she surely had never forgotten Jack, and what he did for her. Was Rose trying to get Julia to find her own Jack? Of course, Julia only knew of Jack because of the dreams. Cal she of course knew through reading the article as well as his existence in her dreams. As Julia thought, she realized something. Her best friend in the whole world was named, coincidentally, Jackie. And Jackie was blond, and Jackie was an artist. Did Julia, this other Rose, associate only with people who were like those who she had associated with in her former life? At six in the morning, Julia certainly did not know. But what she did know was that she would have to begin to do some extensive research on Rose DeWitt Bukater to find out not only who Rose was, but what it meant for her. What she herself was, and what she herself would become.
Julia went to school that day in a daze. She didn't feel she could even tell Jackie about her revelation. That the dreams were there because not only were they dreams, they were memories. Her memories. It was odd, to remember something that had happened in the past, to remember it so vividly. She couldn't tell Jackie. Would Jackie even believe her if she did? She had no idea. She also had to look up books on religions in which reincarnation was a factor. She wanted to be able to prove to herself that she was really Rose. That Rose lived on through Julia. As Julia thought, she ran her hand through her hair, and stopped suddenly. Here, in front (well, in back really) of her, was physical proof. Her hair. The same red curly hair that she had seen in pictures of Rose. The same red hair, the same crisp blue eyes. She truly resembled Rose.
Julia walked into her first class, which was, funnily enough, history. And today they were learning about ships. Of all the days to possibly learn about ships – liners even – it had to be the day that Julia realized she had once ridden one herself. She had once ridden one that remained in the hearts of many people even today. "And Harland & Wolff was the very company that built one of the most infamous ships of our time. Can anyone tell me what ship I am talking about?" asked her teacher, Mr. Tyler. Julia was lost in thought, though she would surely have known the answer.
But at that very moment, there was a knock on the classroom door, and a new student was ushered in to the classroom, though he appeared to look as if he had no desire to be ushered in, that instead he should be brought in with much celebration and pomp. "Titanic," said the boy, and Julia's heart stopped. She looked up to the front of the classroom, and saw a boy with dark hair standing there. He had not been there before, she thought. But she had been so lost in her own problems that she had not noticed him come in. "Well…v-very good," stammered Mr. Tyler. "Class, this is the kind of student I want you all to be – that on your first day, you are able to answer a question without having to be chosen." The boy smiled smugly. Julia recognized that smirk, but she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen it before. "And now, would our new student like to introduce himself to the class?" asked Mr. Tyler. "Sure," answered the boy. "Tell us a little about yourself – your hobbies, your interests, where you've lived, and such," said Mr. Tyler. "Yeah," said the boy. "I'm originally from Philly, but my family moved to New York because of some old family issues from – well, I can't say really – I'll just say that some family issues forced us to move. We're usually not the type to run away from our problems, but I guess after my great-grandfather killed himself, our family has changed. Enough of that weird stuff. I like to play baseball and sail. I suppose that's all you really need to know about me." The class sat in silence – his tale of himself had shifted so quickly from one thing to another. "Well, there is one more thing," said Mr. Tyler. "What's your name?" "Oh right," said the boy. "My name is Calvin Hockley."