[A/N. Before the movie "Titanic" came out I was interested in the history
of the Titanic. I'd done a school assignment on it a few years before, and
the whole thing captivated me. (Sad, I know. But I was a nerd!) It was
whilst I was cleaning my room the other day that I found the essay again
which, I guess, became the catalyst for this story. The person who
fascinated me the most was Thomas Andrews-the managing director of Harland
and Wolff, who was in charge of the shipbuilding. From all accounts he was
a perfectionist, and the ship had actually been like his child. In the
movie I noticed he was always writing things down, improvements he wanted
to make, and it fitted in perfectly with the Andrews I knew from my books
and documentaries. Again, in the movie Andrews doesn't make a "try for it"
as Rose asks him. He says to her that if he had of built a better ship,
than it wouldn't have happened. In historical accounts this correlates with
the picture which has been drawn of the fastidious Andrews. Watching that
bit of the movie I wondered how Andrews must have felt when so many people
were going to die, and even though we know it was not his fault, the guilt
he must have felt at the time. And it is from this idea that this story
(although it is going to be fairly short!) evolved. Anyway, I hope you like
it.]
It was a cool day, and the wind blowing off the ocean didn't help matters any. Murray Pierrie shivered and tried to snuggle further into the heavy coat he was wearing. Not that he wasn't used to the cold-Irish winters could be bitterly cold, with a coldness that seemed to creep into your very bones!
Suddenly the boat came to a stop. "Ladies and gentleman, we are now over the most famous wreck of modern times: The Titanic!" The tour operator announced grandly. The tourists all raced to the rails to peer down into the murky waters. With the Titanic lying far below on the sea bed there was no way they could see anything of course, but Murray understood only too well their sometimes morbid fascination with the ship. After all in the ninety years since the Titanic had sunk there had been countless movies and books about the incident, covering every single aspect of the tragedy. For him the Titanic had held no fascination whatsoever other than a casual scanning of articles mentioning dives to the ship, or the possibility of bringing it up to the surface until only four months before. He'd been visiting his mother in her rest home when the news came on, and there had been a story about more artifacts being recovered from the wreck, including a letter written by the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, who had gone down with the ship. The letter, the newsman claimed, was written to family, and in it Andrews had poured out his grief about the ship beginning to sink. His mother had looked thoughtful then. "Do you know Murray we're related to him?" She asked her son. Murray had been shocked. "Related to him? How mum?" He'd asked, wondering whether she was finally going senile, after all this was the first he'd heard of this! "He was my cousin, although I have to confess I never met him. When I was only three my parents divorced, and I went with Mum, and my brother went with Dad. I didn't see my father again. Mum refused to let me see him, and he was so busy with his work he never made the effort to contact me! Your Grandfather was the owner of Harland and Wolff back in the days when the Titanic was built. He put his nephew-Thomas Andrews-in charge of the building of the Titanic. After the ship sunk your Grandfather was devastated about the loss of life on board, especially that of his own nephew, and he sold the company." At the time Murray had thought maybe his mum was making things up, until he found out that a man named William Pierrie had in fact owned Harland and Wolff. Further investigation of family trees revealed that his mother was in fact telling the truth: her estranged father, his very own grandfather, had owned the shipbuilding business which had built the ill-fated Titanic. Further it was his second cousin, Thomas Andrews, who had been the one to oversee the building of the ship, and believing the sinking to be his fault, gone down with the ship that cold April night!
"Isn't this so cool Daddy?" A girl near Murray asked her father, her eyes alight with excitement.
"I don't know about cool.." Her father muttered.
"Well it's sad to of course. No matter how many times I see the movie I cry when Jack dies!" The girl said, with a sigh. "He was so cute, and so nice.."
"Jack wasn't a real person sweetie." Her father said. He noticed Murray looking at them, and shrugged, embarrassed.
"I promised her for her 13th birthday we'd come to where the Titanic was wrecked." He told Murray. "Stupid me hey? I'm freezing out here."
"Yes," Murray said slowly. "It is freezing. Imagine what it would have been like to drown here, to freeze to death here in the waters."
The girl gasped and suddenly seemed pale. "Daddy, can we go inside? I don't want to stay out here. It's scary." She said.
"But sweetie, you wanted to come here, you wanted to-" The man said, flustered.
"Daddy!" She cried, and she grabbed at his hand.
The man sighed, and led his daughter inside, not before muttering "Thanks a lot pal!" at Murray. Murray shrugged, and turned back to the rail, leaning on it and staring into the seemingly endless water. Now that he was here he wondered whether there was really any point. After all, even though Thomas Andrews had been a member of his family, nobody in his immediate family had even known the guy. But something had drawn him to this place, and he felt as though it was something he needed to do. Just to see. Once this trip was over he'd go back to Belfast, back to work and his family, and the thoughts of Thomas Andrews that had crowded his mind ever since he'd found out about him, would leave him alone. He thought back to the letter. If it weren't for the letter than he probably would never even come here. That damn letter had led him out here to be freezing!
It was a cool day, and the wind blowing off the ocean didn't help matters any. Murray Pierrie shivered and tried to snuggle further into the heavy coat he was wearing. Not that he wasn't used to the cold-Irish winters could be bitterly cold, with a coldness that seemed to creep into your very bones!
Suddenly the boat came to a stop. "Ladies and gentleman, we are now over the most famous wreck of modern times: The Titanic!" The tour operator announced grandly. The tourists all raced to the rails to peer down into the murky waters. With the Titanic lying far below on the sea bed there was no way they could see anything of course, but Murray understood only too well their sometimes morbid fascination with the ship. After all in the ninety years since the Titanic had sunk there had been countless movies and books about the incident, covering every single aspect of the tragedy. For him the Titanic had held no fascination whatsoever other than a casual scanning of articles mentioning dives to the ship, or the possibility of bringing it up to the surface until only four months before. He'd been visiting his mother in her rest home when the news came on, and there had been a story about more artifacts being recovered from the wreck, including a letter written by the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, who had gone down with the ship. The letter, the newsman claimed, was written to family, and in it Andrews had poured out his grief about the ship beginning to sink. His mother had looked thoughtful then. "Do you know Murray we're related to him?" She asked her son. Murray had been shocked. "Related to him? How mum?" He'd asked, wondering whether she was finally going senile, after all this was the first he'd heard of this! "He was my cousin, although I have to confess I never met him. When I was only three my parents divorced, and I went with Mum, and my brother went with Dad. I didn't see my father again. Mum refused to let me see him, and he was so busy with his work he never made the effort to contact me! Your Grandfather was the owner of Harland and Wolff back in the days when the Titanic was built. He put his nephew-Thomas Andrews-in charge of the building of the Titanic. After the ship sunk your Grandfather was devastated about the loss of life on board, especially that of his own nephew, and he sold the company." At the time Murray had thought maybe his mum was making things up, until he found out that a man named William Pierrie had in fact owned Harland and Wolff. Further investigation of family trees revealed that his mother was in fact telling the truth: her estranged father, his very own grandfather, had owned the shipbuilding business which had built the ill-fated Titanic. Further it was his second cousin, Thomas Andrews, who had been the one to oversee the building of the ship, and believing the sinking to be his fault, gone down with the ship that cold April night!
"Isn't this so cool Daddy?" A girl near Murray asked her father, her eyes alight with excitement.
"I don't know about cool.." Her father muttered.
"Well it's sad to of course. No matter how many times I see the movie I cry when Jack dies!" The girl said, with a sigh. "He was so cute, and so nice.."
"Jack wasn't a real person sweetie." Her father said. He noticed Murray looking at them, and shrugged, embarrassed.
"I promised her for her 13th birthday we'd come to where the Titanic was wrecked." He told Murray. "Stupid me hey? I'm freezing out here."
"Yes," Murray said slowly. "It is freezing. Imagine what it would have been like to drown here, to freeze to death here in the waters."
The girl gasped and suddenly seemed pale. "Daddy, can we go inside? I don't want to stay out here. It's scary." She said.
"But sweetie, you wanted to come here, you wanted to-" The man said, flustered.
"Daddy!" She cried, and she grabbed at his hand.
The man sighed, and led his daughter inside, not before muttering "Thanks a lot pal!" at Murray. Murray shrugged, and turned back to the rail, leaning on it and staring into the seemingly endless water. Now that he was here he wondered whether there was really any point. After all, even though Thomas Andrews had been a member of his family, nobody in his immediate family had even known the guy. But something had drawn him to this place, and he felt as though it was something he needed to do. Just to see. Once this trip was over he'd go back to Belfast, back to work and his family, and the thoughts of Thomas Andrews that had crowded his mind ever since he'd found out about him, would leave him alone. He thought back to the letter. If it weren't for the letter than he probably would never even come here. That damn letter had led him out here to be freezing!