Non-Participation
The Winner...
"I am lucky." I told myself firmly. "I am lucky. I am lucky. I am lucky - not." The ship swayed violently under my feet, echoing the heaving feeling I was experiencing in my stomach. All around me passengers were groaning and in some cases retching. It sounded and smelt terrible. It was not pleasant.
"I am lucky!" I told myself again and then tried to remember why...
I remembered entering the competition. I was pretty sure that I'd made some comment along the lines that I never won anything and I'd just handed over a donation to the charity. What was the charity? I couldn't remember and at the moment it didn't seem important.
I remembered the feeling of disbelief that I'd felt when I'd opened the letter.
"Dear Dr Brown" it had begun.
'Here we go' I'd thought. 'Another begging letter.'
"We have pleasure in informing you that you have just won first prize in our raffle."
First prize! I'd rechecked the name and address:
Dr Chris Brown
Auckland
New Zealand
It was for me all right!"
I'd planned on coming on this trip with 'the partner of your choice', but they'd had to pull out at the last moment, so I'd come alone, being unwilling to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
I remembered the excitement I'd felt. The thrill at buying new clothes and kit. When I looked at the bill at the end of it I felt that I'd almost spent as much on gear as I would have done on paying for the cruise myself! But there was no way that I was going to feel shy amongst all those glamorous people I was bound to meet.
A glossy brochure had fallen out of the letter. It had detailed the fun I would have with two weeks on board the luxurious 'Golden Empress' of the Gold Star Line. We would be sailing around the islands of the Caribbean, taking in the sun, the sights, the smells...
I dragged my thoughts back to the present -
'Sun?' I was trapped, clinging to the banisters on the upstairs level above the foyer and lounge. No chance for any sun here.
'Sights!' The sight of the inside of an ocean liner floundering at sea. For some reason we had no power and the only light was coming from the dimly lit emergency lights.
'Smells!' I didn't even want to think about that!
How we'd got into this mess I didn't know. The crew had been unwilling or unable to tell us. We'd sailed into a 'bit of a storm'. A storm that had increased in ferocity too a full scale hurricane.
"Nothing to worry about." We'd been assured. "The 'Golden Empress' is equipped to deal with violent storms."
But then there'd been a major explosion, followed by an ominous cracking sound and the power had gone off. We'd been asked to assemble in the lounge and foyer area. Some people moaning, some complaining and some mute with terror - we'd all complied.
The glossy brochure had proudly proclaimed that the 'Golden Empress' was so state of the art, that most of the crew was employed to ensure that the passengers had an enjoyable time. Only a minimal crew was needed for maintenance and engineering. A minimal crew that was sadly understaffed for the crisis we were facing now.
For we'd heard that the ship was taking on water and the seas were too rough to launch the lifeboats!
The Winner...
"I am lucky." I told myself firmly. "I am lucky. I am lucky. I am lucky - not." The ship swayed violently under my feet, echoing the heaving feeling I was experiencing in my stomach. All around me passengers were groaning and in some cases retching. It sounded and smelt terrible. It was not pleasant.
"I am lucky!" I told myself again and then tried to remember why...
I remembered entering the competition. I was pretty sure that I'd made some comment along the lines that I never won anything and I'd just handed over a donation to the charity. What was the charity? I couldn't remember and at the moment it didn't seem important.
I remembered the feeling of disbelief that I'd felt when I'd opened the letter.
"Dear Dr Brown" it had begun.
'Here we go' I'd thought. 'Another begging letter.'
"We have pleasure in informing you that you have just won first prize in our raffle."
First prize! I'd rechecked the name and address:
Dr Chris Brown
Auckland
New Zealand
It was for me all right!"
I'd planned on coming on this trip with 'the partner of your choice', but they'd had to pull out at the last moment, so I'd come alone, being unwilling to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
I remembered the excitement I'd felt. The thrill at buying new clothes and kit. When I looked at the bill at the end of it I felt that I'd almost spent as much on gear as I would have done on paying for the cruise myself! But there was no way that I was going to feel shy amongst all those glamorous people I was bound to meet.
A glossy brochure had fallen out of the letter. It had detailed the fun I would have with two weeks on board the luxurious 'Golden Empress' of the Gold Star Line. We would be sailing around the islands of the Caribbean, taking in the sun, the sights, the smells...
I dragged my thoughts back to the present -
'Sun?' I was trapped, clinging to the banisters on the upstairs level above the foyer and lounge. No chance for any sun here.
'Sights!' The sight of the inside of an ocean liner floundering at sea. For some reason we had no power and the only light was coming from the dimly lit emergency lights.
'Smells!' I didn't even want to think about that!
How we'd got into this mess I didn't know. The crew had been unwilling or unable to tell us. We'd sailed into a 'bit of a storm'. A storm that had increased in ferocity too a full scale hurricane.
"Nothing to worry about." We'd been assured. "The 'Golden Empress' is equipped to deal with violent storms."
But then there'd been a major explosion, followed by an ominous cracking sound and the power had gone off. We'd been asked to assemble in the lounge and foyer area. Some people moaning, some complaining and some mute with terror - we'd all complied.
The glossy brochure had proudly proclaimed that the 'Golden Empress' was so state of the art, that most of the crew was employed to ensure that the passengers had an enjoyable time. Only a minimal crew was needed for maintenance and engineering. A minimal crew that was sadly understaffed for the crisis we were facing now.
For we'd heard that the ship was taking on water and the seas were too rough to launch the lifeboats!