John sat in front of his coffee, trying to block the hangover out.
Maybe he had overdone it yesterday.
The black liquid looked at him in way that John knew it was making fun of him.
How could he have gone so terrible out of line?
The knowledge that he had screamed at Rose, probably even had hurt her ripped his heart out of his chest.
Still the old man ran through his mind.
He disappeared just as quickly as he had come, as if he had dissolved into the air.
The talk had done him good but left him with a lot of questions.
He didn't understand what the man had tried to explain him.
The man seemed to know a lot of life and women; it felt like talking to his own father.
He didn't understand the true depth of advice the man had given him but John knew that the man was right in whatever he had tried to tell him.
Rose was still young, ready to face a world, not the real one but a fantasy world with adventures, breathtaking sites and knights in shining armors; not true love, at least that's what John expected.
But something deep inside of him told him that there was someone else in Rose's heart, someone who held the key to that heart.
He wished he knew who that was, so that he could understand his rivals.
That he could fight his opponent.
If only he knew who he was...
With that thought in his head he brought his cup of coffee to his lips and took a little sip of it.
The coffee was strong and seemed to fight his headache immediately.
He felt the hot liquid stream down his throat, warming him inside.
He needed to get his mind off of Rose and decided that he'd go out for a walk in Central Park.
Maybe the wind could blow him off his thoughts.
He finished his coffee in one draught and wrapped his coat around him.
As soon as the fresh air penetrated his nose he could feel his headache drain away.
The soft wind did clear his mind of everything and the noise of busy New York didn't even bother him.
The streets were crowded and he heard at least five different languages being screamed around.
That's what he liked so much about New York: the different cultures that lived here, people from everywhere over globe seemed to found a new home in New York.
The screaming of a paperboy made him stop abruptly.
"Hockley in state of depression after death of fiancée! Get your newspaper here!" the boy cried out above the rest of the voices.
John forced his way through the crowd to get to the boy, slipped him the money and dragged a newspaper out of the boy's hand.
Now he'd have something to read in the park, something that would probably be very interesting.
John looked at the headline which said in big letters: 'STEEL TYCOON ON THE VERGE OF BREAKING DOWN'
That title alone already promised a lot of reading pleasure.
The rest of the walk seemed endless and after finally reaching Central Park, finding a bench was almost impossible.
So out of alternatives, John laid down in the grass that still felt a bit moist.
The first thing that drew his attention was a picture of Rose in the middle of the page.
Her hair was pinned up and a thread of gold held it there.
John couldn't believe his eyes.
The article stood full of lies, that was obvious to John.
It contained a short interview with Caledon Hockley and some words from people who had known Rose.
John's eyes stopped in the middle of the interview, his blood boiling with anger.
He read the first sentences over and over again, trying to grasp the incredible act Hockley was performing.
'The loss of my beloved Rose has scarred me for life. I'll never be the same again. Her gentle laugh will never fill my ears again and I'll never again feel her gentle touch. She crossed over before I ever got to tell her how much I love her.'
The rest of the interview was filled with even more lies and John gave up reading it.
Under the interview there was a section with the responses of people who had known Rose.
Again it was some sentimental crab no one bought anyway but between all the bullshit, there was a word of someone who had apparently shared a lifeboat with her.
'I remember Rose sitting in the same lifeboat I was in. She stared up, towards a young man, her fiancé stood next to him but I could see that she and the young man were looking at each other with a love in their eyes I have never seen before.
We weren't even half way down or she jumped back on Titanic to be with that man. Whoever he was, they must have loved each other very much... '
John couldn't believe his eyes, this couldn't be.
Whoever had said this must have been out of their mind.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized the truth.
"So I'm fighting someone I'll never be able to beat..." he said nearly above a whisper...
Maybe he had overdone it yesterday.
The black liquid looked at him in way that John knew it was making fun of him.
How could he have gone so terrible out of line?
The knowledge that he had screamed at Rose, probably even had hurt her ripped his heart out of his chest.
Still the old man ran through his mind.
He disappeared just as quickly as he had come, as if he had dissolved into the air.
The talk had done him good but left him with a lot of questions.
He didn't understand what the man had tried to explain him.
The man seemed to know a lot of life and women; it felt like talking to his own father.
He didn't understand the true depth of advice the man had given him but John knew that the man was right in whatever he had tried to tell him.
Rose was still young, ready to face a world, not the real one but a fantasy world with adventures, breathtaking sites and knights in shining armors; not true love, at least that's what John expected.
But something deep inside of him told him that there was someone else in Rose's heart, someone who held the key to that heart.
He wished he knew who that was, so that he could understand his rivals.
That he could fight his opponent.
If only he knew who he was...
With that thought in his head he brought his cup of coffee to his lips and took a little sip of it.
The coffee was strong and seemed to fight his headache immediately.
He felt the hot liquid stream down his throat, warming him inside.
He needed to get his mind off of Rose and decided that he'd go out for a walk in Central Park.
Maybe the wind could blow him off his thoughts.
He finished his coffee in one draught and wrapped his coat around him.
As soon as the fresh air penetrated his nose he could feel his headache drain away.
The soft wind did clear his mind of everything and the noise of busy New York didn't even bother him.
The streets were crowded and he heard at least five different languages being screamed around.
That's what he liked so much about New York: the different cultures that lived here, people from everywhere over globe seemed to found a new home in New York.
The screaming of a paperboy made him stop abruptly.
"Hockley in state of depression after death of fiancée! Get your newspaper here!" the boy cried out above the rest of the voices.
John forced his way through the crowd to get to the boy, slipped him the money and dragged a newspaper out of the boy's hand.
Now he'd have something to read in the park, something that would probably be very interesting.
John looked at the headline which said in big letters: 'STEEL TYCOON ON THE VERGE OF BREAKING DOWN'
That title alone already promised a lot of reading pleasure.
The rest of the walk seemed endless and after finally reaching Central Park, finding a bench was almost impossible.
So out of alternatives, John laid down in the grass that still felt a bit moist.
The first thing that drew his attention was a picture of Rose in the middle of the page.
Her hair was pinned up and a thread of gold held it there.
John couldn't believe his eyes.
The article stood full of lies, that was obvious to John.
It contained a short interview with Caledon Hockley and some words from people who had known Rose.
John's eyes stopped in the middle of the interview, his blood boiling with anger.
He read the first sentences over and over again, trying to grasp the incredible act Hockley was performing.
'The loss of my beloved Rose has scarred me for life. I'll never be the same again. Her gentle laugh will never fill my ears again and I'll never again feel her gentle touch. She crossed over before I ever got to tell her how much I love her.'
The rest of the interview was filled with even more lies and John gave up reading it.
Under the interview there was a section with the responses of people who had known Rose.
Again it was some sentimental crab no one bought anyway but between all the bullshit, there was a word of someone who had apparently shared a lifeboat with her.
'I remember Rose sitting in the same lifeboat I was in. She stared up, towards a young man, her fiancé stood next to him but I could see that she and the young man were looking at each other with a love in their eyes I have never seen before.
We weren't even half way down or she jumped back on Titanic to be with that man. Whoever he was, they must have loved each other very much... '
John couldn't believe his eyes, this couldn't be.
Whoever had said this must have been out of their mind.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized the truth.
"So I'm fighting someone I'll never be able to beat..." he said nearly above a whisper...
