As we stand there in shock as the iceberg passes us, with chunks of ice falling off, the realization hits: we just hit an iceberg. My parents were so oblivious about what’s going on while a dark cloud of worry and concern shroud across my face on knowing what’s going to happen. We went over to the starboard side of the ship. Dad thinks we’re okay but I thought otherwise.
Right when Rose starts tickling dad and they were joking around, I had step up and be the adult here. “Guys! quit it” I yelled. That managed to stop them in their tracks. “I don’t think you know the severity of the situation, the ship just hit an iceberg and we are basically doomed to sink to the bottom.”
“But the ship is unsinkable,” Rose exclaimed.
“No ship is unsinkable. I’m sure I overheard Ismay saying ‘God will not sink this ship’,” I explained.
My parents looked at each other and then back at me to realize that not only am I serious but someone taunted and played god to make sure this ship won’t sink and the Father made her vulnerable to sink.
“We need to let Mother know,” Rose stated.
It’s now midnight, we have over 2 hours until she sinks, and I have 2 hours and 15 minutes to save both of my parents from this ship. It’s now or never.
Rose’s stateroom
As we walked into Rose’s room, it looks like a party in there. Grandmother Ruth, Hockley, Lovejoy, and a few officers are in there.
“What’s going on,” I mumbled to myself.
“There happens to be a thief. The necklace is stolen,” Hockley announced.
I know he’s mad about money but to see him this mad over some necklace that is in the thousands of dollars is absurd. We all looked at each other wondering what in the living devil he’s talking about.
“Sir, we don’t know what you’re talking about and even if the necklace is stolen or been misplaced, you don’t have proof,” I stated as I turned towards Cal.
After Cal gave the signal to Lovejoy, he pulled the necklace out of Jack’s pant pocket. All three of us are in disbelief, mouths agape, eyes widen, how could this be?
“Girls, believe me, I didn’t take it. You know me,” Jack explained as he’s getting arrested and carried away. “Don’t believe them! Rose! Ellis!”
I tried to figure out if he’s lying or telling the truth. I do remember Mom putting it away in the case, in the safe, and I know that Lovejoy had this sneer look as we passed him on our way to the room. It wasn’t dad, it must be those two scourges that came up with the plot to get rid of dad!
As Cal got close to mom, he raised his hand to slap her, but I stopped him. “Why not you pick on somebody your own size,” I sneered before pushing him so hard he nearly knocked over one of the chairs. By the time he got up, he was fuming! With Rose right behind me, I pushed my sleeves up and balled up my fist to break something on his dashing face and in a fighter’s stance.
An officer came in instructing us to put on our lifejackets and go up to the boat deck. Cal shoos him away before I stated the reason why Rose and I came into the room: to warn them about the iceberg and take the precautions. On the way out of the room, I had to tell mom that Jack didn’t do anything but was framed. “I believe you Ellis,” mom replied. “And thank you for having my back.”
April 15, 1912 12:48 am Boat deck
Just as I expected, the ship is going to sink. On our way to the boat deck, we ran into Mr. Andrews, the engineer of the ship, and he gave us the news that shocked everyone: the ship will sink. I could never get that image of my mom’s ghostly stare when she heard the news. She was paler, pale as a ghost, face blank like paper, and her eyes widens. That when I told the group to hurry up.
Now I have 1 hour and 30 minutes until she submerged and 1 hour and 25 minutes until I have to save my parents. We have to save dad from wherever the hell he is down below so the two can make it to the last lifeboat.
On the boat deck, all the aristocratic ladies have boarded this particular boat, and it’s not even full! Grandmother Ruth tries to get Rose on the lifeboat. “Rose,” grandmother demanded. “Get on the boat.”
“Remember what I told you, follow your heart,” I advised to mom in a soft tone.
Without hesitation, Rose said “goodbye mother” as she cocked her head and ran. That’s my girl! I was cheering on the inside!
While Ruth was calling for Rose, I took the chance to reveal myself, she’s on the boat after all.
“Well congratulations Grandmother,” I said while having my arms crossed as the boat slowly lowered. “Your selfishness and greed made your daughter flee. Mom is right about you, you are self-centered, greedy, shallow, and everything in between. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Ellisa Jacklynn Dawson, your granddaughter of the future whom you’d never met or will never meet. Good luck living in destitute old lady.”
Just as was about to catch up to mom, she just spat at Hockley in the face and ran off and out of his grip. “Oh Hickley,” I said in a cheering girly voice while tapping his shoulder. As he turned around, he groaned out a “what” while trying to wipe the spit away. There, I punched him across his face, right on the nose. “That’s for my mom,” I shouted before punching him again to severely cracking and breaking his nose to where he is bleeding from the nose and mouth. “That’s for my dad!” He was on the ground bleeding, in and out of consciousness. “You got that right, you mess with me, you mess with my parents: Rose Dewitt Buckatter and Jack Dawson. Good luck with your nose…and your teeth…and your head.” I walked/ran over, kicked and stomped on Cal’s head before catching up to mom.
“How did you do that,” Rose asked in shock.
“Easy. just ball up your fist, and hit it in the middle,” I replied. “come on! Let’s get Jack!”
Below decks
I don’t know which deck it was when we experienced flooding but damn the water’s cold! Is that why so many people died or is it being trapped below decks? Whatever the case may be, I’m experiencing maritime’s worst disaster yet, at this time. The only shipwreck by memory that has happened before Titanic was Sultana. She didn’t collide with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, her boiler exploded in the Mississippi. The freezing waters didn’t kill her aristocrat and immigrant passengers, the blazing fire killed her civil war soldiers whom, some spent months in POW camps. 1,500 was not the death toll, around 1,800 was. But both ships have a parallel, both are taking people to happiness and serenity but has ended in tragedy and death.
As we’re trying to push through the water, I see Lovejoy trying to get away from us. So I picked up a piece of driftwood and threw it at his head, knocking him down. When we ran towards him, I grabbed Lovejoy by the hair. “Where the hell is he,” I demanded.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lovejoy responded.
Rose then kicked him in the nether regions. “Where’s Jack, Spicer,” Rose yelled with a snarled look.
“down this hall on your left.”
Before we left him, Rose decided to punch him square in the nose as hard as she could, into the skull to where he’d knock out, with blood in the water.
Then we went down the hall yelling out for dad. I had to watch my mouth so I don’t say dad. Jack definitely guided us to where he is from his shouting, yelling and tinging sound. The water is up to our feet. When we got to dad, we gave him a group hug and mom kissed him.
“Lovejoy put it in my pocket,” Jack cried.
“I already told her,” I responded calmly.
“Rose, I need you to find a spare key…”
“Are you out of your mind, dimwit? To search the key will drown us, we’ll never make it out alive!”
“What’s the plan,” Rose asked in a concerned tone.
“Find an axe, it’ll be risky but it’s worth it than searching the entire ship for a key.”
Rose went out to find an axe while I stay and comfort Jack. It’s better that way so we get distracted and lost in conversation instead of losing our minds and going mad over the possibility of freezing to death.
Jack and I went deep with our conversations, he asked about my mother and I try to keep it incognito as possible, I didn’t want to tell him that Rose is my mother, not yet. It was then that I realized that my mom is truly stronger than I thought. Like I said, we got lost in conversation that we didn’t know that the water was up to our knees. We eventually got on top of the desk, I held onto his hand, cuffed around a pole. As I was praying to myself to get us out of here, keep us safe, and everything, I heard a CRASH.
“Jack! Ellis!”
It was mom! The water is now up to her waist, and axe in hand. Dad and I stopped mom and told her to practice a little on the cupboard, then the most dreadful part: cutting the chains. I had to look away but mom freed dad with no injuries, hallelujah!
After joyfully hugging each other and laughing, dad and I got down and we both said the exact same thing: “Oh shit, that was cold!” When we got out, one end of the hallway has water almost up to the ceiling, in that moment, I was scared, not sure what direction to give to the group.
“Jack, there’s no way out,” mom cried.
“Here follow me, girls,” Jack responded.
From that moment until we got on the boat deck, everything was a blur. I remember the water breaking a wall, knocking off our feet and being swept away. Luckily, I got ahold of a gate leading upstairs, grabbed Jack’s arm and he linked to Rose’s. Another moment was when dad broke through a part of the wall for a short cut, and a staff member was blubbering about it.
“Shut up,” we shouted at once. I’ve had enough of these people. My patience is seriously running low, as far low as this ship’s bow right now!
April 15, 1912, 2:13am, boat deck
Thank God we managed to get up on the boat deck in time for the last lifeboat to depart. I thought we wouldn’t make it due to the people and the water! Jack was trying to get us on board, there was a women and children only rule but I’m not following that.
“No, not without you,” Rose declared.
“You nincompoop Jack! Again,” I groaned.
“You heard what he said, go get on,” dad stated.
After excusing myself to talk to Mr. Murdoch, I asked him why the women and children only rule.
“Captains orders,” he stated.
So, being the weasel that I am already, I came up with something cleaver: telling Murdoch that the couple I was with just got married today and he wouldn’t want to short-stop the couple’s happily ever after. The officer was in deep thought, thinking about his wife and stated that he could not imagine going through that. So he lets my parents on the lifeboat while I stayed behind.
“Ellis, come on,” mom shouted.
“what else do you want me to do Rose,” I shrugged as I watched my parents being lowered.
“Please, get on! There are no more boats left!”
“I just saved your life! I just saved dad’s life”
My parents looked at me in shock, especially Jack.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you guys for a while but I just don’t know how to say it.”
“What are you talking about,” Jack asked in a confused manner.
That’s when I said it: I’m their daughter from 1933. Not knowing how and why I got here but managed to. I eventually told them what would’ve happened to dad and what the results are now that I have saved both of them. And how mom showed me what true strength is, even before I was born.
“Ellisa, just come onto the boat,” mom demanded. “we can live out as a family!”
“I’ll see you guys in nine months,” I stated before running off.
As I run towards the stern, hearing my parents screams, somehow their screams turned into soft tones, a memory. A memory I’ve never had before. I can’t put my finger on it. The tilting of the stern jolted me from trying to figure what it is. I had to climb up, on top of the railing so I don’t fall many stories down. When I did reach the railing, CRACK! The ship has split, the stern bent onto the ocean, making my stomach feel like it’s going out of my body. And even before the stern was hoisted in air, I managed to get on top of what remained of the ship. When I did, a male voice in a fatherly tone popped up, it’s dad! And a vision: fishing with my dad in the fall. I must’ve been five because I was small and the fish was bigger than me.
As the stern plunges into the sea, I don’t see the white waters nor the remaining passengers falling into the icy waters, I see random memories I’ve never had. Memories of my father and my mother, growing up. And when I went under, everything went black…
The NEW Life 