Once I walked the red carpet to the dining rooms, my eyes saw what I had never seen. Each table was covered in linen with all the pieces of a romantic candle lit dinner. That was not all, sparkling crystal chandleries covered the cornice carved ceilings, and the sparklers were mounted as if they were floating. Once seated you were then be treated like royalty. The opening dish arrived, as colourful as a daffodil field. There were also many different as the evening revealed itself new exotic dishes would appear with all the colours of the rainbow, and the food was not just good looking and exquisite but the taste of the food would stay until a man would retire to the smoking room to raise a glass of gin and have the imported cigars. The night would then end as I collect the family from the dinning salon where I interrupted a gossiping session. I felt like I had become closer to my children as I spent time with all three of them looking at the cold dark Atlantic Ocean from the stern of the ship. The family retreated to the cabins after looking back at our past and the spectacular view of the ships reflection on the surface of the sea. Whilst heading back to the cabins I held my wife’s hand and pointed at the Strasbourg end of the ship where energetic Irish music could be heard.
As morning came, a message was sent to some first class cabins stating that a tour of the ship was on offer. As it may have sounded energetic, the family minors jumped to the idea. The tour began at the reception where Henry F. Wilde who was second in command started the tour. The tour took us through all the first class chambers and social areas including the millionaire’s suite that was on display for advertising reasons. The suite showed me a completely new level of luxury and life style. It also made me feel rather jealous. The tour would then lead us to, two hundred meters of laminated decking overlooking the great blue sea. Whilst inspecting the decks it came to my attention that there was not even half the amount of lifeboats for the entire ships passengers. This new finding did not worry me at the time, as I knew that the nothing could happen to the Titanic, as it would simply not make sense.
The tour finally led us to the bridge where I learnt that running is a ship filled with hundreds of passengers is extremely easy, as it involved teamwork and using some apparatus. A transmission also came when we were on the bridge giving authorisation to the captain to start the last of four cylinder engines. This meant that the Titanic would be the fastest ship floating on the earth’s surface. The waters may have bean icy and full of small obstacles but the captain was a bold person who knew that nothing could happen. As the tour had ended I came to realise that these lifeboats are simply precautions that the owners took in case worst came to happen.
The horn blew rapidly warning the ship of the last engine is burning fuel, which gave the ship that extra lust of a few knots. Suddenly a crowd was congregating over the edge of the ship. As I looked over to the icy waters, a sign of companionship showed; dolphins’ doing stimulating both by the crowd on the dock. On board, from the decks and windows, it was all joyful farewells, which were smothered by the powerful sound of the siren announcing her maiden voyage to the world. The tiny boats at the front began to tug and release the work of god to the open sea. The atmosphere was still full of high spirits but the crowd within the lower class was much more energetic this probably as it was not a social event for them.
As I walked the recently polished decks it lead me to the front end of the ship where my significant other followed. Were she stood in front of me as we inhaled the fresh sea air, it may have wrenched of sea weed but it was as fresh as anything. The icy tides colliding with the steamer could also be heard, the sound was a loud thudding noise as if being shot at. Holding the hand next to me comforted me. Inside of me, the ship scared me for my own reasons. Turning back the captain looked and the thick black smoke could be seen sweeping the decks.
Looking lower I saw a rare moment, a poor family bonding, their body language showed me that their emotion for one another were meaningful. The peculiar scene that I had bean witnessing is that all the families on the lower deck were attached to each other and energetic about their other siblings and folks. This is moment that will never occur to a rich farther as house cleaners and butlers did the job that they were meant to accomplish. The great Titanic really was a bringer of emotions. When looking on, my own deck only a minority was united.
It was the night of the fourteenth of April it was a cold and miserable night outside with the temperature still dropping. The weather was calm yet unsettling within my stomach. All passengers already had turned in to their cabins to recapture the warmth of the ship whilst others prepared for the great banquet. The banquet that was widely anticipated by the upper class of this voyage, was about to commence. The banquet was too being held in the dining salon with the Spanish royal orchestra. The routine would be the same as any other night. A fellow man would accompany their mistress who would be dressed in her majestic jewellery and her most lavish gown, down the grand stairwell.
The couples flowed down the stairwell like petals falling off a plant. All the guests had arrived and the food would be yet again exotic and full of scents that would be found all around the globe. Spanish royal orchestra ended the evening with their smooth and calming tunes that bring romance and emotion. The orchestras were requested d to continue, as the other passengers needed the rest and relaxation. I was not satisfied with the night and with all the children sound asleep; I decided to go down the Strasbourg end, my lady followed with some hesitation.
As the length grew shorter and shorter to the other music room, the music could be heard louder and louder. As the door opened, the room went completely quiet. They all stared, Moreover, the music continued. The night had finally begun. The odd ale was raised and the dancing only stopped when the feat could take no more. The entertainment had ended.
I had never felt such an electrifying moment. I understood that the night must have ended but the men were still consuming their final glass of whisky within the first class smoking lounge. Noticing that the time was close to midnight and the atmosphere was too thin and unusual to breath we headed towards the lifts leading to the chambers. The night was ended, but I thought wrong. High above the deck of the great ship, the two lookouts stationed in the crows nest could be heard screaming and shouting with some confusion. In addition, some kind of alarm was sounded. Looking over a ghostly silhouette carved out of ice and fatality drew a threatening outline in the dark stillness. It was in our path. Looking at the crow’s nest the words “ice berg could be heard” and death is all I could visualize. Adrenalin ran through and I sprinted like cheetah to the bridge to find the faith of the ship.
The alarm was ringing franticly. The switchboard was glowing red and the wheel was turned all it could travel, it began vibrating under my feet and the silhouette came closer. The shipped was turned away but it was not enough. The icy destroyer skimmed passed and the ship juddered. The crow above shouted, “Bloody hell, we made it”, but the look in the eye of the captain told another story. The tremor came and with fear, the fear of death. The captain stood outside and looked on to the black night and the wide-open seas, and I stood in the background looking over the shoulders looking at the nightmare that I now faced. The temperature was dropping and the air was thinning, but the people that had awakened due to the thump lent over the railings and gazed at the lifeless ice that passed by, and took no note of it., the captain turned and said” two hour’s tops until the liner drops”. My wife crept behind and realised that we had to embrace this situation together.
Death was coming and we could do nothing but wait. We walked back to the cabin to await further instructions. We sat prompt on the bed as if the morgue was to be the next destination. The ship was quiet and eerie; no sound of alarm was raised, but then came the thud, the crew member that had a face that looked liked it had seen death looked me in the face and said “ put on ya life jackets the word has come from above, and den report ya self’s to the top deck”. The people in the corridor were bickering and rumours and confusion was growing. Everyone’s faces were bewildered. The top deck looked like a park with doves but the black crow was standing by to tell the scenario that we were in. The puzzled faces were going to be educated on how the unsinkable is sinking front first. The room was down in the dumps; the dreams shattered before they had begun. Silence is all that could be felt as the captain put his head down and under his breath, he told his second to board the lifeboats. A tall man went to the door and opened it. A cold breeze ran through the room somewhat awaking the senses. The words of one man had mad these people petrified. An old woman took my notice she sat down and her leg was shaking rapidly, looking into her eyes you could sense that death was upon us. Speculation was growing about the amount of lifeboats that were on board. Looking around the panic could be noticed in the young ones eyes as well as the rest. The terror was flowing like water rapids reaching every corner of the ship.
The lifeboat covers were removed and the women and children were asked to come and board. The father would come and comfort his family what would probably be the last time, by telling them that he would come on the next boat. The remaining boats were loaded in an orderly fashion but then came the agonising screams and the plea to live; all classes swamped the boats remaining. This came with the consequences. Some of them left half full and did not turn to help. Passengers could be seen jumping from top on to still Black Ocean that lay under but not to surface, some also jumped to make it on to a boat lowered but they were also rejected the right to live. A few final boats remained it could hold half of the queue. By now, the front had submerged. My family boarded and all the men said farewell to the people that they could not love again.
The boat lowered and those small weeping faces looked up to what they would never see again, they new that there was not another boat that could save their daddy. The boat got on the waters and moved along, but with each face looking back. The first boats could be seen in the horizons but not coming back as they fear the infestation of people climbing on.
I jumped and dived into the debris below. A thought of wearing a lifejacket had aided me. A boat that was turned with no man was my way out. It turned and loaded the boat with people that had a chance. The temperature was dropping and horror surrounded it. All was quiet but weeping could be heard. The lights were flickering and failed consuming the surroundings into darkness. The boat had survivors but it was not full. I rowed in.
She had lost the funnels and lives but was still floating. She snapped but was still fighting, to be submerged again by the icy water. The ocean would now be the final resting place for all these souls. The iron queen is now to rest in the infestation of creatures at the bottom of the great sea. She had gone, but the doomed could not be helped. The distress of all those that surrounded me cannot be expressed but they had reason. We rowed in to the floating grave but the weep that could be heard had faded. The agonising screams were finely replaced by the silence of the dark night, what remained was a morgue.
