Terror in the Quiet

The ocean spray beat methodically against the small window in my cabin as the night drove on. I took a small sip of the drink that I clutched in my hand and sat restlessly there in the dim light of my small table-side lamp. I had never been one for being on the water. No sir. I was as city born as they come. No one had ever called me a coward before, at least not to my face. No I was a distinguished businessman. My peers all had a great deal of respect for me. I was never not working, expanding and creating. This boat was proof of what mankind could do and I was no exception to this ingenuity. Nothing could stand in my way. Maybe that's why my family had gone on vacation to America without me. I was too wrapped up in all my work to understand that that time was getting away from me. I was hardly at home anymore, so consumed in my desire to be successful that I had forgotten my original love.

Deciding that I wasn't going to go to sleep anyway, I decided to leave me cabin and get some fresh air. I enjoyed being alone. I got the best work done when I was alone. Free from distractions and hindrances. I was inwardly delighted to see such empty halls. I walked onto the open deck and took a deep breath. The crisp air bit into my lungs but I liked it. I forced myself to think about this adventure I was on and to not think about the job. I strolled around the deck and nodded to the few passengers I passed. The night invited many people to retire to their cabins, never mind the cold breeze out on the Atlantic. But not me. The night is when I came alive. Besides, I had my drink to warm me up. I strode to the rail and leaned upon it, taking in the little horizon that I could see, not that there was much to gaze at anyway in the middle of the ocean. We were nearing the end of the trip, we were almost to America. The thought of surprising and reuniting with my family was a joyful one to me. I had never been to America. The land of opportunity people called it. Maybe it would be for me as well. Perhaps I could extend my business to two continents instead of just one. What a feat that would be. A crew member running across the far side of the deck broke me from my thought. But I was thankful for the interruption, as my mind had drifted towards thoughts of business again. There was nothing to worry about. The company was in good hands while I was away and this vacation was much needed for me. A distant shout drew my attention and again, I was drawn to the scene of more crew members running across the deck of the ship. Surely this was some sort of drill or practice. There was no way that anything to cause such a hassle on this large of a ship?

A quiet ding of a bell ringing down below deck proved me wrong. Confused, I started off to find someone, anyone who could tell me what was happening. As I approached the door to go back below deck, the ship suddenly rocked violently to the side. I was thrown from my feet and my glass was knocked from my hand as I slid a few feet from the door. Somewhat dazed and surprised, I scrambled to my feet and shuffled towards the door. As I reached it, the door burst open with scores of people flooding onto the deck. I shoved my way through the crowd until I bumped into a crew member. "What on Earth is going on?" I exclaimed. "No need to panic," the man stated somewhat shakily, "but we've hit an iceberg." He rushed off and was lost in the crowd from my gaze. More and more people rushed onto the deck from all sides as I stood there watching the pandemonium. Surely we would be all right, right? Nothing could damage this ship, right?

I hurried over to the edge of the top deck to look down at the lower deck. Scores of people packed tightly on the deck filled my view. Everyone was shouting and pushing, trying to get to the edge of the boat. I saw some of the crew working their way towards the life boats and start preparing them. Were we going to sink? Dread started to fill my thoughts but now was not the time. Panic will only make things worse I thought and I hurried over to the nearest life boat. "What can I do to help?" I asked the sailor. "We need to get the women and children off the boat!" He exclaimed frantically. As soon as the boat was prepared for boarding, I started turning to every women and child I could see and ushering them onboard. One after the other the boats were lowered down to the icy water below and slowly proceeded away from the boat. The Titanic started to shift uneasily and creak beneath our feet as we stood there loading the boats. Time seemed to stand still. At last there was nobody left waiting in my area for the life boat so I climbed aboard. No sooner had our boat been lowered that I heard a tremendous noise. Looking up, the boat had slowly been sinking on the front end where it had struck the iceberg. I hadn't even noticed how slanted the deck was. A child crying turned my attention away from the boat. I turned to face the small boy sitting beside me, apparently alone. I reached out and wrapped my arms around the young lad and hushed reassuringly. A large gust of air chilled my spine and I glanced back to where the boat had been, but was now no more. Just like that, the boat had gone. The screams of people drew on my heart but I knew that there was nothing that could be done for them. As I hugged that child, my thoughts went not to my job, but my family. Would I ever see them again? How much of their lives had I missed? How many memories and moments had been lost forever when I had been so wrapped up in my work. I vowed to never put my job before them ever again and that if I was rescued, that things would change immediately. I knew I had to be different. I never realized how quickly I could lose everything. Just like this ship. The titan, the Titanic, could fall.