The Saving Grace

“Captain?” I look around the wheelhouse.

“Yes?” My voice is groggy. I must have fallen asleep earlier. I sit up looking at my first mate. He is a handsome man. Chiseled jawline, ocean blue eyes, and short black hair that always hung to the right of his face. I looked him up and down and he was really well put together. He was in his uniform. White shirt with arrows on his sleeves in tight-fitting black trousers.

“ Hey, Captain you with me?” I look at him and he's been talking this whole time. I haven’t heard anything he's said.

“No, My apologies. Still trying to wake up.” He smiles.

“ Okay well, can you change into your uniform and meet me in the main hall.” I smile at him.

“ Okay, I can do that no worries.” I stand and yawn. He walks out and I trail closely behind. I turn to my cabin and he smiles waves goodbye, and then turns and walks off. I click the door open. My cabin was huge. King-size bed with lovely red and white bedding and yet I never seem to get enough sleep. There was a huge walk-in closet. I walk and grab my uniform. Mine is similar to Ian’s ( the hot first mate) white shirt with arrows, but the pockets on my shirt front had small stars and a bunch of badges. I had slick black pants with a belt that had a golden boat as its buckle. I put my long blonde hair into a tight bun. I quickly slide into my clothes and hustle to the main hall.

“Ian,” I said looking at his ocean-blue eyes.

“Look at you.” His smile burned a hole right through me. My face was becoming warm. He smiled and showed me exactly what he needed help with. It was simple, set up the hall for the dinner. We did everything we were supposed to.

“ Hey, Nova. How does a drink sound?” I looked at him and my hair started falling in my face at this time. I never put it up well enough

“ Is this your attempt at asking your captain out on a date?” He nodded. I couldn’t just say no.

“ Sure.” We went to the bar on the deck that overlooked the ocean. He order a whiskey on the rocks and I ordered a martini. We spent hours talking and laughing, but the night had to come to an end.

"Ian, I hate to cut this short but..."

"I know you have to get to bed so you can get up a 4 am."

"Yea, but we need to do this again it was super fun." I stood and smiled at Ian.

"We will Nova. Sleep well." I left him sitting at the bar. I was in my cabin by 10. I climbed into the covers and got super cozy. Drifted quickly to bed.

When I awoke I saw a very starry night. That's strange. I thought I had fallen asleep in my cabin. I looked around. The deck was huge with several lounge chairs scattered around. I finally looked down. I wasn’t in my pajamas or my uniform. I was in an old-timey dress. That's when it dawned on me. I was no longer on my ship. I must have been dreaming. I pinched myself and sure enough, it hurt. That didn't make sense. I am over a hundred years in the past. Maybe if I lived out this weird dream I would wake up. I stood and looked at the side of, the ship. R.M.S Titanic. My eyes widen. I hurried to the wheelhouse. That is when someone shouts.

“ ICEBERG” I look around conflicted. If I change the past then there is a good chance that the future is going to be different. Maybe I will never become a captain. Worse yet, maybe I will never be born. It could also be better too. Ugggg I don’t know. I looked at the first mate who said iceberg. In a split decision, I grab the wheel and yank it to the left. The ship barely scraps the iceberg. A big scratching sound and then a piece of ice falling into the water and making a big splash. I peek off the side there is no hole in the hull. The previous black is scraped to reveal the white color it was originally. I look at the first mate and smile. He comes climbing down.

“ Ma’am, who are you, and why are you in the wheelhouse?” I can’t tell him that I am from the future. I quickly glance into the purse I happened to be carrying and see my ticket. I grab it looking for the name. It reads Anna Abelson.

“Anna Abelson. I know I shouldn't be in here, but I just wanted to see what it looked like.” He looks at me kinda blankly.

“Oh, you must be the famous dressmaker. Looking for inspiration I assume” I nod assuming that he knows and I try to force a blush.

“ Yes, I am.”

“ Why are you out so early?” This is where my high school improvisation skills came in handy.

“ I couldn’t sleep and I normally draw up a design when that happens and I needed to see if I could find inspiration from this amazing ship” The first mate goes to speak when Edward Smith ( the captain) came running in.

“Is the boat okay?” He said completely disregarding that I was in the room.

“Yea Mrs. Abelson just saved us.” He looked at me, taking my hand, kissing it.

“ I am forever in your debt. Thank you, Mrs. Abelson.” I smile.

“ Anything to make sure we make it. Please forgive me, I must go back before dawn.” I curtsy and quickly walk out. I have always wanted to see the grand staircase, so that's where I started. It was beautiful. After a quick tour, I went back to the room that was on my ticket. I climbed into bed with my husband and tried to sleep. I began to pray that the future wasn't changed and that I would wake up in my own time. I don't know when I fell asleep but I did.

“Captain?” I look around my cabin. Ian stood there partway naked I must have invited him in last night.

“Yes?” My voice is groggy. I sit up looking towards the door.

“ It's time to get up.” I glance around the room I am in my present-day room. A sensation of relief floods over me.

“ Fine,” I say.

“Morning sweetheart.” I shake my head. One date and it's like we are together. I smile and climb out of bed.

“We should probably get ready, we have several tasks we need to get done.”

“Yea we should.” I walk closer to my closet but Ian interrupts me.

“Did you know that the Titanic is taking its last trip today? They gave a beautiful history to it.” I walk closer to him. He flips his phone screen to me. A feeling of dread comes over me.

“ The Titanic took its last voyage today. 107 years since the maiden voyage. The famous cruise liner will be stripped and put into a museum. It truly was unsinkable.” I look in amazement. The article continues.

“ Anna Abelson, 79 (Deceased in 1963), saved the boat from what could have been one of the worst catastrophes on her maiden voyage. Her husband and she grew old in New York only having a single child. She was given a medal of honor for her bravery. We thank Anna Abelson for saving the best ship.” I look at the article. I just saved the Titanic and gave Anna Abelson an amazing life. I can only imagine how many lives I saved. Could Samual Abelson have been Ian? I mean he did look similar. Ian was up throwing on his shirt and getting ready.

That's when something on his hand catches my eye. A ring. I look at my hand and sure enough a wedding band. After a long time of just watching him, I figured I should get ready. My ship will be celebrating 107 years of the Titanic. It's been a strange day. Maybe this is proof that time travel exists. Maybe I have a secret power. Maybe Anna Abelson’s spirit needed my help. I may never know. Ian and I have been married for 5 years and we have a kid on the way apparently. Apologies if something has changed for you, but it's for the greater good. Maybe this change isn’t too bad. I mean I kinda like it.