The Titanic

"They build the ship Titanic, and when it was through, they said it was a ship that the water would never go through, It was on the main trip, that the iceberg hit the ship. It was sad when the great ship went down."

I kept singing the song as I packed my suitcase. This cruise ship was going to Saint Martin. No icebergs. The ship Atlantis would not go down. I was ready. I had all my id, camera and clothes for warm weather.

The line for the ship was long. I had gotten there two hours before the deadline. My eyes scanned the crowd hoping to find others traveling alone. I was excited my room was overlooking the ocean. Hopefully, I would find people to socialize with.

Well my paperwork was correct. I dumped my suitcase into the room and went to explore the ship. Most of the other passengers were settling into their rooms. Noone sat in the lounge chairs and the pool was empty. I wanted to sit on my porch, write and have a drink.

The ship pulled out right on time. I gazed over my fellow passengers again as I waited for my drink to be made. Once my drink was made I went and settled in on my porch. With the cool breeze and the warm sun; I felt myself relax. No need for classes or activities at this time.

Michele made life long friends on these cruises. But nobody appeared to be traveling alone. After a quick nap, I went to find something to eat. I brought my camera with me and took pictures of the buffet, and the band, I took my meal and ate it our on the deck. We were surrounded by ocean. This was nice, no other boats or ships. The sun was setting so I quickly took some pictures.

A tall man appeared on the deck. He was alone and seemed preoccupied with the sky. He seemed impatient as if he was waiting for something.

Minutes later I heard a flutter above us, a helicopter. The tall man waved. From my hiding space, I took photos of both as the helicopter moved toward the ship. Bags flew onto the ship and 5 men jumped from the helicopter onto the deck. They grabbed the bags and quickly disappeared. They didn't seem to see me. I thought maybe it was supplies. No one seemed at all concerned about the helicopter, so why should I worry. I went and listened to the band.

The cruise appeared to be planned for people my age. The band was playing the greatest hits of the 1980s. I knew all the songs, and people were actually dancing. One couple was doing John Travolta-style dancing. I watched, I took some photos, and I danced. Singing, drinking, dancing, still no dance partner.

I took another White Russian to my room , opened the porch door. I felt so relaxed listening to the waves and feeling a slight ocean breeze. All I needed was a message.

The next morning we arrived at an Island. I was sure it would be touristy. The beaches were like a dream. I hadn't signed up for an excursion so I explored with my money and my camera.

At 6 pm. we returned back to the ship, swarms of people. I couldn't wait to get back to my room and try on the clothes I had bought. But as we reboarded the ship we were redirected to the dining area. Standing there with a gun was the tall man that had unloaded the supplies the other night. He didn't look as good-looking tonight. He was standing with about a dozen other men, all holding guns. I wondered if the helicopter had brought the guns on board,

I hid my camera in the shopping bag. I was not going to loose my camera, I slipped my photo card into my jeans pocket. I tried to ignore the men with the guns. I grabbed my Italian sub and a huge diet coke. I wanted to go back to my room but when I went to exit the food area, I was greeted with a gun and ordered back inside. The room was jammed with people. All of a sudden a man's voice came over the load speaker. We were to remain calm, the ship would be going off course. We would be allowed to go back to our rooms after we had been searched. a moment later there was another announcement twenty people could go back to their room. Twenty people pushed their way out. I was in the next group. I practically ran, not wanting to show my fear.

My room was a mess. They had searched through all my stuff. I wondered what they had been looking for. I was just relieved to no longer be surrounded by men holding guns. The phone had been pulled out of the wall. We had no internet. I turned on the tv. Tomorrows schedule was on the screen. I flipped the channels. One of the station showed a ship's captain under gunpoint. Moments later the image disappeared and was replaced by a sign saying that all passengers were to remain in their room till further notice. The hallway outside my room was being patroled by a man with a gun.

Was this better than the Titanic I wondered? I would have to wait and see how this turned out. So far it was really pretty uneventful. At around 9 pm someone knocked on my door. They had brought dinner. They handed me a tray and asked what kind of soda I wanted. I said "Diet Coke" of course. In fact, they gave me two.

They had movies on tv. I watched Jesus Christ Superstar. They had given us grilled hamburgers and french fries. They even charred the hamburgers. This was very good, but what I really wanted was information.

I was growing antsy, better antsy than dead. I went and sat on my deck. Other passengers had the same idea. I tried to scream to my neighbor, but with the noise of the sea, they could not hear me. The breeze felt great, I actually had a slight tan.

The next morning another knock. Breakfast with coffee. Well, at least they were not going to starve us. It was the same guy. I knew not to ask but I

asked anyway."What is happening? What is going to happen? Are they going to put information on TV?"

He seemed nervous but said "Nobody had been killed. The ship had changed course, and they would let the passengers off before they reached their final destination. We were heading towards South America."

South America, I had just assumed we were going to a middle eastern country. I felt a sense of relief.

At lunch the same routine, a Rueben sandwich and two diet cokes. But I was told to pack my stuff after I ate. I hid my camera and computer among my clothes in my suitcase. Half an hour later, I had eaten and packed. I went and opened the door. The man was there with the gun. I carried my own luggage, Other passengers were being escorted as well.

Spanish, how good was my Spanish? I was so excited to be getting off the ship.

I wondered if once the passengers were off if the Brazilian police would raid the ship. I knew nothing about Brazil. I had charged my phone, while in captivity. It had the internet again.

The cruise company had already sent an email. We had a choice either: a free future trip or a 3/4 refund. They were going to pay for our flight back to the USA and they had arranged hotel rooms for us in Brasil tonight, I showed two policemen the photos I had taken. They smiled and laughed. They did not seem to be understanding what I was saying. They had not taught us how to say, gun or captive in my high school Spanish class, I gave up and went to check into my hotel. I then set off to explore. This was like a dream come true. There were gift shops , and artists booths. The hotel had converted some of my American dollars for me. This was a blast, much better than a cruise, I wanted to stay longer. I bought a woven suitcase, and filled it with my purchases. I got business cards from some of the artists.

There was email with the time of my free flight. And no I would not be able to postpone it for a later date. I had money and knew I did not want to eat traditional North American food, or listen to North American music. There were department stores but I did not enter them. The street was busy, but not with Anerican tourist. The hotel was full of American tourist, but I was out of there. On the street an artist was selling drawings. There was one I loved, so I bought it. I finally found the inner peace I had been missing on the cruise.

I wished the news was in English. I wanted to hear what happened to the hijackers. They showed a picture of us getting off the ship, and then the ship pulling out. I quess it had gassed up and went on to it's desitination.

Sonething was not right. The police should have stormed the ship. I went doen to the dock.I asked the worker there "What boats had come in today?" "An American ship and some commercial loads, it's been a slow day." I asked about the American ship, " The airconditioner had failed in various areas of the ship. They thought it was safer to unload the passangers."

Someone on the ship was a very good liar. What was the cruise company doing? The ship wasn't scheduled to go anywhere near Brazil. The confusion was clouding my enjoyment. When I got home I would have to get to the bottem of this.

I bought a local drink, it tasted like Rum. I just wanted to forget the past two days. The drink relaxed my body and mind. I went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Once home there was no mention of the hijacking on the news. Where was the ship I wondered, How can it be missing and nobody seem to notice. Had I imagined the whole thing? But I had a plane ticket from Brazil, I had Brazilian money and art work. I was not crazy. It had happened and yet I felt it was better not to discuss it with anybody. Even with my physical evidence I felt confused, I filed it away as a bad dream.

One thing I do know is that I will soon be returning to Brazil and I will never again go on a Cruise.