Written by Vanessa

My name is Alice Fortune. I am a survivor of the Titanic.

I am now twenty-seven years old, but when I was aboard the Titanic, I was only twelve. My three siblings, a brother and two sisters, were aboard the ship, too, along with my mother and father. We were looking for a vacationing spot in the United States, so we decided to indulge ourselves and booked first class tickets. It wasn’t that we couldn’t have afforded it, but my father was a rather stingy man. He was only going to pay half of the tuition fee for our college, and said that we must find a way to pay the rest. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my father dearly, but he was rather cheap at times.

When we boarded the Titanic, all I could think about was how they could build such a gigantic ship. My sisters were looking forward to all the cute boys they would meet. They acted so immature when an opportunity to meet someone new arrived. My brother strolled on ahead, looking for his own room. We all got our own rooms, but my mother and father shared one. We all found our rooms and settled in. My family’s rooms were in the same hall, so we were within walking distance in case anything bad were to happen. But what could really happen to an unsinkable ship?

When she left the dock, the Titanic’s pull was so great that another ship was pulled toward her. She made it out with just a few feet to spare. That was when I started wondering what would happen if we passed another boat in the middle of the ocean, and got in a collision? I wasn’t worried too much, though, because the rest of our day was quite uneventful.

My sisters each found themselves an escort for the ball on Friday, but I had yet to even consider any boy as a beau. I am more of the type of person who stays home during those events, rather than go and make a fool out of myself. That all changed when I entered the banquet hall. My eyes landed on the most handsome young man in the room. The only problem was that he was standing next to a gorgeous woman.

I ate dinner in silence that night, and then slowly moped down the corridor to my room. Before I managed to get halfway down the hall, I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, I noticed the boy I had been staring at all through dinner. "Would you like to come to the ball with me on Friday?" he asked.

I was so shocked, I don’t quite remember what exactly I said to him, but all I remember was that it was some form of a yes. I didn’t even know his name. I barely slept that night, but it felt as though I had slept for a hundred years. I wanted Friday to come so much. It seemed almost impossible to wait another twenty-four hours.

I was so inattentive that day that I put my dress on backwards, and my mother had to correct me at breakfast.

When Friday came, I barely ate my food, and didn’t talk to anyone in my family except my brother. When the ball was in an hour, my sisters crammed into my bathroom and started on my hair and makeup. Thirty minutes later, I was dressed and ready to go. I waited for my date to arrive, and when he did, I nearly jumped into his arms.

"I do believe we have yet to introduce ourselves," was what he said when we started walking towards the ballroom. "My name is Edward, and yours is…?"

"Alice," I choked out.

"I am glad to meet you, Alice. Where are you from?"

"Canada. You?"

"The United States."

When the dance was over, I had learned more about Edward than I actually knew about myself. I met Edward each day after that for lunch and dinner.

When the dreaded Sunday evening came, I was resting in my room. It had become strangely quiet, so I decided to investigate a little. When I stepped out of my room, I heard laughter coming from the deck above. When I got up there, I saw pieces of ice strewn over the deck. Children were having a good time.

I went back to my stateroom and rested for about twenty minutes before I heard a rap on my door. I opened the door to find a man telling me to get dressed and get my lifebelt on. I asked if I had time to gather anything, and he said, "Not unless you want to go down with the ship." I immediately grabbed my jacket and a stash of money I had saved for emergencies only. It took me a few minutes to locate my lifebelt, but I found it in time to catch up with my family down the hall.

We were pushed and shoved into walls and chairs, but we all made it to the lifeboats in time. Only women and children were allowed to board the lifeboats, but since my brother was no longer a child, he was left on the sinking ship. My mother and my sisters were all separated on different lifeboats, and I could see my mother shaking from her tears. By that time, it was already 12:45 and the first lifeboats were being lowered.

It was devastating, watching my father and brother die on the ship. I heard helpless cries and painful screaming as passengers either jumped overboard or were pulled underwater with the ship. I watched in silence with tears streaming down my face as I saw my father standing there, watching everything going on, yet he didn’t do anything to save himself. I wondered at the time why he wasn’t moving, but now I understand that he did it because he knew that his family was safe, and that he was not dying completely, but would live on in our hearts, and in the souls of my family.

The End.

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