Titanic- A Short Story o6yw

April 15th, 1912 The Carpathia I survived. How or why, I didn’t really care. She was gone. “God himself couldn’t sink this ship,” they said. They were wrong. At 2:20 a.m. this morning, the RMS Titanic foundered with over 1,500 souls aboard. Thankfully, I had escaped with my life…but I didn’t care. The book was gone. The biggest project I’d ever have. But still, I didn’t care. How could I? William was dead. Just the very thought of the love of my life having died just hours ago in my arms broke my heart. Nothing else mattered. The other engers who were aboard the ship this fateful night will no doubt write their own recollections of the events that transpired, but permit me to tell you my story aboard the wondrous ship of dreams. April 10th, 1912. A day of destiny. Our bags were packed and ready to go. We left my apartment and left for the train station. A musty smell filled the air as the train arrived. We had heard wondrous things about the RMS Titanic. The richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor would be onboard. A true melting pot. Families returning home from a summer abroad as well as immigrants looking to start a new life, all heading for America. I wasn’t looking to start a new life, that was for sure. I was nervous, but having traveled the ocean several times on the Olympic, the Mauritania, and the Lusitania to visit family back in America, it was nothing new. Unsinkable they called her, and I regret believing their words. The ship was magnificent. Huge steel plates were held together by rivets to create the beast of the ocean. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. As the train pulled into Southampton station, I glanced quickly at the clock. 10:00 a.m. Plenty of time. We didn’t shove off until noon. My protégé, William Haldermann, and I stepped off the train. I had inquired about getting First-Class tickets a few months back but the White Star Line

and National Geographic stepped up and bought our tickets in exchange that I wrote a book about the maiden voyage. Southampton was a blizzard of excited faces and posh hats. There were the 1st class cats and the 3rd class rats. As soon as we were on board, we headed for our stateroom, cabin B-68. I stopped for a moment to marvel at the glass dome on the A-Deck landing of the Grand Staircase peeking through the stairs on B-Deck. We walked down the hallway and found our cabin. The room was small but roomy enough. With two beds, a wash basin, a closet, and a couple mirrors, it was all we could ask for since we both knew we wouldn’t be spending much time in our cabin anyway. That night, the first night aboard Titanic, was an incredible night. You see, William and I were in a romantic relationship of sorts. We’d spent so much time at Oxford together that we’d fallen in love. Yes, it was quite scandalous, a professor and his student being in love, but we didn’t care. But it was a secret that had to be well-kept. If discovered, my career as a professor would be over. And William…he wanted to work at one of the museums in the United States. And I couldn’t bear the thought of his career being over before it even began. I loved him so. It was a difficult decision to make. But love won. “Do you the day we met, Robert?” I had to laugh. It was such a stupid but funny story. I was dragging my belongings from my car to my house on campus when he ran into me as he was running down the sidewalk. He helped me up and introduced himself while helping me pick up my things. The very next day, he was in my History of the Ancient World…Beginnings to 1500 class. I won’t lie. William spent an awful lot of time with me during office hours. But it was great. We discussed politics, ancient and modern warfare, anything and everything you could think of. I developed a fondness for him very early on. And as the years ed, as he became a part of the long line of history majors I’ve had the blessing to have mentored,

something changed. He wasn’t just a student anymore. I found myself slowly falling in love with him. And just a few days ago, he told me the same. The hardest part were the endless dinner conversations. For example, a Mrs. Alice Reynolds asked us how we had met. “Well, Mrs. Reynolds, we met at Oxford University. I’m a senior and I’m traveling along with Dr. Langdon to the States to help him finish his book and to do an internship at the Smithsonian in the National Museum of Natural History.” “How wonderful for you, William” she said. She then inquired “How does the Mrs. deal with your travels, Dr. Langdon?” My mouth gaped open for a moment and then I stuttered “Well he…” William stepped on my foot. “SHE’S very content back at home in Oxford. I’m only going to be gone a couple of months and then return home.” Later that evening, I had the chance to talk with Alice’s husband, Teddy, as we were having a nightcap before bed and he was looking for some advice about the birth of his first child and asked me nonchalantly “Do you have any children, Dr. Langdon?”. I about spit out my drink. “I, uh, that is to say, oh gosh, it’s so hard to talk about. The Mrs. and I don’t have any children so we like to think of my students as our children. I have my senior classes come over for dinner at the end of the year before graduation.” “How wonderful for them. It seems you make quite an impression on your students to have one so devoted to yourself as a traveling companion.” If only he knew. Before bed every night, William and I would go over these moments and just laugh…and breathe a huge sigh of relief. By the 14th of April, our worries were behind us and a new future awaited us in New York. I couldn’t sleep that night. It was a quarter past eleven and William was sleeping, so I went to the deck to have an evening stroll, but my leisure was interrupted as a

shudder shot through the boat. Like a baby giant had picked it up and shook it like a rattle the ship convulsed and trembled knocking people off their feet and then it stopped. The shock only lasted a few moments but those moments were long enough for the wave of fear to wash over me. Those moments were long enough for people to laugh and carry on with what they were doing but not for me. “Why has the boat stopped?” “We can't slow down!” “How dare the captain knock me off my feet” “It gave me such a shock” Those were the cries and shrieks I heard from my fellow first-class engers. Then came the part where the crew lied to our faces. Put your life jackets on they said, nothing's wrong, they said, no need to worry, they said. I thought it was better to leave William asleep while they sorted things out as I didn't want him to be worried so instead I approached a crew member. “How many compartments?” I demanded not meaning to, but he only cheerily replied with “Sorry sir?” “You know what I mean, how many compartments?” I refrained from shaking him there and then when he replied with “I don't know what you are talking about sir, everything is fine” “I know damn well that everything is not fine, now you tell me how many compartments are flooded or I will make sure that you are the first to drown” after I said this he gave in his act and muttered a reply under his breath “Pardon?” I said

“Six sir, six compartments are flooded which means -” “I know what it means” I interrupted “I’ve studied this ship stem to stern and am personally on a first name basis with Thomas Andrews, the builder of this ship!” As I walked as briskly as I could back to our cabin, I realized that I had been a bit harsher than I intended to be. But if there’s one thing I detest, it’s being lied to. I woke William up and told him to get dressed. “Robert, it’s past midnight. Why the hell are you waking me up?! If you’re going to write in that damn book of yours, just keep your light on and keep quiet.” I shook him awake. “Damnit William. We’ve hit an iceberg and the ship is taking on water. Fast! We don’t have much time before this entire ship is below the Atlantic.” “Langdon, what the hell are you talking about? This ship can’t-” he cut off as the reality of the situation sunk in. Frantically, he got up and got dressed. We helped each other with our lifejackets and left our cabin for the final time. Back on deck they were lowering the lifeboats. 'Women and children only' the crew were saying. Panic set in on the deck around us. People running every way. There were families having to be separated. People were starting to lose their footing and mine wasn’t so steady to being with when the ship was level. Teddy and Alice were standing next to me, both in tears. Alice refused to leave her husband but Teddy would have none of it. He put Alice onto a boat and with William looking so young, he was granted a spot. So, we said our goodbyes. William’s was short and sweet but I was overcome by emotion. I recited a poem my mother had read to my father shortly before he died back in 1910.

Be thee well May the lord who watches all watch over thee May God's heaven be you blanket as you softly sleep Be thee well When you're fin'ly in my arms you'll plainly see This devoted professors's heart and soul Are yours to keep! We'll meet tomorrow We will find a path And reach tomorrow. Past this day of wrath We'll be together once again Cling to your hope and prayers till then... I'll hold thee closely As I say goodbye And keep your image In my memory's eye And all this love of ours will soar Come dawn or danger We'll meet tomorrow And have each other evermore Come say you love me As I kiss your eyes Let one brief moment Make eternal ties... If tomorrow is not in store Let this embracing Replace forever Keep us together Evermore.

I told him I would see him soon, knowing full well I never would. Then they lowered the boat. Tears came. There he was, being lowered in a small boat into the cold, dark Atlantic Ocean, with no hint of a rescue ship in sight. Suddenly there was a commotion. Someone had jumped off the lifeboat and back onto the ship. I ran to the edge of the ship to see who it was. William. He made his way back up to the boat deck and I grabbed him and wrapped him in the biggest hug I think I

had ever had. I don’t know what came over me, but I kissed him. Right there. In front of everyone. We were both in tears. And I didn’t care who saw. We ran down the deck to see if Murdoch had any lifeboats left. He told us he had just launched the last of them. There was no going back. The boats were gone. We knew it was only a matter of time before Titanic plunged into the icy waters. We just had to pray we lasted long enough in the water until the boats came back. IF they came back. We ran for the stern, to the very back of the ship. She kept rising out of the water and was so beautiful, even her death moans were a symphony of steel and machinery singing their unending hymn to Mother Nature herself. We held on to the railings as long as we could. At that moment, the ship tore in half. The bow section sunk under the water as the stern section was pulled straight up into the air. It bobbed like a cork for a few moments and then sank into the sea beneath us. When cold water hits you it's as if your brain cells freeze. When icy water hits you it's as if all the pain in the world has come crashing down on top of you and your brain is paralyzed. After I had absorbed the shock, I started to swim, pulling my body along with the last of my strength. I held onto William as we swam away from the ship because I knew that the suction would drag us under and he couldn’t swim at all. We swam to Collapsible B, where Officer Charles Lightoller and a few other men were clinging on for dear life. We held on to the boat as best we could, for what felt like an eternity before Lightoller helped me up onto the overturned boat. I checked William every so often while I was climbing onto the boat and then helped him out of the water. Hours ed. We would check every man aboard the boat every five or ten minutes to check for life. We lost a few in that first hour but we held out. It was only when I heard a splash later in the night that I checked for William. He had slipped off the boat and I

grabbed to pull him out of the water but I felt that his breath had stopped long before I wanted to it it. There I was. Floating all alone with Lightoller and a few other men in an overturned lifeboat with the dead body of the love of my life in my arms, sobbing, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. And when I saw the lights of the Carpathia it was the greatest feeling I had ever experienced but I had forgotten that William could not experience that feeling with me. I couldn't believe that I had survived when many others had perished. When Titanic went down I distinctly the musicians playing a hymn. It was 'Nearer, My God, To Thee' and I thought about how I would be with God soon, but instead William had gone to heaven and I was alone. Epilogue In the years after the sinking, rumors started about the infamous kiss William and Robert had shared during the sinking. Dr. Langdon slowly found himself on the losing end of things. First, he lost his position as the head of the History department at Oxford after a lengthy investigation about his “conduct with former students” in 1914. Soon after, all his speaking engagements were cancelled. His book sales diminished and he found himself penniless and a public disgrace. Without the love of his life, on April 14th, 1922, ten years to the day the RMS Titanic hit the iceberg, he picked up the gun he kept in his flat. He was found dead the very next day.