Dressed

 As panic now overtook the ship, the man ran back to the stairs leading to the third class passenger cabins. He had to tell his friends the lifeboats, their only salvation was slowly but surely leaving the ship. He ran for what seemed like miles until finally he reached the stairways. His heart sank at the sight before him. Standing at the closed doorways were a few officers ordering the third class passengers back.

 “Until the first and second class passengers have vacated the ship we cannot allow you to pass! Now go back to your cabins and wait for further instructions!”

 He knew that his friend was among those behind the locked doors screaming, raging, and pleading to be let through. “Please I have a newborn son!” “Let us through for God’s sake man!” “You’re locking us down here to die you limey bastards!”

 Someone began kicking at the door and in that moment, one of the officers pulled a gun. The screaming and the banging came to immediate halt. The man wanted to go and save his friend from being locked up, but he knew that if he approached the officers they would see him as third class and probably lock him with the others. He would not let that happen. Black, white, rich, poor, he now shared something with every soul onboard Titanic. The desire to live.

 The Titanic had struck an iceberg and was now sinking headfirst into the Atlantic. That was about forty-five minutes ago. He turned around and ran back in the opposite direction, fighting the stabbing feeling of betrayal as he left the third class passengers to their fate. They would do the same in his position right? He went back upstairs and made his way to the boat deck.

 “Women and children only!” shouted the officers manning the lifeboats. His heart beat madly as he realized that he was running out of time. That was the only thing on his mind and as he scanned his mind for answers he kept drawing blanks. The man took a few deep breaths to dispel the fear and uncertainty that swept his body and mind. He needed to think of a plan and he needed to remain calm. A calm mind worked wonders in situations such as these. He gasped as his brain produced a plan. If it was to work, he needed to act quickly. The lifeboats were going fast and time was of the essence. He ran down to the first class passenger rooms. With the panic ensuing aboard the ship, there would hardly be any officers there to stop him nor would there be any passengers. Finding himself in the first class hall he tried the door of one of the rooms.

Locked.

 He groaned in frustration. He needed to be as quick as possible and the locked door had wasted precious seconds of time. He froze. He thought the he heard the faint sound of water somewhere. The ship had sunk further then he thought! He tried another door and this one opened. In his euphoria he dashed into the room and bolted to the closet. He opened it and felt gladness sweep through his body. He removed the clothing from his body and as he did so, two words attacked his mind.

Traitor.

Coward.

 “Is it cowardice to save one’s own life?” he asked himself. The wig completed the disguise. Now there was one last thing that needed to be done. He searched the dresser and found eleven hundred pounds. Also he found an elegant ring with a sparkling white diamond and blue sapphires on either side of it. The rich always looked down upon people of his sort and now it was time to pay up. With that done he dashed out into the hallway. No sooner had he did so an officer spotted him. His heart skipped a beat, believing that he had surely been caught.

 “Miss please, go upstairs and get in a boat!”

The man could not believe that his disguise had worked. Now it was time to get off of this damned boat. Making his way back to the boat deck, he saw that lifeboat #14 was being boarded. He hurried over to the lifeboat all the while keeping his head low, lest he’d be discovered.

 “Watch your step miss,” an officer said as the man carefully stepped into the lifeboat. As it was lowered he sat down. He could feel the eyes of the women in the boat leering at him, convicting him of the deed he had just commented. But could they blame him?  What would they have done were the situation reversed?

 “You left your friends to die,” their eyes seemed to say. Even the sky seemed to darken as the lifeboat finally touched the ice cold water. He felt terrible and he hoped that his friend had somehow, someway made it off the boat or found some other means of escape. But as the stern rose higher above the water, it seemed very unlikely.

 “Look at him, dressed as a woman!”  The man ignored the icy venom in her voice. She didn’t understand anything, none of the rich in first class did. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was surviving the rest of the night. If he could do that, then he could start anew in the United States. The purse that he held in his cold hands felt like a poison paralyzing his system. The thought of his friend dying alone on the boat started to weigh on him. He concluded that he couldn’t think of him right now. Now, he had to row with all his might to keep warm.

 “I’m sorry my friend,” he said regretfully under his breath. “I’ll never forget you.”