Ice & Iron (Titanic)

Epilogue

15th June 1912

They say certain life events can change who you are. The sinking of the Titanic definitely had changed the lives of many people, including me. Two months had passed since the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and nearly a month since we had returned home to Southampton. So much had changed in a short amount of time.

But it had only been a couple days since I had retreated far into a deep shell caused by people who I thought had been my friends. The article had bought a newfound pain from Murdoch's death which had affected not only myself, but also my mother. Irene's father wasn't being considerate about people's feeling. Even if the majority of people weren't believing survivor's claims about the ship splitting, the feelings of those who experienced that traumatic night weren't being thought of. Irene's family was enjoying the new fame and fortune they were making off publishing Titanic related articles.

Without the support of my mother and true friend Ellen, I would have spiralled out of control. Both had comforted me profusely and I appreciated them. Neither Irene nor Grace had visited me, I hadn't expected them to. Ellen's words were true; no apology from either meant publishing the article was intentional. They had backstabbed me.

Ada had struggled with the article's release too. She mainly kept with herself and frequently met with both Mary and Ellen's mother Jane. But she had passed on a piece of advice on a handwritten note that I kept on my desk to look at as a daily reminder.

Stacey; be silent. People will only believe the reports. Be a silent survivor. Don't waste your breath being frustrated with everyone. All that matters is what you know and saw what happened to both your stepfather and the Titanic. It's not your fault if people choose not to believe what survivors are saying. You have the truth and everyone else is believing rumours. Don't fight back. If they want to believe the rumours, that is their problem and one day they will learn their lesson. Be silent and still be yourself. They are not worth you losing yourself over. Stay strong, my beautiful daughter. Your loving mother, Ada.

I had reread the note several times and it was tattooed into my brain. She was right. The hurtful words Irene and her father were publishing didn't matter. I had to be strong and be above them. Instead of vocalising my frustration towards those people, I had taken back to writing in my journal. Unleashing all the pent-up frustration and anger was helping me in a certain stage of recovery. However, I was dreading going back to school and being in classes with Irene and Grace. Ellen was a year younger than me, meaning we wouldn't be sharing any classes. I would be alone. We had discovered that all this time we had been attending the same school for years, but our paths that never crossed.

Finances for Ellen's family had proven to be tough with their father passing away in the sinking. As a family, there were able to manage temporarily with Jane able to go back to her previous job as a seamstress. But her salary wouldn't be able to keep their household afloat for much longer. When they could no longer afford to live, Ellen's family would move into our house and occupy the remaining room. Our house would become a joint household.

Titanic lay somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. There were constant searches out in the area scouring for the wreck. But it wasn't just a wreck. It was also a graveyard for 1500 people, including someone very dear to me in Murdoch. He had died doing his duty and trying to save as many people as he could. Our time together as a family had been cut short, but I had enjoyed our last moments together on board the Titanic. They were memories that I would carry with me for the rest of my life. I had not heard from or seen Joe since the fateful day aboard the rescue ship. With him living in America, I doubted I would hear from him again. He would be another Titanic memory at the back of my mind. Murdoch would be the foremost important person in my life with all the life lessons he'd taught me which would stay with me forever. Who I was at a person, I owed a lot to Murdoch. Gone in person, forever in memory.

What would come next? I suppose the future awaits. 

So nearly 3 years after I first started uploading Ice & Iron to Wattpad, this book is now complete! I had to overcome quite a few bumps in the road, but we got there eventually. Seems fitting to end this story on my birthday.

There will be a sequel to Ice & Iron that is currently in the works. I will start uploading those chapters soon. In the meantime, I feel that Ice & Iron may be in need of a rewrite, but I will not be publishing the rewrite to Wattpad. 

Thank you for reading and following along with this story.