TITANIC SINKING IN REAL TIME THE FULL NOVEL

by Sunny Meadows

CHAPTER 5 EVENING BREEZE'S POINT OF VIEW

The experience was difficult. We were trapped in the sixteenth compartment.

“Evening Breeze, c’mon we’re leaving.”
“Mum, why?” I asked her.
“Because I think it’s about to collapse…”
“Ahh!”
“Mum!”

We found each other. The sounds of screaming ponies was deafening.

“My gosh Evening Breeze, that pony just died a gruesome death. Oh my gosh!” my Mother cried out. “Oh my ponyness!”

It was quite simply disgusting how that pony died. All of it was disturbing, the ponies death, the sinking of the supposedly unsinkable ship, all of it.

“C’mon Evening Breeze, there isn’t much time left,” my Mother told me.

“Mum? What do you mean?”

“Hold my hoof and wait until the count of three!”

I shut my eyes tight and then held on for dear life. When I opened them, I was shocked to find myself underwater.

“Help Mum! I’m drowning!” I spluttered out.

How on earth am I talking underwater? I thought feeling bewildered.

My Mother was looking at me with an amused expression on her face.

“Evening Breeze – take a look at yourself,” she instructed.

I looked toward where my hind legs should to be. I was filled with wonder and confusion to see a tail swishing to and fro.

“Huh?” I mumbled to myself. “What the…? Noooo….hang on….wait a minute. I’m a Merpony??? I thought those were just legends!”

My mind was flipping back and forth between joy and concern.

“Yippeeeeee! Oh, wait a minute. Does that mean we can be captured by a colossal squid?” I asked fearfully.

“Hee hee. No Evening breeze. Not anytime soon,” my Mother said reassuringly.

“But wait Mum…will we be like this forever? Will I ever get to see my Father again?”

This whole trip had been about making our way over to see him. I know he’d been unwell but how can we make sure he’s okay if we’re stuck under the ocean?

“Ah…oh…I’m afraid not Evening Breeze,” my Mother said quietly.

“Dammit!” I yelled out. “I really wanted to see him again.”

“It was either this or passing away. It was the only way we could survive,” she explained.

“Oh….I understand Mum,” I said sadly.

“C’mon…lets go and live in the Titanic which is now making its way to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.”

We heard a thud come from below.

“I think I just heard a crash from the bottom of the ocean floor,” my Mother exclaimed. “Let’s teleport to our new home.”

One, two three – and off we went.

“Mmm, this place could do with a bit of re-furbishing,” she quipped.

“And repairing,” I added.

I watched in delight as the ship seemingly started to repair herself. I looked over at my Mum and noticed that she was the one making the changes. Suddenly the great ship was no longer split in two and looked as beautiful as the day we had boarded, albeit now filled with water.

It was now our new home and would be for many, many years to come.

Many years later I still wish that I could have done something that night to save every single pony.

I also find myself wondering about what would have happened if we had made it out on a lifeboat that night. It would have changed everything. I would have been able to see my Father again – even if it hadn’t been for very long. I would have had the chance to say Goodbye and to attend a funeral. I was never given the opportunity to properly mourn him.

Seeing as we’re making wishes, I guess ultimately my biggest wish is that the Titanic never collided with that iceberg in the first place!

Now isn’t the time for ‘what ifs’ however. At least that is what my Mum keeps telling me. She says now is the time to focus on the future. Our past had been all about our wealth. Many ponies had been jealous of our privileged existence.

At least, now, although assumed dead by everypony else, my Mother says this is a chance to start afresh.

Being permanently surrounded by water however has taken some getting used to. I’ve been finding it hard to escape the memories from that night and I was feeling extremely homesick.

Even now, many years later, I still find myself longing for our old lives – even if they were challenging. I even find myself missing the ponies that had been envious of Mum and I. Life was difficult but it was all I had known.

Life underwater hadn’t been all bad however. The biggest highlight had been the birth of my daughter Sunny Meadows. By then, the year was 1936. She even gifted me with Granddaughters by 1963 - 65 – Summer Sky being the youngest - but I digress.

I guess another positive thing, is that even though I don’t know what my future would have held, at least in this reality, my beloved Mother Amber Spark got to be a Grandmother too….and a Great-Grandmother!

I still struggle however to focus on such positives and find myself feeling regret that we hadn’t done more that night. Mother always reminds me that we must learn to forgive ourselves. Otherwise, how can we ever truly move on.

Despite her wise words, I still quite often find myself thinking about our past.

Today, as I’m swimming aimlessly around the sunken Titanic, my mind drifts back to the day my Mother and I were seemingly enjoying an innocent day trip to Belfast. It was on that train however that I first learnt we would be boarding The Titanic.
We boarded one month after that train ride because when the Olympic collided with the HMS hark back in 1911, the Titanic had to give up one of it’s propellers. This delayed the Titanic being completed. By the time we arrived in Belfast she knew her schedule had been blown but there had been no turning back once her mind had been made up.

We boarded the train on March 13^th, 1912. Mother had been engrossed in a local newspaper article about a new ship named The Titanic.

“Mum? What is that ship pictured on your newspaper?” I had asked, pointing toward the front page.

“Oh it’s The Titanic Sweetheart. Apparently, it’s the most luxurious ship in the world.”

“Tell me more Mum,” I encouraged her.

“It’s 100 feet longer than the Lusitania…”

My Mother’s words were interrupted by a loud sneeze. Her allergies quite often played up during our outings. Having a large display of decorative flowers wasn’t helping. The mark one coaches had all been decorated with massive arrangements of colourful blooms right above the passenger’s heads. It wasn’t a danger to everypony else – except for those who had a tendency to sneeze rather frequently over the pollen in the air.

“Bless you!” I said to Mother lovingly.

“Oh…thank…you…Evening Breeze, “she spluttered between sniffs. “I think I need some water.”

I watched as my Mother used her magic to levitate a small bottle of water. She carefully poured it into a small glass. She gulped it down in one go. As yet, she didn’t have a spell to take away her sneezes.

“As I was saying, “my Mother continued. “It’s the largest ship in the world and practically unsinkable!”

She had asked me what could go wrong. Yeah what could go wrong Mum, I agree with you hah. I had been so young.

After we paid for the tickets, we had had to wait one month before boarding. We stayed in Belfast whilst we waited to make our trip and Mum prepared me for the reason that we were going. I was sad that my Father was ill but I recall being happy about seeing him.

Well, we now what happened and how plans somehow never end up as we expect.

After my mum repaired the Titanic to it's former glory, she said that she needed my help to make a shield so that we would be safe in our new home.

I was scared.

"But Mum," I'd said fretfully. "My magic powers are still in their infancy."

"Yes I know Evening Breeze," she'd agreed. "But every ounce counts. Take my hoof."

I did as I was told and together we made a shield . For added security, the shield was designed in a way that only merponies can access what is behind it. We thought this would keep us safe forever...but, huh...forever isn't always a given.

For almost twenty five years later - something happened to Mother.