Of Heartbeats and Stardust

Of Chickens and Officers

Winifred Cook never really stood out. To the wealthy, she was a common street rat. She slept on the streets, wore rags and stained cotton, no family, no friends. She was alone in the world.

But Winifred was happy, to the amazement of those who she spoke with. She was happy because she was free. She had adapted to her rather poor lifestyle. She lived off of what she was given and that was it.

She took pleasure in the simple things, like swimming in empty ponds and finding tiny trinkets on crowded streets. She always looked forward to waking up just before dawn to watch the sunrise and sunset at the edge of town. She dreamt about the first taste of a crabapple when they first bloomed. She lived for all the little moments she shared with only herself.

But above all, Winnie liked to travel. It was hard for people like her to even get across the country; they would never dream of going outside of Britain. However, Winnie always managed to find her own way.

Winnie was clever. She could hitchhike her way to the sea and stow away on a fishing boat in the dead of night. That was how she managed to get to Spain for the first time.

Witty Winnie was what her friends used to call her. "Witty Winnie, Witty Winnie, show us how to dance. With Spanish moss and apple sauce. We never stood a chance."

Winnie traveled all over Europe. From Italy to France, Sweden to Germany. But she'd always end up back at her home town: Totnes, England.

Totnes was where Winnie was when she first heard about the Titanic; from a particularly excitable man coming from a pub. As soon as he told her about it she knew she had to go.

The Titanic, however, was a bit more challenging than the cargo ships she usually hid on. It was a passenger ship with officers and security. There were rich people and, if Winnie knew anything about rich people, it was that they loved to feel safe.

This was to be one of the biggest challenges of her, well, career.

She caught the first boat to Southampton (which wasn't very far) and camped out for days on the docks. On the day of April 10th, Winnie stood behind a few crates and barrels, watching the first class passengers strut about in flowing outfits and overflowing pockets..

Winnie chuckled as she saw a woman with an overly flamboyant dress try to hide a stumble from her what seemed to be husband. "They look like stuffed peacocks," she muttered to herself. "Indeed they do," someone agreed next to her.

Winnie spun around only to be faced with a red headed boy, not much taller than herself. Usually, she would be perturbed that someone had been able to sneak up on her, but she was a good sport.

"An' just who might you be?"

The red headed boy chuckled and held out a dirtied hand. "Fred Davidson at your service, Ma'am."

Winnie took "Fred's" hand and shook it.

"Winnie Cook, pleasure to meet ya'," she responded.

They returned to looking at the passengers. "I bet them coats cost more than me life," Winnie joked. "Nah." He shook his head. "Probably twice that."

There was a short pause when suddenly Fred spoke as if the idea had just dawned upon him: "You got a ticket?" he asked

. Winnie shook her head, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Ain't got no money to get 'em." She shrugged and looked back to the first class, who were almost all the way on. "I ought to leave and catch the back of that boat before I lose me chance."

She heaved a sigh and waved a goodbye. "Hopes to see ya' onboard?"

Fred mirrored her grin. "You never know."