❝write a new story about who we are and where we are going.❞
a collection of original short stories. may feature potentially triggering content. all stories are created by and owned by me.
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The morning of the first of May of 1915 dawned in a gray and dreary fashion, which is to say, there was not much dawn at all. As eighteen-year-old Eleanor Walker and her parents walked together down New York Harbor early that day, her father carrying luggage along with him, the sun still refused to peek out from amongst the clouds, leaving the sky of New York City covered in a blanket of gray. Despite the season, only the slightest hint of warmth graced the city, which was bustling in anticipation of the event that was to take place quite soon. After a minute longer of travel, the ship appeared in the line of vision of the Walker family. Eleanor could not prevent her gasp of awe and admiration, for the RMS Lusitania was a magnificent sight to behold. 787 feet long and weighing approximately 31,500 tons, nearly everyone knew of the large, majestic British ocean liner that so often traveled between New York and Liverpool. The young woman tightened her grip on the ticket in her hands, the anticipation of her own voyage on the great ship flowing through her.
At last, Eleanor's father broke the awed silence that had settled over the three. "You know, darling," he began, carefully choosing each word, "that you don't have to go. There are plenty of risks in crossing the Atlantic nowadays."
"Of course I have to go, Father," she responded, "You paid good money for this ticket, and besides, won't your friends be displeased if I do not show up as promised?" For some travelers on the Lusitania, a return home, an educational opportunity, a vacation, or even a new life awaited in England. But all that waited for Eleanor in Liverpool was two months with the Livingston family, a small, illustrious clan that her father, a rather well-off businessman, had made friends with while attending school. The family was surely just as entitled as her own family, but had to offer up a better experience than they did. She simply was not ready for marriage, and that was that. Her mother had never accepted her sentiment on that issue.
Mr. Walker, in the low and raspy voice of a smoker, spoke. "They'll understand, what with the times and all. You remember the advertisements in the papers, don't you?" Of course she remembered the advertisements - she had heard all about them. How could she not?
"Yes, Father. Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones do so at their own risk." The newspaper had read that not long ago, right alongside a notice of the very ship she was to board this morning. "The Lusitania is one of the fastest ships around, though, and far more experienced than the Titanic; surely it will be able to evade any trouble. May I have my luggage, please?"
Mr. Walker let out a gruff sigh of clear exasperation and passed the luggage to his daughter, but before the eighteen-year-old could leave for boarding, her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're just concerned, Eleanor dear," she murmured, "If you would only not be so stubborn and listen to us for a moment -"
"I'll be fine," Eleanor interrupted her mother as politely as she could and as quickly as she dared, "I'll write every week, I promise. I love you."
"Last call for boarding! Last call for passengers to board the RMS Lusitania!" The call that sounded across the harbor was just the prompting she needed to beat it out of an awkward farewell. With two swift, customary hugs, she was off, walking briskly across the dock, onto the deck of the ship, and into what would be the greatest adventure of her life.
