Destitute

Destitute

We were never supposed to be on this ship. I had booked tickets on another vessel to start a new life in the United States. I could never afford these tickets, but complications arose, and they moved us to this ship. Let me introduce myself. I'm William, and I brought my wife and daughter with me. My wife's name is Helen, and my daughter's name is Ruth. When I got on the ship, I was astonished by the rich oak-paneled rooms.

Even though we were third-class riders, the butlers still walked us to our room. The nice man told us there was a swimming pool on board. We all set our bags down quickly and got changed. When we arrived, Ruth was not very excited to learn that the heated seawater swimming pool was only reserved for first-class passengers. We were all frustrated, but we quickly found other fun things to do, like shuffleboard. There is something so comforting about knowing you are making progress in the United States while you get to sit there and relax the whole way there. Four days into the voyage, it all changed. It was a typical day. We had fun playing cards together. I put my daughter to sleep, and was unwinding for the night when I heard a crunch. I thought to myself, we are in iceberg-heavy areas and slicing through the ice to continue forward. This was until I heard bells blazing. I quickly ran over and grabbed my daughter from the wicker crib in the corner. Helen was panicking. I tried to reassure her that we would be safe. We quickly ran out our door and up the stairs to the main deck. Helen grabbed the handle, and it wouldn't move. I moved her out of the way and grabbed the handle. It didn't move.