Perhaps it was the long despair of seasickness that kept him to his bunk as the Carpathia opened New York Harbor.
Perhaps it was fear.
He never spoke of it, the long nights of silently crying into his blanket as remorse overtook him, the longer days when he could not sleep and was left to wander the vast, anonymous ship where he knew nobody, loved nobody.
He stared for hours into the foaming wake, looked past it over the boundless horizon of slate sea.
What lay behind him and what lay ahead of him, the ship a lonely, perpetual present.
Beautifully atnospheric
Neat piece.
I like the sense of being caught between… well done.
This sounds like someone fleeing, intriguing.
Wow! The way I feel sometimes, between changing seasons of life!
Dear J Hardy,
I felt like I was there. Lonely and atmospheric.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Did he, per chance, start his voyage on another ship only to end it on the Carpathia? Even if not, you did a good job of capturing the feeling of being caught between past and future.
No, this is in 1907 or so. The Carpathia offered the cheapest passage as it was not considered a luxury ship. Not even in the same league as White Star or Cunard.
You brought me there….thank you.
Lost at sea it seems. I like it.
Tracey
Not a happy traveller – poor chap.
Very atmospheric, full of despair, you feel for him
You’ve built an intriguing picture of his predicament and his despair. His ‘remorse’ makes me wonder what he’s fleeing, and the ocean all round is a wonderful symbol for his sense of being lost and alone.