“We have had a little accident. They’re going to fix it and we are going to be on our way. But get to the lifeboat deck just in case they can’t fix it,” a crew member told Margret who was still a bit groggy from being woken up so early.
“Ok, we will be on our way soon,” replied Margret in a hushed tone, trying to keep Anna asleep for as long as possible. Margret shut the door and casually strolled into Anna’s room. “Anna get up. We need to get to the lifeboat deck, quickly.”

“Yes, Mommy,” replied the obedient twelve year old. “I just need to grab a few things and get dressed. I’ll be fast, Mommy. I promise.”

“Well, hurry Anna,” Margret called as she was opening the door to the first class room.

About an hour later, they were trying to find their way through the massive ship’s twists and turns. It seemed as though the massive ship was a maze and they were never going to get out. Suddenly they spotted a mass of people on the lifeboat deck.

“Mom what do we do?” asked Anna, timidly.

“Well let’s get through all these people and see if that’s the lifeboat deck,” Margret said calmly, trying to keep Anna at her side through the crowd that was swarming like bees.

By the time they pushed through the mostly 3rd class crowd, they saw the single life boat hanging by its ropes that nobody had noticed yet.

“Anna, Hurry! Come here!” called Margret franticly, dashing toward the unoccupied lifeboat trying to get her and her daughter spots knowing something must be wrong if all the lifeboats were gone. Margret hurriedly lifted little Anna into the empty lifeboat and then she jumped in, both of them taking a seat on the lifeboat, trying not to worry about what was happing around them.

While they were sitting there Margret pulled out the delicate, silver watch on its thin silver chain her father had given her a long time ago. It read 2:00. A few more people had spotted the lifeboat and jumped into it. Then a nearby crew member readied the lifeboat for it to be lowered into the Ocean. Suddenly they were falling fast into the cold, dark Atlantic Ocean.

“Mommy!” cried Anna, who was holding on to the seat.

“We’re going to be okay,” said Margret in a calming tone just as they hit the cold, salty water.

“How many people do we have on this lifeboat?” asked a tall woman with long blond hair.

“Thirty-Seven” a man shouted as he was counting heads.

Anna and Margret sat in the life boat, waiting in the middle of the cold Atlantic Ocean, breathing in the harsh salty air.

All Margret could think about was the priceless painting that sat in her room, which was probably under water, ruined by now. It was an original painting by Blondel. It was probably worth $100,000. Margret could remember its simple strokes, all the colors, and the intricate detail on it.

Hours that seemed like days later, they spotted another ship.

“Look! Another ship!” called another life boat nearby.

The large ship stopped near the tiny life boat Anna and Margret were sitting on.

The Carpathia threw down old rope ladders that barely made to the lifeboat and instructed everyone to climb up them to the lowest deck.

Margret told Anna to climb ahead of her, just in case she were to fall.
“Don’t look down until you are on the deck.” Margret shouted to Anna.
“Ok Mommy, but I’m really scared,” Replied Anna who was practically scared to death.
When they climbed aboard the Carpathia, they were welcomed by hot soup and blankets that seemed as warm as the wood stove in their kitchen back home.

When the Carpathia arrived in New York, Margret and Anna were approached by a United States Senator named William Alden Smith. The senator questioned Margret about her and Anna’s experience on the Titanic and he was taking notes on everything they said.

The next day, Margret saw a head line from a few days ago saying “Titanic Sinks; All saved. Knowing this was not true she took all the papers and threw them in the bay.

To this day, Anna and Margret still remember seeing the hundreds of bodies, floating in the water, lifeless never to see their loved ones again. They remember the Titanic’s monstrous size and extravagant detail. Anna and Margret never made it back to their home in England but they stayed with a relative in upstate New York. They will always remember this horrible tale of the unsinkable ship sinking and the hundreds of lives taken by the cold, unforgiving waves of the Atlantic sea.