The Mysterious Gold Pendant

“Dad, WATCH OUT!” I yell.

It just took three seconds for a deer to jump out in the middle of the road, completely blocking the path of our car. My father grabbed hold of the steering wheel, swerving the car to the left. My brother, Charlie, and I started screaming. All of a sudden I felt the car crash into something. Hard. It was almost as if I could hear the crunching of the car, as I was thrown into the seat in front of me. I lifted my hand to my face, feeling the red, sticky blood trickle down. And then, all I saw was black.

********************

I opened my eyes, having to blink a few times for them to adjust to my new surroundings. “She’s awake!” someone yelled.

“Where am I?” I asked, finally noticing the strangers, all crammed into this room.

“I can’t believe it, Mira! You are awake!” a woman said, her face gleaming with excitement as she ran to kiss me.

“Who are you? Where am I?” I asked, demanding an answer.

That’s when I saw the lady, who had come to kiss me, back away from the bed I was currently lying on. Her expression went from excitement to frightened so quickly after hearing my questions, I almost regretted asking. “Doctor, what is the meaning of this?” the lady whispered to the doctor.

The man shook his head, not making eye contact with the woman, “She must not remember. Bad case of memory loss, I suppose.”

The room was silent as the woman walked to the side of my bed asking, “Mira, do you remember me?”

“I’m sorry, but no,” I answered.

I saw the lady walk over to another man, tears welling up in her eyes, and collapsed in his arms, weeping the entire time. Minutes later, the doctor spoke, “Mira you have been in a coma for the last month now. You were in a car crash with your family. That is your mother, father, and brother, Charlie. Do you remember any of those people?”

The doctor acknowledged the weeping woman, the man hugging her, and the young boy standing next to them. “No,” I said, feeling more confused than ever.

“You are fourteen, Mira,” the doctor said. “Your birthday is October seventh. You were born in Scarsdale, New York.” He paused again before saying, “That is your family.”

“This isn’t true,” I mumbled. “I have been on the Titanic for the past three days”

No one responded. I looked around to see the astonished faces of all the people around me. “She has gone crazy,” the man who claimed to be my father said.

“Why does no one believe me?” I asked.

“The Titanic sank over one hundred years ago. You couldn’t have possibly been on that ship,” the doctor said, looking worried.

“But I was on the Titanic. One minute I was witnessing the ship go down, and the next I’m here, in a hospital!” I yelled, getting very irritated.

“This is very strange. But it must have to do with her past, she must have read something, or watched something with the Titanic. And now that’s all she remembers.” the doctor told my parents, and I could tell he was doubting his own answer.

Now I was about to get furious, “I am telling the truth. I went on the Titanic and….”

I was then rudely interrupted by the doctor. “Do you remember your past then?” he asked.

This had never occurred to me before. “No. I don’t know anything of my past, now or then. The only thing I remember is my voyage on the Titanic.” I said.

“Okay Mira, start by telling us your voyage,” the doctor said.

I then tried to remember every detail of my voyage, “The day it set sail was April 12, 1912. I remember the excitement of the entire world, for the Titanic, the largest ship, was to set sail today. My family and I lived in Queenstown, Ireland, the last stop for the Titanic. I had woken up very early that morning, because my parents had booked third class tickets on the Titanic. My face had lit up, just like a Christmas tree, finding out the news that we were to set sail on the Titanic. This was a surprise to me because our family was very poor. My father lost his job a month ago, so the tickets were to start a new life in America.”

“Can you explain to us what your family looked like?” the doctor asked.

“Certainly,” I said, enjoying every moment I had to describe the family I missed so dearly. “My family is very tall. My mother’s hair is curly and shoulder length, with brown eyes to match. My father’s hair is straight and always slicked back, with the same brown eyes. My brother, Nick, has hair, black as the night sky. I have the long, wavy chestnut, colored hair as I do now. Both my brother and I have eyes, green as the sea. Nick is fifteen, me being thirteen. Now you can see why I don’t recognize any of you. You look nothing like my family.”

No one said anything, so I continued, “My first glimpse at the Titanic was magnificent. No vessel was as large as the one I was about to board. We had a tough time, getting to the third class line. The large crowd reminded us of St. Patrick’s Day festivals in Ireland. In the line that would lead us onto E-deck, I overheard many of the conversations coming from the first class passengers. It made me laugh to realize that some were talking about how they wished the ship was better, only because they were too arrogant and rich to realize it’s beauties. As we got closer, I heard a steward saying, “No worries madam. This is the safest ship in the world. It is unsinkable.”

“At the time, no one realized how the fate of this ship would end. When boarding, a medical officer stopped us. I remember not being surprised that a steward had not come to greet us, or escort us to our room. That was only for the first class. The medical officer had checked us for any health issues before entering the United States. Then we tried to find our cabin, and there were large crowds of people, all confused as to where their room was. No crew members were helping, most of the third class didn’t speak English, and the corridors were connected together like a maze, with only limited signs to guide us. Our room, being on F-deck, was a long walk down. Then, we had the trouble of finding our way through the maze. In my opinion, our cabin was the size of an elevator, with a set of bunk beds on each wall, and a sink with a mirror above it. We quickly hurried out of the cabin, having just as hard a time to find our way back up. Two large horns blew, signaling that we were leaving. Everyone rushed to the side of the ship, and waved to everyone at the loading docks until the ship had set sail. My family had left the balcony when Ireland, our home, was nothing more than a dot to our eyes. To me, it was sad, leaving the place I had lived in forever, but it was exciting to be journeying somewhere new. My family and I spent the rest of the day touring the ship. There was a gymnasium, Turkish steam bath, smoking rooms, a reading and writing room, library, the wireless rooms, many cafes, the dark room, a chapel, and, to my amazement, the first pool on a ship. But of course, these were reserved for either first or second class, so I only had the chance to glimpse. We were limited to the poop deck, smoke room, and the general room. I can never forget the grand staircase located in the lobby. The golden railing spiraled down the decks, with a beautiful bronze statue at the end of the staircase, and a grandfather clock at the start. It was truly one of the most glorious things I had ever seen. The next day’s went by as quick as the first did. We ate our meals in the third class dining room. At night, the third class got together below decks in the general room, and the boys played music with their instruments, making all the girls want to dance. It was always loud, as we made our own entertainment. Nick and I found it to be the best time of the day. Throughout those days, I had even made friends in third class, becoming closest with a girl named Addy and her twin Olivia.”

“On Sunday, April 14, my family and I attended a church service first thing in the morning. Nick and I spent the day running around, playing games on the poop deck with Addy and Olivia. Like most of the other third class children, we would occasionally run down to the boiler room and wave to the stockers. This was until my mother and father brought me down to our cabin, saying they had a surprise awaiting me. I had not been clueless, knowing they had a present for me, because it was my birthday. I turned fourteen, with all of the third class passengers singing happy birthday to me, during breakfast. I had not gotten a cake, yet I will never forget the quick celebration thrown for me. Nick had kept taunting me about the burning sensation I must have felt in my cheeks, for my face had turned bright red. In our cabin, my mother and father gave me a box, encouraging me to open it. I had shook the box, anticipating the surprise that lay in my hands. When I untied the ribbon holding the box together, I caught a glimpse of my family. It was obvious they had smiles, creeping up their cheeks. I knew it had to have been something wonderful. When I opened the box, a pendant was lying in its place. I picked up the necklace, noticing it was made of all gold and shaped like a heart. It was beautiful. I did not know how they had afforded this, but it did not matter. I jumped around like a little child seeing the pendant and my parents had gave a nod of approval, as if they knew this was how I would react. I had chained the pendant around my neck, when I had noticed the inscription on the back of the pendant, saying “Love, Mom and Dad”. Smiling gleefully, I realized that this was a present I would treasure forever. Throughout the day, I had worn the pendant around my neck, playing on the poop deck, dining with my family, and dancing in the general room. It was lights out at ten-thirty for third class, and I still wore the pendant around my neck.”

“That night, I was awakened by a faint screeching sound. It had sounded like metal ripping against metal. At first, I was not terrified and did not acknowledge the strange sound I had heard, or even the dull silence, now filling the ship. Then, I realized that the engines had turned off and the ship was not moving. This had started to worry me. I jumped off from the top bunk and started to shake my mother, father, and brother awake. “Something’s wrong”, I exclaimed, and this seemed to wake everyone.”

“Then, a frightened crew member had burst into our room. “The captain has ordered everyone on decks immediately”, he panted, throwing two lifejackets at us. “I’m afraid the unsinkable Titanic is sinking.”

“As you can imagine, no one believed that this was even possible. We had no time to think, because as soon as we stepped into the hallway, freezing cold water covered our ankles. The water sent a stinging sensation up my legs, throughout my whole body. It felt like thousands of needles had just been stuck in my legs. My mother had thrown me and Nick a lifejacket, ordering us to put them on. My family and I ran down the maze of hallways, bearing the cold water surrounding us, and trying to stick together. Water was seeping in, and I remember running to each staircase, only to find out they had been blocked by a steel grill, to make sure that the first and second class got to the lifeboats first. As I suspected, the gates were guarded by stony-faced officers, all with no pity in their eyes for the third class. The hallways were very cramped, with everyone yelling and shaking the gates, in hopes that they might break. Some people had given up and gone to their cabins, awaiting their end. We had almost given up, until we noticed a large crowd of people, ramming into one gate all at once. They had been the only people who stopped panicking, taking the time to think of a plan. Then, the gate had gave in, and broke free from the wall. Both officers dived out of the way, as multiple passengers rammed through. We followed running quickly up to the deck, only to be surrounded by more crowds of people. It only took me a minute to realize we were too late. The last lifeboats were being lowered, and by the looks of it, they hadn’t been filled to capacity. That meant more than half the passengers were fated to die.”

“I was hit with shock, as I thought of the choices passengers still aboard had. Everyone had given up any hope for survival, for it had turned to chaos. It was now every man for themselves, with only two choices, jump or stay on the ship. The band was still playing hymns, as many men were trying to free two lifeboats. Passengers were throwing deck items off into the water and the priest had been praying with others. I remember how I squeezed my mothers and fathers hands so tight, it hurt. I hadn’t noticed, realizing those might have been the last moments I spent with them. The deck had been tipping so low into the water, it was almost impossible to stand. Giant waves were washing people away, and funnels were crushing dozens as they fell. Then, my father said the unthinkable, “You two are going to have to jump”.

“I remember looking at my mother, seeing her approval as tears welled up in her eyes. And my father, longing in his expression, for I have never seen him this sad. I slowly walked over to the railing with Nick. My mother and father had helped us onto the balcony, and it was then when I remembered they didn’t have life jackets. Before I could say anything, I was on the railing, and all thoughts seemed to disappear. I looked down into the ocean, black and never ending, like space. I then caught one last glimpse of my parents before I jumped, clutching the pendant, still clipped tightly around my neck. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the black water, waiting to engulf me. On the way down, I heard the screams of people still remaining on the ship, and the cries of those left to die in the water. All those sounds were blocked out by the remaining thoughts, left in my head. All I could think of was the freezing water below me, my family, and the future in America I was never going to have. I had then opened my eyes, only to awake here.”

I had finished the story of my voyage, seeing the stunned faces of everyone around me. “How could she imagine this much, doctor?”my “mother” asked.

It made me sad knowing that no one had believed me, even after I told my story. The doctor took a minute before saying, “She must have read a book on the Titanic before the crash, remembering the vivid details.”

And then it occurred to me. I knew just how to prove that my voyage was true. My face gleamed with excitement as I reached up to my neck and unclasped the pendant, hidden from view under my nightgown. I handed the pendant to the doctor, as a rush of energy went through me, for I knew they have to believe me from seeing the pendant. “This is what my family gave me on the voyage for my birthday”, I exclaimed.

The doctor had grabbed the pendant, snatching it quickly from my hands. His face had turned pale, looking as if he had just seen a ghost. I noticed the way he examined my pendant, as if this was a crime scene and I had just handed him the murder weapon. “It just as she described it in her story”, he whispered. “Its made of pure gold, heart shaped, and has the same inscription on the back. This must mean that you had given this to her before. Do you recognize this as a former birthday present?”

“I have never seen that”, my “father” said.

“That was never a birthday present we got for her”, the boy, Charlie, mumbled.

“Who could have given that to her? If its inscribed with “Love, Mom and Dad”….”, my “mother” said, clearly at a loss of words.

This made me want to scream at them. I had explained who gave me the pendant and when. That’s when the doctor gave the pendant back to me, and I clasped it back around my neck. “I think Mira needs some sleep”, the doctor told everyone, clearly as an excuse to leave, and think over everything I had just told them.

Everyone followed the doctor out of the hospital room, just as slowly. Surely I had just told them a lot of information that they would need time to think over. After telling my story of my voyage, I realize how much I miss my family, wherever they are now, and my only remembrance of them is the pendant. I clutched the pendant around my neck, feeling for the inscription on the back, grinning as I did so.

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11 thoughts on “The Mysterious Gold Pendant

  1. I love how you showed the detail of how you felt on the boat. It made me feel that I was participating in the titanic. It showed great suspense and made me want to keep reading.

  2. What I love about this story was that I could picture everything that was happening, it was sad, but fun to read and I wanted to know more. It really used sensory details and it showed everything happening to the family at that time. My favorite part was probably when ou figured out she was ok and woke up from her monthly acoma!!!!!!

  3. I loved the story it had a lot of detail and I could picture everything in my had also I saw som good similes in the story this is a great story I liked it

  4. It’s so sad but fascinating. After the first few sentences I thought I was real but then you described the ship with such detail and then I knew it wasn’t. It really gives a clear image of the life on the titanic.

  5. …Wow. That story felt like it had a lot of meaning behind it…I believe the girl every little bit! Keep up the good work!

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