When the Balmoral first started up the band was playing modern music which ruined the mood. Lizzy and I stood on the stern of the SS Shieldhall and both thought we wouldn’t cry.
We sobbed like children.
When the Balmoral started off and the shout went up we both began to wave handkerchiefs flying in the wind. I was so happy and suddenly I realized that 100 years ago the crowd stood here full of joy and happiness never knowing that for many this would be the last sight of their loved one. I’m not sure which one of us started crying first but when we looked at each other we dissolved into tears. You could see some of the passengers on the Balmoral were visibly reduced to tears. More cheers and more tears.
I was starting to calm down when the sun came out and we both started sobbing all over again. The sky had been dark and grey with black clouds rolling in all day and when the Balmoral turned the clouds parted and the sun highlighted the ship. We both firmly believe in our hearts that this was a blessing from the ones lost aboard the Titanic.
I stood there on the stern of the ship celebrating for the Balmoral and mourning for the Titanic. Yesterday I let the Titanic go. The ghosts are laid to rest and she will forever live on in my memories.
When I walk down to the docks to wave farewell to the smiling masses onboard the MS Balmoral, I will see the ghosts of those who set sail for a better life smiling back at me. For this moment 1912 and 2012 will be intertwined as one, the past and the present overlapping through the pages of history.
Today the MS Balmoral will set sail from Southampton and I will be crying.
To be able to witness this great event is bittersweet because this will never happen again. Even if our future generations pause to mark another century, there will be nothing left. Not only will this Cruise be the first and last of it’s kind, but this will also be the end for the Titanic. After 100 years she deserves her rest don’t you think?
The Ocean always keeps what she claims. It has been this way since the beginning of time and it will remain so until the sun fades. Even if mankind were to selfishly try to fight for claim over the Titanic, the ocean will never let her go. In a few years she will devour the Titanic completely. Nothing will be left but faint pieces of a magnificent past. Memories tenderly cherished and passed down.
This last final farewell is the epilogue for the story of the RMS Titanic. She was created, she sailed, she sank, she is remembered, and finally, she will leave us.
Requiescat in Pace.
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