A ringing bell awoke all of the passengers in Cabin 412C
Kazia and her three cabin mates coming alive with anticipation of getting out of the bowels of this ship
The two week crossing had been miserable
With water constantly sloshing around
The pumps seemingly unable to keep up with the seawater that wanted to be inside with us
Early on there had been trouble with a group of young men
This was ended abruptly with two broken noses and one broken collar bone
Bruised egos not counting
None of them belonging to Kazia
This had brought about the (mostly) unspoken rule in the depths of the ship
“Leave the bitch in Cabin 412C alone”
Trips topside had been minimal
As the trip had been plagued with bad weather
Making any excursion to the deck and fresh air an exercise in being excitingly seasick
Though for her money
Kazia preferred being sick in the open air
To being cooped up along with everyone else in the cabin
Normally spending such periods of time with three other people would bring them together somewhat
And it had
At least for the other three
All three of her cabin mates had been from the same place
They shared a language as well as common geography
Kazia spoke a different language
And while they all could speak a little English
There weren’t enough words to do much with
So it was with cheer that she finally got her bag together from the locker and made her way into the passageways to join the queue for the disembarkation hatch
The man in front of Kazia smelled bad
But she knew that she did too
And so tried not to wrinkle her nose at him too much
The small purse was still three quarters full and pressing into her sternum as it hung from her neck
She pressed her hand to it to reassure herself that it was still there
It held the future
A future she hoped to share with Charles
The man she had promised to marry
Who she had made such love to those many months ago
Upon the hard warm steel of her T-34 tank
She had picked up small bruises from the many fasteners and fittings
But it had been worth it
She pictured his face in her mind
But it seemed less focused than it had been months ago
Softened somewhat
Kazia hoped this wasn’t due to any flagging in her feelings for him
If so
Kazia and her three cabin mates coming alive with anticipation of getting out of the bowels of this ship
The two week crossing had been miserable
With water constantly sloshing around
The pumps seemingly unable to keep up with the seawater that wanted to be inside with us
Early on there had been trouble with a group of young men
This was ended abruptly with two broken noses and one broken collar bone
Bruised egos not counting
None of them belonging to Kazia
This had brought about the (mostly) unspoken rule in the depths of the ship
“Leave the bitch in Cabin 412C alone”
Trips topside had been minimal
As the trip had been plagued with bad weather
Making any excursion to the deck and fresh air an exercise in being excitingly seasick
Though for her money
Kazia preferred being sick in the open air
To being cooped up along with everyone else in the cabin
Normally spending such periods of time with three other people would bring them together somewhat
And it had
At least for the other three
All three of her cabin mates had been from the same place
They shared a language as well as common geography
Kazia spoke a different language
And while they all could speak a little English
There weren’t enough words to do much with
So it was with cheer that she finally got her bag together from the locker and made her way into the passageways to join the queue for the disembarkation hatch
The man in front of Kazia smelled bad
But she knew that she did too
And so tried not to wrinkle her nose at him too much
The small purse was still three quarters full and pressing into her sternum as it hung from her neck
She pressed her hand to it to reassure herself that it was still there
It held the future
A future she hoped to share with Charles
The man she had promised to marry
Who she had made such love to those many months ago
Upon the hard warm steel of her T-34 tank
She had picked up small bruises from the many fasteners and fittings
But it had been worth it
She pictured his face in her mind
But it seemed less focused than it had been months ago
Softened somewhat
Kazia hoped this wasn’t due to any flagging in her feelings for him
If so
Then the money she had was for her future alone
As she would be trapped in no loveless marriage
Those are always doomed to misery
She vowed not to tell Charles of the nest egg
Until she was certain of their feelings for one another
The line slowly shuffled it’s way forward along the steel passageway
And before she knew it
Kazia Tamm stepped from the gangplank onto the soil of a new world
Wide open in possibilities
Some of the other immigrants stood in a daze
Surrounded by locals offering to help them out
Such offers of ‘help’ sounding suspiciously like being taken advantage of
She had no need of that sort of help
She had an address
And after looking at an information board that had a map of the city tacked to it’s splintered surface
She had committed it to memory thanks to her years of training
Now she had a destination to aim for
Slinging her bag over her shoulder
Kazia made her way out into the city
To the last known location of Charles
The owner of a ring much like hers
And the love of her life
Maybe
As she would be trapped in no loveless marriage
Those are always doomed to misery
She vowed not to tell Charles of the nest egg
Until she was certain of their feelings for one another
The line slowly shuffled it’s way forward along the steel passageway
And before she knew it
Kazia Tamm stepped from the gangplank onto the soil of a new world
Wide open in possibilities
Some of the other immigrants stood in a daze
Surrounded by locals offering to help them out
Such offers of ‘help’ sounding suspiciously like being taken advantage of
She had no need of that sort of help
She had an address
And after looking at an information board that had a map of the city tacked to it’s splintered surface
She had committed it to memory thanks to her years of training
Now she had a destination to aim for
Slinging her bag over her shoulder
Kazia made her way out into the city
To the last known location of Charles
The owner of a ring much like hers
And the love of her life
Maybe
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