APRIL 10, 1912

~Peeta~

As the chaos of the Southampton harbor came into view, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. The reality of my future was finally setting in. Mother beamed with excitement next to me. The reality of my future was finally setting in with her as well.

We were going to the United States of America.

I wiped my sweaty palms on the sides of my pants as I gazed out the window. The car we rode in maneuvered slowly through the dense crowd of people – most of whom were only there to see the great ship off.

The Titanic. As the massive beast appeared before us, I expected to feel some kind of thrill or even amazement at such a glorious achievement of mankind. Instead, I felt more uneasy.

Mother had persuaded – no, forced – me to move to the States with her. After Father died, I was overcome with grief. His kind face, wise words, and gentle manners would only live in my memory now. Mother, on the other hand, was relieved. Relieved. I knew that she always hated the bakery business despite the fact that we thrived on it. She felt that we Mellarks were destined for something greater. So Mother managed to sell the bakery for a ridiculous amount of money and bought our way to the States.

My brothers were old enough to escape my Mother's clutches and stay in England. While I, only 18, was forced to go with her. My mother left no money for my brothers and instead bought a large home in New York. She was then going to send me to college. I would be the first of the Mellarks to ever attend college. She had meticulously planned my future, binding me to her in a way that made it nearly impossible to break away.

According to her plan, I would become a wealthy businessman in New York, thus making enough money to support her and make the Mellark name well-known among the upper class.

The rebellious side of me often entertained the thought of running away once we docked in New York, but the true me, the compassionate and selfless me, knew I could never abandon my Mother like that despite the painful childhood I had endured because of her. While to her our future was bright and exciting, to me it was full of darkness and void of freedom.

I wouldn't be surprised if she planned to marry me off to some rich girl either. That was probably the most difficult aspect of my bleak future to bear. Most boys my age would probably be thrilled with the idea of getting educated, making good money, and marrying a pretty rich girl. But not me. I enjoyed the quiet life back home. The warm glow of the bakery's kitchen, Father's bright smiles and wise words, my brothers wrestling in the living room. It was all gone. I doubted I would even see my brothers again.

The car finally came to a stop by the ship. I forced my dark thoughts away and opened the door to let myself out. The crowd of people had swelled. My eyes danced around, taking in people's faces. Every single person was beaming, eyes sparkling as they gazed at the enormous ship. Passengers stood on the top deck waving to those on the dock.

After the driver had opened the door for my Mother and helped her out of the car, she gave him instructions for our luggage and began to make her way toward the first-class entrance of the ship.

As we crossed the walkway that led from the dock into the ship, I peered over the edge to look at the water down below. I shook my head in disbelief. It was amazing that such a vessel could float. Yet they called it the unsinkable ship.

We were escorted to our suite and left to settle in. Our maids began to unpack our things as I gawked at the luxury surrounding me. A bathroom with a tub, shower, and a double sink, a sitting room with a fireplace, two bedrooms with glorious beds, a private promenade, and windows that looked out onto the sea. I felt the corners of my mouth tug upward at the thought of watching an ocean sunset through those windows. Maybe this voyage wouldn't be so bad…

~Katniss~

Gale had spent every last bit of our money to buy ourselves tickets for a voyage on the Titanic. For the first time in a long time I began to feel happiness swell in my chest.

As the ship came into view, a smile had spread itself on my face. I turned to Gale to find him looking at me with a smile on his face that matched my own.

"I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time, Catnip," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

Ever since my sister died, I had been lost in a sea of darkness, hopelessly trying to find my way out. Now that it was just Gale and me, we decided to make new lives for ourselves in a completely different country.

Our fathers were brothers, but both had died from a fever when I was 16 and Gale was 18. My mother succumbed to grief and died a month later. Prim, who had only been 12, became solely dependent on me. But Gale, whose mother died giving birth to him, moved in with us, got a job, and managed to support us.

Then Prim got the same fever as my father and uncle had and also died 3 months later. Her death devastated me in a way the others' hadn't. She was my little sister. She made me believe that hope existed even after our parents died. But then death took her as well. I was inconsolable for months. I almost died on more than one occasion for forgetting to eat.

Fortunately, Gale didn't give up. He kept me alive and kept me from falling to the point of no return in the abyss of my grief. Then he surprised me and told me he had bought us tickets for the Titanic and to the States. At first I was furious with him. How could he spend that much money without telling me? How could he just assume that I would uproot my life and leave my home? But after I calmed down, I began to see sense in his plan. We could make a new name for ourselves, start fresh in the States, and be a part of history by boarding the Titanic on her first voyage.

When I saw that ship, the smile on my face couldn't even begin to explain the excitement I felt. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I knew in that moment that my sister would be thrilled for me. She would never want me to wallow in despair the rest of my life. She would want me to move on and be happy again. It took seeing something so glorious and majestic for me to finally accept that.

After we boarded the ship, we wandered around, trying to find our cabins in steerage. Neither of us was in a hurry, marveling at the luxury of the ship, even in the lower-class decks.

Once we had finally found our separate cabins and settled in with our meager belongings, Gale asked if I would like to go on the top deck. I nodded eagerly.

We made our way back through the maze of hallways and stairwells until we finally found ourselves in the open air. In the time it had taken for us to find our rooms and settle in, the ship had already left the harbor. I hadn't even felt it move.

The sun shone brightly above us and warmed our skin as we made our way to the railing at the back of the ship. We laughed heartily as we raced to see who could get there first. The looks of disgust that I got from the upper-class women couldn't dampen my mood.

As we reached the railing and looked out onto the sea, my mouth fell open. The clear blue sky reflected on the glassy surface of the ocean, the sunlight glistened off of the waves. It was absolutely breathtaking. I closed my eyes and basked in the glory of the open sea. The sun kissed my cheeks and the wind caressed my hair. I could smell the salt in the air and listened to the propellers churn the water below us. That sound was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. It was taking me to my new life.