Page 110 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt
‘NOW!’ I shrieked, as the eyes of the lobby fell upon me.
‘As you wish, sir. Let me just ask my colleague to escort you.’
‘Give me the key. I’ll go myself.’ I yanked it out of the receptionist’s hand and ran back up the stairs. I shoved the key into the lock and opened the door. The room was empty. The bed had been made and the floor was clear of possessions.What’s more, there was a cup with the remnants of coffee within it, the rim smudged with Elle’s pink lipstick. She had been here this morning, and had clearly left, just as the receptionist had confirmed.
Briefly, I was overjoyed at the discovery. It meant that Elle had, in all probability, boarded the ship. I had simply missed her. With my watch now reading ten minutes to the hour, I rushed back downstairs and threw the key at the desk. I returned to the gangplank, scanning for Elle.
‘Have you seen a lady with blonde hair and a dark blue coat? She would have been carrying one suitcase. She should be on board.’
The gangplank attendant searched his mind, but shook his head. ‘Sorry, sir, I don’t think I’ve boarded anyone who matches that description. But it’s a large ship, I could be mistaken. If she’s on board, she’ll probably have been directed to her cabin. You can always check with the floor steward.’
I hurriedly made my way to our second-class cabin, which was empty save for my suitcase. I accosted the steward in the hallway, and begged him to confirm that Elle was on board.
‘Leopine is her surname. Or, perhaps she used Tanit. But she has blonde hair. A blue coat. She’s my fiancée...’ I was aware that I was beginning to babble as my panic increased. My watch now showed only five minutes to the hour. I raced back up to the gangplank, and found myself describing Elle to anyone I could find, with no luck. My heart was pumping ten to the dozen and my vision began to blur in my overwhelming panic.
I heard the ship’s engines roar into life.
‘No, no, please, no!’ I grabbed the nearest uniformed employee. ‘You have to stop the ship! I don’t know if my fiancée is on board!’
‘Sorry, sir, the gangplank is raised at ten o’clock sharp.There really can be no exceptions.’ I clung to the rail of the deck and desperately scanned the shore for any sign of my love. Still seeing nothing, I ran back to the gangplank and pleaded with the attendant, who saw my pain, but was unable to help, bound by those higher up the chain.
‘Sir, I understand the situation.’ He tried to calm me. ‘I really would very much like to help. But in all honesty, I suggest you disembark.’
‘But she might be on board!’ I cried.
‘In which case, sir, there’s another ship which leaves in a few weeks. You could follow her then.’ I spun around, and came face to face with an elderly lady. She had high cheekbones, pale skin and piercing blue eyes – not dissimilar to Elle’s. Although her curly hair was decidedly grey, there were a few distinct flourishes of auburn within her mane.
‘Gangplank up!’ came the cry from the steward. He was joined by two other uniformed individuals, who placed their hands on the rope and began to pull. The ship’s horn hooted a final warning.
‘Where is she? She was meant to meet me here on the ship!’ I wheeled around once more to the old lady, who was staring up at me. ‘Excuse me, madam, have you by any chance seen a blonde-haired woman boarding the ship in the last few minutes?’
‘I couldn’t say.’ Her accent was Scottish. ‘There were so many people coming and going, but I’m sure she’s on board somewhere.’
The horn sounded again, and the ship very slowly began to edge away from the dock. I considered jumping over the side. Perhaps the steward was right. If I remained on land, then in the worst-case scenario, Elle might be safely on her way to Australia and out of harm’s way. I could avoid Kreeg for another few weeks. But if Elle had not boarded the ship,then I needed to stay in England to protect her. My mind raced. ‘Oh God, whereareyou...?’ I screamed to the wind, my voice drowned out by the engines and the screeching of seagulls. I staggered back along the deck, clinging to the handrail and gasping for breath. ‘Elle! Elle! Elle!’ I cried helplessly, feeling as though I was falling through an endless void. As I once more peered over the edge of the ship, trying to suck in as much air as I could, I spied something familiar on the dock. I couldn’t quite believe it, but just behind a crowd of people waving handkerchiefs and blowing kisses was a light blue paper bag, from the dressmaker Elle and I had been to the day before.
It couldn’t be Elle’s, could it?
I had very little to lose.
‘Excuse me! Excuse me!’ I cried out to the crowd below. ‘My bag! I’ve left my bag!’ I continued to shout and flail my arms wildly until I attracted the attention of a young boy. ‘The blue bag! Just behind you! Please throw it aboard!’ The young man turned around and saw what I was pointing to. He pushed his way through the adults around him and grabbed it. ‘Yes! Please, throw it!’ The ship was perhaps three metres away from the dock’s edge, with the distance increasing by the second. The boy made his way to the water’s edge, looking up at me. I realised that I was too high up, and the bag didn’t have a chance of making it. I pushed my way back through passengers to the steward at the gangplank. ‘Please, my bag, that boy has it!’ He had clearly been willing to help a moment before, so nodded, and, quick as a flash, hopped over the ship’s edge. For a moment, I thought he’d jumped, but in actuality, he was climbing down some ladder-like rails attached to the hull. The boy saw the steward spring into action. When he was level with the shoreline, the steward held out a single arm so that the boy could throw him the bag. The boy hesitated.
‘Now or never!’ the steward cried. The boy looked up to me, and I gave him the nod. He threw the blue bag with some force, and my heart remained in my mouth as the steward fumbled it over the ocean. Nonetheless, he somehow managed to maintain a grip, and began to make his way back up to the deck. The young boy cheered, and I gave him a small round of applause, before reaching over to grab the bag.
‘Thank you, thank you!’ I cried.
‘Your fiancée’s, is it?’ he asked.
‘That’s right,’ I replied.
‘Well, seeing as it was right by the dock, hopefully that means she’s on board, sir.’
‘Yes. Thank you again.’ I forced my way back through the humming deck, a cacophony of human emotion as passengers bade farewell to their homeland – some for many months, others forever.
Eventually, I reached the ship’s aft, where there was enough space to open the bag. From within, I pulled out a white satin dress. At the bottom of the bag, I noticed two small pieces of paper. My stomach turned as I laid eyes upon the charcoal drawing I had done the day before. Accompanying it was a note.
Knowing you was the privilege of my life.
Rest easy without the burden of having to keep me safe.
