A wavering battle for paradise
15 August 1850, London, England
The memory of the attack pulses through my head like a hurricane. Being a woman in England is like being tortured to death, and it's so easy to get arrested. My name is Genesis, I'm a thief on the run from authorities, but my motive for theft is reasonable. I steal food and clothing, as well as blankets, for homeless children. A long cloth covers my head as I sneak through the busy city of London, people are scurrying everywhere, and I swear to god that I can see any cop around glaring at me with a look of guaranteed death. I gaze towards one of the policemen standing at the street corner, holding a large gun, clearly a Musket. My heart leaps to my throat as he stares right at me. To make matters worse, there is a wanted poster right behind him, with my face plastered on it. “Genesis Wright wanted for theft” it reads, “Reward: 100 pounds”. The amount of money awarded for my finding nearly convinces me to turn myself in, but I can't, not when my best friend is starving, and awaiting my daily gift of fresh, warm bread and a cup of warm milk, that I always transfer into a disposable bottle. “Alright, there’s the bakery, go in, grab the bread and milk, and run.” I whisper to myself, clutching a fist. “You have done this ton of times, you’ll be fine.” One problem, the policemen staring at me is located right outside the bakery. “God, I better find another bakery.” I curse, looking at my small map. “5 Kilometres north?!” I gasp. That's when my eyes turn to a poster, that immediately catches my attention. “Tired of living in boring old England? Travel to a new paradise for only 15 pounds a ticket! It's a deal you will regret missing, so get it before it's gone, because once it's gone, it's gone forever!” A new paradise? I look in my small bag of money.”10… 20… 30! 30 Pounds! Do the maths and…. God! That's enough for me AND my friend!” I mutter to myself in glee. “Forget the bread, we gotta go!” I decide, my feet thundering down the street. I clutch the bag of money with my dear life, just 1 cent falls out, and none of us will meet paradise. “If he can't go, I won't go, either.” I sigh, clutching the bag so hard that my nails would dig into my palm if the fabric wasn't there. Finally, I catch sight of him, and I gasp in glee, trying to catch my breath. “Grab your things, we are moving to paradise!” I call out to my friend, who turns his head towards me. “Paradise? What are you talking about, Genesis?” He questions me, tilting his head. “We are leaving England, no more you being homeless, no more me being chased around by the authorities, we will get our own land, we can start our own family for god's sake, and any children don't have to be raised in this hell hole!” What am I saying, there's no way he’d want to do that. “This place is full of liars, this ‘paradise’ may not even exist!” He snaps in reply. “I'm serious, Miles! This place exists!” I sigh, glancing at the ground. “As a homeless person, I find it very hard to trust some poster, you know full well that a promise of land ended in my eternal suffering.” Miles breaths slowly, probably reliving the day that he became homeless. “Come with me, travel with me, if this place truly doesn't exist, I myself will turn the ship and head to America.” I beg and plea. Miles stares me dead in the eyes and nods after a few moments of complete and utter silence. “Fine, only if you promise that I get to decide where we sleep.” He smiles. “Deal.” I say quickly, grasping his wrist. It takes a moment to haul him up, and his legs are shaky at first, making me wonder how long it's been since he even stood. He begins to walk towards the waterways when I hear a loud “Freeze!” My heart jumps to my throat, and I begin to shake. “Gen?” Miles mutters in concern. “Run, now!” I suddenly shout, pulling Miles along with me as I thunder down the road. “I said, Freeze!” The same loud voice booms and I force myself to keep running, this is my only chance to be free, my only chance to escape the torture. My mind races as I have memories of all the terrible things about this place. The large crowds of people, the disgusting conditions, the shared bathrooms, the disease. My life has lead to this escape, and I can't let some policeman ruin it, not with the life of Miles on the line. I pause for a moment, pull Miles onto my shoulders, then hold onto his ankles as tight as I can as I begin to swerve my way through the enormous crowd of people. “Stop in the name of the law!” The policeman booms and I shake my head. “I won't be taken alive!” I shout, jumping onto a market stall. “What's going on?!” Miles gasps, and I feel it's time I come clean. “I'm, a thief on the run.” I mutter hesitantly. “Genesis, for god's sake!” Miles sighs, I can tell he's disappointed. “I-i'm sorry.” I whisper, leaping from market stall to market stall. I finally see a large ship and gasp. “There it is, just a little further, Miles!” I shout, and I leap back into the ground and run. I look back, the policeman is far away, finally, I-we can be free. I get to the edge of the dock, and Miles slides off my back. “Stop where you are!” He caught up, somehow. I have 2 options: Run to the boat, and risk our deaths, or turn myself in, and let Miles run free. “Genesis, what are you doing?!” Miles gasps as I walk towards the policeman. “Good choice-Agh!” The man gasps as my hand collides with his face. “Run, Miles!” I shout, racing towards my friend, quickly going at his exact pace. “You are dead for that!” The man shouts, and after a few moments, I hear a gunshot. “Look out!” I scream, pushing Miles to the side, causing the bullet to graze my shoulder. Blood begins to spill out of the wound, and I hand Miles the bag of money, before grasping my wound. “Give the money to the captain, now!” I command, and Miles nods, doing exactly as asked. “Why are you boarding the ship?” The captain asks. I clamber my way to Miles's side, mind racing on reasons. “We are…Cooks! We were asked to be chef's on board this ship.” I explain quickly. The captain glares at us for a solid few minutes, before nodding. “Very well, welcome aboard! Your uniforms are in the steering room.” The captain smiles. We run onto the ship before the policeman can chase us in, and I can't help but sigh loudly. “Are you crazy?!” Miles shouts suddenly, glaring straight at me. “I'm sorry-” I begin, but trail off, unable to find the words to say. “You could've died, Genesis!” He shouts in my face, and tears gather in my eyes. “Is everything alright…?” A woman asks suddenly, and I turn my head, to see a tall girl, the baby cradled in her arms. “Yeah, just a… sibling squabble.” I reply quickly. “Yeah… Sibling squabble…” Miles nods slowly. “Ahh, maybe you should return to your parents.” The woman suggests, and my heart sinks. “Well you see, we're orphans…” I mutter shakily. Her smile fades, and a look of sympathy shines in her gaze. “I-i'm so sorry, I should've thought-” I smile. “Don't be sorry, it's a simple mistake people make.” I reassure her, and she sighs. “I too am an Orphan, come, I'll show you to the top deck, we can discuss things more... Privately.” She suggests. “That'd be great.” I smile. So Miles and I follow this stranger to the top deck, as the ship sets off for a new paradise. As the 3 of us get to a nice room on the top deck, I suddenly grasp hold of my stomach. “Are you alright, miss?” The lady asks. “Y-yeah, just… never been sailing before.” I mutter, slightly embarrassed. “Honestly, none of us have.” She chuckles. “Seriously?” I blink in surprise, Miles seems surprised too. “Yeah, we are all first timers here.” She grins. “Before I forget, could we get your name?” I ask quickly. “Oh, yes! My name is Mia.” She replies. “Mia... What a gorgeous name.” I sigh. “Oh, thank you..” Mia blushes. “My name is Genesis, and this is Miles.” I say. “It's so nice to meet you both!” Mia chirps happily. “Mia, could you escort us to steerage? That's where our tickets tell us to go.” I mutter. “Forget Steerage, you can stay in here, with me!” Mia offers. I look over to Miles, who shrugs. “That's so kind of you, Mia, thank you.” I Smile a little, but that's when I hear a loud banging on her door. “Chefs, your room is in steerage, you are not allowed on the docks!” A loud voice shots, ripping open the door at such a force I am afraid that it would come off its hinges. I sigh and walk out of the room. “Come to steerage tomorrow.” I whisper to Mia, who nods. The man escorts myself and Miles to our room in steerage, and I can't help but feel a wave of anger. “this is what you call luxury?” Miles snaps, his voice no louder than a whisper. “Don't blame me, blame the poster for lying.” I snap back. “Get in here, peasants, your job starts tomorrow.” The man orders, pushing us into a small, cramped room, and shutting the door. It takes a long while for Miles and me to settle down to rest, but we manage, unaware of what is to await us.
The journey
Day 1:
Our first day on the boat seems to go by quickly, though Miles and myself do not do much. We are woken up at 5 am by the ship’s captain, and ushered into a small room, containing tons of food, which sits next to another room, full of people cooking fresh meat, and heated bread. The first place we are made to give food to is the steerage, at the very lower levels of the boat. We go around from door to door, giving salted meat, dried potatoes, and oatmeal to the many cramped, tiny rooms that sometimes hold married couples, and sometimes hold single men and women. We also give 3.4 litres of fresh water to each passenger, though they only seem to go that once a day. Once our job is complete, we go back to our room, somehow being a room only for married couples, though I don't seem to mind, for Miles and I know that we are only close friends. Mia never seems to come and visit us, maybe she forgot us, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. Sleep seems to come quickly for us, for I am asleep by 12 pm, and awoken again at 6 pm, to give the next lot of food to the steerage passengers. Once again, it's Meat, Potatoes, and oatmeal. Somehow, however, once I return to my room, I can't seem to fall asleep. I toss and turn in my bed, being only a mattress and nothing more, the noise of the couple next door shouting taunts and threats at each other rings in my ears, making sleep just that more difficult. I finally go to sleep, at around 1 am…
Day 35
The days seem to be the same: Get up, give people food and water, lie around, give people food, go to sleep; But on this particular day, that seems to change. Miles and I do the usual: Give people in steerage their daily morning round of meat, potatoes, and oatmeal, as well as their daily 3 litres of water, but when I return to my room, someone is sitting on my bed. My mouth gapes open in the realisation of who it is, It's Mia, the girl I haven't talked to in over a month. I widen my eyes and rush over to hug her. “Long time no see, Genesis.” Her gorgeous voice rings in my ears. “It's been ages, Mia! What are you doing down here?” I ask, tilting my head. “I requested to be placed in steerage, I said I’d pay the captain if I could, and he allowed it,” Mia explains with a smile. “How much did you pay him?” The question falls off my tongue hesitantly. “100 pounds.” The answer causes me to gasp. “100 Pounds, that's tons of money!” I nearly shout, but I keep my composure. “I know, I know, but I'm here to ask if I can stay with yourself and Miles,” Mia asks quietly, cradling her child in her arms. I sigh, “Of course, but where will you sleep? Where will the baby sleep?” I have many questions, but I keep them to myself. “I'll sleep with you, I have a small crib placed right next to the beds, the baby can sleep in that,” Mia says, almost as though that even if I said no, she’d be staying. Sleep that night is a little easier than normal that night. Miles sleeps on the top bunk, and I sleep on the bottom bunk, with Mia, who sleeps closest to the crib, ready to comfort her child if it ever wakes up during the night. “Thank you,” Mia mutters. “No problem,” I reply sleepily before letting my eyes flutter close.
Day 120: the arrival.
I am awoken by a loud voice cry “Wake up, wake up!” Miles awakes first, then Mia, then myself. The loud voice of a stranger causes Mia’s child, who by now is 1, to cry. Mia picks him up and holds him close, as myself and Miles, walk towards the top deck, Mia behind us. Strangely enough, we are given permission to go up, and when we do, my mouth falls open at the sight. There before us stands a long piece of land, a seemingly long cloud hovering over it. The sight burns into my mind like an angel was just blessed me. “You weren't wrong.” Miles breaths out, his mouth too gaped open. “Look at it, New Zealand.” Mia sighs happily. “You see that Jack, our escape, our new home.” Mia bluffs to her son, who's stopped crying by this point. He just seems to stare at the sight, I wonder what he is thinking, is he surprised, impressed, excited? All these possible feels rush into my head, but I allow them to fade as a closer look at the country burns into me. I swear I can see small hut-like houses, like little villages, have people already inhabited the place? Are we not the first people here? Are there more British already on the island? All the possible questions and answers to them dance in my head, but it's then that the ship comes to a halt. “All right everybody, off one by one, doesn't crowd the exit!” The captain shouts, and one by one, we exit the boat. After 120 days of non-stop water, 120 days of terrible food, and little sleep, we can finally do as we please. Miles grips my hand as we exit, Mia close behind us, holding her son close. As my feet touch what feels like sand, I take a deep breath, allowing for the new smells to fill my lungs. “Finally!” I can't help but shout. “After so long, I'm free from the chains of England!” It takes all my might to not start dancing along the sand, but my heart races in my chest, nerves suddenly flushing into me. I feel my stomach churn, realising how much I miss the home I come from. I don't allow it to control me, however, as my excitement washes those feelings away. “What are we waiting for, Miles? Let’s go!” I usher him, Mia giggling behind us. “Yeah, let’s explore the place we now call home.” She too ushers. “Alright, alright.” Miles sighs eventually, smiling, and the 3 of us trail into what look like bush-land.
