story11703.xml

story11703.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2005-08-09

A few days before the attacks, a relative of mine died. Little did I know that actually saved two other of my loved ones lives. I was only 10 when the day came. My dad ( who works for the Port Authority and visits the Trade Center often)took the day off from work, to go to his cousin's funeral.Besides that, it was a very normal day. My brother and I walked to school together as always (he was only 8), not to mention it was a really gorgeous day. It was sunny, and warm. School had only started a week ago, so it wasn't such a pleasant thing to start off the year.The first clue that something was wrong, was that one of the teachers were crying. Second thing was one by one, people were going home. Third thing, is that we weren't able to go to outside for recess. That's when I knew something wasn't right. I lived right across the bay from the towers, so as we were walking to gym class we saw thick, black smoke through the window.It was so bad, it looked like a plane crashed right across the street from the school.I was still clueless about what was going on. All I heard were rumors about a plane crash.The teachers weren't allowed to tell us what was going on, but they were all informed. While I was at gym class, there was an announcement made that all students who usually go home for lunch, wouldn't be allowed to, and to report to the auditorium so they could find out why. That started to make me really nervous. Luckily someone in my class went home for lunch, so when he got back,I immediatley asked him what was going on. He so casually said that a plane crashed into The World Trade Center. I started to cry right after he told me, because my aunt and uncle work there, and practically my whole family worked for the Port Authority and vist the towers often. I was crying so much that a girl in my class pulled me out and tried to calm me down, and told me that everything was going to be okay. That kept me relieved, until I got to lunch.There were people crying everywhere,and kids at my table kept going home.I started crying again, and a teacher pulled me out, and took me to the nurse's office. She also told me that everything was going to be okay, and that we were safe in school. For the rest of the day at school, I felt alittle better. After lunch there were about 9 students left out of a 22 student class. We didin't do much for the rest of our time there. Our teacher just allowed us to talk and relax.At about an hour before school is supposed to get out, a teacher came and told us that all our guardians had been contacted, and we have to head to the auditorium. I was happy to go there, because I knew I'd see my younger brother. That would make me more relaxed to see that he was alright. I explained to him what was going on, and he luckily wasn't too upset, and said that his teacher let his class know about it, because she got a call on her cell phone about it, before the school even notified her. The principal then announced that there would be no school the following day. Everyone there was cheering, but it made me kind of worried. All my worries went away, when I saw my baby-sitter walk through the door. My brother and I ran out, but we didn't ask questions until we got into the car.Then I asked for the whole story. He told us everything, and that made me feel really good to know the whole truth, since there had been so many rumors going on at school. He told us about the terrorists and everything.That kind of scared me alittle, but I was glad to know the truth. I had a feeling they wouldn't take so much precaution if it was just an accidental plane crash. The thing that upsetted me the most was that he told me the buildings collapsed, and were gone!I didn't ask him if he knew about my family, because I'd rather hear it straight from my mom or dad. Once I got home I said hi to his wife, and ran to the phone to call my mom. My brother tried first, but they got disconnected. Then I tried, and I got through. It was so relieving to hear her voice. I asked her about my aunt, uncle, and anyone who might have been there. She said Thank God everybody was alright. They all went to the funeral for the cousin. I was so relieved, I skipped through the house and told everybody, but everybody already knew. Then I asked about my dad, and she said he was stuck in Staten Island since the Bayonne Bridge was closed, but he was with my aunt and grandma. As long as he was safee I was okay. We were with the baby-sitters at their house until around 7:30, and then my dad came to pick us up. Immediatley my brother and I ran to go give him a hug. We were so happy to see him. Then we went home, and I stood outside with some friends just starring at the smoke. My mom didn't get home until around 9:30. We were so happy to see her. We went to give her hugs too. It was hard to go to sleep at night, just thinking that this happened just a few miles away from us, and that my parents had to go back to work the next day! I don't think they slept all night. I think they spent it watching the news. All I heard them say was, " Wait until we find out who didn't make it". The next day, my parents dropped us off at the baby-sitter's house. Since we had no school, we spent the day watching the news, and reading the newspaper. There was not one page in there that wasn't about the events the previous day. This was going on world wide. It was only the next day I found out that The Pentagon was hit, and there was a crash in Penn. as well. That night my parents were just crying at all their friends they found out had died. I even knew some of them. The next few days were spent with family telling their stories about what happned to them. It was interesting to find out where they all were. The funny thing is that, I was so upset that my dad's cousin died, but his death wounded up saving some of my family's lives. I guess everything DOES happen for a reason. So I guess eventually, we'll find out why this happned. For know, all we can do is trust God, and think about that terrible day.