Wednesday, May 31, 2023

         It was just another day at work, elevators going up and down. I mean, who would want to take the stairs up 110 stories? I loved my work, but I hated how far it was. I despised how I had to take a plane to New York every week for this job. I was always away from my family. We knew we couldn’t buy a house or apartment down there. Not with our kind of money. 

        It was the weekend, and I had to go back to work the next day. Truthfully I couldn’t wait; I was getting a promotion. This was great since my family and I could finally move down. I had to leave early for work around 4 AM. My family was coming down a little after, around 6 AM. I got on the plane, landed around 5 AM, ate some breakfast, and went to work. 

        As I was at work my wife called me just before her flight took off, barely audible over the cacophony of the airport. “Hi, Honey, Blake got sick, so we had to take the later flight. We’ll be there around 8 AM.” 

        “Sounds fine, just glad he’s okay. I’ll see you then. Love you.” About an hour after that phone call took place, it was all over.

        I was finishing up some paperwork before I was about to leave. All of a sudden I heard the loudest bang I've ever heard in my life and screams coming from the floor above. I looked out the window as I saw debris falling from the building. As I looked up, I saw a Boeing 767 pummel into the North Tower with a deafening sound. I realized we were under attack. 

        People did not know what to do or what to think. At this point, I was trying to reach my family, but I had no bars. I looked over at one of my coworkers just sitting there not freaking out, just calm like nothing was happening. I went over. “What’s wrong with you? You trying to get out of here before we all die?” 

        “I have accepted,” she said. I was in shock to hear those words come out of her mouth. When I turned around she was gone. The bloody glass was broken when I saw my coworkers huddled around the window. I didn’t even want to look. I already knew what had happened. 

        Lips trembling, people crying, they were trying to find every little way to not suffer like the others. As I came closer to the window I had a bar. As soon as I saw it pop up on my phone right away I called my wife, phone ringing. “Crissy, Honey, can you hear me?” 

        “Yes, I’m right here, is everything okay? You don’t sound too great.”

        “I’m not! We're under attack, a plane just hit the North Tower.”

        “Get out of there right away! Are you trying to get out?”

“Crissy, I’m on the 70th floor. There’s no getting out now.” Connection failed.

        The debris was getting worse. It was highly toxic and getting harder to breathe. Will I make it another day to see my family again? 

         I woke up feeling a burning sensation on my left side. Everybody around me was dead; it was like a nightmare. Where am I? I didn’t understand. Who are these people around me? Where’s my family? The building was in perfect condition. How? Why? The only thing that was making me go was the thought of seeing my family again. I ran and ran down the stairs, finally making it to the bottom. 

        I looked outside, but no one was there. Nothing was there. I layed down, still feeling the burn on my left side, water dripping from my eyes. I have accepted.




-Brooke L. 





4 comments:

  1. The story came alive in this story because lots of people were hallucinating after this event happened. It was an awful time, and people woke up, and were badly injured. When people woke up they didn’t even know what had happened. I also can tell this event was 9/11 because you used “the North Tower '' which was one of the twin towers. Overall I think your central idea was accepting, and or, finding yourself. The whole introduction/ first paragraph of your story the main character hasn’t found himself much. He kinda lived a boring life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I noticed that your story is taken place in 2001, the 9/11 attacks. I found that due to a historical Allusion, “The North Tower.” When you approached your coworker and asked her what is she was doing. And she said, “I Have accepted.” I could really feel that it was in real life. I like how you also used the same line in the last paragraph, it makes a wonderful connection.

    ReplyDelete
  3. From my perspective I think your central idea is letting go and accepting although it might not be the happiest I still think its the central idea. I thought of this central idea after hearing the same phrase being repeated in different words. One spot was at the end, the very last paragraph. You go “ I looked outside, but no one was there. Nothing was there. I layed down, still feeling the burn on my left side, water dripping from my eyes. I have accepted.”

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brooke, I think you really brought out the topic of your story when you said, “As I looked up, I saw a Boeing 767 pummel into the North Tower with a deafening sound,” you used good detail such as, “I layed down, still feeling the burn on my left side, water dripping from my eyes. I have accepted,” really gave me the chills and also made me think. When you brought out how planes crashed into the towers, and everyone was crying and freaking out, I could tell that that was your main idea of your story. You made it feel like real life.

    ReplyDelete