One Day After

by Shirley Ann Burton

Angie is out for a morning walk when a newspaper flies into her face. The date on the newspaper: September 12, 2001.

One Day After
By: Shirley Ann Burton

The Anytime Disclaimer:
The Magician, and all other related material, are copyrighted by Gaumont Multimédia. You know about the use of Angela Jacobs by now. However, Jas Lee is Casey Toh's character, and I did receive permission to use her in this story. This is my reflection about what I went through on September 12, 2001.
NOTE:
There are three parallel worlds being used in this story, and two of them have not had this occur. I want to clear this up now before you start reading it.

On a bright sunny day in Electro City, Ace Cooper and his friends sat outside of the Magic Express, all enjoying a barbecue lunch.
Angela Jacobs, training magician and superb chef, had cooked plenty of steaks and vegetable kabobs for everyone to enjoy.
Lt. Derek Vega and Ms. LeSage had a day off from work at the police department, although Vega had to keep his beeper with him under orders from the chief, Capt. Friedrichs.
"Angie," said a very satisfied Vega, "this steak is delicious! So well done and so good!"
His secretary agreed. "Mmm, mmm. I have never had steak this good, not even from the Scorpio."
Cosmo, longtime apprentice and technological wizard of Ace's "family" also found the kabobs very appealing. "Wow, grilled vegetables have an awesome taste!"
Ace went up to Angie, who continued keeping the food hot. "Angie, this barbecue is a success. I think it was a wonderful idea to have it here. Our own private spot, our closest friends, and nothing to worry about today."
"Yeah," said a happy Angie, "no show for a couple of weeks, and a beautiful day to do a cookout."
Victor Raven, Angie's boyfriend, enjoyed the food as well. "This is so scrumptious. This food could easily outdo any of the mall's restaurants."
Angie smiled at him. "Aw, you're just saying that."
"No, really. You learned so much from your mother."
Mona Malone, Ace's girlfriend, was unable to attend the barbecue, as she had to prepare to sing that night at her father's Croesus Palace casino.
"I need to make sure I save some of the food for Mona," said Angie. "I think someone was supposed to be here to pick up the food."
To their surprise, Spade and Diamond had arrived in their car.
Spade stepped out and said, "Um, hi. We're here to pick up the food for Mona."
Angie took the kabobs and a well-done steak, placed the food on a paper plate, and wrapped the plate in some aluminum foil. "You sure you won't eat it first, Spade?"
"Ha ha ha, very funny, Jacobs." He then took the plate and chuckled as he went back into the car.
In seconds the two men sped away in their car, while Angie hoped Spade would not eat the food before it got to Mona's home.
Ace reassured her. "Don't worry, Angie. If Mona doesn't get that food, she said her father would punish him pretty good. Plus, one phone call to either me or Jack does make Spade very nervous."
"Yeah, true. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day, since you never know what tomorrow could bring."
"Right."
The second Ace left her side, Angie suddenly felt a strange chill going down her back. What the—? What's this weird feeling?
In her mind, fuzzy visions came to her, but they were so blurry she was unable to tell what was happening. I can't tell what's going on. They're going so fast. She then decided not to worry about it. Nah, it's probably just me. Maybe I'm just excited about the new act we're working on for that show in a couple of weeks. Angie smiled and went back to her cooking again.
Little did she know those fuzzy visions were about to lead to something no one would believe…no one in her world, that is…

**The Next Morning**

Angie was calmly meditating in her room as she spoke to her deceased parents, like she had always done every morning to help her prepare for the day.
"Good morning, Mom n' Dad."
"Morning, sweetie," said her dad Robert. "I guess the barbecue went very well yesterday."
"Yes, it did. And Spade didn't eat the food. Mona phoned me last night that the food was wonderful. If Spade ate it before it reached her, her father was gonna punish him but good."
Nancy, her mother, chuckled in delight. "Well, her father is a big boss, so I wonder if the punishment was going to be cement shoes and being thrown in the water."
"Right," said a laughing Angie. "Boy, oh, boy, I'm so excited about the new act we're working on, maybe too excited. I was having all these nutty visions yesterday. I mean, they were racing so fast, they were hard to tell."
"Hmm," said Robert, becoming slightly concerned. "Did you tell Ace about them?"
"No. I don't think they mean anything in all honesty."
"Well, okay. Maybe you're right. Sometimes being very excited about something can bring on some strange sights. I guess I'm worrying too much."
"Dad, that's what parents are for, constant worrying."
Nancy giggled. "Oh, Angie, ever since you joined up with Ace and Cosmo, you've become more outgoing, not the shy quiet girl we raised. We're so happy you have a place where you can open your feelings instead of bottle them inside."
"That is so true. I don't feel so alone anymore. I'm grateful to them, and to you for being there for me."
"You know we'll always be there for you, honey. We sometimes worry ourselves too much about you."
"I understand, Mom. Parenthood is never an easy thing. Well, I need to wake up. The morning is feeling breezy, which is perfect for a walk."
Robert smiled. "Okay, honey. You have a good day, okay?"
"I will. I love you both."
Her parents hugged her. "We love you, too, Angie."
Angie awakened from her meditation and sent a thought to Ace. I'm gonna head out for a morning walk.
Good. Exercise will do some good both physically and spiritually. How long you need?
I'll be back in a half-an-hour.
Okay.
She then got dressed in some sweats and walked out of the Magic Express.
The morning sun was coming up as she felt the comfortable breeze running through her light brown hair. "Ah," she said after taking a deep breath. "It's so nice this morning. I don't think anything could go wrong today."
Just then, the breeze suddenly became stronger, and as Angie had a struggle to move forward, something flew into her face. She was able to stop herself from falling down by leaning against a nearby tree.
The breeze quickly lightened up, leaving Angie a little restless as she took whatever landed on her face off it. "Oh, boy, me and my big mouth," she said sarcastically. "Forecast didn't call for any gusty winds today."
She then noticed the object in her hand. Normally, her telemetric power would come to life, yet it did not happen this time mainly because no one had touched the object as of yet. "Hmm, this looks like a newspaper."
Unraveling the paper she saw a very odd picture on the front page. Curiously she asked herself, "What's this? It looks like…two skyscrapers on fire." She then noticed a radio antenna on top of one of them. "Wait a minute. It couldn't be…" She then read the headline in huge letters. "September 11, 2001: Pearl Harbor for the 21st Century. How weird. This newspaper's dated on the next day, the 12th. I wonder why my telemetry didn't kick in this time. Someone must've owned this newspaper before."
Feeling very unsure of herself, she decided to go back to the Magic Express.
A few minutes later, she quickly entered Ace's home, much to Cosmo's surprise. "Whoa, Angie, what's the rush?" he asked after noticing Angie's rapid movement towards the computer room.
"No time to explain, Cosmo," she said in panted breath. "I need Angel's help on this."
He followed behind her, wanting to understand what had suddenly made her anxious.
Angie entered the computer room first. "Angel, I need you to analyze something, please."
The purplish-pink dodecahedron appeared in front of Angie. "What would you like me to look at?"
"This newspaper. It's dated September 12, 2001, but I need you to check its authenticity."
"Put it on my scanner, and I will examine the newspaper carefully."
Cosmo was very curious. "What's up with a newspaper dated from more than 30 years ago?"
"That's one of the weirdest things about it," Angie stated as she placed the paper on Angel's scanner. "It's dated that long ago, but it looks like it was just printed this morning. Most papers from that far back would be yellow and worn by now."
"Hmm." He saw the large-print headline. "Pearl Harbor…the Naval base in Hawaii attacked without warning by the Japanese on December 7, 1941?"
Angie was surprised by the young man's knowledge. "How do you know about Pearl Harbor?"
Cosmo stared at Angie with a smirk. "Angie, I did learn more than just technology in my times at school."
"Sorry, Cosmo," Angie giggled. "Didn't mean anything."
"It's cool." He then saw the strange image. "No way…the World Trade Center's famous Twin Towers on fire?"
"You know about them, too?"
"Mm-hmm. Watching that Thanksgiving Day parade helps me learn more about New York City."
"And they say television has no educational value anymore."
The two friends chuckled in fun with that jab.
In less than two minutes, Angel completed her analysis of the mysterious newspaper. "This newspaper is truly authentic. The inks on this were made this morning, yet it is dated more than 30 years in the past."
Ace then walked into the room. "Angie, I sensed something uneasy from you. What's going on?"
"This newspaper flew into my face in a sudden gust of wind while I was walking. This looks like an historic newspaper, but Angel says it was printed just this morning. Plus, no telemetric impressions. How can that be?"
"You mean no one has touched this newspaper?"
"No."
"How strange."
"No kidding."
Ace then saw the strange picture on the front page. "Those skyscrapers…the two tallest towers of the seven-building World Trade Center complex in New York City. I went there once. Angel, is there any history of the Trade Center towers ever being on fire?"
"None whatsoever, Ace. There is no recorded history about the towers ever being on fire here."
Cosmo then noted, "Wait a sec…what if this newspaper came from another world?"
Angie looked at him strangely. "That's not possible, Cosmo. How can a newspaper come from a different world?"
"Well, remember, people have been known to cross worlds before."
"True. Perhaps objects can do that as well."
Ace walked around the room. "This paper must have come from a different world, but which one?"
Angie sat in the chair and said, "Good question."
"Um, Ang," said Cosmo, "don't you have the ability to sense someone in each of two dimensions?"
"Yeah, I do, but I can only communicate with Shirley in her world. I've never tried it with Jas."
Ace looked at her and said, "Why don't you give it a try? Perhaps you can contact Jas Lee in her dimension."
"How?"
"Close your eyes."
Angie did so without hesitation. "Now what?"
"Just relax, and let yourself go."
She took calm deep breaths and started feeling herself going somewhere else.
"Now, just call out to her."
Angie's inner voice then took over. Jas…Jas Lee…can you hear me?

**Jas Lee's World**

In the same Magic Express…in another dimension, a young woman with blond hair practiced her karate in the training room. She did a series of jabs and roundhouse kicks against a giant sandbag.
Since she joined the Magician a couple of years earlier, Jas Lee had found a home where she was able to love and be loved by caring friends.
Not too long ago, a dimensional rift allowed Jas to meet Angela Jacobs in a mirror world. The two young ladies became very close friends, helping each other through their tough times. They braved facing two Sonny Boys, Black Jacks, Spades, Diamonds, one Faceless, and fear gas which nearly took Angie's life.
With their friends, Angie and Jas overcame their personal adversity and were able to stop all the villains together, especially Faceless.
Strangely, they were worlds apart yet were able to sense each other…each one's pain, each one's thoughts. They never did communicate before, but that was about to change.
"Yah!" Jas yelled out as she kicked hard into the sandbag.
Jas…Jas Lee…can you hear me? asked a female voice.
"Huh?" the young woman gasped while startled. "Who's there?" She got herself quickly into a defensive position.
Jas, relax. It's me…Angie.
"Angie…in your world? How can this be?"
We are still able to feel each other, Jas. I have made contact with you because I need to ask you something rather important.
Jas closed her eyes to communicate mind-to-mind with her friend in another world. Okay, Angie. What do you want to know?
I need to know if your world has any history of the World Trade Center's two tallest skyscrapers ever being on fire.
On fire? What do you mean?
I'll explain in a moment, Angie thought anxiously. Just trust me, please.
Jas reassured her. Don't worry, Angie. I do trust you. I'll ask Angel about it.
She opened her eyes and called out to the computer. "Angel, need some info, please."
"I am at your disposal, Jas. What information do you seek?"
"Is there any history of two tallest buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City ever being on fire?"
After about 10 seconds, the AI had an answer. "No. There is no incident in our history of the 'Twin Towers' engulfed in flames."
Jas then had another idea. "What about the movies?"
"No, no movies have been made about that situation, either."
"Okay, thanks, Angel." Sorry, Angie. No such situation has ever occurred here. Now, can you please tell me what this is about?
Angie thought to Jas about the mysterious newspaper, the headline, and the strange picture. It's dated September 12, 2001. However, since it's not your world, I know which one it is now.
Which one? What do you mean?
I can communicate with another person in her world. Where she is, I am the one she created.
Incredible, Jas thought. You can make contact with me in my world and your creator in hers. That's amazing.
Yes, but this would also explain a lot.

**Angela's World**

Back in Angie's world, Ace took the newspaper and looked past the front page. "Hmm, this appears to be some kind of timeline for what happened. I—" He stopped because he saw an even more disturbing image. "No…it couldn't have happened."
Cosmo saw the grave look on Ace's face. "What's wrong, dude?"
"Look at this picture."
The young man looked at what looked like a blooming flower. "No way! Both towers!?"
Angie herself was still in contact with Jas. I appreciate your help, Jas. I'm sorry if I disturbed you in any way.
It's okay, Angie. You didn't know which dimension the paper came from, so you wanted to check all the possibilities. Besides, it's nice to hear from you again.
Same here, my friend. I miss you a lot.
So do I. However, we're still connected by the power within both of us. We are friends forever.
Yes, we are, Angie thought with a smile. Maybe we can talk more often…under less wacky circumstances.
True, true. Well, I'm waiting for Ace and Cosmo to come back with some goodies. They miss your cooking.
Why am I not surprised? I'd better go for now. So long, Jas, and thanks again.
So long, Angie. Take care of yourself.
The link between the two friends faded, and Angie opened her eyes with her smile growing wider.
Ace looked at Angie. "Any luck?"
"Nope. It's not Jas's world. She checked with Angel there and said there was nothing in their history."
"Well, um, I don't know if you'll believe this." He gave her the newspaper. "Look at the two pictures on page 2."
Angie looked and gasped in shock as her smile changed to one of horror. "It's not possible…both towers collapsed!?"
"Yes, and according to the timeline, the two towers were struck by huge jet liners…on purpose."
"WHAT!? You mean two planes deliberately crashed into both towers?"
"It seems that way. The headline makes a lot more sense than it did a couple of minutes ago."
"Yes…and now I know which world this has happened in. I have to make contact with Shirley in her world right now." Angie closed her eyes and quickly focused her heart to find her creator's. "I feel…shock, disbelief, pain, and sadness in her heart. It is her world." Shirley, it's me, Angie. Please hear my thoughts.

**My World**

I was at home during the week because I volunteered for the "one-week layoff" situation, which occurred when the workload was so low. At least one person would volunteer to take one week from work to have a regularly sustained backlog.
Sleeping in felt very comfortable, and I was doing fine, but it all went bad by about 8:15 that Tuesday morning. I was just flipping channels on the television set when I noticed a very odd sight: a World Trade Center building on fire. At first I thought it was a movie, but then realizing the cameras and the reactions of the reporters, it was no movie. I then thought it was some kind of accident, a probable plane accident.
As I saw footage of the second plane, though, I realized this wasn't an accident after all…it was pure terrorism. After telling Mom about the situation, I decided to try getting my mind off this seemingly growing nightmare.
Things grew progressively worse for the next couple of hours, as reports of two more hijacked planes were being broadcast, including one reporter getting a very close call with one of the planes, especially where he was reporting.
Then, just as things couldn't get any worse, I went back to the news again, and noticed something seriously wrong: One of the towers was no longer in view. I didn't know that first one crumpled to the ground at the time.
I did see the second one go down live, and that was one of the scariest things I had ever seen on television.
I e-mailed Frances Marshall, asking her if she were all right, since she was busy at school. I had never felt that vulnerable in my entire life.
That night, sleep was literally out of the picture, and in all honesty, I felt like a jinx. For the second time, I had taken a week off from work, and something bad happened. First was Rocky's sudden death, and now this! "I hope I never take a week off from work again!" Despite the madness, I did manage to get about two hours of sleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I really hoped it was nothing more than just a horrible nightmare. Reality did set in, though, after I saw the skyline on television, with no towers.
I was sitting in my bed, trying desperately to get away from the news.
It was then I heard someone's voice in my mind. Shirley, it's me, Angie. Please hear my thoughts.
"Angie?"
Yes. Shirley, I know about what happened in your world…yesterday.
"You do? How?"
A newspaper came into my world with today's date from your world on it. It is September 12th, right?
"Yes, it is," I responded slowly. "I wish this were just a nightmare."
I know you're very scared right now, she thought to me calmly. I want to come to your world and talk to you. Is that all right?
"Sure, it's okay. Mom's outside working on her plants right now."
Stay in your room. I'm coming.

**Angie's World**

The female magician opened her eyes and looked at her friends. "Shirley could use a little help right now, so I'm going to her world."
"Want us to go with you?" Cosmo asked.
"No, no need to go. I think right now she's trusting only me. No offense, guys."
Ace smiled. "Understandable, considering she's been through the most horrible day in her world's history. Perhaps it's best if you go by yourself and just comfort her."
"Right."
As quickly as she spoke, a portal mysteriously opened up in the middle of the living room…directly into my room in my world. "See you later, guys. Oh, and check that newspaper for any other information about this situation."
"You got it, dudette," Cosmo responded.

Angie then walked through the portal and into my room. She noticed my nightgown. "Hmm, same one you wore when Rocky passed on," she said sadly.
"I'm jinxed," I stated in near tears.
"What are you talking about? Why do you think you're cursed?"
"It's my week off from work, and something bad has happened again! I am a jinx!"
Angie sat down at the edge of my bed, seeing I was still in my blanket. "Shirley, just because something bad's happened on your week off form work for the second time doesn't make you a jinx. The timing was just bad, that's all."
"That's just it. It's me. I swear if they want a voluntary layoff for a week, I'm going to do something to steer clear of doing that again."
"Shirley…if the workload gets too low, someone has to take a week off, right?"
"Yes, but still—"
"Stop. Now I know this is a major tragedy…something that has never happened in my world."
"I know, and now I'm having major league writer's block, too."
Angie became curious. "What do you mean? You're stuck?"
"Yeah, but it's not the current story, it's one I have been planning to do in the next couple of months, where your darkness finally surfaces."
"Oh, that one."
"Yeah…I had planned on having you be kidnapped and taken to a government scientist working in the Pentagon in Washington, DC."
"The Pentagon?" Angie asked excitedly. "Cool! I would be a prisoner in the world's longest office building?"
"Yes, and I was pulling everything together to write it…until the Pentagon itself was attacked yesterday."
"No…the Pentagon, too?"
"It was hit by another jet liner."
Angie didn't want to believe me, so she made psychic contact with Ace. Shirley said the Pentagon was also struck! Can you please check the newspaper to confirm that?

Back in the Magic Express, Ace heard Angie's message and immediately checked the paper. "Let's see, Pentagon…Pentagon…Penta— oh, no." He saw the damage done in another photo.
Cosmo looked at the image and then shook his head. "Unbelievable…three targets in under an hour."
Angie, Ace thought to her, Shirley's exactly right. The Pentagon was hit by another jet liner, and a part of it fell, too. There's one last report of a fourth plane, but it went down somewhere in Pennsylvania. The prelim reports are saying some of the passengers resisted the hijackers and prevented the plane from reaching its target. What that was, we may never know.
Angie couldn't believe it was true. Now Shirley is in a bad writing predicament. She was going to write me being kidnapped and taken to the Pentagon. She's stuck.
Let me try something. Ace then made contact with me. Shirley, can you hear me?
I decided to respond by thought before Mom could hear me talking to myself and thought I was crazy. Yeah, I'm here.
Shirley, listen to me. I can understand you won't be able to write for a little while, but you can't let what happened stop you from going on with your life. You and millions of others will be grieving for a very long time. However, the people who were responsible for these horrible acts want you to stop living and hide.
I…I know. I need some help in how to do the story in Washington without causing people to get upset. I know I can no longer use the Pentagon, period. To me it would be very disrespectful for those affected by this.
That's understandable. Right now, though, you need time to grieve, and then start to heal.
"If there's one thing I'm not about to do, it's letting those responsible get to me. The best way to beat them is for me to just live my life."
Angie smiled and said, "Good for you. I know you'll break down and cry to yourself ever so often, but remember that we're always here for you whenever you need a friend to talk to."
"And my online friends, too. I know I'm not alone, and I don't want to live in fear. Doing that means they win without lifting a finger."
"Right. Will you be okay now?"
"Well, all I can do is try to be okay. I mean, this has never happened before."
"And…we all pray that it will never happen again."
We both looked at the television screen at the famous New York City skyline…only this time, two famous landmarks were no longer standing there.
I did break into tears. "Why did this happen? I thought in this day and age the world would basically be at peace."
Angie embraced me for comfort. "Shirley, there could be hundreds or thousands of reasons for this. It would be nice to live in a perfect world…but we don't, and we never will. Somewhere in the world, someone has a grudge against someone else for some reason. All we can do is just try to live our lives the best way we can, without fear."
"This is one thing magic can't fix," I said sadly.
"It would never be able to. Magic can't alter history, no matter how badly some people would want it to make the world a better place."
"Angie…thanks for being here with me. And, you, too, Ace."
I'm always here for you, and so are Angie, Cosmo, Zina, and the others. You are not alone, and we won't let you feel that way, ever. It's a terrible wake-up call for everyone, knowing now that no one is invulnerable. I know we'll see you again, and probably soon.
"I appreciate that, Magician. Thanks."
Angie then released her hug and looked at her watch. "I need to get back. We have a performance coming up in two weeks, and we're trying to perfect our grand finale."
I dried my eyes out and said, "Sure thing, Ang. I'm glad you came."
"I'm glad you're all right, but I will be thinking about the people who lost their lives yesterday for quite a while."
"So will I, Ang. So will I."
The portal reopened in my room and led back to the living room in her world. "Take care of yourself, Shirley, and live your life to the fullest."
"Same to you, Angela."
Angie walked through the portal and was soon back in the Magic Express living room again.
When she fell into the sofa, she started sobbing.
Ace, Cosmo, and Zina walked in and comforted her as best they could.
"Aw, it's okay," said Cosmo calmly. "We looked at the paper and just couldn't believe what happened. Will Shirley be all right?"
"I don't know," she said. "All she can do is take this one day at a time, like everyone else in her world. She understands what has happened and will not forget it, but she won't stop her life because of this tragedy."
Ace handed her a handkerchief and allowed her to dry her eyes. "The people in Shirley's world have been through something very catastrophic, and it will take a long time for this deep wound to heal. I think the people in her world will be able to find productive ways of dealing with what has happened. They'll pull through this somehow."
"I hope you're right, Ace," Angie said seriously.
"Trust me, Angie. They will get through this."

Epilogue:

In the days that followed, there was a national day of prayer and remembrance, as well as a weekend to reflect, especially since there were no sports events taking place. That was perfectly all right with me, as I decided to look at a tape showing a courageous football player coming back from being paralyzed almost a year to the day.
Watching Adam Taliaferro running onto the football field, I was moved to tears because it was something to celebrate. It also helped me realize that things happened before September 11…good things, things to smile about. What jumped into my mind included seeing sisters Venus and Serena Williams face each other in the U.S. Open Tennis finals, Barry Bonds' pursuit of the home run record, and the madness of college basketball in the month of March.
By that Friday night, the news to me had actually become repetitive, and I was ready for a change in the scenery. I was so happy to see Digimon on Saturday morning, which meant things were actually starting to return to normal…in a new sense of the word.
When I returned to work the following Monday, I wondered if the people at work knew about what happened, as I assumed they didn't know until the afternoon. The supervisor said that they saw everything happen live, since the plant manager had a television set in his office.
Three weeks after that day, I was finally able to solve my writing crisis, thanks to watching a Sailor Moon S DVD and looking through the Sailor Moon Art Book. Even though I was working on a different story at that time, at least I could write again.
I understood that I needed to get on with my life, starting with not thinking too much about September 11. The events would forever be a part of me, but I wouldn't let them stop me from living. If only I could have gotten Mom to stop nagging the news on me, though…

The End

This is my own perspective about 09/11. I didn't want to get into far too much detail about the events, as it would have been upsetting to some. Like I have always done, I like to reflect my feelings through what I write. I am living my life as normally as possible, and accepting that what has happened can't be changed but can be put into perspective about how precious life really is.