Disclaimer: Anything that has been written is just for the story. Most of this is about my thoughts on this tragic day but there is one part that I wrote which I do not believe is true and I only wrote it as part of the story. I do not judge everyone just by one event but I judge them as a person so the line that may affect people is not what I truly believe.
It was an early morning for Laura as she awoke in her hotel room exhausted from her meetings the previous day. Being a busy woman, working constantly with a minimum about of breaks sure brought a tole on her. Even though she was very stressed out and wasn't receiving a proper amount of sleep, she managed to appear well rested and stress free. But looks can be deceiving. She is in her mid-thirties and has light brown hair and pretty brown eyes. For her age, she looked good unlike some other colleagues of hers. But she was happy with what she had in life and didn't complain like some people she knew. She would ignore those remarks and continue her work.
As Laura opened her eyes, she could see the sun rising in the East. Quickly, she rose from her bed to catch a glimpse of this beautiful sight. When she did, she opened her phone and took a picture of it. Turning away, she glanced at the photo and smiled at the thought of capturing the perfect picture. It was a picture of beauty and innocence of life. Within that moment, she decided to send the picture to her fiance indicating her last memory of Boston.
Once she sent the photo, she went into the other room to take a shower. She wanted to smell appropriate for the long trip back to L.A. While in the shower, she reminisced about obtaining the last ticket for a direct flight out of Boston to L.A. She smiled at the thought of how lucky she was to get it. She wondered how it could have happened but knew not to boast on good things.
After her shower, Laura prepared for her flight by changing into a dark gray woman's suit pants and a stylish dark gray jacket. Under her jacket she wore a silk white shirt. As she was packing her belongings, she got a text message from her fiance, Mark. Opening the phone, Laura read the text that said, "Wow what a view! I wish I was there with you! I miss you love and I hope you have a safe flight. See you when you get back here. :)"
Smiling, Laura couldn't contain her enthusiasm from Mark's text. Sure it wasn't a long message but it was enough to make her feel warm inside. She hasn't seen him for quite a few days and reading that text from him made her even more aroused to head home.
Work was draining and being in her nice cosy bed next to the love of her life made everything seem to disappear. It gave her butterflies just thinking about it. In just a few hours she would reunite with Mark once again.
Laura finished packing and put final touches on outfit and makeup before she left her hotel room. When she thought everything was right and spot on, she grabbed her luggage and carry-on and opened the door. She took one final look at the room just in case if she missed anything. She carefully examined the room and did not see any of her belongings. Once she was certain about her items, she closed the door and headed for the main entrance.
She arrived to the main desk right before a crowd began to form. She was pleased to have waken up at such an early hour to beat the crowd to the desk. As she finished speaking to the clerk, she grabbed her things and headed for her limo that was waiting just outside the entrance door.
The driver opened the door for Laura and acquired her luggage. Closing the door, the man put her things in the truck and headed for the front of the car. Once inside, he started the engine and put the car in drive. He then stepped on the peddle and the car began to move. He followed the road until he reached the airport.
Arriving at the airport, Laura was eager to get onto the plane. She could not wait to see her fiance. She loves him so much and being away from him was a hard thing for her to do.
The man obtained her luggage and handed it to Laura. "You have a nice day now ma'am. Hope you have a safe flight."
Laura smiled and grabbed her luggage from the driver. "Thank you and I wish you well."
With a smile, the man nodded as he took off his hat in gratitude. He then turned away from her and made his way over to the driver's seat of the car. Laura on the other hand, entered the airport ready for her long trip ahead of her.
After going through security and luggage drop off, Laura was off to find her gate, which was Gate 17. Walking down the long hallway, Laura finally made it to her gate. When she arrived there, she searched for a chair to sit on. Glancing around the area, she noticed that there was a numerous amount of people that were boarding the same plane as herself. She never realized that the plane she was boarding could hold so many people.
Shaking the thought from her head, she finally found a single seat to sit on. Once she was settled in hear seat, she gazed at the people around her. Laura noticed a pair of suspicious looking men. The two of them were olive color and seemed to be always aware of what was going on. They seemed fidgety to Laura and she wondered why. She had this weird feeling in her stomach but she didn't let it get to her. She thought that she was just being paranoid.
As she was staring, one of the men caught her gaze and she quickly turned away blushing from the embarrassment. Unsure of what to do, she rapidly grabbed her book that she brought with her. Opening it up, she began to read where she last stopped.
Some time went by and the lady at the counter said into the speaker, "The plane has arrived. You will be shortly boarding. Thank you."
Relief came over Laura as she impatiently waited to board the play. After about five to ten minutes, the lady said over the loudspeaker, "Everyone grab your belongings and form a line to enter the plane. Thank you."
Once she finished speaking, Laura quickly jumped from her seat and attempted to get in the line early. With her speed, she easily made it in the front, behind the first few people ahead of her. When it was her turn to hand the ticket over, she did so and boarded the plane. She was in first class and sat in row 2, window seat, which was a good spot for her to be in. She loved the view of being high in the sky above everything just like a bird.
One by one Laura would watch as people passed her by heading to the seats behind her. She couldn't wait to be home. It was all she could think about. But it wasn't enough for her to make the time go by any faster. She then pondered on what to do. She thought she should get some sleep, but she was too eager to do so. In the end she decided to read her book once more.
While she read, the flight attendance ladies went through the proper instructions as to what to use incase of an emergency. Laura didn't pay much attention because she already knew all of the protocols. Once they were done, the pilot said to everyone, "Fasten your seat belts, we are about to take off."
Everyone listened and did as they were told. Then within five minutes, the plane began to back out of the boarding dock. The pilot then straightened out the plane and it began to pick up speed. It turned the wide corner and down the straight away we went. In just seconds, the plane was off the ground and into the air. Whenever this happened, Laura seemed to enjoy the lift off most of all on plane rides.
A brief while into the ride, Laura set down her book and gazed out the window. Outside, she saw the clouds below her and the sun just above them making it a beautiful sight. She smiled at the thought of it. Pondering on the view, she didn't think anything could go wrong. Then Laura closed her eyes while the sun beamed into her face illuminating her features.
Shortly after that, the two men that she saw at the gate unbuckled their seat belts and walked a few feet from their seats. There were two flight attendance women there, and the two men stood right in front of them. Seconds later, the women gradually fell to the ground and were motionless. Dead.
Horror appeared in the faces of the first class personnel, however, Laura was just in shock. She wondered how they could do such a thing to two innocent people. Once they murdered the two women, they entered the cockpit, each with a bloody knife in their hands.
Soon after they entered, on the loudspeaker, a voice spoke in an Arabian accent, "There is a bomb on the plane. Don't do anything stupid."
Everyone could feel the fear and tension in the air. But without warning, the plane went off of autopilot and the man flying the plane made a sharp turn causing people to shift around in their seats. While one of the men were in the cockpit, the other one exited it and examined the aircraft and the people that were on board. He had an evil smirk on his face that scared Laura tremendously.
As the man outside the cockpit stood there, she examined his physique. She noticed that there was Muslim writing tattooed on his skin. She wondered what it could mean but knew that it couldn't have been good considering the fact that he was here. Her eyes then gazed at the knife in his hand. It was quite small, small enough to pass through security, which was acceptable by the police. Clearly after this, that rule will be changed to protect the lives of many people.
Recalling herself sitting at the gate seating area, she realized that the man outside the door was the one who noticed her stare. He again caught her staring, but this time she did not turn away. She eyes him with anger and he kept a level head for sometime. He turned away first. Laura smiled at the thought and then perceived that she would most likely die. Unsure of how she was feeling, all she knew was that she didn't want to go down without a fight.
Turning around, Laura gazed at all of the passengers to see the fear in their eyes. She was the only semi-calm one in the plane. When she registered this, she knew that she had to be the one to make a difference and try her best to do something.
Right when she was about to speak out, the man inside the cockpit said on the loudspeaker, "Everyone move to the back of the plane. Now."
Quickly, everyone jumped out of their seats and practically ran towards the back of the plane. But Laura was the only one who slowed her pace. As she was walking towards the back, she glanced back at the guy who smirked as he watched the passengers scurry to the back as if they were deer running from the hunter. Shaking her head, Laura was appalled at his actions. She couldn't believe her eyes to see someone having no respect for anyone and kill someone as if it was no issue for them to do so.
After a while of standing in the back, she noticed the plane lowering closer to Earth. It didn't seem right because it was unsafe to fly at such low altitudes. Laura gazed out the window to see large, wide open fields. She wondered where they were but didn't have the slightest idea. Ignoring the thought, she turned to stared at the guy guarding the cockpit. Confused she thought to herself, "If there is only two men and one of them is inside, why aren't we trying to recapture the plane? We out number both of them. All we need is a couple of bags for protection and he done with."
Laura was going to plan this out with a few other people but no one dared to speak. They all shook in fear of the man. Pondering for a moment, she realized that the man only had a knife. He wouldn't be able to kill her unless he threw his weapon which wouldn't be smart. So she was about to walk forward but then hesitated for a moment. She then became aware that she was the only one that was going to do something, but it could change if everyone follows her fight back for the plane. With that thought in mind, she took a step towards the man with a smile. Laura could practically hear the gasps behind her. Ignoring the thought, she asked the man, "Hi there- oh I'm sorry, I don't know your name. Could you tell me?"
Pondering on her words, she regretted saying that exact statement. But disregarding her thoughts, she glanced over at the guy who didn't reply. Rolling her eyes, she said, "So what religion are you? I'm Catholic. It's a great religion that more people should follow. I mean it's such a peaceful religion unlike Muslim." She knew that her statement was untrue but she needed to aggravate the guy to get him to speak.
Her plan was right and the man spoke out saying, "Don't you dare say anything about my religion! Muslims are great people and this country deserves to perish in its evil ways."
"Why should the United States perish? I mean we are all free unlike some places I know of...I would rather be free then be forced to do something I don't want to do. The United State is a place where I know I will be safe because we have a government and military that is willing to do whatever to take down it's enemies. Just. Like. You." Laura stated.
His brows came close together as he became more irritated by the second. "No. The United States is a place of evil and deserve to die." The man snapped at me.
Sarcastically shaking her head, Laura gave a confused stare. "Really? You sure about that? I mean clearly since you are on this plane and your friend...or accomplice or whatever he is, you are going to die. Why risk your life for something so...stupid." Laura replied.
"I only live to serve Allah," the man answered.
"No. No you don't. You say that but I know that God would not want innocent people to die. I've learned about your religion in school and I know that Muhammad would not want his people to kill. It doesn't make sense. Just think, what if some country came and purposely killed your family. How would you feel? Bad right? Well if you have your little friend continue the route, that's how everyone's family is going to think when people die. You don't want to scar people for life now do you?" Laura questioned.
The man hesitated for a moment and replied, "I only live for Allah."
"You will never see God. You will burn in the fires of hell with the devil who is tempting you to kill people. God is ashamed of your actions. He already knows what is going to happen and he has already determined your fate. He gave everyone free will to decide for themselves to choose right or wrong. Clearly you made a mistake." Laura stated.
The man did not respond and looked away from Laura's stare. She smiled and new that she won this conversation. Even though she knew that he wasn't going to do anything, she wished it had. After she realized this, the smile left her face. She then grabbed her cell phone and called Mark. When he picked up the phone she told him everything that happened. He was surprised and she could tell that his tone of voice changed. Without asking, she knew that he had a good idea of how this would all end. She then said to him, "Honey, don't worry about me. It'll be fine. I promise you that. I love you and I always will. Stay strong and be safe."
Once she was off the phone, she noticed that others called their family and friends as well. Everyone knew how this was going to end and sadness came over her. She could hear people crying and others were throwing up from the bumpy ride. Laura tried to keep her cool but it was hard for her because nothing was okay.
After a long while, she noticed the plane lowering even more. She glanced out the window to see New York City in sight. Just as she done this morning, she waited for the perfect moment to capture a picture of the sight she was seeing. She realized that the North Twin Tower was heading closer and closer to view. Then she sniped a picture and sent it to her fiance. It was the last contact she ever made with him again.
While impatiently waiting for his fiancee to call or text her, he watched the news. Nothing major was going on until there was an update in New York City. All he saw was one of the twin towers has been crashed into by a plane. Horror came over him and he wondered what was going on with Laura. He then heard his phone go off. Running towards it, he quickly opened it up to see a picture message from Laura. He clicked the "okay" button and there he saw a picture of her fate. It was showing the World Trade Centers at a very close distance. He noticed that the plane was awfully low and at that time, he became aware of what happened to Laura, the love of his life.
Mark sat down in a nearby chair and couldn't believe what has happened to his fiancee. He thought of her coming home after a short trip in Boston. A tear trickled down his face and he was in shock from the news. He kept the television on and wanted to know what they were saying about the incident.
Glancing down at his phone, he looked at the first picture message that Laura sent to him. He closely examined it and realized that he saw her reflection in the window. He noticed the wide smile on her face, so full of life and determination. He smiled at the thought of her and that was one of the reasons he loved her. Her determination and confidence to do whatever she put her mind to was something he truly admired about her. He then began to cry because he lost her forever and there is nothing he can do to bring her back.
After a short while, there was another plane incident that crashed into the South Tower. He couldn't believe his eyes that someone or some people could go this length to terrorize people. While watching the news, the spokesperson said in monotone to the people, "After this second crash, it has been determined that this is an act of terrorism."
Mark put his head down and couldn't believe this awful tragedy going on. He wasn't the only one who lost a loved one. Many people died and are dying because of some people that put this cruel operation together.
Soon after that, there was another update on the news about the Pentagon having some issues. Mark watched carefully to see that a plane has also crashed into a building. The Pentagon was the center of the United States Department of Defense. Disappointment came over Mark. He then said out loud to himself, "How could the government let this happen? This is nonsense!"
One of the worst parts of all was when Mark watched the television screen to see people jumping out of the buildings from such high altitudes. It meant that they gave up hope and knew what their fate was going to be. Mark closed his eyes in distress from the sight. He felt remorseful for all of the trapped personnel in those buildings.
Then it was around 10:00AM and on the news, there was the worst, most terrifying experience the United States has ever seen. The South Tower collapsed less than an hour after it was hit. The videos that captured this sight was truly awful as each level of the building broke down and the South Tower began to decrease in size. Level by level the tower went down destroying many things along with it. All of the lives and innocent people were dead and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Later that day, around 10:30AM, the North Tower collapsed as well. Sadness filled Mark's whole body. He couldn't get over the fact that innocent lives were dying because of some people's thoughts and opinions. A person may believe in one thing but should not kill to make it right.
When all of the terrorism ended and the fires were put out, people still cried from the horror of it all. No one knew who did it and it was only a matter of time before war was going to begin. Mark didn't know what to think so he took a long jog for a few hours to clear his mind and to figure out how he could help out the nation and his fiancee. Soon enough, he thought that it would be an intelligent idea if he enrolled into the army. He wanted to do something for his country and get revenge on the people in charge of the attack.
The next day, President Bush declared war on terrorism and Mark knew that he was going to enroll and make a difference for the people in the United State. But as he was watching the news, the spokes woman was talking about all the people who were in New York City and the rest of the country because even though the terrorists killed almost 3,000 people, it brought the country together. There were many flags in people's houses, on their cars, in their hands, and all over the place giving support to those who lost their lives the day before. The terrorists must have not known that this would make us stronger as a nation and give us the motivation to destroy the people who brought such a tragedy to the country. Mark has never seen such a large amount of nationalism before in his life.
Even in the darkest of times, there is still light guiding people the way. The event that happened on September 11th, 2001 was a day that no one will forget. Innocent people lost their lives because of extremists. This day went down in history as the worst act of terrorism to this date. The horror of this day has made such a large impact on our country and changed the way we thought of the world.
The brave men and women fighting for our rights and freedom make huge sacrifices everyday and they are heroes for making a difference.
All the men and women that died on this day will be remembered forever. Due to this catastrophe, in the place where the towers stood now lies a memorial for the lost lives on that day. All of the firefighters and police officers that risked their lives to save others shows true courage and they were one of many heroes on that day. When someone knows where they are going during a crisis such as this day, it shows true bravery and heroism to do such a courageous act. They all are remembered for their great efforts to save the lives of the people trapped inside the Towers. This short story was written in memory of all those that died on that day. May God bless them and their families.