I remember that horrible day very well. When the show the footage, I can
still feel the fear crept up on me and hold my heart hostage all over
again. You see, my cousin was in there. My frail looking, sensitive, yet
tough cousin, Susan was standing right there when the planes hit. And no
one in my family knew where she was.
Let me start at the beginning. Two months earlier, my father fell victim to cancer. He fought for several years and was tired of fighting. He wanted to rest. The whole family gathered around him including our cousins. He gave each of us advice and made us promise to do something for him. He asked me to follow my dreams but to still stay on the ground. My cousin David was asked to quit smoking. You know the normal stuff. But Susan got a very different request. I remember his wording exactly, because it was so strange so specific.
"Susie," he said, "I want you to spend time with your son. Stay home with him in September when the schools start. Especially the first two weeks."
Susan was very surprised and asked my dad to explain. My father just closed his eyes and slipped into a coma without saying a word. The next day, he died.
So the funeral had come and gone. It was beautiful since all the local fire departments planned it. My father was the local fire commissioner so they gave him a firemen's funeral. August flew past as I tried to help my mother and sister with the pain. I knew he was dying for awhile and grieved during that time because I knew my mother would need me to be strong. Soon it was September and I went back to school at Niagara.
September was upon us and most of us forgot my father's warning. My cousin Susan kept going to work in the area around Twin Towers. I was studying at Niagara to become a teacher. I just need one more class in order to graduate and was meeting with the Dean at 9:00 am on September 11th.
I woke up with a start to my phone ringing. The dean was calling to cancel my appointment. Something had come up. She didn't say what it was and I didn't ask. I had a class at 9:30 and was cutting it close. After hanging I got ready and went to class. As soon as I entered Dunleavy, one of friend grabbed my arm and was dragging to the Media Resources Room. His mouth was going a mile a minute and my sleepy mind couldn't comprehend. Something about a plane hitting a building. I nodded slowly while trying to figure it out. Then I saw it.
On a hundred TVs, were the images of a plane hitting one of the towers. The other on was already smoking. I stood in shock. My friend turned to me when said, "This is a movie, right?"
"No, Krissi, this is going on right now." He responded, "Don't you have cousins in New York."
Oh my God, Susan! I turned and ran out of there. My backpack was still on the floor where I dropped but I didn't care. I had to find a phone. I needed to get to my room.
I cut through the student union to get to my room quicker. Several of my friends shouted out to me, but I ignored them, I had to find a phone. As I reached my dorm, my friend Gretchen was standing there with a phone in hand. I stopped and she gave it to me.
"Your mom just called. She sounded panicked." Gretchen told me.
I didn't answer her, but snatched the phone and began to dial my mom's work number. As it rang, I began to fidget around. Please, God, let her be okay. When my mom picked up, I didn't even wait for her to finish her greeting.
"Is Susan okay? Please say she's okay." I begged.
"Krissi, they can't find her. No one knows where she is. I'll call you when I know more." My mom stated gently, "Aunt Michelle wants to call David in Boston and check on him. You are the closest to him."
"Yes, mom." I remarked softly and hung the phone. I could feel the tears begin to form. I couldn't cry, not yet. I had to talk with David first, make sure was okay. The conversation was the hardest that I had to make. David was beside himself with worry and doubt. He kept on how he should have insisted that she come and visit him during the downtime. I listened with a patient ear and then he remembered something.
"Kris, do you remember what Uncle Bob told Sue before he died?" David asked. I wracked my brain before remembering that cryptic message. David waited for my confirmation before continuing, "Do you think he knew?"
Before I could answer him, Gretchen walked up to me with her arm around one of our other friends. Her expression was very grim.
"The towers just fell. They don't think anyone could have survived. I'm sorry." Gretchen reported.
That afternoon, I waited by the phone for some word from my mother. Gretchen's room became the make shift refugee camp. Everyone came in and out with food or word about what was going on. My school went into a lock down, but not before half the school was cleared out. Those that stayed either lived locally or lived too far away. Gradually, we began to get word about the missing in New York. My friend Ian, a commuter, stayed to be with me as did my best friend Dino who I knew growing up. They knew I had barely survived losing one family member and weren't sure how I would handle other. So we waited for the phone to ring. I could hear people calling in the hallway over the confirmed lost. I was envious of them at least they knew. In my mind, I feel their pain and wanted to help ease it. But I was barely together myself.
"I want my father." I whispered, "I want him to be here. I want him to make me laugh. I want my daddy!"
Dino gave me a hug and said, "Krissi, Your cousin needs him more right now."
"I know, but I just want him back."
Then the phone rang. Gretchen picked it up and handed it to me. I felt every eye in the room on me as I talked with my mother. I hung up the phone and smiled.
"Susie is okay. She just made it out and is currently stuck in New Jersey."
Everyone cheered in the room. I leaned back and closed my eyes. One thought passed through my head, "God, when you see fit to punish whoever did this, please make the worst thing you have ever done. Put the ten plagues to shame for all that have died."
Then I show an image in my mind of a young woman dressed in black crying red tears as she walked among the debris of the World Trade Center. Strapped across her back was a scythe and knew who she was. I opened my eyes to see my friend Dino giving me an odd look. I flashed him a smile and said, "I just had an idea for a story."
My cousin Sue came for a visit to Rochester to get away From MYC and the memories of that day. It seems she was just walking in the building when the first plane hit. The security ushered her to the stairwell and told her not to worry. But she did, even though she was there in 1993 when the place was bombed. Something told her to get out while she could. When the second plane hit she remember what my father said and ran out of the building. She was barely out of the Center area when they came down. She ran all the way to Battery Park and got on to one of the ferries to New Jersey. She swears that she could my dad's voice saying smart girl as she watched the events unfold from the ferry. Even to this day, she still jumps when she hears any planes. Her building collapsed during the collapse of the North Tower.
Oh, the image I saw in my mind. Well, that was my first idea for Esmeralda the Guardian of Death. As people began to talk about the experience, I began to flesh out other Guardians as well. My first story is with them torturing Osama Bin Laden.
That's my story.
Let me start at the beginning. Two months earlier, my father fell victim to cancer. He fought for several years and was tired of fighting. He wanted to rest. The whole family gathered around him including our cousins. He gave each of us advice and made us promise to do something for him. He asked me to follow my dreams but to still stay on the ground. My cousin David was asked to quit smoking. You know the normal stuff. But Susan got a very different request. I remember his wording exactly, because it was so strange so specific.
"Susie," he said, "I want you to spend time with your son. Stay home with him in September when the schools start. Especially the first two weeks."
Susan was very surprised and asked my dad to explain. My father just closed his eyes and slipped into a coma without saying a word. The next day, he died.
So the funeral had come and gone. It was beautiful since all the local fire departments planned it. My father was the local fire commissioner so they gave him a firemen's funeral. August flew past as I tried to help my mother and sister with the pain. I knew he was dying for awhile and grieved during that time because I knew my mother would need me to be strong. Soon it was September and I went back to school at Niagara.
September was upon us and most of us forgot my father's warning. My cousin Susan kept going to work in the area around Twin Towers. I was studying at Niagara to become a teacher. I just need one more class in order to graduate and was meeting with the Dean at 9:00 am on September 11th.
I woke up with a start to my phone ringing. The dean was calling to cancel my appointment. Something had come up. She didn't say what it was and I didn't ask. I had a class at 9:30 and was cutting it close. After hanging I got ready and went to class. As soon as I entered Dunleavy, one of friend grabbed my arm and was dragging to the Media Resources Room. His mouth was going a mile a minute and my sleepy mind couldn't comprehend. Something about a plane hitting a building. I nodded slowly while trying to figure it out. Then I saw it.
On a hundred TVs, were the images of a plane hitting one of the towers. The other on was already smoking. I stood in shock. My friend turned to me when said, "This is a movie, right?"
"No, Krissi, this is going on right now." He responded, "Don't you have cousins in New York."
Oh my God, Susan! I turned and ran out of there. My backpack was still on the floor where I dropped but I didn't care. I had to find a phone. I needed to get to my room.
I cut through the student union to get to my room quicker. Several of my friends shouted out to me, but I ignored them, I had to find a phone. As I reached my dorm, my friend Gretchen was standing there with a phone in hand. I stopped and she gave it to me.
"Your mom just called. She sounded panicked." Gretchen told me.
I didn't answer her, but snatched the phone and began to dial my mom's work number. As it rang, I began to fidget around. Please, God, let her be okay. When my mom picked up, I didn't even wait for her to finish her greeting.
"Is Susan okay? Please say she's okay." I begged.
"Krissi, they can't find her. No one knows where she is. I'll call you when I know more." My mom stated gently, "Aunt Michelle wants to call David in Boston and check on him. You are the closest to him."
"Yes, mom." I remarked softly and hung the phone. I could feel the tears begin to form. I couldn't cry, not yet. I had to talk with David first, make sure was okay. The conversation was the hardest that I had to make. David was beside himself with worry and doubt. He kept on how he should have insisted that she come and visit him during the downtime. I listened with a patient ear and then he remembered something.
"Kris, do you remember what Uncle Bob told Sue before he died?" David asked. I wracked my brain before remembering that cryptic message. David waited for my confirmation before continuing, "Do you think he knew?"
Before I could answer him, Gretchen walked up to me with her arm around one of our other friends. Her expression was very grim.
"The towers just fell. They don't think anyone could have survived. I'm sorry." Gretchen reported.
That afternoon, I waited by the phone for some word from my mother. Gretchen's room became the make shift refugee camp. Everyone came in and out with food or word about what was going on. My school went into a lock down, but not before half the school was cleared out. Those that stayed either lived locally or lived too far away. Gradually, we began to get word about the missing in New York. My friend Ian, a commuter, stayed to be with me as did my best friend Dino who I knew growing up. They knew I had barely survived losing one family member and weren't sure how I would handle other. So we waited for the phone to ring. I could hear people calling in the hallway over the confirmed lost. I was envious of them at least they knew. In my mind, I feel their pain and wanted to help ease it. But I was barely together myself.
"I want my father." I whispered, "I want him to be here. I want him to make me laugh. I want my daddy!"
Dino gave me a hug and said, "Krissi, Your cousin needs him more right now."
"I know, but I just want him back."
Then the phone rang. Gretchen picked it up and handed it to me. I felt every eye in the room on me as I talked with my mother. I hung up the phone and smiled.
"Susie is okay. She just made it out and is currently stuck in New Jersey."
Everyone cheered in the room. I leaned back and closed my eyes. One thought passed through my head, "God, when you see fit to punish whoever did this, please make the worst thing you have ever done. Put the ten plagues to shame for all that have died."
Then I show an image in my mind of a young woman dressed in black crying red tears as she walked among the debris of the World Trade Center. Strapped across her back was a scythe and knew who she was. I opened my eyes to see my friend Dino giving me an odd look. I flashed him a smile and said, "I just had an idea for a story."
My cousin Sue came for a visit to Rochester to get away From MYC and the memories of that day. It seems she was just walking in the building when the first plane hit. The security ushered her to the stairwell and told her not to worry. But she did, even though she was there in 1993 when the place was bombed. Something told her to get out while she could. When the second plane hit she remember what my father said and ran out of the building. She was barely out of the Center area when they came down. She ran all the way to Battery Park and got on to one of the ferries to New Jersey. She swears that she could my dad's voice saying smart girl as she watched the events unfold from the ferry. Even to this day, she still jumps when she hears any planes. Her building collapsed during the collapse of the North Tower.
Oh, the image I saw in my mind. Well, that was my first idea for Esmeralda the Guardian of Death. As people began to talk about the experience, I began to flesh out other Guardians as well. My first story is with them torturing Osama Bin Laden.
That's my story.