Part II

Loss

I heard the teacher call after me, but I ignored him and headed directly to the office. The secretary regarded me with surprise. "What do you need, Miss Matsuyama?"

I clutched my stomach and put on a pained face, then said: "I believe I may be catching the flu. My stomach hurts and I'm cold, I need to g-"

She cut me off. "We're on lock down, dear, I'm afraid I can't let you leave." I clutched my stomach and exited the school. Frantically, I ran into the parking lot and unlocked my car. Jamming my keys into the ignition, I said a quick prayer that my parents weren't inside the Towers. I left the school parking lot as if all of Gettysburg's cops were on my bumper.

At about 9:30 I arrived home and glued myself to the TV as if my very sanity depended on it… which, at this point, it did. I had still heard nothing by 3:30, when the phone rang. As I picked it up, I said another quick prayer before pressing talk. Please, God, I mumbled as tears rolled silently down my cheeks. Let this call be one of them. Let them be okay… Then I answered it. "H-hello?" My voice shook.

"Kita?" It was Sharon. I sighed in relief. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I haven't heard anything yet."

"I'll tell you what…I'll be over in a few minutes. I can't stand it when you're in distress…"

"I'm fine, I-"

Sharon cut me off. "I'm coming over, Kita," she said with finality, and the line went dead.

...

My best friend and I spent the next few hours pacing… waiting by the phone… watching the news. Sharon went home around 9:30 to shower and grab a bit to eat, and by then I had still heard nothing. It was then that I thought of something… their cell phones! I half fell across the room to grab the phone. Quickly, I dialed my mom's cell number and bit my already bleeding lip as it rang.

Just as the voice mail was about to come on, someone picked up. "Hello?" It was a man's voice… but not my father's. Then I lost it.

"The towers… my parents are in New York City… where's my mom?" I was sobbing by now.

Someone in the background shouted, "Sergeant, there are two bodies over here… wait… they have their IDs!"

"Tell me their names, please," I practically screamed into the phone.

"Calm down now… let's see… the man's name is Daisuke Matsuyama…"

Dad, no, I thought in shock.

"…and the woman's name is Raven Matsuyama. It looks like they jumped from the tower before the second plane crashed into it."

The battery fell out of the phone when it hit the floor. I had passed out onto the couch.

End Part II