Hello everyone. I honestly don't know how to start this. Today is not a normal day, as many will know. This story is a bit improvised. It's something I just wanted to do so I wouldn't forget it. Well here we go.

Clarification: "Bubble Guppies" and its characters do not belong to me but their respective creators and Nick Jr. I write this non-profit.

Warning: Although the story is fictional, it is based on a true event that I wish had never happened. If you are sensitive, I do not recommend reading it. And if you do, read at your own risk.

Bubble Guppies Fanfic

Survivor

Mr. Grouper P.O.V

Oh, hello to all of you. My name is Tino Grouper, although everyone knows me as Mr. Grouper. I must admit that it is very difficult for me to relate what I am going to tell you now. But I feel like I have to do it. I have a feeling that if I tell it, I will be able to free myself from this weight. It was simply something I will never forget. I am Mr. Grouper and this is my story.

I'll never forget that day. A quiet morning in the city. September 11, 2001. I was a young university student. I decided to choose preschool education as my professional career. In that context, I received a message from a friend of mine who was working on one of the two largest and most important buildings in the country. He invited me to have breakfast in his office. He said his boss had authorized it. I was excited, because I hadn't seen my friend since high school. He was older than me by a few years and he had been working in those offices for 2 years. I decided to buy coffee and donuts and entered that huge building. I didn't know that a great nightmare would break out that day.

I entered the tower and went up several floors in the elevator until I reached where my friend was. He and I got along well. In fact, that day he introduced me to two of his colleagues and I met the boss. They were all very nice people. It was a very fun time, eating donuts, drinking coffee and telling each other stories. Their boss was ready to tell them that they had to get back to work. I was getting ready to leave and go back to the university campus. It was at that precise moment that... it happened

BOOM!

It was a loud sound! The building shook strongly. It sounded like something big had exploded. The office was destroyed. We all fell to the ground. I managed to get up when I saw all of them injured. Unfortunately, one of them didn't get up anymore. He suffered a blow to the head that killed him instantly. My friend shook his body desperately, but he didn't move anymore. I began to hear screams of terror, crying and pain. It was like a nightmare had begun. The roar came from a few floors above. The fire alarms began to ring loudly. I did not know what to do. Nobody knew what had happened. The boss tried to calm those present and asked us to take deep, deep breaths and try to stay calm. At first, it didn't make sense. But I began to breathe deeply and deeply and began to calm down a little. At least enough to keep me sane. The boss told everyone that he had no idea what happened, but he started ordering everyone to evacuate immediately one by one. I decided to console my friend, who had the body of his partner in his arms. Unfortunately, in the same office, some did not survive either. Something very bad was happening here.

I began to insist that my friend get up and leave the tower together. It took him a lot to do it. From the window I saw a lot of smoke. So I thought it was a fire. After a while, I managed to convince him to get up and start the escape. But something horrible happened. I don't know why I had the brilliant idea of looking out the window and seeing the second tower that was very similar to the one we were in. I don't know why I had to see that. I saw how a normal plane flew very close to that tower. That's where I saw it.

CRASH! BOOM!

It was just horrible! I watched as a plane, possibly full of passengers, crashed directly into that tower. That caused an explosion and a fire. I don't know why, but that gave me the idea that that's what happened to the building we were in. I was shocked. That seemed like fiction, but it was a horrible reality. It was my friend's boss that made me react and we started to go down from the building. I only listened to people with enormous anguish. Many called their friends, family and loved ones to let them know that something horrible was happening. I didn't think about calling anyone. I didn't want my parents to be distressed. It was at that moment that I started listening to the radio on my phone. It seems there was an important message from our president at that time. He said that our country was in an emergency situation. That it was an attack. At that moment, I felt deep terror. I didn't understand much. What did you mean by an attack? I imagined that if it were an attack, what would have hit the towers would be missiles or bombs...But were they normal planes?! I only wanted one thing: To get out of there alive. My friend was quiet during the entire evacuation. Not a single word. What could I tell him? That everything was going to turn out well? It would be lying to you. Not even I, who am a very optimistic man, knew if we were going to be okay or not. It was terrible. Many people were ahead of us and many others were behind us. My friend's boss was an incredible person, because he managed to handle the pressure and maintained order during the evacuation. I don't know how long it took us to go down those stairs. I felt like we had been there for hours.

As we went down, I was relieved to see that we were slowly getting closer to the exit. But something terrifying happened. We all heard a loud sound and everything started to shake. Everyone screamed in terror, although the bravest ones called on us to calm down and continue going down carefully, only we went a little faster. Since I was one of the few with a radio on my phone, I found out what had happened. The other tower fell! The tower that I saw as a plane hit it had collapsed. There I was afraid that the tower we were in would collapse with all of us inside. My heart was beating a lot and my breathing was more labored. I only thought about getting out of there alive and calling my parents immediately. I don't know why, but something told me that I should do it now, in case I couldn't get out. At that moment, thoughts of death came to my head. The idea that I would die in that building came with force. That would mean I would never see my parents and friends again. It would mean I would never become a teacher. It seems that a ray of hope came when I saw the light.

It was the light of departure! There we were all being received by police, firefighters, paramedics and other rescue team personnel. My friend, two of his colleagues and the boss and I finally left the tower! The first thing that happened was that some paramedics began to check me if I was okay. Well, at least physically clear. I just had my heart rate up, but it was normal under the circumstances. I saw a large crowd watching what was happening. I decided to see the towers, or at least one. The second tower had recently fallen. The doctors didn't let me leave yet. I thought about taking my phone to call my parents. But before that, an image stuck in my memory. The tower I was in began to fall. I was lucky that my friends and I were already in a safe area. But, I witnessed how many people simply did not make it. The tower fell in front of my eyes. I could only see smoke, rubble, pain and death. I didn't know how I would handle all of this. Nothing crossed my mind, I was still in shock. At that moment, I discovered that I had missed calls from my parents...And calls from my best friend, Mr. Grumpfish.

Finally, I was able to leave there. I didn't want to continue seeing like many people. I think I saw enough. I couldn't even say goodbye to my friend, who also left the tower with me. At that moment, I got a call from Mr. Grumpfish. For the first time in my life, I heard his fearful voice. He was terrified! He told me that he was watching television and came across this horrible news. He wanted me to see it on television. But I told him that I was in the tower visiting a friend. I don't know what face he made, but he started asking me a lot of things. It was the first time that he was greatly worried about me. I simply responded that he was fine and that he was on his way to my apartment on the university campus. That trip to my apartment felt eternal. What began as a friendly visit ended in a great tragedy. I arrived at my apartment and my roommate greeted me. He was scared too, because he was watching the news about the towers on television. I politely asked him to turn off the television. I didn't want to know anything about that. He then understood what was happening to me and turned off the TV. I was scared and agitated. I went to my room and called my parents to let them know that I was fine. Although, just physically, mentally I was destroyed.

That night I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw images of what happened. See the destroyed office. See dead people. See the moment the plane hit the other tower. Seeing how the tower I was in fell, taking hundreds of lives. Days and nights passed without sleeping well. In fact, there were no classes for several days due to the events of that day. I didn't want to listen to the radio or watch television. Because the only thing that could be seen and heard was the news from the towers. It was at that time that they told what happened. Apparently, members of a terrorist group hijacked the planes and crashed them into the towers. What kind of psychopaths had that idea?! Over time, more information and even conspiracy theories emerged. Personally, I don't care. I only know that that day, thousands of people lost their lives.

They say that time heals everything. Just a big lie. Days, weeks and months passed and he couldn't forget it. I was still terrified that some crazy person would decide to use a bomb where I was. I experienced many fears at that time. I hadn't communicated with my friend since that day. Then I decided to call him on the phone, but he didn't answer me. Something bad was happening. So I decided to call his brother. He had his number in case of emergency. That's when he gave me horrible news. That boy who worked in that tower had decided to take his life. I could not believe it. My friend made a horrible decision. My first suspicions are that the trauma of the tower's events was so much that it led to that decision. Well, I'll never know for sure. A few days passed and I attended his funeral. There is not much to comment. It was at that funeral that I realized that I must do something with myself. If I don't face my trauma, I would possibly be in a coffin soon. Shortly thereafter, I decided to temporarily pause my university career to have psychological therapies and I also decided to return to my parents for a while. Mr. Grumpfish was with me through this hard time. I've never seen him so worried about me. In my sessions, I met people who also suffered from the events of that day. Some were in the towers, others simply lost a loved one on that day. But we all had pain. I knew that I should not continue in that state all my life. So, after a lot of internal struggle, with ups and downs, I finally managed to move forward little by little. After all, that's when I started to value life. Life is fleeting, transitory and uncertain. Therefore, we must take advantage of every moment and nourish it with love, tenderness, beauty and creativity.

What happened after that? Well, I went back to university. In two years I graduated with honors. I did a lot of internships until I was able to get my job. I managed to make an investment for my own house. And well, what else? Obviously I met my best students, the Bubble Guppies. I guess I managed to lead a normal life after all. Today is the day. Today marks another year since that horrible event. It is not possible to avoid feeling sadness. It's something I'll have to carry with me for the rest of my life. But today I also have to teach. I don't know how I'll do it. Possibly my guppies are going to ask me why I'm sad. Oh, I really don't want to tell them my reasons. They are little children! They don't deserve to know what bad people are capable of because of hate. But, I can't lie to them or cover the sun with a finger either. I can't sugarcoat the truth. Sooner or later, they will realize it and handle it their way. I just hope they never have to go through something similar. For now, I'll be brave and make sure my kids have a great day.

So, this was my story. My name is Tino Grouper, and I am a 9/11 survivor.

In memory of all the victims of 9/11.

Passengers, employees, civilians, people from the rescue forces who gave their lives to save others.

(sigh) I haven't done such a depressing story until now. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether to write it or not. But, this event is something impossible to forget. I had not yet been born that day...But years later I learned how horrible those events were. I can never imagine all the pain and suffering of the American people on that day. I know, I'm not American, but I still can't help but think about everything this means, both for the United States and for the entire Western world.

Well, you can leave your reviews if you want. Honestly, I don't know how to end this. It's a pretty bittersweet story. So, I hope to see you in another happier story. Take good care of and appreciate your loved ones. See you