Forget Me Not

8:46 am - The First Plane

September 11th, 2001 - 8:46 am EST

I could hear screams and curses from outside the house. Rushing to the window with the view of the World Trade Center, I saw a large black cloud flow into the air, the top of tower one engulfed in flames and smoke. My eyes widened with terror, surprised at the sight before me. What was going on?

Instantly turning to the television near by, I turned on CNN and heard the news reporter say that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I suddenly felt my small form tremble with fear. No, I thought. Why was this happening? Why would a plane crash into the World Trade Center? First thought that came to mind was that maybe this was a freak accident. Maybe the pilot lost control of the plane and ended up crashing into the tower.

I didn't know for sure. Even though I was smarter than most children my age, I still was unaware of the danger many of the people up on those floors of the tower were facing. Turning to the window again, I grabbed a pair of binoculars and opened the window, placing them to my eyes to get a better look. This was horrible, I thought. People were up there...

Suddenly, after a few moments of just watching the cloud of smoke grow higher into the clear blue sky, I saw something from the burning flames fall swiftly to the ground. Turning to it, I saw that it was a person... falling from the top of the tower. Pulling away the binoculars, I fell onto the couch, feeling sick to my stomach.

People were falling to their deaths... They were falling from the tower! Rushing to the closest restroom, I vomited. I shouldn't have seen that, I told myself over and over again. A sudden realization occured to me; my father was in one of the towers. My father was in there...

Frantically running to the telephone by the couch, I dialed my father's cell number, waiting as the ringing began. I had to tell my father what was going on, if he was all right, if he was in that tower. I had to see if he was still alive.