September 11th, 2001 - 9:03 am EST
"Daddy! Thank goodness!" I cried as I finally got a hold of him, watching out the window.
"What's wrong, hunny? Did you see the first tower?" he asked me over the receiver, sounding panicked and frightened.
"Yes! Daddy, listen! You need to--" I was cut off by my own scream as I just witnessed the second plane hit the second tower. It hit the middle of the tower, the middle!
I could hear rattling on the other line, my dad shouting, "What the hell?!"
"Daddy!! Daddy, are you okay?!" I cried, blinded by my tears as they fell like waterfalls down my face.
"I'm okay, Rayne. What just happened?!" he asked me, hearing a sense of fear that I had never heard from him before.
"Another plane hit the tower! It hit the tower, daddy!!" I sobbed, my whole body trembling as the phone in my hands nearly fell from my grasp.
"It's okay, Rayne. It's okay, don't cry." he soothed, and I could tell he was trying to stay as calm as possible.
"Daddy, you need to get out of there!" I whimpered, knowning that if he didn't get out, he would die just like all those innocent people.
"I'll try, Rayne. I'll try." he said, breathing heavily as he I could sense his fear on the other end.
I could hear his frantic running over the line, knowing that he was searching for a place to escape. I suddenly heard him sigh deeply. My heart froze for a moment.
"Daddy...? Is there a way out?" I whispered, afraid to hear the answer he was about to say.
"Rayne... I'm afraid I'm above the area where the plane crashed... I can't get out. The only way to escape is to jump..." he said slowly, causing my eyes to widen and tears to fall faster.
"Daddy, no! You can't jump!! Don't leave me!" I broke down in sobs, gripping the phone tightly in my hands and fell onto the couch.
"Rayne... Rayne, listen to me." he said slowly, successfully making me cease my crying for a moment.
"Rayne, remember that meadow we visited last month? The one with all the pretty flowers?" he asked me, his voice holding a hint of happiness and sadness.
"Yes..." I whimpered, my lower lip trembling.
"And you were looking at the small, blue flowers you liked so much? The Forget-Me-Nots?"
"Yes, I do, daddy..."
"Remember these words, Rayne.. And I'll be wherever you go, okay? Forget me not... Repeat what I say. Forget me not." he told me, and my small heart shattered at the tone of his voice.
"Forget me not... Forget me not..." I repeated every time he said it.
"I love you Rayne... So much." he said, and I could tell he was trying so hard not to cry.
"I love you too, daddy... Don't hang up okay? I'm staying with you." I whimpered, breathing hard at the fear of what was about to happen.
"Okay, hunny... I promise." he said.
We stayed on the phone for the longest time then, recalling the memories we shared together. At that point, I knew... I knew that this would be the last time I would hear my father's voice again.
YOU ARE READING
Forget Me Not
Short StoryRayne McCloud was merely seven years old when her father started a new job at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. However, she did not expect for the World Trade Center to be attacked, and lose her father in one of the towers. This story...
