Mortals Meet Demigods

9/11

I'm writing this chapter to honor the heroes who died in the 9/11 attacks. Sorry if this makes you sad.

An eight year old boy, Perseus Jackson, who was sick at home, and his mother, Sally Jackson, sat on their couch. They had a radio, and they were listening to it. It was music radio, until a news flash came.

"The North tower of the World Trade Center has just been hit by an airplane." The radio announcer said.

Sally gasped, so Perseus, also known as Percy, did the same.

Sally got up and looked out the window. She could see it from there.

There was a knock on the door. It was their neighbor, Mrs.Fields.

"Come in, Mrs.Fields." Sally said.

She walked in.

"Did you hear what just happened?" Mrs.Fields asked.

"Yes." Sally said sadly.

"My husband works in there." Mrs.Fields said.

Mrs.Fields looked as if she was going to cry.

Sally directed Mrs.Fields to the couch and tried to calm her down.

"He'll be okay. He'll get out." Sally said, patting Mrs.Fields back.

Another broadcast came on the radio.

"As firefighters were working on getting people out of the North tower, the other tower has been hit." It said.

"My brother works in that one." Mrs.Fields said.

Percy walked over to them. He didn't really get the concept of what was happening, but he decided to be nice.

He hugged Mrs.Fields and said "It's okay, Mrs.Fields. You're my favorite babysitter. Nothing will happen to your family."

"That made me feel, to an extent, better." Mrs.Fields said.

Another broadcast came on the radio

"The Pentagon has just been hit. I repeat, the Pentagon has just been hit." the announcer said.

"This is no longer accidents." Mrs.Fields said.

"This is terrorism." Sally finished.

They sat there. Then they heard another news flash.

"The North Tower has just fell." the announcer said.

Mrs.Fields broke down.

Percy grabbed a cookie that was on the counter and sat on Mrs.Fields' lap.

"Don't cry. Eat a cookie instead." he said, handing her a cookie.

Mrs.Fields smiled.

They decided to turn off the radio. Then, there was a knock at the door.

Mrs.Fields opened it.

It was her husband.

Mrs.Fields cried again, but this time, tears of joy. She hugged her husband.

"I thought you were dead!" she said.

"I had to use the bathroom before work, and then I got lost." he said.

Sally smiled at the two.

"Mommy?" Percy said.

"Yes, Percy?" Sally replied.

"Will I ever love someone like Mr.Fields loves Mrs.Fields, or how my daddy that went away loved you?" Percy asks.

"Maybe someday. But you have to be able to take a bath by yourself first." Sally replied, tickling Percy's stomach lightly.

Later that day, they heard some bad news.

Mrs.Fields' brother didn't make it out of the tower he worked in before it collapsed. He was helping people get out of the building.

They also heard a plan crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The passengers on the plane were fighting the terrorists instead of letting them crash into another landmark. They even heard recordings of people calling their families, and in almost everyone, you could hear someone in the background scream "LONG LIVE AMERICA!"

It was a devastating day in American history, but there were true American heroes involved.

We honor those heroes by doing the little things that could make a big difference.

You will get a calling to greatness in your life. Will you answer that call?

Make it a great day or not. The choice is yours.

That was sad to write, but I wanted to honor the heroes of 9/11. I've heard some amazing miracle stories, so I decided to include some. Also, the part about the person screaming LONG LIVE AMERICA is true. I'm not going to do my usual outro thing anymore, but I'll take a line from the chapter and use that.

Make it a great day or not. The choice is yours.

~Meg