Blazing with Fire

Chapter 1: 9/11

Chapter 1: 9/11

“Mom, what’s going on?” Eight-year-old Luna said to her mom. Luna had on her pink pajamas, holding a sparkly scepter with a large fake diamond on top.

Luna’s mom sat by the sofa near the TV. She sobbed while watching the news about the latest happenings. Piled up on the floor was a clutter of used up tissues. She had used up most of the tissue they had.

“Nothing, honey, just go to bed. Mommy’s going to be there in a second, okay?” Valerie, Luna’s mom, faked a smile and wiped some tears from her eye. She’d come home early, and yet she was still in her office clothes, and her makeup trickled off her face.

“When is dad coming home? Is he in trouble?” Luna asked. She wasn’t tired from all the playing that she had done at school. She removed her tiara and placed it on the table, together with her scepter, as she walked closer to her mom.

“No, uhmm…Daddy has to…” Valerie was thinking of how to explain things to her daughter. She didn’t want her to be shocked by the news she was about to deliver. “Come here, sit here on my lap.” Luna obeyed and sat on her mother’s lap.

Luna gave her mom a smile, showing of her pearly whites. “Your dad has to go. His parents wanted to see him badly.” Valerie explained. She hugged Luna, and forcefully stoppe­d her crying for a while.

“Where is he, then?” Luna asked. She was curious about her father’s whereabouts. Her parents would usually take turns on who would take her to bed; it was her dad’s turn this time.

“He’s somewhere far, far away. Where people can fly and eat candy all day long without getting tummy aches.” Valerie tickled Luna’s stomach, which made her giggle. Her mom smiled for the first time after receiving the terrible news that day.

“Did dad survive the fire at that tall building where he works?” Luna asked, even though she was only eight, she knew that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. She heard it from the mail man who was delivering mail for her neighbors.

Valerie did not respond, she just hugged Luna, rocked her gently, and sang a soft lullaby to make her sleepy. She carried her to bed when she saw her yawning. Luna still didn’t feel sleepy at all. She wanted to know what had happened to her dad.

“Is dad dead?” Luna asked while her mom fixed her sheets. Her mom started weeping once again. To hear the word ‘dead’ brought tears to her eye.

“I love you, honey. Go to sleep now or no T.V. for a week,” she did not wait for Luna to respond. She kissed her forehead, turned the lights off and closed the door. Luna closed her eyes temporarily so her mom wouldn’t force her to sleep.

Luna waited for five minutes and opened her eyes. She went down her bed slowly and tip-toed her way to the door and gently opened it, careful not to make any sound. She peeped through the tiny opening that she’d made. She saw her mom sobbing her pain out once again on the sofa while watching T.V. She wasn’t able to bear the scene of her mom crying. She stayed there for a while and waited. Eventually, the phone rang and her mom went to the kitchen to answer it.

Luna slowly went out of her room, followed her mom, hid behind a wall, and listened to the conversation her mom was having over the phone. She tried to creep in as close as possible without being seen to hear the conversation.

“No, I’m not all right, mom. Would you be all right if your husband died so suddenly!? Why is this happening to me, mom? It’s just so hard to take it all in.” Valerie struggled to let her words out while sobbing. She took another box of Kleenex by the microwave and within seconds, clutters of wet tissue were piled up on the floor.