It was a lovely September morning. A cool breeze blew in from the sea, the sun was shining golden and as she looked out, she could see the blue sky clear and vast with not a cloud to mar it. She had barely completed a month in her new job. Sheila was indeed very proud to be part of her office on the 60th floor of the World Trade Centre, New York.
By habit she liked to reach early, beating the office rush, thus she could have her coffee and sandwich in peace, before she began work. That was her motivation to rise early and go for a run around her neighbourhood too. The lovely cafeteria on the 45th floor with a superb view of the bustling city was just the place for it. The heady aroma of brewing coffee was just the kick she needed as she prepared for the day.
As she reached her office, she saw her colleagues head out of the door. She wondered if it was a Fire drill…. What was the point when most of the people were not even in??? Oh well! She dumped her big fashionable handbag on her desk, picked up her mobile and followed them.
From the 56th floor, it was a long way down. At the 44th floor she saw quite a few people had entered the stair well. Unlike other days, there was no laughter or joking. That’s when she wondered if something was serious!
Another few floors down, she saw her Fiancé’s number flash, trying to call her, but she couldn’t get through. As more and more people swirled into the milieu, they could smell smoke. Few people were talking about a fire. Oh Okay! It wasn’t a drill after all.
She lost count of the number of flights she had walked down. The jostling mob seemed to have grown, as had the urgency to reach the ground floor.
In the chaos she stumbled and tripped. Rolling down a few stairs. “That’s it!” she thought, but her Guardian angel working, keeping her safe. A firefighter, strong and well built, leading his team up the stairs, gently picked her up and in a strong, reassuring voice said “You are fine! Keep calm! One step at a time!” as he continued to climb up to the source of the fire. Someone passed out wet napkins and towels. She pressed it to her hot, flushed face. What a relief from the acrid smoke they had been inhaling while coughing.
They put their hands out in the smoky darkness and placed them on the shoulders of the people in front of them. You could hear prayers being chanted in all languages and all faiths. “ Our Father…” “Hail Mary…” “Vahe Guru…” “ Om Namoh Shivai…” … and many more. Everyone was trying to keep calm, doing what they had trained for…
As they came closer to the 20th floor they ground to a halt!!!The door was locked. The house keeping person , who had given them the towels earlier took out a big bunch of keys and kept trying each one. The silence was deafening now, only the jingling of the keys, punctuated with the loud breathing of this man.
Suddenly the door heaved with a loud ‘Crack!’ There was another fire fighting team on the other side. A lady covered in soot and white ash like substance was being carried down on a make shift stretcher. Everyone moved to the right, to give them way. And then the sea of people closed again reminding her of the Biblical parting of the sea.
Humanity reared its beautiful head as strangers held on to each other and calmed each others fears, thereby calming their own.
As they reached the ground level exit she found it strange to have so many men and women in uniform rushing in to guide and help them.
Now in daylight… where was that beautiful sunny day…there was smoke and grey… a lot of white stuff. She wondered how come the network was not working …. And then she heard it…. A loud rumble… a roar… something she had heard in movies only…. And the fear started to rise in her. “Run! C’mon run!”
That’s all she heard and her legs followed the command. Along with the hundreds of others… She heard snatches of conversation…’aeroplane struck the north tower’ ‘aeroplane struck the south tower’
And as she ran, she felt nothing…
The majestic twin towers of the World Trade Centre which had commanded the skyline of the worlds most popular city had come crumbling down to nothing!
PS : This is based on the experience of someone I know. Its a tribute to all the valiant people who saved many lives without worrying about their own.
And thank God for all the lives saved that fateful day for they are miracles for us to celebrate.
