9/11 From Across the Country, September 11, 2001, by Claire Walker

From MemoryArchive

Who: Claire Walker
What: 9/11 From Seattle
When: September 11, 2001
Where: Seattle, WA, USA

I woke up without the sound of my alarm to the sound of a quiet kitchen next door. I knew something was different if not wrong. I turned on my side and reached across my bedside table to see the time. I thought it might be Saturday because my mom usually had to practically drag me out of bed on weekdays. I hit the button to see the day of the week and the date. My alarm clock's display flashed in large red, boxy characters "9-11-T". I let go of the button and lay on my back for a moment to listen, looking at my ceiling with a scowl, for any sound in the house. I didn't hear anything. My feet patted the floor and I listened to the hum of the refrigerator as I walked past it. Still no sound of my parents. The radio was on at a very low volume on the window sill. I bent over to listen to it. I don't know why I knew to. The only thing I heard was a moment of pause as the NPR announcer's deep voice took a short breath and said "Again, all U.S. flights have been grounded." I knew something wasn't just different, it was wrong. I walked briskly upstairs. I could hear the TV in my parent's room as I made my way up the stairs, but I couldn't make out the words. I walked across the open of the living room and through the doorway of my parent's bedroom. Rounding the corner, their TV confronted me. At that moment there was a replay, silent footage of the replay of the second plane hitting the Twin Towers. I saw the last moment before the nose hit the building and then the fireball. Watching, without understanding or emotion, I thought to myself "The world is ending."