I was only an innocent first grader when this despicable tragedy struck our country. I can’t recall much about where I was or what I was doing. All I can remember was how perplexed and devastated I was. My youthful mind couldn’t wrap itself around how any human being could perform such an atrocious act. Why would anybody want to viciously take the lives of so many precious people? At just 5 years old, this question disturbed me, to the extent that I struggled to fall asleep at night. Throughout the subsequent days and weeks after 9/11, our school along with the town held several memorials and candle light vigils. In church, we sang religious and patriotic hymns dedicated to the lives that were lost. I’ll never forget watching the tears stream down my mothers face.

I lost someone dear to my heart on that appalling day. Her name was Vita and she was a close friend to my Aunt. A few years before 9/11, my Aunt took me to New York City to see the Nutcracker with Vita and her two daughters who were close to my age. She was an angel. A beautiful woman with a smile that was contagious. During my visit, she treated me like I was her …show more content…
I was beyond thrilled and couldn’t wait to see them again. But what I didn’t know, was that Vita would not be there. As Monica, Claudia, and I sat around a table, I asked why their mother wasn’t there. Both of them immediately turned to each other, staring down, and shrugging. I was baffled when they quickly changed the subject and didn’t answer my question. Later on, when Monica and Claudia had left, my aunt told me that Vita had passed away in the terrorist attacks. I felt absolutely awful for opening my big mouth. All I wanted was to give them a massive hug and tell them how sorry I was. Even though I only met Vita once, her brief presence in my life left a mark on my heart that will never, ever fade