Till Death Do Us Part

Note: this is a reflection post. Don’t bother reading it if you’re not going to appreciate it.

They say tragedy keeps us grounded.

Six years ago, it was just another Tuesday night. I remembered it was Tuesday because Ally McBeal was showing on Channel 5. Then the advertisements came and my dad decided to flip through the news channels. I remember him and my mum gasping in horror.

I was only 11 then. Too young to care, too old to be excused for not caring. I just wanted to watch my Ally McBeal. I whined and cried till I got my way and watched it in my parents’ room.

I didn’t realise the severity of it all – how many died escaping, how many died saving others, how many lives were shattered in just one moment.

I keep wondering what they must have been doing seconds before the attack.

Some people might have been closing that important deal.
Does it really matter now?

Some people might have been where they shouldn’t, doing something they shouldn’t.
Did they deserve this?

Some people might have just put down the phone after talking to their loved ones.
Did they remember to say “I love you”?

Six years on and I don’t believe how immature I was. I wish I could turn back time. I wish I could cry with the families who suffered, not cry because I couldn’t watch a dumb TV show.

I felt guilty every other September 11 onwards. But I wouldn’t want to have to learn the meaning of importance, any other way. I just wish this way didn’t have to take so many lives.


What were YOU doing when it happened?