Dedicated to the brave men and woman who offered service during 9/11.

As I was waiting for a taxi to drive to my dad’s office, I began to glance at all of the people around me. The sounds of the taxi's beeping filled my ears. I began to stumble as people nudged my shoulders. Breathing deeply, the aroma of the bus fumes overwhelmed me as I approached the taco truck. My stomach growled as I bit into the crunchy taco shell. I was so excited to be in New York City!

New York City was just as I hoped it would be.  There were beautiful towers and buildings everywhere. The sight of all the people and taxis put a smile on my face. My dad called a taxi over to us, and when it pulled up I practically jumped in it.

The taxi dropped us off at my dad's work and I ran inside. "Dad, this is so cool!" I screamed.

"Keep it down Amelia. We are in a quiet workplace" replied my dad as I entered his office. When I walked in, the first thing I noticed were the enormous windows.

“Dad. Look at those towers across the street! What are they called?”

“Those are the twin towers Amelia. They have been there for almost 30 years.” my dad said, his words followed by a loud crash.

What I saw was unbelievable. I sat there and watched the first plane hit, followed by screams and sirens. My dad stood in silence as both of our eyes began to water.

“David, I” cried his co worker. Those towers were very important to my dad. He preceded to tell me all about how he used to work there, and how him and his brother, my Uncle Mike, worked on the same floor.

I knew this wasn’t good. I could hear my dad’s workers screaming in the distance, worrying about family members and the people in the towers. People were pacing around, panicking thinking that we were next. I couldn’t help but believe them. I ran over to the corner of the office and as I sat down, I began to cry.

About ten minutes had gone by since the plane crashed. There were countless amounts of firetrucks and ambulances everywhere, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

When the first plane hit, it devastated everyone, but at this point I knew we needed to get out of New York. I glanced over at the clock. 9:03 am. Before I could return to my seat, I heard a scream. It wasn't a lot like when the plane came, just one single scream from the lady across the office. “LOOK OUTSIDE” she yelled.

“What’s wrong?” I cried. She pulled open the shades, and pointed at the window. Another plane had hit the south tower.

After the first crash, I knew we needed to get out. But after I heard the second crash, it hit me. If we didn't leave right now, one of those gunshots I continued to hear in the distance or even another plane could strike me at any moment.  As everyone began to call relatives and check on them, I just thought about how we needed to get out of the city. “Dad, can we go home?” I asked. “Dad, please I want to go home!” I begged.

“It is very crowded out there so it’s very dangerous.” He replied.  “They have closed down all the roads and subways. We need to wait it out, they should open some way of transportation soon.”

“Okay” I responded.  “Should we call mom she is probably really scared?” I asked. My mom was at home because she had the day off.

“Cell service is down. No phones are working. We will see her when we get home.” said my dad.

About 4 hours had gone by. It was one o'clock now and they had opened one ferry that was headed to New Jersey, where we lived. The roads were still closed, so we had to walk three blocks to the dock. This was it. We were going to go home now.