A Day of Silence

As a writer, life has always compelled me to seek the page for comfort, to say what needs to be said, feel what needs to be felt.

And while today I felt that same instinct to sit down and pour my memories into the written form, I'm at a loss for words that are even close to being worthy of this day.

The sadness I feel, the sorrow our country will always harbor in its heart, is too enormous for words.

My 9/11 story too small and insignificant—a 17-year-old girl in English class, the television screen split by two pictures—the Pentagon burning and the World Trade Center on fire. Terrified and convinced it was the end—yet safe.

And still, on this 10th commemoration of 9/11, I needed to say something.

In 1998, I traveled to the top of the world. It was my first trip to New York City. I felt like I was flying when I stepped onto the highest floor of the World Trade Center. I remember giggling during what seemed like a 20-minute elevator ride with my mom by my side, posing for pictures in front of a large board depicting the Twin Towers, shaking with excitement, gazing out the window.

I remember the steel, the gargantuan and unbreakable nature of this building that defined strength—defined a skyline.

I remember watching them fall to the ground on live television as tears stained our entire country's face. In that moment, I thought of the thousands of people still in those buildings. The horror that we were actually witnessing this. The helplessness. The people who wanted to take their trip to the top of the world that morning, only to have their own worlds ripped away.

What do you say on a day filled with images that will forever haunt us? What do you say to the , the , the scores of people who lost lives, futures, dreams and love?

Today, I pray. I think of the firefighters battling to the top in the face of death, the police officers, the workers, the people who died simply doing their jobs. I think of the heroes of Flight 93 who knew their country was under attack and gave their own lives to stop further destruction, the Pentagon workers, the people who went to work on just another routine work day at the World Trade Center, .

Today, I pray for peace beyond reason, beyond understanding.

Today, our words slip away into silence, into those two voids in the earth that will never again touch the sky.