24 September 2012 fiction, Untitled

The piece of paper fluttered slowly down and landed on the sidewalk in front of her.

She picked it up gently, careful not to rip it. “To: Daddy. Have a great day at work! I love you!”

The woman began to cry. The tears forced their way out of her eyes, making channels in the dust that covered her face. She sank down to her knees, and, clutching the note like a lifeline, she sobbed. Life was so unfair sometimes it was unbelievable.

As she was crying, a police officer came and gently helped her to her feet. “Ma’am it’s not safe for you to be standing here. I’m going to need you to come with me.”

She nodded slowly, the tears still falling. He guided her slowly to a room full of other people with terrified looks on their faces. He sat her down on a chair in the corner, and asked her if there was anything he could do to help her. She shook her head, and then handed him the note.

The policeman read it, shook his head, and then took her hand in his.

They sat there in silence, and for that she was grateful. This was what she needed right now. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head back against the wall.

This was the worst birthday she could remember. “I guess being born on September 11 isn’t really all that lucky,”  she thought morbidly.