• The airport was busier than ever. Security was tight. Not a single person knew what was about to happen in Manhattan.
    The guards glanced at me curiously. I ignored them, and walked slowly through the metal detector. Behind me were three men wearing turbans. They had the look of fear in their eyes. The guard motioned them through the detector. I didn't hear any sort of alarm, so I kept walking. The three men gathered their shoes and coats, and continued walking towards the seating area.
    My cousin ran up behind me. He had red hair, and his face was covered in freckles. He had a huge grin on his face. Jeremy had never been on an airplane before. "I can't wait!" he said. "How much longer do we have until we can get on the plane?" It wasn't Jeremy's fault he was excited. He was only 10, after all.
    "We have to wait until they finish filling the plane with fuel, so about 25 more minutes." I replied. I led Jeremy to an empty seat in the waiting lobby. He was eager to get on the plane. I took a seat beside him.
    "Can you toss me a magazine?" Jeremy asked. I reached to the small table beside me. There were a variety of magazines; People, The Sun, The Examiner. I picked up the one closest to me, and handed it to Jeremy. "Thanks," he said.
    The intercom blasted throughout the airport. "American Airlines, Flight 11 will begin to depart. United Airlines, Flight 175 will depart immediately after."
    I grabbed Jeremy's arm and flung him out of his seat. Flight 11 was our plane. We headed towards the boarding gate. A guard motioned us in. The tunnel leading inside the plain was made of glass. You could see everything from it.
    Jeremy was shaking. I could've sworn he thought the plane was going to crash. "I-I don't think t-that I want to g-go on, now..." he said nervously.
    "Don't worry!" I tried to calm him down. "These planes are perfectly safe!" The three men wearing turbans were two people behind me. They were boarding the same plane as us. One man had a frightened look on his face. The other two looked as serious as can be. We took our seats on the plane. The concierge walked around with a cart containing orange and apple juices, peanuts, and some cola. I grabbed a can of Coca-Cola for Jeremy, even though it was early in the morning.
    Halfway through the flight, something weird caught my attention. The three men weren't in the seating area. I had no idea where they were. I forgot about it later while watching a movie on my portable DVD player.
    A lot of the flight was smooth. There was a bit of turbulence, but Jeremy seemed calm, and was fascinated by how close to the ground the plane was. It was at that instant that I was in shock. I looked out his window, and sure enough, the plane was about the height of a skyscraper off the ground. I called the concierge over.
    "Why is the plane so low to the ground?" I whispered. I didn't want to worry Jeremy. "
    "What do you mean?" said the concierge. She looked out the window and grimaced. Then, she sprinted towards the cockpit, knocking over a cart in her way. I stood up, and told
    Jeremy that I was going to use the washroom. He nodded as I chased after the concierge. She was already at the cockpit, struggling to open the door. I told her to stand aside, then I rammed into the door with a cart. It wouldn't budge. Inside the pit, I could hear voices speaking in a different language.
    "Sir, please tell everyone to brace themselves." said the concierge.
    I looked out the window. The plane came closer to the Twin Towers. It was then that I knew we had little time. I sprinted towards the passenger seating area, and told everyone to cover their heads with their hands. I could hear the concierge banging on the cockpit door. It was useless. The two towers came closer towards us. Jeremy was very confused.
    "Why are we covering our heads?" he asked.
    "We're going to play hide and seek." I said. Jeremy was like my son, and the last thing I'd want to do was frighten him. Couples around us were kissing and saying their goodbyes.
    "Jeremy," I said.
    "Yeah?" he asked, his hands still covering his head,
    "I love you, buddy." Everything went black.


    (In remembrance of all 9/11 victims.)