I could tell just by the look in your eyes that it didn’t matter what I thought. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought. You wanted to help them with every fiber of your being, and nothing was going to stand in the way. You grasped my shoulders sharply and told me to wait here, but I didn’t listen. I ran after you through the frantic crowd, past hysterical people and anxious children. The ground shook once again as another bomb landed nearby. Bright orange flames in the distance spread steadily from one building to another. Cars screeched to a stop as smoke piled up from every angle imaginable, and familiar buildings shook violently. Your retreating figure became hazier and hazier, until I finally lost you.
Stranded in the middle of the street, I was inundated with screams coming from every direction and debris flying everywhere. But eerily, I didn’t feel anything. I felt numb; absolutely and completely numb. All the usual worries that have passed through my mind seem insignificant compared to what was happening right now, at this very moment. I wish you had stayed by my side, and had not run off. I wish that I had not lost sight of you through the frenzied crowd and billowing smoke. I wish the ground would stop shaking, buildings would stop falling and everyone would stop screaming. I wish the attacks would cease and all this fighting would end.
A loud boom stirred me from my thoughts, and caused me to remember where I was. Down the street, more screaming could be heard. I started to run towards the noise, but someone pulled me back. A firefighter shouted at me to move to the safety zone. He let me go and watched me reluctantly run in the opposite direction, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him sprint towards the sudden catastrophe, directing others along the way.
My mind raced a mile a minute as I swerved past deserted cars and toppled lampposts. My feet pounded against the pavement steadily, crunching on scattered glass, until I saw something poking from underneath a wheel of a city bus. The sound of muffled weeping became clearer as I neared the wheel, and as I looked, the feeling of dread inside me intensified. A young boy cradled a little girl in his lap as tears streamed down his face. A part of me wanted to run away and not get involved, but I couldn’t let him stay there. I grasped the boy’s shoulder as gently as I could and told him we had to move. The boy refused at first, but he could tell by the look in my eye that I wasn’t taking “no” for an answer.
I took hold of the little girl, clasped the young boy’s hand and ran as fast as I could down the street and around the corner. I spotted a seemingly deserted alleyway, and dashed to it, pulling the boy along with me. We huddled next to a giant, blue dumpster, and waited. Time began to freeze. As the boy silently rocked his sister back and forth, all I could think about was you. With all the endless possibilities swimming through my mind, I could only hope that you were home when I get there, if home was still there. I broke down and sobbed my heart out next to the boy who was embracing his sister in an alleyway, in the middle of a burning city.