9/11 Short Stories

Waking in the dark thirty years ago, my vision was obliterated by a bright-white-light. Blinking didn’t help. All I saw was brilliance. Was I having a stroke? I had no other symptoms except panic. I felt my way to the bathroom a short distance and back to bed. Frightened, I yelled my sleeping husband’s name, he answered alarmed, “What’s the matter?” “I can’t see!” “What do you mean, you can’t see?” “I just see a bright-white-light, nothing else. Somethings really wrong.” “Honey, your probably sleep walking or something, close your eyes and go to sleep you’ll be fine in the morning.” “I’ll try but when I close my eyes all I see is white light.” I was scared, what to do? Try to sleep or call an ambulance? Morning sun entered our bedroom and I could see normally. I was overjoyed that whatever happened to me during the night

I felt she had insulted us in a condescending manner. Linda’s name was stuck to her chest, no one else had a name tag. Linda asked, “Tell us about yourself and what brings you here, let’s go around the circle, starting with the woman on my left.” A noticeably pregnant woman was the first to speak. “My husband is a Dentist, we live on Oakhurst Drive, I have two daughters in third and second grade.” So, I thought what’s her name?

The second woman sat with her hands on each knee as she sheepishly murmured, “My husband is a truckdriver, I have a son in second grade and an older girl in fifth.” Again, no name, who was she?

The third stood with confidence to address us. “My husband is an Elder in the church, and owns the gas station in town, I have one daughter in first grade, I’m Paula. By the time it was my turn, nine women had introduced themselves as what their husbands did for a living. Only Paula gave her name. Annoyed I shook my head no, these ladies were identifying themselves by the career paths of their husbands and nothing about themselves other than they were mothers. It was like a Stepford wife get