THE STORY OF US

This is our story. Me and my brother- we liked each other.

Actually, we are PONYs. Yes, we are, and I am very much proud to say that. I love this city. New York- it's my life. There's a celestial feeling about this city. Do you know, about 1 in every 38 people living in the United States resides in New York City? That's true, actually.

There is a birth in New York City every 4.4 minutes. We are from Lower Manhattan. We were born on 1973. I wanted to say that. I thought it's better to spit some statistics before sayin' that. Those days, Nixon was busy giving speeches on the Watergate scandal. Later, it became a nightmare for him.

You know, New York is a city of dreams. It's a symbol of hope. The city is linguistically diverse with over 800 languages spoken. People from different parts of the world come here to make their dreams come true. Russians, Chinese, Arabs and more and more and more. I am not a big fan of nationality and ethnicity. Let's just say, they all are New Yorkers.

I know, I talk a lot. My brother is more of a serious kinda guy. You know the intellectual one. He's a listener. He used to patiently listen to every bullshit I tell. Poor guy. He doesn't talk much but he knows a lot. He talks about stock markets and things like that. Damn! That's boring. I would prefer sleeping pills over those numbers. Those stock markets don't ring a bell to me. I like to get to know people. I'm more into that sorta stuff. You know, people- they are amazing. They come in different sizes, different colors but they all are same. I thought everyone is same. At least, that's what I thought.

We are twins. And, he is a little taller than me. But I'm okay with that. No matter what, girls love me. They love him too but I think they love me more. You know, he is the brother everyone wishes to have. I hope my ladies will find a good brother in him. Hhmm...and he also inherited my good looks. Lucky guy!

I spent my entire life with him. We were always together. Together, we used to stare at the sun. It was beautiful. Yeah, I know it's stupid as well.

And I never missed a sunset in my life. It's a spectacular phenomenon. The Sun slowly descending towards the horizon- that's something I don't wanna miss. Airplanes always fascinated me. I thought they were birds at first. Then my brother shed some knowledge on me. It still amazed me. How could a man-made beauty feel like a natural one? They used to fly every hour of the day. I wanted to see an airplane. I never saw an airplane at close distance. I wanted to see one close, very close. Yeah, but there's something that I don't like about them. It's the spooky sound they make. It scares the shit out of me. Let's cut out the goofy sound from the equation and call airplanes the most beautiful human invention.

Erika loved me. She used to talk to me. Whenever she came to see us, she brought her red polaroid. She used to talk to us but her mother thought she's gone crazy. Kids act crazy but Erica was not a crazy girl. She took our pictures. I looked good in all of 'em. We were good friends. And, when she asked me 'What's your story?' I had nothing to tell her.

Here, I'm gonna tell you my story.

Some people didn't like us. I don't know the reason. They are just filled with so much of hatred. We did nothing to them. I swear we did nothing to them. They wish ill for us.

The year is 1993.

We were 20 years old, some people tried to harm us. They tried to kill us. But we survived. We were injured pretty bad. But we survived. I don't know who they are. I am pointing my fingers at nobody.

We were just a drop in the bucket. A lot happened that year.

Mr. Bill Clinton began his term as POTUS. The same year, Pat Nixon died. She died a day after her 53rd wedding anniversary with Mr. Nixon. That's tragic. A lot of good things and bad things happened that but our beautiful America was still in one piece.

Next fall, we met Mr. Smith. He was very kind to us. He took care of us. He was good to everyone. I used to watch him help people. He used to bend over backward to help people. Some people are born with a good heart. They know the value of human lives. Some people are like that.

New York started looking more colorful after some time. People started wearing big t-shirts and extra long shorts. Color mattered the most. Even Erika wore tapered pants. She had a lot of 'em. Baseball caps. Teenagers everywhere were seen growing long hair. Hip-hop was becoming more popular.

But Mr. Smith was exceptional. He always was Mr. Smith. And we were always us. My brother still was my brother and I was still me. But I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm all grown up. And everyone started treating me like one. I loved that. You know, I was no more that dumb kid. I don't know, maybe a little dumbness is still left in me.

It's said that there is a death in New York City every 9.1 minutes. But on the 11th day of September 2001, the statistics went wrong.

The sky looked perfectly blue on that Tuesday. The temperature was normal. A hurricane was spinning off the Northeast coast. But a cold front caused the hurricane to turn north keeping the storm away from the East coast. What if the hurricane impacted the North coast? WHAT IF THE HURRICANE IMPACTED THE NORTH COAST? Flights would have got delayed.

I was enjoying the morning sun. I saw Mr. Smith coming. Like every other day, he wished us a good morning. He always had a smile on his face.

Today is a beautiful day. Yesterday evening a thunderstorm rolled across the city. It dumped rain for some time. But today, the sky looks clear. It's like, nothing happened yesterday. I love the blue skies. It feels magical looking at 'em from such heights. Today is a beautiful today. I remember telling me that. But, I was wrong.

I saw an airplane. I saw it coming. I saw it coming toward us. Something is wrong. It was coming towards us.

A moment later, it hit my brother. He was screaming in pain. I felt him. I feel him. I feel the pain. It's excruciating.

I told him to relax. I told him it's gonna be alright.

'Don't worry! It's okay, it's okay.'

'Talk to me!' I kept repeating the words but I don't think he's listening to me. I don't know.

'Somebody please help!'

'Help!'

I heard people screaming. I heard them cry. Some were running down the stairs. It was hot. Fumes all over the sky. The sky was no more blue. He was burning. He was fucking burning.

I saw Mr. Smith. He was trapped a few floors above the wound. I can feel that. He took some white clothing and started waving it. he was calling for help. He is a good samaritan but no one's coming to help him. I think he knew that. He stopped waving for help. He knows, he's not gonna make it. I saw a few people jump through the windows. They chose the way they wanna die.

I saw Erika. She was near Marriott, filming us, not with her polaroid. She is now a reporter working for Fox News Channel. She told me this the last time she came to us. Thank, God! She's okay.

Then I heard that spooky sound. I looked around. An airplane is coming towards me. I know what that means. It's getting closer.

I hate that fucking sound. I know I won't have to hear that sound again. I gotta deal with this for one last time. That's it.

I see the airplane coming closer. I have never seen an airplane this close. OMG! It's bigger than I expected. It's truly one hell of a creation!

I felt the impact but I didn't feel the pain. I can feel a million cries inside of me but I don't hear myself. I looked at my brother. He's telling me something but I don't hear him. I feel numb. I know I'm burning. I am not my brother. I don't think I can last long. I don't think I can. Feels like I'm gonna go down. So, I looked at my brother for one last time. I know, I am not gonna meeting him again. There is no afterlife. I'll miss him. I'll miss Mr. Smith. Erika was looking at me. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She doesn't know how much I loved her. I'm gonna miss her. I'll miss you, New York! Wish I could hear those car honks again. Sunrise and sunset. Sunburns, rainfalls, snowfalls. I'll miss everything. I'll even miss the copepods. Haha..

The city that never sleeps is gonna sleep for the first time. I never saw a day like this coming.

Me and my brother- we are part of a million stories.

WHAT HAPPENED TO US, WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

[End]