I don’t live in America- I live in the UK, and lived in Hackney (a borough of London) at the time. My 3 year old son was ill on that day, so I stayed at home to care for him. I remember exactly what room I was in – My son was sleeping next to me as I was watching the news, when suddenly I heard that there was an explosion in one of the two towers. My breath stilled – I remember my son stirring as if he felt my fear in his sleep. My friend worked in the World Trade Center, and my heart exploded with worry. I was fixed on the TV for a while, stopping to put my son to bed, when I saw a black blob in the sky on the screen. It was only a split second before it crashed into the south tower when I realised that it was hurtling towards it. I don’t remember exactly how I reacted, I can only remember the image of the second plane and memories of the friend that I thought I lost.

My friend was M.I.A. for a couple of days. When all the towers collapsed I truly thought they died. But then, maybe on Friday of the same week, my phone started ringing. When I answered I heard a voice I thought long dead. They told me that this had to be quick, that they had to call all their contacts to tell them they were alive, and that they loved me. They hung up, and I think I cried for an hour afterwards. Now I know to hold my friends as close as possible in case something like this ever happens again. My heart goes out to all the families and friends of the deceased, and I hope murder on this scale never happens again.