Julia Giesecke

 

It´s a beautiful day in late summer and I´m on my way to work.

Every day seems to be the same: I leave the house at eight, pass the beautiful front gardens with the lovely flowers, I greet the postman and rush to the underground.

I am not thinking anything at the moment. I`m just observing everything around me without actually processing it.

At the train station  I immediately have to stop my peaceful day dreaming. It is crowded as usual and everyone pushes each other. I truly do hate that feeling. Every one seems to be in a hurry. It is just an uncomfortable feeling. No smiling faces, no glances, everyone is just by themselves and no one takes notice of anything.

After five minutes we approach the first stop. Thank god the doors open for a couple of seconds. I definitely urgently need some fresh air. There is no oxygen anymore. Travelling to work on that crowded tube is what I hate most about my job. I`m always scared that something could happen. That the doors so not open anymore, that the train is derailed, that it catches fire, that there is an attack, that people start panicking on the train, that one gets stuck in the tunnel. The feeling of not being able to escape is always present. We pass the next stop and everything seems to be normal, what a relief. Now it is only two more stops until I am at work. I slowly start feeling more relaxed. Maybe it is not going to be that bad and I just exaggerate with my concerns. Looking around, people do not have a weird impression anymore and the woman standing next to the front window might even have smiled at me. I smile back in great relief.

“We are now approaching Central Park Station. Please mind the gap!”  It´s the last stop before the one I have to get off. The doors open, two tall men dressed all in black enter the train, shouting, pointing guns on everyone. They hit a man trying to get off the train and knock two women down at once. Panic, screaming, shouting, the crowd is pushing hard.

From this moment on I don`t know what I am doing anymore. I lose control, I lose my consciousness. Everything is spinning around me. Decasia.

About two hours later I find myself next to the traffic lights in front of the big crossing in central New York. There`s a blonde woman next to me constantly asking if I am okay.

 I´m just confused. How did I get here? What happened? Why is everyone running? Why am I so injured badly? I can´t get that question out of my head. What has happened to me and all the others running around in panic?

But then it hits me directly. All the pictures are coming back at once. The two men dressed in black, the shouting on the train, the guns, the man who tried to escape, followed by the two women who were knocked down and myself being pushed out of the train by that blonde woman who I flirted with before. Then follows the loud noise and the pain are following. Warm blood is running down my back.

Then again that woman pulling me up the stairs, making sure we get out of the underground. Around us panic everywhere, people screaming, blood and hectic. I feel really dizzy.

 

 

But when I opened my eyes again, I saw the blonde woman smiling at me being very calm in that scary, hectic environment.

 

I feel comfortable now, zoomed out, without realising what´s around me. I just feel pure happiness. What ever has happened down there, she has saved my life!

 

“It´s all good” she says. “ It´s not only me that witnessed the scene. It`s all recorded on video tape!”