A 9/11 Victim's Monologue

The beauty of history, a real victim with a dramatized story.
Remembrance of CeeCee Lyles, a flight attendant on Flight 93.

First of all,
I was taken away too soon.
So much life left in me to live and conquer.
I was filled with nothing but life.
My family needed me.
Oh my family.
Our 4 crazy sons always kept me on my toes
Jerome, Jevon, Justin and Jordan
They were my heart.
And my beloved husband, Lorne, kept me grounded.
In the midst of all our Earthly struggles,
He was my rock
And kept me strong.

Even when the plane was hijacked,
And I knew I would not be coming out alive,
He was my rock,
And he still kept me strong.

He should have talked me out of becoming a flight attendant.
I was stupid.
He was stupid for letting me quit the police force.
I was a top of the line detective and sergeant
I was successful.
A leader.
Everyday I made the world a better place,
Positively influencing and encouraging women and children to chase their dreams.
It was my life.
It’s what I lived for.
But it became overwhelming.
Witnessing how broken the world really is, broke my heart a little bit more everyday.
I couldn’t handle the pain anymore.
I always put people before me,
It was my time to put myself first.
Deep down, I knew God was telling me
“Your time there is done”
God told me to travel,
So I obeyed.
I took the first job I found as a flight attendant for United Airlines.

It was less than a year.
Less than a year I worked for the Airlines.
That day will forever be in my weary heart.
Once we became aware of the hijacking,
The plane turned to hell.
Crying, screaming, yelling.
Praying.
I knew the chances of me walking out of this alive were slim to none.
All I could think about was my family.
Jerome, Jevon, Justin and Jordan
And my beloved husband, Lorne.
What I would have gave to just be home with all my boys.
I had to call home.

I thank the Lord my husband was home.
I prayed to God to hear his voice one last time.
The moment I heard him pick up the phone,
I knew I had to become strong
Despite the hysterics occurring around me.
All I could say was how much I love him and our boys.
I love them with all of me.
We prayed.
I prayed to God that I could see him again.
I prayed that God would forgive me, and to save us.
We prayed until there were no words left to say except I love you.
Throughout the chaos. My husbands voice was all I could hear.
It took all of me to hang up that phone

We were getting closer to the ground.
Closer and closer.
Silence took over the plane.
Closer and closer.
Suddenly, God’s appearance took over my sight.
It was over.

If I could have chosen a way to die,
This would not be it.
Though I may never understand why God chose me to die this way,
It was God’s will for me to be on Flight 93 on September 11th.
But I know one day, I’ll be with my true love again.
One day, I’ll be reunited with my rock
Who kept me strong.