SHOCK

I read about it in the papers, in the subway, on my way to work, I read it and I couldn’t believe it, and I read it again. Of course, I couldn’t help reading it since it was posted absolutely everywhere. Even if I couldn’t have seen it, I would have heard about it everywhere I went. It was all people were talking about. It was quite understandable, of course, the shock of what had happened had stunned the country, the whole world! I wanted to go back to yesterday before it had happened. It was all I could think about as I spent my day attempting to achieve a semblance of the normal. I threw myself into my work seeking to concentrate only on my job. I tried to shut down my hearing as it seemed no one else could concentrate on their jobs either.

As the day drew on, an atmosphere of gloom and fear penetrated the whole office suite. Talk ceased and people began to quietly work at their duties. After awhile, I decided I’d rather have the ceaseless talking back. The unspoken words now on everyone’s mind resounded off the very walls. What was going to happen next? As I walked down the stairs, preferring them to the elevator, I pondered the possibilities. Not a single one was welcome. No matter what we as a country did, we were not going to be able to get out of this situation cleanly.

That night, the news played the scenes over and over again, with commentaries from experts, talk shows hosting everyone from the media to the government officials. I sat on the sofa and did not even care to eat dinner. The sun went down slowly in the west and as I watched the darkness take over, I knew that even though we would have another sunrise, we would never see another day dawn without the portents of this disaster hanging over our heads. I turned off the TV, shut the blinds, went to bed, and tried to sleep.