It was just another day in the city.
She had woken early that morning, for no apparent reason. This usually turned out to be an omen, telling her that it wouldn’t be a good day for her. On the way in, she had to wait for a second bus; the first was full. This was some kind of confirmation. Although in her early twenties, she had learnt to listen to these feelings and validate them. She had always had premonitions, small ones, not something to go around telling people about. When she found a notice on the coffee machine, saying it was out of order, that was the clincher. She filled her mug with water and went back to her desk. She was looking through a backlog of paperwork when the manager appeared.
He coughed. “A touch late.”
She smile up at him. “Sorry. First bus was full.”
He nodded. “OK. You look as though you have a bit of catching up to do. I’ll leave you to it.” He gave a quick grimace and left.
He was generally seen as a pompous little man who could do with going on a diet by those around her. He wasn’t liked. Although, she had never personally had a problem with him. She liked her job and wanted to keep it. She carried on shuffling papers, setting her priorities.
After a few minutes of handling work she looked out at the city. It happened to be a great view. She was lucky to get a window seat. The weather looked good, but… she didn’t know what she was feeling, but she knew not to dismiss it.
She whispered to herself, “Somethings wrong out there,” and carried on with her work. Only a few minutes later, she stopped and stared out again. She wondered if she had left something on, back in her room, or whether there was something she had forgotten to do, maybe out there, shopping or something…
She was still gazing out when the manager came back. He gave another cough. He was looking down at the paperwork spread out across her desk. “You don’t seem to be making much progress. Is there something wrong?”
Before she could stop herself, she said, “Yes, something.” She looked around, suddenly aware of his presence. She clasped her hands together. “Sorry, had a feeling… that something was wrong.” She pointed at the paperwork. “I’ll get on with it,” she said resolutely. He sighed and walked away. She made an earnest effort to catch up with her work. She told herself that she wouldn’t look out of the window again until her desk was clear.
This all changed a little later.
Everyone in the office ran over to the windows when the first tower was hit.