Gladys de la Torre (GDLT) and Carolina de la Torre (CDLT)
GDLT: The night before 9/11 I was at her house and I just remember we were laughing and talking. When it was about time to leave, she came to the door with me, and at the moment, it was like this urge, this feeling that I should hug her and kiss her and tell her that I love her. And I didn’t do it. Carolina, do you remember the morning of September 11th?
CDLT: Yes, I do remember. We were all amazed at what was happening at that point. And some of my coworkers, they were running around and saying that something was going on, and then they told me that there was an airplane that hit the tower where my sister was. All I could do was just scream and just cry. Cause I knew she was there. Every day for the next two weeks I was hoping that we’ll find something about her. The only thing that we were able to get from her was her driver’s license. It was kind of burned. And that’s it.
GDLT: After 9/11, when I was next to my mother and my nieces, I was composed, trying to be strong. But the second or third day, I went to her house, and what she used to do all the time is leave the clothes neatly folded in her bed so when she came back from work she will change into the house clothing. And I went into her room and I saw those clothes folded in her bed, and that really hit me. I remember getting the clothes, hugging them, and crying so hard and loud that I kind of…I scared myself. That’s when I really cried.
CDLT: You know, I heard people saying “just go back to your normal life.” You know, that’s something that they don’t understand. She was part of my everyday life. How could I just go back and not feel it? Even walking in Manhattan where we used to go to different places it was just….it was unbearable. At times I would just find myself walking on the streets and crying. She was just everything to me. She was my best friend. I love her very much and I always will.