On the morning of September 11, 2001, Sara Botkin was 24 years old and heading to her temporary job at the World Trade Center. But before going up to the office, she decided to stop for a few minutes to buy something she had been waiting for: Mariah Carey’s new album, Glitter.
The CD had a special detail: Carey had signed a photograph and the album notes for her. Sara picked it up at a Sam Goody store located in the underground shopping mall of the Twin Towers.
When she finally reached the elevator line, the first impact occurred. A plane had crashed into the North Tower.
Sara heard a roar, saw people beginning to run, and decided to leave the building. She then took the subway back to Queens, still not understanding the magnitude of what was happening.
Her boyfriend, Ovi, was far away and could not get in touch with her. For hours, he believed Sara had died, until he received a call from her mother confirming that she was alive.
The detail that had delayed her arrival at work —buying that signed CD— ended up being decisive. Sara was supposed to work in the South Tower, which was hit by the second plane.
Two months later, she moved to Pittsburgh and Ovi proposed to her. They got married on December 8, 2001, and 25 years later, they are still together and have three children.
Sara still keeps the CD, although she almost never listens to it. For her, the object became linked to a tragedy that changed her life forever.
“I feel grateful, I feel fortunate, and I feel profound sadness for the people whose lives were never the same again”, she said.