Not long after I settled down in New York City for good, I was fortunate enough to land a job in a company based in the Financial District. Whenever the weather permitted, I would get out early to stroll through the quiet streets of SoHo, cross Canal Street to wonder through Tribeca, and then make my way across the World Trade Center, marveling at the laconic beauty of the Twin Towers and the kaleidoscope of shapes and colors they reflected.

On September 11, I got up early. The sun was shining and the birds were singing in the small park behind my building, then, "some people did something"...