An Earth Shaking Crash

FINAL COPY
AN EARTH SHAKING CRASH

10th   August 2004. It was my 10th birthday. We were in the Mother City, Cape Town. It was a dream come true. I was ecstatic, my 10th birthday... on holiday...in a beautiful city! I could not have wished for anything better.

We were at a park near Table Mountain. We could see the beautiful waterfalls cascading down the gigantic mountains. The weather was perfect. We had delicious food, vibrant music and wonderful people whom we had met at Cape Town. We were having a fabulous time.

Suddenly, we heard screams from the crowd. Everyone became panicky. I was puzzled and afraid at the same time. Just then I felt the earth beneath me vibrate. I looked for my parents in vein, but all I could see was a crowd scattered around the park. People were running in all directions. I then heard my name being yelled. I looked around and was thrilled to see my sister running towards me. She told me that my parents were looking for me and that they waiting for us at the entrance of the park.

Everyone was running towards the entrance, my parents were there, waiting for my sister and I. We all bordered awaiting helicopters. As the helicopter   took off into the air, there was a loud ‘bang’. It was an EARTH SHAKING CRASH. It sounded as if the mountains were collapsing. The noise was so loud, it sounded as if the noise was inside the helicopter. Everyone was shocked. We missed the crash by just a few seconds. I was so afraid, I could hardly feel my feet. We were all in tears. The pilot then assured us that we were all safe and that he was taking us to a safe place. I was a bit relieved, but I was still horrified.

My 10th birthday, I will never forget. From that day onwards, I never really had parties or celebrations for my birthday. The 10th of August 2004 was a very sad day for many people who had lost their loved ones. That incident will be an everlasting memory.