The Worst Day

//

 

This is the last page of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, where Oskar fantasizes about life going backward on September 11th, when his father died in the twin towers.

 

"

 

I ripped the pages out of the book.

 

I reversed the order, so the last one was first, and the first was last.

 

When I flipped through them, it looked like the man was floating through the sky.

 

And if I'd had more pictures, he would've flown through a window, back into the building, and the smoke would've poured into the hole that the plane was about to come out of.

 

Dad would've left his messages backward, until the machine was empty, and the plane would've flown backward away from him, all the way to Boston.

 

He would have taken the elevator to the street and pressed the button for the top floor.

 

He would've walked backward to the subway, and the subway would've gone backward through the tunnel, back to our stop.

 

Dad would've gone backward through the turnstile, then swiped his Metrocard backward, then walked home backward as he read the New York Times from right to left.

 

He would've spit coffee into his mug, unbrushed his teeth, and put hair on his face with a razor.

 

He would've gotten back into bed, the alarm would've rung backward, he would've dreamt backward.

 

Then he would've gotten up again at the end of the night before the worst day.

 

He would've walked backward to my room, whistling "I Am the Walrus" backward.

 

He would've gotten into bed with me.

 

We would've looked at the stars on my ceiling, which would've pulled back their light from our eyes.

 

I'd have said "Nothing" backward.

 

He'd have said "Yeah, buddy?" backward.

 

I'd have said "Dad?" backward, which would have sounded the same as "Dad" forward.

 

He would have told me the story of the Sixth Borough, from the voice in the can at the end to the beginning, from "I love you" to "Once upon a time..."

 

We would have been safe.

 

"

 

Peace out.