The Silence after.
The split second before the 21 storey building came tumbling down, the occupants were going about their different lives. The corper was probably thinking of going home early, the P.A was probably thinking of checking in with her wedding planner, the Owner of the building was probably showing his friend from the U.S around but the world came tumbling down.
Am I the only one who wonders what the first sound they heard was, was it a creak or a thud or something in between. The only thing I'm sure those that lost their lives heard was the silence after. They didn't hear the wailing of the people who watched it crumble, the screams of their colleagues who were barely alive, the noise of the caterpillar that came to help clear the rubble to find their bodies or the cries of their relatives demanding for them to be found, just silence.
Those of us who heard the news and lucky to be alive also got a share of the silence, the silence of those who one way or the other had something to do with the collapse of the building. I can't give you facts, only speculate because of the silence; the silence of those that sold inferior materials and probably swore that it was the best, the silence of those who inspected the building and let them continue the building just because money had exchanged palms, the silence of the government officials and wealthy who paid millions to get an apartment in the building and urged them to keep up "the good work ".
Lives were lost, dreams were killed, hopes were shattered but the silence remains.
Nobody is going to query the silent ones, Nobody is going to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again.Nobody! Just silence.
I wonder what it would be like if the silence ends . Would we actually get answers to the numerous questions running through our minds ? Would the bereaved get closure of some sort? Would it help other constructors make better choices?
We wouldn't know the answer to these questions if we don't demand the silence be ended . We might be the next to fall victim to the "silence". Oh it might not come as a building tumbling down our heads or accidents due to poorly constructed roads, it might just be anything and then we'll hear it, the silence, and it would be too late.