On Friday, I went to work, like any normal day. I had a busy morning and my last meeting ended at 12.30pm. Grumpy said lets have lunch, but I said "No! I'm heading to the gym". Then I added "But.. you can be a gentleman and grab sushi for me. When I am done, I will come and meet you". He agreed.
My usual gym routine during my lunch breaks go for about 1 hr 15 mins, which is made up of my usual 30-minute treadmill run followed by a quick shower, getting dressed, then blow dry my hair, touch up some make up etc. I got a text from Grumpy around 1pm saying "I'm hungry I'm going to get sushi already". And so I cut short my gym time by 10 mins, and finished at exactly 1.30pm. I stepped out of the gym, which was Fitness First on Bourke St Mall (corner of Elizabeth Street). Grumpy was seated on a bench in front of Myer, waiting for me. So I crossed the tram tracks, found him, sat down, and we just enjoyed our sushi's together, under the sun. We heard helicopters above us, and I said "maybe its the tennis?". The time was 1.40pm, and the next thing we knew, a maroon car was driving right before us, only 25 metres away, driving straight into people, on the foot path, and I saw three bodies fly up in the air, and then landing on the ground - motionless. I screamed! I screamed "FUCK!!!!" and Grumpy shielded me, worried there was more coming. Police chase after the maroon car. I saw bodies on the ground, one at the entrance of Block Arcade, one at Cotton On, and one, exactly where I stood only minutes before, at the entrance of my gym. I said to Grumpy, "No one could live through that right? Not when you are hit at such speed, and fly up to the air, and somersault and land on the ground like that..?" It could have been me, because that is exactly where I stood, before I walked to meet Grumpy.
Moments later, Bourke St Mall was in utter mayhem. We decided to head back to work, where it was safe. We ran up on Little Bourke St. When I got to my office, the building was already in lock down mode. Only employees of the bank were allowed to enter the building.
I got to my floor, and my whole body was shaking. My bosses brought me into a room, and I told them exactly what I saw. My office is not far from Bourke St Mall/ Myer, and workmates said they counted up to 10-15 bodies lying on the ground, covered in a pool of blood. My body was shaking for nearly an hour. After that, my tummy was in cramps. I felt sick.
A counselling session was set up at the ground floor auditorium, which I was asked to attend. I did, and was advised to: (1) talk about it, (2) be emotional if I need to be (3) seek further help if I need it. Most people at work were incredibly supportive. Workmates came to talk to me and asked if I was okay. My friends were texting me and ringing if I was okay. Then I decided I should ring my parents to let them know. I was pretty much in tears when telling my mum what had happened. She said "It is usually something we read in the news or watch on TV, not something that really happened right in our own city, in front our eyes". The entire Melbourne city was shaken. Our hearts were broken. We saw pictures of a broken pram, lying on a street. Innocent people, innocent children. Dopey was in Thailand, and he messaged me "Is there a terrorist attack?"
My head was trying to make sense of the trauma. I was thinking, how different things would have been if Grumpy did not meet me for lunch? If I was not rushed by him, I would have carried on with gym, taken my time, like normal, and stepped out at exactly 1.40pm-1.45pm, which was when the evil person struck. Or even, what if Grumpy met me after gym, and decided we would just eat at our desks and not at the bench, meaning we would be walking back to my office together first, along Bourke St.. where the lunatic then drove along after Bourke St Mall, to continue ramming into people. Maybe both of us would have been run down. Also, we would have been facing the same direction where he was heading, meaning if we were not paying too much attention to our surroundings, we would not have known the attacker was coming from behind. If things were different, who knows, either one of us, or both of us, would never have seen our Little Bambi ever again. Did I give her a hug and a kiss that morning before I left the house?
Sad.
Good night,
Jules
