london

Open As Usual, most signs screamed, loud letters climbing across the walls of both small businesses and big corporations. Open Like Always, others declared. They weren’t signs of defiance or arrogance. They were signs of honor and respect.

The bombings occurred in the early morning of July 7, and I was still in bed, sleeping soundly, at 8:50am when a train exploded in Russell Square Station, just two blocks behind my flat. I woke up to the sound of silence – it was a rare event in this city – and I heard the dejected news through my bedroom door. Bombings occurred on over three train lines and two buses, and by 4pm, 37 people were reported to be dead.

On July 8, I expected a suspended world. I anticipated fear and silence, paranoia and sorrow. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I awoke, as usual, like always, to the bustling sound of black cabs, double deckers, and chatty businessmen heading towards the tube stations. Knowing that I could not withstand the confines of my flat, I ventured out into the city, unaware of the sights I would see.

I passed Hyde Park, where vibrant green trees were decorated with a blanket of dedicated flowers beneath. I saw children playing with their dogs, couples enjoying a picnic, and introverts reading books in the shade. I passed by Trafalgar Square, where tourists and locals continued to enjoy the architecture of St. Martin in the Fields and the refreshing mist that sprang from the enormous water fountains. I then ate lunch at my favorite deli, whose name escapes me but was managed by an Italian named Alessandro, and I saw the sign for the first time. Open As Usual. Three simple words that meant so much more.

Exactly one week later, I was heading towards an afternoon to be spent at the Courtald Gallery when everything stopped. The cars. The people. The conversations. For two whole minutes, I watched the city pay their respects to the dead. I stood there in awe, watching strangers whose hearts were set to the same clock as mine, and I finally understood where I was – I was home. After those two minutes, everyone went back to work, to their families, to their friends. We all moved on, determined to be Open Like Always.