The author, an executive producer of a morning news show, lost their mother's younger sister Daphne Pouletsos, who worked at the World Trade Center and was killed in the 9/11 attacks when the author was young. The author has since become a substitute mother to their six-year-old niece, with whom they have formed a close bond, including having sleepovers and playing games together. The author's niece refers to them as her "substitute mother", which touches on the author's own experience of losing a maternal figure at a young age. The author reflects on their aunt Daphne's legacy and how she was a constant source of joy and light in their life, particularly during Christmases spent at their grandparents' house.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In 2001, I lost the world I knew.
asserted
I → lose → world
Twenty-five years later, I’m accidentally rebuilding it.
asserted
I → rebuild → it
“I think people think you’re my mother,” my six-year-old niece whispered to me as we walked through the parking lot toward CVS.
asserted
we → think → CVS
“I think you’re right,” I said, smiling back at her impish grin that suggested we were pulling one over on the world.
uncertain
we → think → world
I had picked her up from school and was indulging her request to buy fake nails for our sleepover.
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I → pick → sleepover
She gripped my hand tightly, as a daughter would.
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daughter → grip → hand
We proudly walked through the automatic sliding doors, as one.
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We → walk → one
I don’t have children of my own, which means my niece is the beneficiary of my pent-up maternal love and obsession.
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niece → have → love
She was born in 2020, and four months later, I left my job as the executive producer of a morning news show in New York and moved to Los Angeles.
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I → bear → Angeles
It was the first time I’d disrupted my ambitious climb up the media ladder, and when my feet landed in the California sand, my role as an aunt became the foundation of my daily life.
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role → disrupt → life
Birthdays, ballet recitals, and school performances anchored my calendar.
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Birthdays → anchor → calendar
Playing hide-and-seek before dinner, getting ice cream on a Tuesday, and letting her empty my closet for dress-up replaced late-night calls, breaking news, and media dinners.
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her → play → calls
Recently, when my sister traveled abroad for work, my niece wanted assurance that her “substitute mother” would be around.
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mother → travel → assurance
The phrase made me laugh, but also squeezed my heart like a vise.
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me → make → vise
Because I know what it’s like to have a substitute mother.
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it → know → mother
Daphne Pouletsos worked for the insurance company AON, her office was located in the south tower of the World Trade Center, and she was among the 2,977 victims killed in the 9/11 attacks.
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she → work → attacks
Saza, as we called her, was my mother’s younger sister.
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we → call → her
Her nickname was a name given by my oldest cousin, Dayna, whose toddler tongue couldn’t say “Aunt Daphne.”
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tongue → give → Daphne
Although Saza lived in New Jersey and I grew up in Virginia, she was a constant light in my life.
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she → live → life
We drove up north for summers and holidays, and Saza would visit us throughout the year.
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Saza → drive → year
Once, she hid in the back of our Chrysler minivan when my mom picked my siblings and me up from school, and she revealed herself by suddenly piping into the conversation.
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she → hide → conversation
We squealed with excitement.
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We → squeal → excitement
Saza knew how to make a mundane moment sparkle.
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moment → know → ?
Her sense of humor was the first thing to enter the room, and sleepovers at her house meant staying up late to watch Saturday Night Live.
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sleepovers → enter → Live
In my young mind, “The Church Lady” and “Coffee Talk” were extensions of my aunt (it helped that she also had a New Jersey accent).
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she → help → accent
Shimmying our shoulders like “Sprockets” was like a special inside joke.
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Shimmying → shimmy → joke
Her laugh could sweeten the sourest mood.
uncertain
laugh → sweeten → mood
Saza would come to my grandparents’ house first thing in the morning, the jingle bell on the back door announcing her arrival.
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bell → come → arrival
She’d sit in the big, blue upholstered wingback chair, her feet tucked under her like a teenager, eyes shining behind her ‘90s rimless glasses.
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eyes → sit → glasses
I can’t separate the thrill I got from opening a new baby doll from the joy I got from showing it to her.
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I → separate → her
She would coo with enthusiasm, amplifying my delight.
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She → coo → delight
One time, she gave all of her nieces and nephews thick black plastic glasses with rubber banana noses attached.
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she → give → noses
It was the silliest gift I’ve ever received, and one of the best.
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I → receive → best
We took a picture, all piled on top of each other: laughing, goofy, family.
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We → take → family
Her presence carried a promise that everything was okay.
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everything → carry → promise
As a kid, I assumed it always would be.
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it → assume → kid
I was studying abroad in the fall of 2001.
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I → study → 2001
Classes at University College London hadn’t started yet, so I was traipsing around Europe with a sorority sister.
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I → start → sister
We were at a restaurant in Barcelona when a waiter expressed dismay about “what happened at the World Trade Center.”
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what → express → Center
“My aunt works there,” I told my friend.
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I → work → friend
…and 28 more, not listed.
