Kristin Marino and Maya Peretz are two young women, bonded by a profound loss.
Marino was just 3 years old when her father — Kenneth Joseph Marino, an FDNY firefighter for Rescue Company 1 in Hell’s Kitchen — was killed on Sept. 11, 2001. At least once a year, she goes to the World Trade Center reflecting pools to pay tribute to her father.
“I just feel like I’m with him when I’m here. This is where he still is, since they didn't find him. I just have a peace that comes over me,” she told NBC New York.
Marino’s most recent visit took on added significance. As part of a new documentary, the 26-year-old Christian social media influencer met the 21-year-old Peretz, whose father was killed while trying to save her from the Oct. 7 terror attack at the Nova music festival in Israel.
Peretz told Marino in the documentary that she “was sure he was coming back home,” referring to her father. It was a feeling Marino could relate to.
“They never found my dad. For so long, because he wasn’t found, I had in the back of my mind, ‘Oh my dad’s going to come back.’ So it’s so beautiful to come back and visit his memorial,” she told Peretz in the documentary.
Until this past summer, the two were strangers on opposite sides of the world. Now they've come together to share the healing powers of friendship. But Marino didn’t expect there to be such an instant bond between them.
“Honestly I didn’t really know. I just knew that I just wanted to meet her… I didn't know how it was going to go. I was a little nervous because we do have different beliefs, we live on different side of world, we talk in different languages,” Marino told NBC New York. “But I knew we were supposed to meet and it was going to go exactly how it was going to go.”
Peretz said there was a common understanding between the two girls that not many others have experienced.
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“I felt like we both understood each other because we both have this trauma from terror. We got this instant connection because we both know how to lose someone to terrorism,” she said.
Their unlikely bond inspired Dan Luxemberg to share their moving story with the world.
“This documentary is really Kristin reaching out and saying, ‘My story happens around the world all the time. And I'm trying to bring everybody together and say, we have each other,’” Luxembourg said.
"It shouldn't be like that, but it's our job to stay strong and continue life in best way possible for them,” Peretz said in the documentary.
Marino lost her father, but not her faith. Now, she feels it's her duty to lift up others dealing with trauma by reminding her millions of followers that they are not alone.
“No matter who loses their parent, their dad, their mom, it’s still not right. We’re still humans at end of the day, we can still come together and share that bond, is really special and really powerful in itself,” said Marino.
