Those who were in Christchurch on 22 February 2011 all have a story to tell.
Some have probably told their stories many times to our friends and family - they've got used to them and they've come to define the day for them.
They're all talking about the same day - stories unfold simultaneously, they overlap - people cross paths and help each other.
Ken Hird had to learn to walk again after breaking his neck in three places.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Their accounts are all fragments of the same story - all little pieces of a bigger narrative - the story of a broken city.