Two mothers from opposite ends of the Sept. 11 spectrum came together in friendship Wednesday in White Plains.

Phyllis Rodriguez lost her son, 31-year-old Greg Rodriguez, in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Aicha El-Wafa is the mother of the only man ever convicted for the crime, Zacarias Moussaoui. Both women were brought together by the Westpac Foundation in White Plains, which promotes peaceful solutions to world problems.

Rodriguez, of White Plains, says she was asked a year after the attacks if she wanted to meet Zacarias Moussaoui's mother. She said yes. El-Wafa has written a book about her experiences and says her reconciliation with Rodriguez was a natural response. She says it is the sadness of Sept. 11 that has brought them together in friendship.

?I can only say this felt right for me. I can't impose it on anyone else and I hope that more of a dialog in our nation will open up...to discuss these issues of reconciliation and forgiveness,? Rodriguez said of the remarkable meeting.