Dry Heat

Superhero

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by Matthew Behrens

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I'm a superhero. I go around saving people on a daily basis. I have the ability to fly and it has helped with lots of things. I get cats out of trees and sometimes I might help out the police with various crimes like robbery. Sometimes construction workers might trip and fall off roofs but if I'm there they'll be fine. There was this one time where someone tried to kill themselves by jumping off a building and as I saved him, he told me I was a sign and that I gave him a reason to live. We have since become good friends and it's moments like those that keep me going. I can't save everyone and it can really weigh on me so I definitely need those moments. There was another time where a small rotary plane was falling from the sky and the pilot did not have a parachute. Thanks to me he gets to live another day. Not a day goes by where I don’t love saving people. Sometimes, as I said before, I can’t save everyone and that makes it very hard but the people I do save help make up for that lose. There are plenty of other stories to tell about people I have saved and crimes I have stopped but it would require a novel to do so. I’ll save those stories for another day. Overall I think I have a really good thing going for me. I can live my life like normal and help people on the side. I can't really ask for a better situation. “Who will I help today?” I asked myself as I woke up this morning. I've been sitting on top of my rooftop all day waiting to hear a cry for help. It is a very quiet day today as nothing seems to be happening. It has been hours since I first sat down up here on this rooftop and not a single cry for help. I suppose that is a good thing but most days I am needed a lot. Maybe I have helped this city so much that they don’t actually need me anymore. This is a very beautiful city and with crime rates now so low, I think I can finally hang up my cape. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the air is fresh. I love this city and everybody in it. I am grateful I have the ability to save them. “Help me! Somebody help me!” “Maybe I’m still needed a little bit. That’s my cue.” I say to myself as I jump off the roof. I feel the wind in my face and the people shout in awe. I love this feeling. I’m about to save somebody while being ever so graceful about it. This is pure bliss. “Holy shit! Look at that crazy ass man falling to his death!” A worried pedestrian shouts from the streets below. Turns out, I haven't been taking my meds and I imagined being a superhero. SPLAT!