Ellis's Dillema

BERITA LAINNYA - 04 December 2024

Ellis's Dillema

I heard that heroes are those who save and protect the world from evil. But what happens when our world is in danger, our slightest glimmer of hope has faded, and our blood smeared upon the pavement? Then who will come save us all?’

Ellis closed the book in her hand and sighed deeply.

“I don’t get it,” she murmured. She looked into the multitudes of posters on her wall, all displaying the greatest superheroes of comic worlds. All those heroes, all those great achievements, all those people adoring them yet the world they are in always manages to find a way to go to ruin.

“They’re heroes, get it. But what if they’re a bad person? Would them being a bad person yet still saving someone in need make them a hero? I mean, what defines a hero, hero?”

“Even mom got tired of my endless questions. Mom, what is a hero?”

She looked at the comic infront of her and blinked once. Then blinked twice, and thrice, and…

“What the heck?” She yelped in surprise. The comic book she was reading previously wasn’t there on her table. Instead, a new, unknown comic replaced its presence, its title font so distracting that Ellis can’t even read it unless she gets closer.

…A mysterious comic, just suddenly appearing out of nowhere? That just seems to be the perfect recipe for a disaster!

She gets closer anyways.

“A Guide On How To Perceive Someone Heroically,” the title reads. Odd choice for a comic book title, and also for a font, Ellis supposes, but she did get a closer look anyway. They’re both odd.

She lifts the comic up and starts examining it. In some way, the comic is absolutely so, so normal. It’s just like one you’d get as a freebie on Blockbuster, of course except for the loud font of the title. The characters were so unfamiliar yet so familiar to her. She could’ve sworn she saw these characters somewhere.

Slowly she starts to open the first page…

Which is a terrible choice, because something immediately popped out of the comic book.

“Ah!” She gasped, golden dust seemingly blocking her point of view. She waves all the remaining dust outside her window, her unfortunate hair not saved from the glitter decorating it.

The strange comic had a weird amount of glitter. While some comics, yes, trust me, have some glitter surprises, isn’t this way too excessive? They’re just making a mess on purpose now.

Ellis observes the introductory page of the characters. Granted, the characters were quite eye blinding with the color choices. I mean, the title said everything about the comic itself. It was bold. Loud, near blinding. But the colors do not have a disharmony or anything. At the very least, It matched the others. The art seems unfinished, though. Looks like scribbles.

 

She flipped through the pages. It’ll be a short read, she says.

The main character's name was Paige. She’s a simple girl who lives her life in awe, in a world of superheroes. The story goes as follows;

If I am just a girl incapable of saving myself, how will I save all the others? So many people cry and wail for help, so many of those so-called heroes ignoring us! Ignoring our begging and pleas! Ignoring all the cries that call out for their name yet they run away only for the sake of their own safety!

Urgh…

She can’t hold the tears that start to dwell up inside her eyes. Her legs unmoving, stuck under the rubble, she can’t even feel it anymore. Just as black spots started to fill her eye, a strange, unfamiliar light dimmed in front of her face.

She turned the next page of the comic over. A text reads,

‘Ask Paige a question.’

Without thinking, she answered. “What do you think is the meaning of ‘Heroes’, Paige?” It almost sounded silly. Her, talking to papers of a comic book? Anyone seeing her doing this would probably think she’s a lunatic. But to her surprise, the chat bubble in the comic replied.

“Someone who saves people.”

She stared wide-eyed at Paige. Almost half a second later, she continued her question.

“Why do you think that?”

The character Paige seemed to be thinking of an answer.


“If in a textbook definition, they say it’s a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It is true. Is saving people not an outstanding achievement?”

“But think about this! Would bad people who're admired for saving people to do bad deeds be praised and be called a hero?”

“They wouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because everybody knows they’re bad. Heroes are made, not born. You can’t automatically be a hero just because you are admired. You have to do your best, fight for what you believe in with the intention of good. You just have to find what drives you to do so in you. In your heart..”

Ellis stays silent for a while. Her mind is racing with so many thoughts, she just can’t help but blurt out one of them.

“Would my friends be a hero?”

“It depends. What do they do?”

“They help me and listen to me everytime I talk and hang out with them.

“They are indeed heroes.”

“Would my teacher be a hero?”

“Did they help you in any way?”

“They did.”

“Then they are.”

“Then…”

“Would my mom be a hero?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to that.”

“...I guess I do. But Paige. What happens to you after this? You don’t like being called a hero.”

“Because I’m not. You’ve read all my story from these tiny little panels, and you know I despise heroes.”

“...And I’m nearly not filled with enough grace to be a hero.”

“But you’re a hero. For saving so many people. I would know. I read the summary.”

“I guess you did. How about you ponder for a bit then skip to the very last page? You will know my fate then.”

She closed the comic. That conversation she just had was just OUTRAGEOUS. Is she crazy now? Should she consider contacting a mental hospital?

She thinks about what ‘Paige’ had said to her. The summary, the textbook definition, ALL, that was said to her, makes her so deep in her own thoughts.

“Would that… make me a hero of my own?”

She stared at the ceiling blankly.

 

Oh.

Oh.

 

She immediately opened the comic book down to the last page. There, Paige, in all her glory, immediately appears. She had just been knighted by the queen, and the people cheered for her victory every time she went into battle. In the last panel, the big one, coated with the sun’s warmth on her back, she asked,

“Did you figure it out, Ellis?”

“I did.”

It's probably just her, but she swore she could see the smile that Paige holds become more soft.

She closed the comic, hurriedly opened the door and ran downstairs.

“Mom! I found it! I found the answer!”

***

As the wind from the window slowly pushed the comic from the table, the comic fell onto the floor, opening the very first page of the comic. The page where the characters were first introduced.

“ I hope that one day, you get to live as what you define a hero, Ellis.”

- FIN..

 

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