The Story of Life

I had been born into a time of magic, a time of great miracles and magic powers. Not many people noticed, because no one else believed it. It took me years just to break through the surface, to get through all the pain around the outer layer. When I did, it was beautiful, just like everything else in the world. This isn’t a story about having the ability to heal immediately, or run as fast as sound. No one can fly or shoot lasers out of their eyes. There’s no werewolves, or vampires. No angels, and no demons. No gods or demigods or mythic beings that still exist today.

 This story is real. But it is about heroes, and just like most heroes, these heroes have magic powers. They hide in broad daylight, without a mask and without a cape. No cool suit or spandex, it’s not that kind of story. Something different, something new, a story about humans who are extraordinary. About the magic in the world, the magic in ourselves. It all started at a simple place, where old magic is cast out and new magic is formed. A place called high school, that’s where this story begins. Yet, unlike every other story, when high school ends, this story will continue. For no other reason than the fact that this story is life. 

With a sigh I leaned back in the chair, confident in the first portion of the story. Sure, I had dragged it out a bit, but the problem was that I always did. It made my writing unique, and I wasn't about to change that.

“Veronica! You’re going to be late for school!” Mom shouts from down stairs.

I spin the chair around, jumping up and grabbing my backpack. Slipping my shoes on as I hobble down the stairs. Today was the first day of senior year, and there was no greater regret than being late on the first day. 

Senior year was supposed to be the best year, you’re planning your future. You have your college in mind, you’re on the way into your life. It was the year to say goodbye, and the time to be made anew.

“Coming!” I call as I stumble down the last few steps. 

“What were you doing up there? Writing your autobiography?” Mom asks with a chuckle, holding out my bag. 

“No, that’s tomorrow's goal,” I reply with a shrug. “I was just writing.”

“Whatever you do, keep writing honey, your words are important,” she says with a grin. 

“I will, Mom,” I answer, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the table.

 “Okay, well you have a great day at school! Good luck! Love you! Remember, you got this!” Mom says, giving me a hug.

“Love you,” I say, walking out the door.

She was always like this on the first day of school, chipper and excited. I think it was because every year she thought I would talk to more people other than my ten friends. Without being prompted by the teachers that is. But I was okay with my ten friends, we had been through a lot together to finally get to where we were. While the only thing some of them had in common was hatred and friendship with me, it was better that way. Besides, this year was going to be something new. Something better. 

Recap: Freshman Year

There’s only one thing that the movies got right, high school changes people. That and cliques, but it wasn’t immensely bad. Jocks mostly left geeks alone, nerdy girls got onto the cheer squad. Preps actually know how to read books, and knew where the library was. Not to mention did their own homework, with limited help. It was mind blowing, truly it was. 

The reason not many people see the magic though is because bad things happen in high school. Friendships are destroyed, relationships are ruined. Friends fight, hearts are broken, hope is lost. In the middle of it all is rumors. Rumors that tear apart the mind and the body. Rumors that brought out the worst in people, and sent others crying in the bathroom. My best friend felt this pain, and don’t get me wrong, we’ve fought a lot over the years, and we will more so in the future. Every time we make up, and we learn the truth.

She wasn’t always my best friend though, she used to have another BFF. Rumors ended that. I honestly don't know what happened between the two of them. I think that they both tried to explain it to me at one point, but it didn’t make sense to me. It still doesn’t, to me it wasn’t worth losing a friendship. But I didn’t experience the pain or the feelings, so I can’t be the judge of that.

I didn’t expect to walk into the bathroom and find someone crying over an ex-best friend. Still, I did, and my life has been better for it. All I know, that as a result, I had gained two best friends. Completely opposite of each other, but they both resented the other. One was troubled, damaged inside but healing, yet always breaking. The other, she had already healed and she was optimistic in life, she saw the good in people. But she was insecure and afraid of her own feelings. Between the two of them, they hold me together. They keep me sane, and in a year it’ll be better. They’ll stop trying to make me stop being friends with the other, and they’ll learn to accept the fact that even though they stand on opposite sides and barely talk, they are connected. 

Freshman year had rumors, and those rumors destroyed a lot of things, and a lot of people. But the rumors failed at whatever goal they had tried to accomplish. Emma and Kelly didn’t break because of them. If anything they got stronger, and they each developed their own superpowers. 

Emma learned to trust the world, and to trust the people around her to figure out if they wanted to stay or not. She became light, and happy, living life for the moment and for no other reason. 

“I trust that the people who want to stay by my side always will,” Emma says, leaning her head against my shoulder. “Everyone else can walk away, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. It just means their paths are different. If they must go, then I’ll let them go. I’m glad that I got to know them.”

“You’re too trusting of people,” I answer, opening a pack of skittles. 

“I don’t trust people,” Emma replies. “I respect them. And I know that no matter what happens, you’re going to be by my side.”

“Forever,” I say with a grin. “Slushies?”

“Definitely,” she says, standing up. 

That was Emma’s superpower, she made people believe in themselves. She made them more confident in the way they looked and they way the acted. She helped them feel love when they were feeling lost, and she guided them back to who they were before sending them on their way. She made a lot of friends because of this.

“Vee! Over here!” Kelly screams, waving frantically. “We’re over here!”

Kelly was different, she was hidden and reserved. She trusted no one, not even herself, but she loved so deeply. She opened her heart to anyone and every single time they crushed it, not once did she learn her lesson. 

Recap: Sophomore Year

“I just don’t think that he’s good enough for you. I don’t trust him,” I say.

Kelly rolls her eyes, “You’re just being paranoid. Seriously, forget it. He’s not bad for me. I think I should know this.”

“Do you? Because I don’t think you’re thinking rationally. Alright? Just be careful,” I demand. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she snaps, waving me off. “You’re starting to sound like my mother.”

“Well you know what, maybe she has a point. Don’t you think you’re mother should approve of the boy you’re dating?” I ask. “I think you should trust her intuition. She’s lived longer, and she’s been through heartache before.”

“So? She doesn’t know anything about my life. Or the way I feel,” Kelly growls. “And I know that he’ll never cheat on me. I don’t care what everyone else says. He’s not like that.”

But he was, and he did, and it took her some time to heal. Though I believe that she never really healed properly. That was when I discovered her hidden power. She had the strength of ten thousand men. 

Of course, she wouldn’t be able to lift a bus or anything. Like I said, it’s not that kind of story. No, her strength was mental, and emotional. The strongest person that I know was also the weakest. She gave her strength out to others that needed it, she helped them before worrying about herself. Each time they gave her the strength back though, they gave her a bit of theirs. Making her invincible. 

“I am so tired,” Kelly groans, placing her head in her hands. “I need coffee.”

“Do you work today?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, I work from four to eight,” she mutters.

“Oh come on, that’s not that bad,” I say. “At least you don’t have to close.”

“That’s true, what about you? Do you work?” she asks.

“Ha! Noooo way. If they call me in I’m not going, this is my first day off in a week. I’m taking a break while I still can,” I say. 

“Ugggh,” Kelly says, laying back on to floor. “Who do you have for T3 today?”

“It’s Wednesday,” I say. 

“Are you serious! Already? Well, that won’t do. I still have to go to work.”

The bell rings, the sound ricocheting off of the walls, sending spasms through the floor. 

“Meet by your locker for lunch?” I ask.

“Definitely,” she confirms. “Hey, so do you think that you’d be able to help me with the English essay? Read it over and edit it? Please?”

“No problem, send it over and I’ll check it out,”  I say. 

“Thank you!”

Of course, these two weren’t the only heroes that were made during the school year, and they definitely won’t be the last. Each year more and more kids show up and each year more and more look for the magic. 

Those are the kids that should have stories written about them. The kids that rise above it. They’re not perfect, naturally, if they were they wouldn’t be human. And this is a human story of heroism. They judge others, and they listen to the rumors. Maybe they unknowingly feed into them as well. One can’t know for sure. By the end of the day though, none of that matters. 

They were the kids that chose to look above the rumors, the kids that chose to just ignore all the hate and anger that is the surface of high school. Not only that, but they fought to get past all the pain to see the truth. To uncover the hidden power. They could see through the Veil, and were able to witness all the ghosts behind it. To underneath who everyone was pretending to be straight to who they really were inside. Who they could strive to be. It was beautiful. 

Of course, these heroes didn’t out the truth, inside they set things into motion. Allowing the others to find their own truth, and choose how they wanted to live their life. As the person they were meant to be. The person that was etched into their very souls. Or the person that they wanted everyone to think they were. The person they showed everyone, the person behind the smile. It didn’t matter what path was chosen, so long as it was chosen with certainty and a happy, confident soul. 

But the real heroes, real heroes weren’t the ones that sat beside you in class. Oh no, they were the ones that taught you believing and hoping was okay. 

Teachers were the real miracles, they took our crap, and still helped us find out way. They fought through our pointless talking, and our computer screens, just to say a sentence. No matter what though, they were always there, rooting for you. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, and always giving you a second chance. Making you think that you were worth it, and that your life mattered. And isn’t that what heroes do? Make you believe in yourself?

Recap: Junior Year

There’s another type of hero, the one minute friends. The people you meet along the way, and then they’re gone that same day. People you talk to for an entire day, and then never speak to again.

People that you connect with, and for a moment, you seem to have a lot in common. It’s almost like you’re going to be friends forever, and you found a new bestie. Then something happens, reality sets in. You realize that this person might as well be from a different world. They’re from a different “clique” and they’re in a different grade. They might as well be on a different planet. 

Maybe, just maybe, you all could see past that, and you actually do have a new bestie. More often than not though, you never see them again except for in passing and in class. It might as well be as if they don’t exist. 

But they’re heroic because for a few moments, they stepped out of their comfort zone to talk to you and your friends. They tried. Which makes them braver than I could ever be. 

The field trip began in awkward silence, everyone waiting for the bus and just sharing looks. Not to mention the complaining.

“It’s cold, I’ve been walking around so that I don’t freeze,” someone mutters.

“Oh boo hoo, I’ve been here since six!” Another voice cuts through the air.

“That ain’t our fault,” Kelly says. 

“I have a blankie!” Jeremy says, wrapping the fabric around himself.

“Where’s the bus?” 

The complaining continued until our orange rectangular savior appeared within view. 

“About time,” Andrea groans. 

She was jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, and rubbing her shoulders trying to warm up. Ignoring the blanket that puddled around her feet. One by one we all piled onto the bus, most people making a mad dash for a seat that they wouldn’t have to share, so that they could sleep on the way there. The ride there was quiet for some people. But at the back of the bus we were jumbled up on nerves, even as people attempted to sleep. Everyone always came back to chattering loudly as the scenery flashes by. 

When we arrived at our destination, that’s when it all changed. For a few brief seconds, a new alliance was made between different groups of people. New cliques were formed, even if only for a second. Arch-enemies brought about a conversation. Quiet students talked their lungs off, and our hearts were opened up and displayed. 

Food was shared and passed around, instead of hoarded and devoured. Conversations arose with the strangest of people. Because for those few moments, we all had something in common. We weren’t nerds, or goths. Jocks or preps. Losers or antisocial. Freshman, sophomore and senior no longer existed. We were just writers. There were no longer any boundaries, and there wasn’t any judging. 

And even though the other schools may have sent us strange looks, or talked crap under their breaths, none of that mattered. For no other reason than, this was high school. We were all just kids, and we were finally getting along. The real field trip wasn’t going and writer about scenery and history. Or walking along a bridge that water flowed underneath, passing us by like all the people in our lives will one day. 

For just those few, precious hours, we were all united. We were all basked in the glory of a new friendship, filled with new possibilities. The bus ride home was silent and boring, as people slept off the adventure. Reality set in, and as I watched out the window, as if the world had reversed, the moment of friendship disappeared. Life took hold once more, and when we got off the bus, we went our separate ways. Without even a goodbye. Which was fine because the real heroes, were ourselves. And the people that shaped who we became. It’s true then. Heroes could be humans. 

For now, the story ends, continued on in life, until it makes its way to these pages. 

Reviews

[A.E. Surdam]

I absolutely love the beginning when you say, "This story is real. But it is about heroes." You set it up for the reality of life on how ordinary humans can be heroes too." I genuinely felt like I could relate to Emma. Great job. I really enjoyed reading this.

[PaintedBirdy]

this is quite possibly the best thing i've ever read. i don't even know what to comment because i'm so endeared by it. thank you for sharing this!! it hit!!