A Hero Behind Me

I could not sleep. It was not an argument with my wife. I was not worried about my children. There was no fever; there was no cough. It was a question I read on this site that lit my mind that night. “What is a hero?”

Superman and I were friends. We grew up together. Batman let me drive his bat mobile. Luke Skywalker and I battled side by side. These were not my heroes. They were my friends.

If you look up into the sky tonight, you will not see my hero. That's just an airplane. My hero cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound. She is helpless before the villains. I am glad she does not know who they are. My hero’s weakness is her strength. In a world of chaos she is not scared, because I am there too. Her power is ancient, and knows no bound. She brings whole worlds into existence. She can travel anywhere, and be anything.

Yesterday she saved the day, again. My son did not have to go to his room alone, because she followed him there. She kissed her mother's ‘booboo’, and she gave me a hug. My hero is only two.