The Light

My name is Aurora Lumière, I am a married woman, and I work to support my household.

I observe my own reflection in the mirror as I feel the water from the shower cascade over my body.

Today I woke up with only 30 minutes to spare before I needed to leave. I took a quick shower... or at least I tried. The sensation of the water on my skin and my beautiful reflection in the mirror made me linger a bit longer. I run my hand through my black hair, admiring it for a moment. Finally, I take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself to get out of the shower. I must have been here for about 40 minutes.

I rush out of the shower. The water drips onto the floor, but I don't care. I quickly put on my uniform and dash through the bedroom to the kitchen. I smile when I see a small homemade burger on the table. I grab it and eat as quickly as I can while heading to the living room.

"Good morning, dear, I have to go. Thanks for breakfast."

He is focused on the television. A children's show is on, it seems to be a group of heroes fighting a villain. As I leave through the door, I smile, thinking about how cute my husband is.

I am Aurora Lumière. I am a Superheroine, who, with my radiance, illuminates this entire world.

 __________

I observe the city from above, especially the various billboards on the buildings.

"Radiant Star, the greatest heroine of all time, saves the day once again."

"With Radiant Star here, we have nothing to fear."

I fly slowly past the buildings, so I can appreciate the billboards below me.

"Release the hostage, we can negotiate if you do."

"No, you, cop! Back off or I'll blow this woman's head off!"

Hearing the voices, I look directly down and see a man holding a woman with a gun pressed to her head. A police officer is trying to persuade him to let her go, and a hero is also on the scene, looking extremely anxious. I smile and descend slowly. It was time to show my radiance to these people.

 __________

Alexander was having a great day. He had been a police officer for 30 years. Thanks to the heroes, his life was mostly about relaxing and getting paid, occasionally dealing with drunk brawls and issuing tickets. This lunatic with a hostage didn't worry him at first; he just needed to buy some time until a hero appeared to resolve the situation, or so he thought.

"Don't worry, ma'am, I'll defeat this villain."

Soon after, a hero appeared to stop the villain. The hero ran at full speed, needing to make the villain release the hostage. Time seemed to slow as he ran. As he approached, he grabbed the villain's hand to pull him away from the hostage.

Zap! An electric shock coursed through the hero's body, sending him flying backwards. He fell to the ground, paralyzed.

"Idiot, you pissed me off. Now I'm really going to kill this bitch!"

The criminal pressed the gun harder against the woman's head, as if about to crush it at any moment. Alexander panicked; he had never been in a situation where the hero failed. He didn't know what to do. What was a police officer supposed to do? He wondered.

Alexander looked around. People were gathering to watch from a distance, and traffic was at a standstill, with everyone focused on the scene. They were silent, watching anxiously.

Alexander decided he could only buy more time.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?"

The criminal and the hostage were surprised. The audience, vaguely observing, wasn't sure what was being said. The hostage stopped trembling in fear and looked strangely at the police officer.

"Oh, yes, though I don't really like Tuesdays."

"Why don't you like Tuesdays?"

"When I was a child, on a Tuesday, my mother played hide-and-seek with me and never came back."

"That's sad. You didn't have any more contact with her?"

"I met her a few years later, but she died shortly after."

"Wow, that's sad."

"Yes."

The hostage shook her head angrily.

"I can't believe your mother did that. She definitely wasn't a good mother. No one deserves to go through that!"

"Yes, she's right. When you found your mother, did she say why?"

"Yes… she said she forgot."

The atmosphere between the three became tense. The criminal had tears in his eyes, as if it were a sad memory. The hostage took a handkerchief from her pocket and turned to wipe his tears. She moved the gun away from her head for a moment and wiped his tears.

"It's okay, it's over."

The police officer approached and patted the criminal on the shoulder.

"A man's life can be tough, but never give up."

The criminal nodded with determination in his eyes. The hostage turned her back to the criminal again, and the police officer stepped back, returning to his position. The criminal took a deep breath and placed the gun back on the woman's head with renewed determination.

The hero, who had been watching everything, was in complete shock. What the hell was wrong with these people?

The onlookers were perplexed, thinking this might all be just a theatrical performance.

"Release the hostage, we can negotiate if you do."

"No! You, cop, back off or I'll blow this woman's head off."

Alexander smiled slightly. As expected, he was a real man who would follow his path to the end. Alexander wondered if what he felt now was pride in seeing a real man in front of him.

At that moment, everyone suddenly looked in the same direction. A woman landed softly on the ground. She seemed to glow like the sun. Her blonde hair was like all the stars tied together, her blue eyes were like the most precious diamonds, and her face was beautiful, yet strangely hard to process with the brain, as if it were visible and invisible at the same time.

"It's Radiant Star!"

"I can't believe it! It's really her!"

"AHHHH, I think I'm going to faint!"

The onlookers went wild. The police officer was stunned and felt like kneeling. The hero felt he could move again. The criminal and the hostage were also stunned. Shaking his head, the criminal snapped out of it.

"Don't come closer! I don't care who you are!"

Radiant Star smiled a wide smile that seemed to illuminate the surroundings.

"Careful, Radiant Star, don't touch him carelessly. My body got paralyzed just by touching him!"

"Yes, Radiant Star, this man has powerful determination, which won't be easily defeated!"

Radiant Star ignored them and approached the criminal. The criminal was surprised by her audacity and looked at the hostage for a moment. The hostage closed her eyes with an expression that said: "If this is your path, never back down."

"My name is William. I will remember you. Thank you very much."

"No problem. My name is Lily. I hope we meet again someday."

William pulled the trigger. A bang sounded. Everyone closed their eyes for a moment. But when they opened them, they saw something shocking: nothing had happened. William and the hostage were especially perplexed.

 __________

I didn't understand what the hell was happening between this Stockholm girl and this idiot, but I used my power to stop the bullet still in the chamber. Snapping my fingers, the gun in his hand exploded. The idiot pulled his hand back in pain from the impact. Stockholm, realizing she wasn't affected by the impact, just ran to a safe place.

"Radiant Star!, Radiant Star!, Radiant Star!"

I heard the cheers with a smile. Everyone adores me as they should. I stood next to the villain, who was shocked, not knowing what to do. I reached out to touch him. He was frightened and tried to back away but couldn't move. Of course not, everything serves me.

"No, wait, Radiant Star, you don't need to do this."

Alexander looked directly at William, recalling their friendship.

"Radiant Star, I forgive him for his mistakes. Please, just arrest him."

Lily, next to Alexander, clutched the handkerchief with William's tears tightly. I watched them with a sad expression.

"How terrible, using dirty methods to manipulate others' minds."

My voice echoed throughout the area so everyone could hear clearly.

"So that's it. This guy really is terrible."

"Finish him off, Radiant Star!"

"Destroy this villain!"

Ignoring the others, I touched William's forehead. A strange electricity tried to go to my hand but backed off upon realizing my greatness. William's body glowed, illuminating everything around. People averted their eyes. At that moment, I stepped back and flew up. A true heroine is humble and does not accept credit for her good deeds. Flying away, I nodded, proud of myself.

 __________

"AHHhhhhhh!"

William let out a scream of despair. His power didn't work, and his arms… he couldn't feel his arms.