Of Capes, Tights and Superpowers

Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a heroine.

Yes. Yes. They say heroes do not always wear capes but when I do turn into the super heroine, I felt like I was wearing a cape. But unlike the super heroes we know with super powers and everything, I was not one like super heroine who "saves the day".

I do not save the day. Matter of fact I do not save anyone let alone myself. There is, after all, an alternate reality to every scenarios that lives or lived only in our head.

That Time I Flew... the alternate reality

Everyone dreams of flying. Let me rethink that when someone else says otherwise because of their fear of heights in the comment section.

It was 3 in the afternoon. We were going to a friend's birthday party on my brother's bike. I did not want to bring mine. I was wearing a neat dress and biking to the place would be too much effort. I'd be sweaty. I don't want that. My kind brother offered me a ride. My brother was pedaling hard going uphill. I was his passenger riding with him standing on the step nut attached to the rear wheels.

(Slight Trivia: in our place we call it "angkas". Apparently I cannot find a picture of what it looks like or the proper term of how is it really called. "Tandem Ride" is so far from it. "Riding pillion" does not come close either. So is it only Filipinos who do it?)

I was holding on tight on his shoulders. And then he screams, "Oh now we're going down hill! This is going to go fast!"

He sounded terrified. That fright cascaded down to me. His effort of going uphill picked up momentum when we were going downhill. I had to think fast. The breaks aren't working. He can't slow down to control the speed. It is going to be a real frightful downhill ride because it is a full stretch down until the village's end. The house we were going to is just ahead in less than fifty meters. That means he needs to slow down so we can make a proper turn to the drive way or we will skid down and it will not go pretty on either of us. Tumbling down a grassy hilltop is far better than tumbling down on solid, middle-of-the-afternoon asphalt (or is it?).

I imagined the scraped knee, elbows and faces of two kids and a broken bicycle. Possibility of broken bones, check! That means they would either be going to the hospital or showing their injured faces to their playmates who are going to the same party they are going to.

That cannot happen. I cannot let that happen.

I had a bright idea. I jumped up and next thing I knew I was floating. Took me a second to control my flying skill. I had to do it fast because my terrified brother is near peeing his pants. He cannot show up in the party with a wet front and a scratched up face and elbows and torn pants.

I took a dip down and overtook the bike. Landed in front of the bike and faced it. I placed my hands steadily on the handle bar. Placed my feet flat on the road to serve as a break. I felt the friction of the asphalt on the soles of my shoe and to my feet and that was hot. The bike slowed to a stop. My brother stopped screaming as well. Luckily, he did not pee his pants.

The soles of my shoe were smoking but we were safe.

We stopped exactly in front of our friend's garage. Safe, unscathed.

That day I saved both me and my brother.

Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a heroine.

THE Reality

My brother had good acting skills. He was driving slow when I come to recall it now. It was up hill. He was driving slow. And he will not pedal fast on a downhill. But brothers as all older brothers would be in scaring their little sisters, he said he was going to go fast. Trusting that I was, and with active imagination of how things will happen, making a quick conclusion from the if-then-else scenarios I played in my head, I decided to jump off the moving bike before we went downhill. I had to go home instead and cool down my anger toward my brother at that time a bit. Get changed and walk to the party instead.

Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a stunt woman...

That was a good prompt. Made me jump into the past and alter life's events. and laughing my head off.

Prompt was taken here: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/things-to-write-about/

And the prompt I picked was this one:

I did not quite follow the whole prompt. It's just that when I read "reinvent a childhood memory" I got images of stories of my childhood that I would like to play around with. Revisiting memories from childhood can make you laugh and can make you laugh even more had you considered other things that may have happened - possible or not.

Go check the other prompt ideas. :) And have fun while creating your story!

What is your story?

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