This World

by Lee, TD

  As soon as one of the Disaster Relief guys land, they shout out loud, “If anyone is hurt, please remain where you are, someone will get to you soon. Anyone who is fine, please return to your cars and proceed to listen to a traffic controller. We must have everyone evacuate the bridge until further notice. Thank you for your compliance!” More of the Disaster Relief land on the bridge and they all immediately get to work. Some go to tend the injured as others are directing traffic.

  “Dude!” Hiro says, “Not only did we see the Mobile Knights in action, we even got to see a superhero fight, what a great day!” He smiles brightly as he looks at his phone. He was probably taking pictures or recording that fight too.

  “Yeah, I guess if you define near death experiences as great,” I reply, shaking my head. I don’t care about the superhero fight or the Mobile Knights. All I’m really caring about right now is if school is cancelled or not.

  Chapter 3

  It’s been a few days after the fieldtrip to the Mobile Knight facility and the encounter with Blind Justice and Corvus. The Disaster Relief Unit worked super hard and got the bridge back into working shape within hours. However, the bus I was on didn’t use the repaired bridge, instead finding another way back to school. Unluckily for me, school resumed so I had to sit through all of my classes. Hiro, of course, went on and on about the Mobile Knights and Blind Justice for the whole day and even on our way home. As much as I enjoy the guy’s presence, most of our conversations revolve around super stuff with him. I honestly can’t even remember the last time we talked about something where he doesn’t bring up a hero in one way or another.

  But nothing to complain about today because it’s the weekend! I can just simply enjoy staying home, play some games, maybe even do some reading. All I want is to relax and recharge before the next school week. The beginning of this relaxation starts off with me sleeping in, which is always great, and a nice, heavy breakfast. My parents aren’t home right now and I think my sister is hanging out with her friends, so I have the house to myself for a while. So first up, let’s finish that RPG that I haven’t played since last week.

  How great is it to just sit back, relax, and –

  My phone starts ringing. Who the hell calls anymore? I look at my phone and find Hiro’s name on it. Of course it’s him. I sigh deeply, answering, “Hey, what’s up Hiro?”

  “Ridley!” he replies, as excited as ever, “You wanna go see the free concert downtown? It’s starring Kirika with her comeback song!” Kirika huh? She’s a pretty popular singer who debuted a few years back. I was really into her music at the time because it was catchy, but I stopped listening to her stuff. Not because it was bad or anything, I think I just started to outgrow it or something. I’ll admit that I do go back to her older songs for the nostalgia factor. She hasn’t really done anything in recent times though.

  “Uh, I don’t know man, I’m really not feeling up to go anywhere today,” I say, knowing that’s definitely not the answer that Hiro wants to hear from me.

  “Aw, c’mon, it’s free! When do celebrity singers do any free concerts anymore? And I thought you liked Kirika,” he says, doing his best to convince me.

  I shake my head, even though Hiro can’t see it, saying, “Uh, not really. Maybe like five years ago. Don’t you have other friends that’ll like it more than me?”

  “Yeah, but you’re my best friend,” he says, pausing a bit, “will you go if I buy you lunch?”

  “Depends on the place.”

  “The usual?” he replies. It’s like he knows me.

  “Fine, fine, I’ll go, only because lunch is on you,” I say. Once free food is offered to me, it’s hard for me to turn it down. I mean, who would refuse free food?

  Hiro cheers, speaking excitedly, “Awesome! You wanna meet up at the train station in ten?”

  “Yeah, yeah, see you there,” I reply, hanging up the phone. I give my game console a sad look and a deep sigh escapes my throat. “I’ll be back for you,” I whisper longingly.

  I quickly throw on a simple outfit consisting of a pair of dark jeans, a black shirt, and a button-up white flannel. My hands lightly graze over my pockets to make sure I have everything I need before I leave. Wallet, keys, and phone, everything seems good. A cool breeze hits me when I open the door. Should I bring a jacket? Nah, it’s not that bad. And it’s pretty sunny out. I lock the door behind me and start heading towards the train station.

  Normally, I would pick up Hiro and drive, but my car was used as a projectile weapon in a big battle a month ago. Sure I got compensated for it, but it’s honestly not worth the sudden loss of a car. It wasn’t even my first car too, I had another car that was used in a battle a year ago. Those superhero battles sure like to use some interesting objects as ways to attack each other. What can I expect though, with so many people having super strength and all.

  Luckily for me, the train station isn’t a far walk for me. Living in the city, things are really lively. There are a bunch of tall buildings and fancy looking houses. Several shops and stores line up on the major roads as parks and neighborhoods are buried behind them. Something really popular this time of year are food trucks. It’s getting colder and colder by the day, so a warm meal for a good price is almost too perfect. When winter rolls around, I’m almost always on a search for trucks that sell hot chocolate. Advertised on tall buildings and just almost any which direction you look are superhero stuff. Whether it be videos, photobooks, commercials, clothes, or even food, you will find something superhero related in any store or on any street as an advertisement. Even the people I’m walking past are walking advertisements of superheroes as so many of them are wearing shirts or have bags with superhero symbols on them. Utility and lampposts have constant fliers and ads on them too. At the very top are large speakers and megaphones. Sometimes there’ll be soft music playing all throughout the city, but the megaphones are for city-wide announcements.

  When I get close to the train station, I notice a really particular person. She’s dressed in a red jacket with fur around the hood, black tank top, extremely short shorts, and long boots. She’s damn beautiful, the intimidating kind of beautiful. She flicks her long black hair back as she walks by me. Her expression is cold and unenthused, almost as if she has something on her mind. The most striking thing about her are her piercing red eyes, her gaze can definitely pierce through someone. There’s a weird apparition in the empty space to her left, for just a brief moment it seemed like that section of space was distorted. She’s probably some sort of super person.

  I walk down the stairs of the train station, buy my ticket, and wait for Hiro to arrive. Even down in the train station there are advertisements of super people. Most of the posters down here are featuring Kirika and the free concert she’s performing. Yes, Kirika is a superhero, as if it’s a surprise. She’s called something really weird, I think it was Spectral Singer or something to that nature. The Spectral Singers are a group of singers that are ran by Spectra Entertainment. The thing that makes them stand out from other hero groups is that the singers have to merge with a valorous spirit of the past. Merging with a spirit gives them all of their powers. Kirika merges with the spirit Scathach where she gains a spear and the powers to manipulate and control shadows. Is it sad that I remember all of this when I was really into Kirika?

  “There you are!” Hiro’s voice calls out to me. I look to the side and find the guy waving at me. Why am I not surprised that he’s wearing a Spectral Singers shirt? “Thanks for coming with me, it’s going to be awesome.”

  “I’m only in it for the food,” I say.

  “I bet you are,” he says with a smile.

  Almost as if on cue, the train arrives. When the doors open, I notice the abundance of people inside. Somehow, we squeeze our way onto the train and find enough space for the two of us to stand. With a quick scan of the train, I notice that there’s tons of people in here dressed for Kirika’s concert. Some are simply wearing a Spectral Singers shirt like Hiro, but othe
rs are dressed to mimic Kirika in her debut outfit or even the outfit she gets when she merges with her spirit. Even though I’m definitely not into this kind of stuff, I have to say it’s really impressive seeing how accurate people are when they try to dress as a hero.

  It's going to be a few minutes until we get to our destination. I overhear a conversation between two teenage girls who are also attending the concert, “Can you believe it, Kirika is finally back!”

  “I know right?” the other girl says with a wide smile, “She’s been gone for so long! I wonder what she’s been doing, maybe fighting monsters? She hasn’t been able to perform or make any music. I wonder what it’s like to be like Kirika, you know a Spectral Singer and all.”

  “It has to be amazing right? You get the fame from your singing career, but you’re also a hero that saves people! It’s the best of both worlds!”

  But could you deal with people monitoring you all the time? I wonder if anyone else realizes that. Once you’re in the spotlight as a hero, you’re practically monitored by people and the media alike. Sure, some heroes have it better than others when it comes to their privacy, but others don’t. The big names that are constantly talked about in the media, like Blind Justice, are constantly being watched. Anyone in the Retaliators or League of Judgment are so popular that they are hardly able to make a public appearance without being swarmed by the masses. Even if the heroes make it seem like a life worth living, I don’t think anyone quite understands the pressure heroes have to maintain a certain public image.

  When the doors open at the correct stop for the concert, most of the passengers exit the train. Hiro and I follow the crowd out of the train station. Almost as soon as we exit the train station, we’re exposed to an even larger crowd of people. The concert is close to the train station set in the middle of the street and in between several large buildings. The roads are completely blocked off so people can’t just drive by in the middle of the concert. I can’t really see anything, but I catch a brief glimpse of the large, circular stage that Kirika will be performing on.

  “Holy shit, there’s a lot of people,” I murmur to myself, finding it a bit hard to breathe for a bit. Not surprising that there’s a bunch of people here since it is a free concert after all. Not many singers do free concerts since it’s all about the money. Kirika, however, has always done a free concert whenever she releases a new album. So props to her performing for the fans more than the revenue.

  I can’t really move that well since I’m in the middle of the crowd and there are people pushing on all sides just to get closer to the stage. I’m just a body floating in a sea of people. Is this what being lost in the crowd means? Looking up, there’s a tall shopping building with a giant TV on it with a timer that counting down to zero. So about a minute left huh? Talk about just barely making it on time.

  As soon as the countdown reaches 10 seconds, the whole crowd starts chanting for Kirika louder and louder while also counting down the time. Of course, once the countdown hits 0, Kirika makes her dramatic entrance by explosively appearing on the stage and breaking out into song. The song is her debut song which is an electronic pop song. Kirika doesn’t look like she even aged a day since I last listened to her music. She’s wearing an interesting outfit consisting of black leggings that have holes around her thighs, a ragged white shirt that shows her midriff, a vibrant blue jacket that has a bunch of pins on it, and black stilettos. Her long metallic blue hair almost touches the back of her knees and I’m surprised she’s not tripping on it as she’s dancing around. Her most defining feature is the beauty mark that sits below her right eye. Floating cameras surround the stage, capturing Kirika in every possible angle and televising it on the giant TV. The crowd cheers and sings along. Some people even have glow sticks that are in the shape of the spear that Kirika has when she merges with her spirit. I can’t even remember most of the lyrics that isn’t the chorus.

  Kirika finishes her first song and a wave of cheerful roars erupt around me. Without any hesitation she moves onto her next song. I haven’t heard this one, it has to be her newest song. The circular stage she’s on starts levitating off of the ground and special effects form all around her. Magical sparkles follow the movements of her hands and bright sparks fly from the stage when she hits a high note. To add onto the ambience of the stage, there’s even fake rain falling from the sky. You can feel the rain hitting you, but it doesn’t get anything wet. Despite the song sounding really upbeat and happy with the electronic beat and energetic instruments, the lyrics are really sad. Especially during the chorus where it highlights the title of the song, “Eye Water.”

  ~ So I’ll let it go,

  all the troubles and sorrow.

  Like a droplet from the sky,

  I fall alone even with many nearby.

  Loneliness bids to tearful goodbyes,

  as an empty smile forms this disguise.

  I no longer want this mask on my face.

  Help me find my rightful place.

  When did the rainwater,

  become eye water? ~

  Kirika writes her own songs, I forgot how painfully poetic they are. It’s beautiful in a way, but it always captures something sad rather than happy. At least it’s not another love song, I’m pretty sick of those. I remember her debut song was something pretty sad too, but her sad songs are always accompanied by happy electronic beats. It’s an interesting dichotomy that works well with her style.

  I look over to see if Hiro is enjoying this concert as much as I think he is and notice that he’s not next to me, or behind me, or in front of me. Where the hell did he go? I swear I didn’t move at all. Did he just get lost with the crowd? He’ll be okay though, no one would mess with a guy like him. If anything, he’s probably just enjoying the concert with his fellow fans. Hmm, I wonder if I could slip out of this concert and find something else to do. Nah, I’m in the middle of the crowd, it’s impossible to get out at this point. Guess I should just stick it out.

  The next hour was filled with Kirika’s music with an exceptionally loud crowd. Kirika is incredibly interactive with her fans. Whenever the stage wasn’t floating in the air, she would move to the edge just to branch her hands out for fans to reach for her. At one point, she even had a fan take the mic to sing. I have to admit though, Kirika’s music is good, maybe I’ll get back into it. Honestly, I don’t really know why I stopped listening to her music. Man, definitely can’t tell Hiro that I’m back into Kirika’s music because he brought me here, I’ll never hear the end of it. The last song was performed beautifully as it was a ballad version of her newest song and music notes were floating all around her. Quite a scene to behold.

  When Kirika finishes her last song, she bows to everyone and says with a cheerful voice, that tries to mask heavy breathing “Thank you all so much for coming out today! I’m glad to be back and you can definitely look forward to more songs in the future! As you all know, I’ve been very busy, but I never forgot about the fans that got me here in the first place. Thank you all so much!”

  “I love you Kirika!” a bunch of fans profess. A roar of cheering erupts, applause fills the air.

  “Until next time everyone! Have a good day!” Kirika bows for a final time and disappears in a flash of light.

  Damn that was a good concert!

  After the final cheers, the crowd begins to disperse. Within the crowd I find Hiro saying goodbye to a couple of girls that are dressed for the occasion. “Made some new friends?” I ask.

  “Ridley!” he says, he hugs me tightly, “I thought I lost you man!”

  “Way to deflect the question,” I reply, slightly pushing him off of me.

  He smiles, as usual, explaining, “They’re from school. They were happy to see a familiar face in the crowd and pretty much needed me to keep some creepy guy away from them. That’s all it is. But I feel so bad for leaving you alone, considering you didn’t even want to come.”

  I sigh, of course he was doing something nice, “Don’t w
orry about it too much. You’re still buying me lunch so it’s all good in my book.”

  “Yup! Let’s head over there now, it might be crowded though, so hopefully we get there before the lunch rush comes,” he says.

  We start walking from the concert and go to my favorite restaurant. All around us are people that were at the concert. Even though the concert is over, people are singing Kirika’s songs. Downtown is always lively and busy no matter which way you look. Aside from the concert goers, there are just the normal people that are moving about. A bunch of cars are filling up the streets. The fortunate that have the ability or equipment to fly create their own shortcuts. The promotions and advertisements for super people are greatly shown here. Most of the action happens downtown, so I guess it makes sense. We even walk by some restaurants and cafes that have food or drinks inspired by super people. The most popular one is the café that has all of its edibles designed after magical creatures.

  Hiro and I make it to my favorite food joint called Chiffon Room. The place is among a bunch of other restaurants and businesses, but it’s a popular place so it doesn’t have to worry about competing too much. I come here so often that I’m a regular and the staff recognizes me. Once we step inside, I can smell the amazing food being cooked. The interior is really nice, but not so nice that it makes me feel uncomfortable. There’s a color tone of blue set throughout the restaurant. The drapes and curtains that cover the windows are blue, the table clothes and seats or blue, and even some the utensils and tableware have hints of blue. The staff are all dressed really nicely in blue and black, each of them even have a nice pair of white gloves on. It’s quiet, but there’s soft music playing which honestly kinda sounds like opera accompanied by a soft piano. Overall, this place is super dapper. Why do I like such a gimmicky place? Well, their food is honestly so good here. You wouldn’t think it, but the food is amazing for the pricing.