I didn't choose to live this life. I don't know a single person who wakes up and chooses a life of obligation—at least not in the neighborhoods I grew up in. They all worked to provide for their kids, but I'm sure they'd rather have been home to enjoy their kids rather than take snapshots of their lives if they had a choice. A bunch of blink-and-you-miss-it moments—first grade, second grade, and before you know it, they're off to college.

Now imagine that at a much grander scale. I'm a hero; as of late the people have taken to calling me Vector. I'm sure they have a reason, but I can't be bothered these days. I've lived more lifetimes than I care to talk about or remember. I've seen humanity evolve through the ages and make the same jokes and the same mistakes. It’s mundane; I haven't seen color in such a long time that everything seems like a gradient on a greyscale. All that I do, all whom I save, is not out of love but rather obligation. It’s become a compulsion, a need to be functional rather than a want or desire.

I waxed poetically in empty rooms, hoping to find solace in the only person who could ever understand what it means to be truly alone. I embraced the solidarity in solitude, a redundant phrase only repeated by a soul wrapped in a melancholy gaze attempting to be sweet on the outside but deeply broken within.

They say that an object in motion stays until something makes it stop. Thats what you did; I saw you off in the distance. You were a young woman hanging off the edge of this building. I needed to save you. I flew as fast as I could, But I couldn't—thats why you did it. The one thing I didn't think was possible, you flew. You were only three feet off the ground, but you did it!

Maybe I don't have to be alone anymore. Perhaps I can start to see these dole colors once again. Maybe I can be Vector or possibly even myself. Perhaps I can cut off these shackles and be free.

“Excuse me, Miss,” I said as I flew up to her. May I have a moment of your time? “”

She was panicked, and all she could do was scream.

“Miss, please stay calm.”

“Calm? I just fell off a building, and I'm alive. How the fuck do you expect me to be calm!”

“Trust me, miss, it'll all make sense, but please come with me for now. There’s a lot to talk about. But let me start by saying hello. They call me Vector.”