“Hellooooo”, a stranger on the street bellowed in a deep low growl as they tried to get my attention, while waving their hand in my face and blocking my view. This happens to me frequently, and I usually get away from this by acting deaf or just giving up and running away. A crowd of pigeons fly past me at a snail’s pace while the cars in the street just never seem to move, these things used to amuse me in years past but now they’re nothing more than reminders of the curse I was given.

I’m always one step ahead of everyone, but never in a good way. I move much quicker than the rest of the world, but it never benefits me. I can never talk to anyone, because they’ll never keep up with me, and I can’t wait around for them to talk. Their deep voices mix with the sounds of everything around me and combine into a droning amalgamation that I cannot bear. What used to be the sounds of traffic, a speaker playing music and a crowd socializing turned into horrifying groans from the depths of hell.

I turned to crime fighting when I got this “power” thinking I have been chosen for something greater. My hopes and dreams for a successful career were shattered due to lack of communication, so I began to have thoughts of becoming a hero to fill the isolating void of my dreadful life. Unsurprisingly, I became beloved by the city and turned into their savior.

Stopping bullets, saving pedestrians from oncoming vehicles and stopping robberies turned into all I ever did, and just like every other aspect of my life, became just as tedious. I don’t care if I have to fight a group of ten to return a lady’s purse, I know all the moves to neutralize them and repeating this process bores me to no end. I don’t care how happy they all look when I save them, it’s just another year long day in the life, and nothing ever fazes me.

I could go for days complaining about my torturous existence, yet I continue to save lives, because the thought of someone’s blood on my hands with the continued aspects that haunt me could cause me to finally end this once and for all. I could never bring myself to suicide either, because if I did, there would be so many lives lost that I could have saved.

I was supposed to like being a superhero, but now all I want is a friend. Just one person who I can talk to, so this insanity could be a little less painful. When your only friend is yourself, it’s like drowning while knowing no one can save you.