Hero

Simon a 20something year old young man, was suddenly bitten by a mysterious insect and thus it gave him the power, or the curse, of spreading boredom to any person that surrounds him. He can only control this amazing gift by partying, although at the end of the day, this talent always defeated him.

Soon, Simon realizes that he is not a party animal and is not able to control his new gift.  Once a popular individual around the Niagara region, where women would offer to him any healthy entertainment in a hot jacuzzi, now he has become a source of boredom. His powers would infect other people and force them to stop their activities , and then all together, feel  remorse that transforms in a convention of depressed youngsters soon to become priests.

The worst part of his powers is that they could affect every person in the area of 2000 feet and therefore all the fun activities would end before the time that they were programmed, in which each individual on the party would blame Simon (unconsciously)  and as end result was never to invite him again to any event.

Simons’s closest friends, Jade and Scott, started to fear the new abilities of their friend and they took the worse possible and indeed hurtful decision. it was better to see Simon for a couple of minutes a day and never invite him to any party more than 15 minutes and hope that never would happen something to get him bored.

However Simon was aware of this new idea which allowed him to use his second power impulse by anger: Remorse. A remorse that feed with the blood of the victim and succumb to a pain in the guts and as a result most of the people accepted the terrible deeds against him. Then, any individual affected by his power would transfer pleasure to Simon’s heart and it would liberate endorphins in his entire body, spreading a feeling that neutralize all the previous powers injected and for an instant in his life, he would feels pleasure.

This sensation normalized his environment and the people who surround him and he finally accepted his new abilities and their qualities as a gift to survive the burden of life. He no longer was Simon, the sad person but rather Simon the guiltier. And his fame grew to any place that he went; he was always praised by others, fear was an incentive for people to entertain him. Fear was always the response when Simon got angry. Hypocrisy surrounded him and he soon realized that he really enjoyed having control over the people, but as in any great moment in life, a sudden event changed everything.

It was when he registered for another year of his undergraduate studies when he met him. It was a routine day for him, as soon as he enter to the new classroom, he make his presence for everybody and wait for everybody to greet and please him with a coffee, tea or anything that he desired and then he would walk inside of the room and find a chair that he liked. Simon just needed to look at the individual and he gently (and nervously) let simon have his seat.

Semesters doing the same, it become a custom for him to never find any conflict with anybody, until that day when one person didn’t perturb by his presence. The physical appearance of this individual make him different to the rest; his brown eyes, as clear and beautiful as the best soil to grew illusion to anyone to see him, a blackish and brown hair and bright and clean and tidy. But his best physical attribute was his smile, which grab the attention of any one whom look at him.

Simon was amazed that his fame did not affect him and even some students around the enigmatic individual ponder if he was not aware of the fury of Simon; one of the classmates approached him an in a imploring tone he started to talk:

• Hi.
• Hi.- The strange student said without stopping to smile.
• I’m sorry to bother you but my friend- he points to Simon- he wants to see if it is possible for you to give up your seat?

He turned to him and after a brief period of silence he said:

• I’m sorry, which is your name?
• So.. I’m sorry. What?- The student asked amused.
• Yeah, your name?
• Oh Charles
• Hi Charles, my name is Roman. Sorry to ask but I prefer to know who I’m talking before I can start a conversation. About your previous question I think is the best for your friend to look for other place. Any one in the other side would it be fantastic.

It was a long time since someone refused anything to Simon and with that of selflessness, Simon got instantly angry causing a great pain to every student in the classroom and their surroundings, except for Roman who continued reading a book of forgotten science.

Amazed by this event, Simon stopped his anger and focused his attention of the smiling man who seemed to not be affected by his anger. He paid attention to him almost the entire class, although in the end he got bored, allowing to be perceived that Roman was either affected by the second gift, and who just left the room while the rest of the class discuss the possibility of a mass suicide and what type of poison to use. A desire grew in Simon’s heart. A new hobby was discovered by him, he started to stalk Roman and try to discover his secret; to unveil the mysteries of his resistance and possibly to discover the origin of his smile. However there was a problem with Roman and it was that Roman did not like Simon at all.

 Simon realized it for the constant rejection to any invitation that he offered to him. Over a couple of months he finally snapped and confronted Roman in the computer lab at his university and confessed everything to Roman about his secret power and how it was that he was the only person who he knew that could actually tolerate his power. When he finally finished his story, Roman looked at him as serious as he could and then in the most calm manner and still smiling he answered:

• well it seems a very interesting story and seems that you care to much what people think or do to you, but to be honest I really don’t like you. And it is nothing to do what you do or who you are. I just don’t like you and I don give a crap about your powers and you. 

After that he left the place, leaving Simon pondering about what just happened there. Then, He realizes that Roman did not have any secret power nor a special ability to defy his power; he genuinely did not care about the feelings of other. Roman was a person who decide to be happy without thinking what other people might think. But he also though about himself.

From the moment that he get an interest in Roman he didn’t actually have to use his power and there was no moment that was bored and angry. It was true that he felt anger and boredom some moments, but as any person in the planet and in these moments he didn’t affect anybody on those moment.

He then discovered that there was not a secret formula, except to be concentrate in something, to have a passion in life and from that moment he took a decision. He took his stuff and decided to walk around the planet in search of something to live for; He finally found something to do for the rest of his life and in a brief second that felt like a life time, he realized that he was in peace. A new hero was born.