Twelve - A childhood ravaged

“Look, it’s a bird! Wait, It’s a plane! Hold on, it’s Superman!” sounded the television set. “Go save them, Superman! Go save the people on the plane!”

‘Save them?’ thought Karim as he stared blankly at the television screen.

Why? Why should he save them?

An animated figure clad in an azure tight-fit with a huge red 'S' in its center. That was Superman. He rocketed towards a flaming plane, stuck out both of his hands, and attempted to stop it from crashing down towards the skyscraper. However, it did not seem to have an effect, not even as Superman forced himself against it.

Just when all looked to be lost, a faint glint of light glowed from the hero’s eyes and granted him more strength. He pressed his entire torso against the aircraft and resisted the downward force. The plane started to slow down. Superman’s newly found strength was working. He was about to save the day when suddenly, a shade of black filled the screen.

It was Karim. He had picked up the remote control and switched the TV off. “Haha, let’s see you save the day now, Superman,” chuckled the five-year-old boy.

Karim was three when his parents died in a car accident. It happened on a stormy night, when his parents were quarreling, and as fate would have it, driving recklessly. Quarreling over what, Karim did not know. He was only three, and did not understand a single word that his parents were talking. Not like it mattered. What mattered to Karim was that his parents died that night, and there was nothing he could have done to save them, nothing at all.

The incident left a scar in Karim, not the visible one. That had already been taken care of by the doctors. It was a psychological scar. Despite his youthful look, Karim did not think like a child. He wanted to, but he could not. Many a time, Karim wished that he could embrace his childhood like others. After all, he was only five. And it was not fair that he had to endure what even people five times his age needn’t to. It was just not fair.

“Karim, breakfast is on the table. Go get it before it runs away,” said his aunt, Marie.

Marie was 35 years of age and unmarried. She took care of Karim after his parents passed away, and often brought him out during her dates. From time to time, Marie even asked Karim what he thought of her dates, but the answer was always a shake of the head.

‘Run away? I wish I could run away from this life,’ thought Karim as he walked to the kitchen table.

It was cereal. Rice Krispies with milk, yet again. Marie did not know how to cook and always resorted to convenience. It would have been bread if it wasn’t cereal.

“So Karim, how were the cartoons?” asked Marie.

What do you think? A disaster occurred, a hero tried to save the day, i prevented him from doing so.

"The usual," replied Karim.