Lily in the Shadows

When Jack found out he had powers, he wasn’t at all happy about it; he had seen the movies and read the comics. Jack didn’t want to be the big, super cool superhero in a cool super suit. He didn’t want a fancy show and merchandise all about him, and he definitely didn’t want people all over him, twenty-four-seven, wanting photos and autographs, yelling and screaming his name in a positive or negative light. So he learned to hide in the shadows. Walking through the street, no one noticed him as he slipped through the darkness, hopping from shadow to shadow in his dark-coloured clothes and black hair.

No one noticed the little brunette girl in a lemon-coloured dress walking by herself either.

“Hello there, Miss,” Jack said calmly, focusing his attention on the little girl and allowing her to see through the shadows. “Need a hand,” he smiled, reaching his hand out through the darkness surrounding him. The little girl looked at him, a little shocked.

“I can’t find my mum,” she whispered, swaying from left to right. “I don’t know where she is,” Jack reached through the shadows, revealing himself to the girl fully.

“Come with me,” he said, reaching out his hand again, tentatively the girl took his hand and fell into the shadows. Jack gently lifted the young girl up into his arms and disappeared into the shadows again.

“Don’t worry, I can help you,” he assured her. He continued to follow the path created for him by the shadows to a building with a shadow that stretched up high enough to reach the roof.

"Ready, little one?” He asked, looking down at the little girl resting on his chest. She watched him for a second, tilting her head to the side.

“Ok, here we go!” he smiled, shooting up the shadow along the wall, using it like an elevator, reaching the top in seconds. Leaving the shadows of the buildings below, Jack was quickly exposed to the bright rays of the sun; he could barely see anything. Placing the little girl down, he wandered closer to the edge of the building. “Now what was your name?” he asked the little girl, trying to adjust his eyes to the sun.

“Lily,” she half whispered, walking up next to him. He bent down beside the girl to stay close in case she slipped; even when he squatted down beside her, she was still shorter than him.

“Lily, I want you to look closely and see if you can find your mum,” Jack said calmly, carefully edging her towards the edge of the building so she could see the streets below and he could catch her if she fell.

“But how am I supposed to see her from up here?” she asked, looking worried.

“Well, what’s her name?” Jack asked.

“M-Melissa,” she answered, “but how will that help me find her?” She leaned over the edge of the roof, scanning a hundred streets below.

“Trust me,” Jack whispered, gently grabbing onto the girl's dress so he could close his eyes. He began saying Melissa’s name over and over in his head. Through the darkness, a tall brunette woman appeared, looking around tensely. She was in the city somewhere, probably standing in front of a...

“I can see her!” Lily calls out, “She’s over there in front of our favourite café!” Jack quickly looks down to the streets below, narrowing his eyes in search of the woman.

There.

“Good job, kid!” he laughed. “Come on, Lily, let’s get you home.” Jack reached for the girl's hand and lifted her up again. “Hold on,” he said calmly before jumping off the top of the building, falling for a few seconds before dropping into the shadow of a windowsill and sliding the rest of the way down the shadows like a water slide.

Lily clung to Jack’s shirt, squeezing her eyes shut as Jack flew through the city’s shadows, jumping from person to person, then following a bus down the street, eventually stopping under a little oak tree growing beside a café. He put the girl down gently, searching for the brunette woman, not letting go of the girl's hand.

“Mummy!” she suddenly yells, pulling Jack forward towards the light, but he quickly yanks her back in. “But my mummy’s over there,” she pouts, pointing to the café. Looking over, Jack notices a brunette woman, Melissa, who was talking to one of the staff members from the café. She looks worried.

“Oh, I see her,” he smiled, as relief filled his veins.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” the little girls say, tugging on Jack's arm while jumping around, like a puppy about to go for a walk. He looked around, but there were too many people for him to leave the shadows. He didn’t really want to confront the mother either. Jack sighed and bent down towards the little girl.

“In a second, I’m going to let go of your hand, and you won’t be able to see me anymore; you need to go straight to your mum, ok?” He smiled; he was looking the girl straight in the eye. And she looked back with confusion.

“Why do you have to disappear? Mummy would love to meet you,” she said, tilting her head again. “She likes nice people like you,” she smiled. Jack nodded and looked up at the woman. She was getting more frantic; it looked like she was going to leave.

"Look, you need to go, ok? I’ll stay right here; you just won’t be able to see me,” he sighed, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder and looking back at the woman who was gathering up her things. “I promise, Lily, I won't leave you, ok? Now go find your mum, quickly,” he said, letting go of Lily. She looked around suddenly at the oak tree in front of her and to the left and right before she ran off to her mum. Jack watched her go. Melissa immediately scooped Lily up into her arms, holding her daughter tight, a smile etched on her face. Jack smiled too. He couldn’t hear what they said, but he saw Lily point back over to the oak tree, but neither she nor her mother met his gaze. He watched for a few more minutes as Melissa talked to the café staff, still holding Lily tight in her arms like she would vanish if she let go, before she and Lily headed off into the big, bright city.