Hope Burns Bright

 

With a resounding thud, he hit the ground, unsettled dust encircling him. A pit formed where he fell.

Stars, he thought, as he looked up at the sky. It was dark, but he didn't realize it was night until he regained consciousness. Curled up in a fetal position his thoughts drifted off into his childhood when he used to look up at skies like these. Billions of stars flickering billions of light years away. It reminded him of home.

Home, he thought, turning on his back. Where was he? By now, the dust had settled and critters were coming out of their hiding, curious at the cause of their disturbance.

He looked at his body. He wasn't hurt but his head wrung; like static sounds reverberating in his brain. He looked at the ring on his finger. It looked like a prop or something a kid would buy from a gift shop.

Ring, he thought, while climbing out of the pit. By now, the critters have surrounded him, their numbers swelling by the minute. It was a desolated landscape, with no civilization in sight. The topography resembled that of rain-shadow desert, back on Earth, but not quite. There were vegetations here and there and the critters lurked in their shadows. He should make for higher ground.

But before he could make it, he was ambushed by a pack of critters. Their small, yet sharp teeth and stumpy paws trying to bring him down to their level; attack the head and it will be over. Though small and weak, in number these critters were formidable. He fought back, trying to free himself, trying to free himself as if from a quicksand but with sharp edges, receiving some bites and scratches in the process. Having finally freed himself, he was still not out of danger, as there were more critters coming his way. Their eyes looked like a sea of red LEDs, filled with primal fury.

He shuddered. He wasn't afraid, venom perhaps. Evolution have given them other weapons too, it seems.

Afraid, he thought, he never was in his life. A madcap pilot, a reckless cop. His willpower was his evolutionary weapon. It runs in the family. But, still it wasn't enough to jump-start his depowered ring. He felt helpless.

His thought drifted off again. He reminisced of his time as a space-cop, travelling from galaxy to galaxy, from planet to planet with his buddy cops. He reminisced his childhood, his memories of his father, a pilot, a hero. He longed to return home, he hoped to meet Carrol for one last time. He hoped that she had forgiven him.

Hope, he thought. It's not much but it is what it is. Hope is all that's left when every other evil has escaped Pandora's box. Under this dark yet starry night, hope is what burns bright.

A blue spark went off from the green ring. The last bit of hope died.

But not quite.

As he laid on the ground, being surrounded by critters, his gaze again went towards the sky. He loved the sky, he realized. Before, he used to think that he loved flying. He wanted to escape his problems by flying away, but sooner or later darkness still catches up with the light.

Some of the stars seemed to be moving; he's imagining things perhaps? The stars got bigger and closer; are they going to fall here? Meteors? His vision's getting faint, lips chapped, limbs numb. Is this the end? He hopes not..

Down came three glowing figures, clad in black and green. A green blast encircling him. The critters ran away.

"Hal!", cried one, bringing up a lantern to his face. "Hal, touch your ring, remember the oath!", said the green-clad man, "I'll kill you, if you die now."

Oath, he thought. Mere words they may be, but words have powers, they have meaning, especially oaths. He brought up his ring and touched the lantern and spoke his oath. The night sky lit up and the air reverberated with the sound of the words:

"In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil's might

Beware my power--Green Lantern's light!"

(This write-up is an allegory. When someone asks me who my favourite superhero is, the answer is either a generic one or I just ignore the question. Because, I don't have a favourite one and there are a plethora of superheroes and comics to read to get stuck with one particular hero. However, there is one particular spectrum that I relate myself to, because battling depression is hard, you cannot get through it using willpower alone. What you need is hope, hope for a better life, a better future. Without hope there is no will.

"In fearful day, in raging night,

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite.

When all seems lost in the War of Light,

Look to the stars, for hope burns bright!"

~ Blue Lantern Corps Oath.)