You’re supposed to be my hero.
Years have gone by and I haven’t asked you one favor. I’ve been in trouble, I’ve needed aid and I haven’t been proud and have asked heaven and hell for help. You were supposed to be my hero, but time after time you’ve left me to fend for myself and try to figure things out on my own.
You were supposed to be by my side, and yet the more I try to reach for you the more my heart breaks when I realize you’re already gone.
Heroes are supposed to be there for you, right? If you ask them for help, they’re supposed to be by your side immediately, they’re supposed to catch you when you’re falling. They’re your rock when you feel like your very own kryptonite is pressing down on you, and they’re supposed to make things better when you’re lost in the middle of nowhere.
All my life has gone by and it seems as though we’re not bonded the way a hero and a citizen in peril are. I can’t remember the last time you saved me, and I can’t remember the last time you made me feel safe.
Why do I cry, when I should’ve expected this all along? You’ve let me down more times than you’ve brought me up. It’s like you’re the villain disguised as my hero.
Heroes come to save you when you call for them. I’ve never seen a comic where the hero won’t fly beyond what is possible to save the good citizen about to be crushed by the train coming at them full speed.
And yes, maybe this isn’t a comic. This is real life. There’s no train at full speed coming my way. There’s this little problems all the time that I’m expected to know the answer to, and when I don’t, you’re supposed to know the answer. You’re supposed to be invincible. You’re supposed to do everything you can to make me happy again. You’re supposed to be the man that I love the most even when it is beyond reason to do so.
As a child, you were everything to me. As a pre-teen, you were the bane of my existence. And now, when I can rationalize everything almost as well as an adult can, I have to ask you: where were you when I needed you most?
You’re never here. You’re not invincible. You don’t hold all the answers I need. And even though I still love you and forever will, you’re not my hero anymore, dad. It just took me a while to realize it.