\r\nThis was written December 15th, 2025<\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\nDark Reflections<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n“Hey guys, can someone pass the salt?”, I asked, simply.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Anyone, please? It’s a bit too far for me.”, I insisted. “Jay?”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Yes?”, he at last replied.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Could you please pass the salt? It’s just out of my reach”, I once more asked, somewhat\r\ndisappointed my inquiry had hitherto gone unnoticed.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Sure, here you go.” “Thanks mate!”\r\n<\/p>
\r\nThen, I simply sat quietly for the rest of the meal, patiently listening to the conversation\r\nbetween the others, at time also commenting, though usually just a few simple remarks.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nOnce dinner completed, everyone went off their own way, and I simply had to head back\r\non my own. It was ok, I was simply going to be able to read my book, alone, on the way\r\nhome. This new one was rather captivating, a classic superhero story set in a fantastical\r\nworld. A hero I felt I could identify with, and whom I envied. If only I also was special,\r\nhad super powers. The classic Super Strength would be enough, though maybe flying could\r\nbe cool, or, oohhhh, having super speed! I could easily see\r\nit, being able to help others, and the respect\/attention I might finally…\r\n<\/p>
\r\nBam! I missed a step and fell hard on the escalator! Scrapped by hand really bad and was\r\nbleeding….shouldn’t have been daydreaming, while simultaneously reading and walking.\r\nI couldn’t help but to yelp at the pain and scream…a bit embarrassing. Yet no one helped,\r\nor even seemed to notice. Someone even bumped into me and then moved quickly on, as if\r\nnothing had happened.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Ouch, could anyone help? Could I get a tissue or something please?” I asked. Yet not\r\na soul paid attention. Well…not too surprising. Even at home, when I injured myself,\r\nno one seemed to notice or care. I sometimes feel I could die and people would only\r\nnotice once the smell became unbearable…\r\n<\/p>
\r\nAh well, I still had to take care of it. I went into the nearest restroom to wash the\r\nwound as cleanly as I could, wouldn’t want to get this infected. And welp, what else\r\ncould I do but to cover it in toilet paper, and hope the bleeding would end shortly. Otherwise,\r\nI’d just take care of it once I got home.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nEventually, I put my hand in my pocket and noticed something unexpected, a small calling\r\ncard. Well, I say calling card, but there was no number. It had a weird logo pulled straight\r\nout of a comic book, and the caption: “Feel Powerless? Wait no more! Come to this address”.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nInteresting, how had this even gotten there? I wasn’t sure, yet I felt…not validated,\r\nbut noticed. A strange feeling that made me feel…relieved, this strange kind of feeling\r\nwhere you want to cry, yet are feeling happy. Definitely mysterious…but also definitely\r\nappealing.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nThen again, for all I knew, I might get my organs harvested going to such a mysterious\r\naddress. But…if they really wanted to steal organs from people, I’m sure there’d be\r\nway less convoluted options than this. Well…not like I had any plans this day, so I\r\nmight as well head there.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nI made a big detour, all the while thinking about what this might be. Was this some sort\r\nof support group? Maybe I’d get to meet peers that were also dealing with such situations.\r\nOr maybe it was a secret, underground organization, and they’d deemed me worthy. Ah yes,\r\na classic set up for a comic book or spy thriller. Maybe I, too, would play the role of\r\nthe loser finally brought out into the spotlight. Raised from those ashes of pity.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nYes, right, I wasn’t popular, I wasn’t anything special, maybe now would be my reckoning,\r\nhaha, hehe. Yeah, I’d get to live my fantasies at last! Well…here I was, lost in\r\nfantasies, as usual. Maybe that was why I was a loser, couldn’t even consider reality.\r\nStill, I was so busy considering a rather unlike fantasy, so excited I couldn’t even read\r\nor distract myself on my way to this strange venue.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nEventually, I arrived at a shabby looking apartment building. Double-checked the address,\r\nyup, this was definitely it. Well, definitely suspicious, not glamorous at all. Yet, I’d\r\ncome all the way here…I should still go in…shouldn’t I? I…nervously convinced myself\r\nI might as well go. I didn’t have anything to lose…did I?\r\n<\/p>
\r\nOk, deep breath, you can do it. 3…2…1…Go! And so I marched on and headed to the\r\nfront door. It was unlocked. According to the card, the meeting place was in the basement.\r\nAlthough it had no number. I descended the stairs and saw there was only a single door.\r\nAccording to the card, I should simply ring the buzzer. I ringed it once, and waited.\r\nNothing. Ringed it a second time and still nothing. I was getting extremely nervous,\r\nstarting to second doubt myself. Should I head out? What was I getting myself into? What\r\nwas I thinking? Maybe this had been a truly bad idea. Yet, here I was. Though…maybe\r\nno one was home, maybe I’d just turn around, walk out, get home, and just laugh…\r\n<\/p>
\r\nAnd then the door slowly opened, and I was greeted by someone in a suit, buff and somewhat\r\nintimidating, that simply told me to go in. Had I passed but the threshold that they\r\nimmediately shut the door behind me. Tha-thump, tha-thump. My heart was racing, stress\r\nlevels reached new highs. Still, I\r\ntried to look cool and in control, and marched on. Inside was a dark and smoky area,\r\nlit by a single dim overhead light, and a round table. On my side was a single chair,\r\npulled so I could sit. Across the table was a middle-aged man wearing tinted glasses.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Come in, sit down, sit down. No need to be nervous. Please, also take off your jacket.\r\nFeel free to hand it over to Greg over there.”, the man said.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nWell, at least the man seemed calmed and friendly. He might succeed in putting me at\r\nease. I accepted the offer, took us my jacket, handed it to the man still standing behind\r\nme, and took a seat.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well, I’m rather pleased to see that you’ve accepted my offer. Rare are those that are\r\nboth curious and ballsy enough to take it upon them to head over here. What more, according\r\nto my associates, you barely hesitated, no time wasted, headed here straight away.”, he\r\nstated, immediately going to business.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nWell, that was rather…intimidating. I had been…under observation? Who were these\r\npeople, and what did they want with me? I…what was I doing?\r\n<\/p>
\r\nHe clearly saw the panic in my eyes, for when he next addressed me, he was attempting\r\nto soothe my worries.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Oh, don’t worry, nothing sinister at play. It’s not like we’ve been following you for\r\nweeks or anything. Extensively researching you or anything. When we identify a candidate,\r\nwe don’t waste such time, we simply go ahead and pass on the offer. However, we are always\r\ncurious as to how a candidate initially reacts. And that has been relayed to me.” he\r\nsaid matter-of-factly.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well, enough foreplay, I’m sure you’re curious what all of this is about, right? Well,\r\nlet us wait no more and dive into it. But first, a story:\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\n‘Long ago, in the long ago era of twenty years past, a young man who simply wanted to\r\nhelp other had gradually been losing hope in humanity. He kept looking around, yet all\r\nhe saw was misery, accompanied by uncaring people. Yet, instead of taking things into\r\nhis own hands to try to help others, starting a community or an organization, he wallowed\r\nin this pity.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘Eventually, he opted to travel the world, see whether things were better elsewhere. Yet,\r\nhe simply saw more and more of the uncaring nature of humanity, it’s disregard for\r\nboth others humans and the planet at large. Or maybe he simply saw what he wanted to see.\r\nThis made him more and more jaded, blinded him to acts of selflessness that could still\r\nbe witnessed if you looked close enough.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘In his misguided quest to help humanity, he sought answers from the past, and eventually\r\nfound some ancient legends of mystical powers that could bring about peace and destruction,\r\ndepending on how they came to be wielded. He eventually built crew and an expedition was\r\nset into motion. They traveled for a few years before at last finding the desired artifact.\r\nThe once young man was now well into his thirties, and desperate for an answer. Ancient\r\nreadings covered the temple where it was seen, but the man, too impatient, eagerly ran\r\nahead to it to observe it first hand. Presumably, there were warnings he should have heeded,\r\nbut he was too foolish. Immediately had he laid eyes on this ancient relic which he’d\r\nbeen so impassioned to find, that he felt emboldened to take action.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘But no sooner had his fingers brushed its surface that a blinding light emanated from it,\r\nalong with a deep, resounding noise, both overwhelming his senses. Once the light had\r\ndissipated and the volume attenuated, he realized he was now alone. What more, he didn’t\r\nsee quite as clearly anymore. Still, it was enough to see the tragedy. Where his partners had\r\nonce been, piles of ashes now lain. Turns out, the activation had required a sacrifice.\r\nYet, it had worked, something had changed. Yet, he still had trials ahead of him. For\r\nstarters, he had to find a way back to civilization, now that he was alone. Moreover,\r\nthe eyesight degradation did not stop there. A few weeks later, already he’d gone completely\r\nblind.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘Yet, with his quest was now complete, and he was faced with a mixture of accomplishment\r\nand sorrow for his lost crew and friends. He had to admit that, losing sight was a fitting\r\nsacrifice, considering…\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘Still, he managed to eventually make it back, and was now able to enact more specific\r\nplans. And gradually, possibly through his own handicap, he’d realized the error of his\r\nway, gradually seen there was still care in this world, cooperation was still alive,\r\nalbeit at a smaller scope than he’d wished for.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘But, what was it he acquired through his quest? Well, he wasn’t exactly sure himself,\r\nbut according to the legends, it was a boon from the Gods. Turns out, this was a mistranslation,\r\nit was actually the ability to grant boons. Unique ones, different for each recipient,\r\nand a reflection of their deepest themselves.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘He discovered this by accident, when one late evening, in the tavern of a small, distant\r\nvillage, someone had held his hand to help guide him, and he’d felt something special.\r\nHe tried to focus deeply, and started to feel something weird, almost a vision, filled with\r\nstrange colors. Although he couldn’t comprehend it, he kept pushing, and eventually, something\r\nclicked, and it was as if he’d unlocked something.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n‘Unfortunately, this had turned into a grave mistake, the biggest this person had ever made.\r\nTurns out this woman had a darker side than it seemed. But it did teach the man about\r\nhis new power, and that he had to use it carefully.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/i>\r\n
\r\nIt should not surprise you to hear that I am the man of this story, and that this power\r\nis why you’re here.”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“So…what happened to the woman?”, I asked, incredulously.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“This, I shall not reveal, as it is a deep regret of mine. Let us instead move the focus\r\nto you.”, he said in response.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Me?”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Yes, of course. Now that you’ve heard the story, the obvious question becomes: Would you\r\nbe interested in receiving a power from me? Obviously, I can’t guarantee what you’ll get,\r\nI don’t choose the power, nor do you, at least not consciously.”, he replied.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well….it’s a rather tempting offer…but, what must I give in exchange? What’s the\r\ncost? It’s not like I’m rich or anything…and I’m sure you know it! So, where’s the\r\nsacrifice in this Faustian bargain?”, I tried to respond coolly, though\r\nI doubt I managed to keep my calm. I was too excited, I might finally get the chance to\r\nbecome a super hero!\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well…nothing of the sort. For a while, due to how jaded I’d become, I did consider\r\nsimply offering powers to the highest bidder, as a pure source of income, but realized\r\nthis would be an awful idea. My goal was to make the world a better place, not a more\r\nchaotic one. I’d already made a huge mistake with my ability to bestow gifts upon others,\r\nmight as well not further squander it. No, instead, I simply ask for you hand in helping\r\nus make the world a better place. One of us has a really good feeling about you, and I\r\ntrust his judgement. No catch, just try your best, and join us if you can. If not, then\r\nyou can walk away, and obviously keep whatever boom you’re granted, though I strongly\r\ndoubt you would do such a thing. Not after we open your eyes to the current situation.”,\r\nwas his rebuke. Well, this was making it quite a tempting offer…too real to be true,\r\nhonestly. Either there was a catch, or this was some cruel prank played on me, right?\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Sure, but first, let me ask you a few question, if that’s ok.”, I tried to negotiate.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Go ahead, I’m a mostly open-book. Some questions might be off-limits, but we won’t hold\r\nthem against you.”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Ok, let’s start with the obvious. What kind of power did you grant yourself?”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Hahahahahah!”, he burst out laughing, incomprehensibly. After a moment, he calmed down a bit,\r\nraise his head and stated: “You didn’t expect I would possibly also be able to grant myself\r\npowers, did you? This is it, I’m like a genie, granting others their wishes, but unable\r\nto grant their own wishes. But honestly, I don’t mind it. Especially considering how\r\nmuch I’ve foolishly sacrificed. I truly don’t deserve my own power.”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Ok, then what does your organization do?”, I followed up with.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Ah, yes, of course you’d want to know that. Unfortunately, we can’t reveal too much if\r\nwe’re not sure you’ll accept. Just know that we’re trying to better the world, and that\r\nI strongly doubt you’d regret joining us.”, was all he gave me.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well…not much of an answer, but I reckon I’ll have to accept it. Well then, last\r\nquestion: How do we initiate the process, and is there a metaphysical cost. A tradeoff\r\nfor the powers? Similar to how you had to lose sight?”, I finally asked.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Haha, well isn’t that technically two main questions? But no, no such cost. The sacrifice\r\nwas mine and mine alone, and the granting of boons goes without an additional cost. The\r\nonly cost becomes the power itself, depending on its nature. And\r\nhow do we go about it? Simply place your hands on the table, and I’ll take them into my own.\r\nThen close your eyes, relax, and you’ll feel a small tingly sensation. That’s it, it’ll\r\nbe over. So now, time for me to ask: Do you want to go through this? Be warned that this\r\nis an irreversible process, and not all powers are as beneficial as you might expect. Still,\r\nI cannot take it away, no matter how much you plead for it. Are you willing to take a\r\nchance, and try to join us, no strings attached?”, the ultimatum was laid down.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“I am, let’s do this!”, I said. I felt like I’d been ready for a day like this for my\r\nwhole life. And thus, I laid down my hands on the table, closed my eyes, and waited.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nA sudden, cold sensation took me. His hands were much coarser than I would have expected,\r\nI was taken aback by this. Yet, I was ready. Anything for something like this. It had\r\nbeen my one dream for my entire life. I wanted special powers, I wanted to be special,\r\nI wanted to finally be someone! But I shouldn’t have asked myself whether I should have\r\npowers, or what powers I would have wanted. Instead I should have asked myself what\r\npowers I thought best represented me, what powers I was “the most likely to get”. And I\r\nwould have realized the utter disappointment I might be led to feel.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nAfter feeling a small electric shock in my hands, along with a rushing sensation, I\r\nwas told I could open my eyes. I looked down on myself and was horrified to discover what\r\nI had become. There was nothing. Nothing at all. And I don’t mean that nothing had happened,\r\nI mean there was no more me. I was now completely invisible.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Wha, what? What happened to me?”, I intoned.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Sir, the kid just turned invisible.”, a voice said from behind.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“Well, well, well, isn’t this interesting. That’s certainly a first for us. Invisibility.\r\nI can’t imagine the kind of life you must have led for this to happen, or at least how\r\nyou must have perceived it. I almost pity you, but I’m sure it’s made you more resilient\r\nand capable.”, he calmly said.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“How could this be? I…why didn’t I get something cool like flying, super-strength or\r\nsuper-speed. Even laser eyes could have been cool! How could you do this to me!!”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“There, there, I already told you, I have no control over this process. I can either\r\nawaken it, or leave it dormant. Those are my only two options.”\r\n<\/p>
\r\n“But…but…I…I…”, and then I started sobbing deeply.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nI’d already had a hard enough time being seen and noticed by others, even friends and\r\nfamily. And now here I was, literally invisible. And worst of all, I had no control over\r\nit! Yup…this was it, this was the end. I\r\nwould know utter loneliness. And not like I could go back to my normal life now, even if\r\nI wanted to.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nWell, I should have know there was a catch. After such a long time living in the shadow,\r\npassing unnoticed, being forgotten by others, this was the obvious choice, wasn’t it?\r\nGoing from metaphorically unseen to literally unseen, going from not leaving a mark, to\r\nactually being erased. I should have known better, I should have known to be careful\r\nwhat I wished for, yet I was possessed with hubris. I thought I deserved better and greater\r\nthings, and would get something grandiose and magnificent. But I got what, deep down,\r\nbest reflected me. I knew it, I knew why I got it, I knew it made sense, but I didn’t\r\nlike it, not one bit. Maybe I should have been content with what I had.\r\n<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This was written December 15th, 2025 Dark Reflections “Hey guys, can someone pass the salt?”, I asked, simply. “Anyone, please? It’s a bit too far for me.”, I insisted. “Jay?” “Yes?”, he at last replied. “Could you please pass the salt? It’s just out of my reach”, I once more asked, somewhat disappointed my inquiry … Continue reading Writing Challenge 2025 \u2013 18 – Dark Reflections<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2552"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2553,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions\/2553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}