The Unjian Power

The night before my 15th birthday, I couldn’t sleep. The anticipation kept me tossing and turning, my mind racing with all the possibilities of what my obscure super-power could be. My older sister, Emily, had gone through this exact same thing a year before me. I was excited to finally join her in the world of the extraordinary.

When the sun finally rose, I crawled out of bed and stumbled downstairs to find Emily sitting at the kitchen table.

“One more day until you become interesting,” she teased.

I stuck my tongue out at her. Since we were little, it was always a competition between us. Who could color inside the lines? Who could run faster? Who could eat their veggies without complaining? And now, who could have the coolest super-power?

“Are you nervous?” Emily asked as she poured cereal into a bowl.

“A little,” I admitted. “Did it hurt when yours came?”

“It wasn’t painful,” she said thoughtfully. “It was more like a surge of energy.”

I nodded and took a seat next to her at the table. Our parents were at work already, but they had left us breakfast and a note with well wishes for my special day.

After eating our cereal in silence, Emily stood up and stretched.

“Well, I’m off to school,” she said. “Don’t make too much of a mess before Mom and Dad get home.”

“You’re such an adult now that you have your super-powers,” I grumbled playfully.

She laughed as she walked towards the front door.

“I’ll see you after school tomorrow!” she called before disappearing outside.

Once Emily left, I cleaned up our breakfast dishes and started getting ready for the day ahead of me. It was strange knowing that today would be like any other normal day but tomorrow everything would change. Looking at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would look like with my powers. Would they be physical, like changing my eye color or giving me super strength? Or would they be more subtle and harder to notice, like being able to understand any language or always knowing the right answer on a test?

The possibilities were endless.

After getting ready, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door to catch the bus. Throughout the day at school, I found myself constantly daydreaming about what my power could be. It made it difficult to concentrate in class, but luckily our teachers were just as distracted as we were.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, the last bell rang and we were dismissed from school. I practically ran home in my excitement.

When I got home, I found a note from Emily saying she was at her best friend’s house and would be back later. That was fine by me; this was something that I wanted to experience alone. After making myself a snack, I settled onto the couch and turned on the TV for some background noise.

As the afternoon turned into evening and the sun began to set outside, my excitement started turning into nerves again. The reality of it all was starting to set in – tomorrow everything would change. My heart raced as each passing minute brought me closer and closer to midnight.

At 11:59 p.m., I sat cross-legged on the living room floor in front of a clock that I had placed there earlier. The seconds ticked away until finally…

12:00 a.m.

My heart skipped a beat in anticipation.

12:01 a.m.

I frowned slightly when nothing happened.

12:02 a.m.

Still nothing.

As each minute passed without incident, my disappointment grew stronger. What if it didn’t work? What if there was some mistake and I wasn’t going to get any powers?

Trying not to let panic overtake me completely, I took deep breaths and tried to think rationally. Maybe it just hadn’t come yet. Maybe it would arrive later in the day. Or maybe, just maybe, it was already there but I just hadn’t noticed.

Feeling slightly more hopeful, I picked up my phone and used the flashlight to examine myself in the mirror. But all I saw was my same old self staring back at me.

Deflated, I tossed my phone onto the couch and slumped down onto the floor. Tears began to well up in my eyes as disappointment consumed me.

“What’s wrong?”

I jumped at the sound of Emily’s voice. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t even heard her come home.

“I’m…” I started, trying to hold back tears. “I’m still normal.”

Emily crossed the room and sat down next to me on the floor.

“Just because you don’t see anything doesn’t mean it didn’t come,” she said gently.

“But what if it didn’t?” I sniffled.

“I thought the same thing when mine didn’t come right away,” Emily confessed. “But then one day, out of nowhere, something happened.”

“What happened?” I asked eagerly.

“It was during a soccer game,” Emily explained with a smile. “I was running towards the goal and then suddenly… BAM! My vision changed. It was like everything slowed down and became crystal clear. After that, every time I played soccer, my vision would change like that – giving me an advantage over everyone else on the field.”

“So… you can only use your powers when you play soccer?” I asked skeptically.

“No!” Emily laughed. “That’s just when they first showed themselves. Over time, they became more controllable and less sporadic.”

“Oh,” I said softly. “So… what should we do now?”

“We wait,” she said simply.

“Wait for what?”

“For your powers to make their grand entrance,” Emily replied with a mischievous grin.

And so, I waited. I didn’t know how long it would take or what form my powers would come in, but I had hope. With Emily by my side, guiding me through this new and exciting journey, I knew that no matter what power I ended up with, it would be extraordinary.