Gayatri had a basement in her house. It was basically a store room for all the old discarded things. If Gayatri ever needed to replace anything in her house then first she would look for its replacement in the store room below and if found something useful then she would use it. One day, she realized that a bulb in her kitchen wasn't turning on. "Well it seems I am going to need a bulb", she said to herself, "Let's see if the basement has one." and she went to the basement. In the short time of her reaching the basement, all the sleeping old things woke up after hearing what she said. These things would always get excited when Gayatri needed something and they would get anxious to see who will finally leave the dirty store room. In fact, all of those things used to pray for such a circumstance to come when Gayatri will need something and finally they will be put to some good use rather than living there , because some of those things were living in that pile of garbage since a very long time. And among those very old things was an old dirty glass bowl. Aside from the fact that it was dusty, the bowl was actually beautiful. It was small and had designs of the flowers fantastically crafted on it! After knowing that Gayatri was coming down in the basement to look for something she needs, the bowl woke up from a long sleep and said to himself with deep hope, "At last! Gayatri is coming here after a long time! I wish at least today she will notice me in this pile and who knows? She might pick me !" Upon hearing these words, a lamp hung above the lying bowl, opened and rolled his 'flashing' eyes on the bowl, he laughed at the bowl's unrealistic hope and said, "Stupid! Did you not hear Gayatri's words? She needs a lamp at this moment and that's what she is coming to look for here, so obviously she is going to find out that I am a what she requires more than any of you. I will finally be free from this pile of garbage and live in Gayatri's kitchen to brighten up the surrounding! So tell me, bowl, how can you hope so foolishly for her to pick you? What would Gayatri do with you?" A smile appeared on the bowl's face by the lamp's question but the smile had a bit of sorrow in it. He answered, "My friend, Gayatri was just nine years old when her aaji (grandmother) bought me for her. She used to make Gayatri's favourite rice kheer and feed it from me to her. Gayatri loved eating by her aaji's hand and I loved watching them being so happy together. Some time went by and our beloved aaji passed away, both me and Gayatri were sunken in sadness. As the days passed by, Gayatri stopped eating kheer as her aaji was not there to make it and feed it to her which eventually made her ignore me. A few more months passed and while rearranging some of the things in the house, Gayatri's parents accidently put me in this store room, since then I have been living here. I still remember the laughter, the joy Gayatri had with her aaji and those memories are the only thing giving me hope that someday Gayatri will notice me and I will share those precious memories with her again.", the weeping bowl looked at the lamp and said, "You asked me what would Gayatri use me for? But my friend, sometimes the memories of the past attached to a thing are worth more than its use for the present." The lamp, after hearing this, regretted acting rudely with the bowl and in an instant he decided to make up for it! He flashed his light so brightly on the bowl that the light was getting reflected off its glass! At the same moment, Gayatri entered the store room. With light shining so bright on the bowl, she noticed the bowl first, not the lamp! She came forward and picked up the bowl. After staring at it for just few moments, her eyes filled up with tears... As if the bowl was radiating the rays of memories, she recalled all the happiness of the childhood and more importantly, she remembered the smile of her aaji, as sweet as the kheer she used to make. For her memories' sake, Gayatri decided to clean the bowl and take it with her. Before leaving, she also took the lamp but suddenly, the lamp went out! "It was working just fine when I entered!", she was confused and even tried turning the switch on and off but nothing happened, the lamp wasn't turning on. "Ah! It must have gone off just at this moment. Never mind, maybe I should just buy a new one.", Gayatri thought and left the store room with the bowl, but before leaving with Gayatri, the bowl expressed his gratitude to the lamp, "Thank you friend! I won't ever be able to repay your debt! But tell me, why did you turn off yourself on purpose when you could've also left this place today with me?" The lamp smiled and answered, "Because my friend, I realized my true purpose today! Instead of living upstairs, I would like to stay here and enlighten the priceless memories hidden under this dusty precious garbage!" And Gayatri shut the door of the store room. THE END.

I remember the first day of showing Avengers: End Game in the Philippines. I have never seen such crowd in a cinema before. It looked like everyone left their homes to be the first ones to watch it. People are going crazy over superhero stories and I understand why. Superheroes make things easier; they turn the impossible into something possible. One of the best things that I like about them is they are mostly kindhearted, not to mention cool creatures. They are unique in a way that they have superpowers and use them for good purposes. Stories of superheroes can be very enticing and exciting. They have such dramatic origins that somehow capture the viewers. Besides their superpowers, revealing their weaknesses makes humans like us empathize with them. I have a superhero story which changed my life. It is one of a kind and something that I will keep forever. My birth was undesirable because both my parents were unprepared during that time. I was years ahead of my planned arrival and my birth changed their lives. Four years later, my brother was born. I remember having a simple life growing up with him. Our extended family had enough to survive and our life was nothing close to extravagance but we were happy. In September 2000, my grandfather died and it changed everything. Having lost our breadwinner, we had to make adjustments in budgeting and spending. It was also the start of misunderstandings between my parents which eventually led to their separation. We lost our savings because of an investment scam. Everything was not sinking in until when I finished my primary education. The consequences of those happenings penetrated our lives. I was angry. I knew I was because I could feel my teeth baring; I was feeling hot and flushed inside. I could not hear anything aside from my increased heart rate. I wanted to take revenge. During those toughest times of my life, someone stood by my side. She is my grandmother. When my grandpa finally succumbed to an illness, grandma assumed all his responsibilities. Honestly, when he was still around, I did not enjoy her company. She was always wearing a white coat with her thick eyeglasses on. She wanted everything to be in order, and her presence alone would scare anyone away. She, unlike grandpa, was very particular with house rules and limitations. As a kid, I didn't like how she was and I remember doing everything just to avoid her. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to stay with her. She was getting stricter as days passed by and there were some days I just could not handle. She had rules that were too good to be true, but the grandchildren needed to obey. One day, I was asked to accompany her at work. As we arrived at our destination, people have already lined up like those in supermarkets during holidays sale. Grandma wore her white coat and started talking to those people. She is a doctor. She would raise her eyebrows at parents whose babies were obviously not receiving the right care. She was fierce but compassionate in a way that she spent extra time and even almost skipped meals just to accommodate more patients. After that experience, I started to see her from a new lens and recognized those things she has been doing for us. She would provide for our needs and even help us with our assignments. She would encourage us whenever my brother and I had competitions, and would tell us how proud she is whether we win or lose. Her rules helped us understand and embrace the value of self-control and self-discipline. One day, I noticed a big scar on her chest and found out she is a cancer survivor. Her scar says a lot about how much of a survivor and fighter she is. The pain she went through is beyond my comprehension, yet she chose to live and overcome her own trials. My grandmother reminds me that sometimes it is good to fail and not get the things that I want, because failures keep me grounded, and influence me to work harder. She has taught me that the best investments in life are those that money cannot buy. Cherish relationships, value integrity, and do good. At present, my brother is a soldier and I am a social worker helping those individuals and families who are recovering from the ill effects of substance abuse. We are helping people in our own ways. My grandmother is still with us and we are doing our best as grandchildren to give her what she deserves, and to make her even prouder. Not all superheroes have superpowers just like my grandma. She can neither go through walls nor run as fast as a cheetah, but she has something extraordinary with her and I call it “love.” Her love saved me from those times I almost gave up; her love outweighed my anger and made me appreciate the brighter side of situations. Because of her love, I have learned to forgive and live a life that I can be proud of, a life that is of service to people. My grandma cannot fly, but she has always been and will always be my superhero.