Tamim and Faria were walking along a road beside a lake.
"It's really complicated, but it makes sense. Still, this information might explain why that massive entity attacked the city that day," said Faria, her expression slightly shocked.
"That's all the information I wanted to give you. I hope it will help," Tamim replied.
"It will help, and it's not hard to filter, but the thing is, I won't share this information with anyone, not even with BSSB," Faria stated firmly.
"Why? It could help BSSB find a lot of answers," Tamim questioned, surprised.
"I could filter the information and save Fahim, but in the end, it won't help. Even if I shared everything, the information wouldn't solve the problem. This is a supernatural matter that the government can't fix right now. Suppose I did manage to tell BSSB—then what? It's not like they could stop these creatures from being summoned, and even Fahim isn't certain about that. The best they could do is tell the media, but the media wouldn't believe it," Faria explained.
"Yeah, but there's a possibility they might believe it," Tamim persisted.
"Yes, but suppose they do believe it—what then? International pressure would fall on Bangladesh, leading to even more disasters. As long as other countries and our government think of this as a mystery, it's not a problem." Faria was explaining when her phone rang, interrupting her. It was a call from her dad.
"Sorry, I have to go now. I'm glad you're concerned about this and..." Faria trailed off, her voice dropping to a whisper, "You've changed a lot."
Tamim barely caught her whispered words, thanks to his enhanced hearing. "And what?" Tamim asked, curious, but Faria had already picked up the call and was walking away.
Tamim stood in place, watching Faria walk away, and thought, "What did she say? Did she… mean it? Or did I hear wrong?"
He turned his gaze to the lake, seeing the sun's reflection on the water, and thought, "Have I really changed?"
Tamim was silent for a moment, contemplating, "Maybe I have changed, but how?"
Suddenly, a memory flashed in Tamim's mind: a ten-year-old Tamim and his sister Tanisa were at a park when they noticed a puppy stuck in a hole.
Tanisa tried to help the puppy out, but at that moment, a larger dog approached from behind and bit Tanisa's hand. Yet, after the dog saw that they had saved her puppy, she stopped attacking.
Despite the pain from the bite, Tanisa continued helping the puppy out of the hole.
Tamim's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a distressed scream.
He looked up to see a woman screaming because a thief on a motorbike had snatched her bag and was speeding away. The woman tried to chase after him but fell to the ground instead. Some people rushed to help her as she cried out, "No… That's my salary for the month, along with my savings. I need that money."
The biker had already covered a good distance and was accelerating even more.
Without a second thought, Tamim sprinted after the biker. With his speed, he quickly caught up, and the biker, noticing Tamim closing in, tried to accelerate further.
But Tamim grabbed the biker's arm, causing him to crash to the ground. The biker was injured, and his bike collided with a wall.
People around watched in shock as Tamim, a mere human, had managed to overpower the speed of a motorbike and catch the thief.
The biker, writhing in pain, handed over the bag.
Seeing the thief's pain, Tamim bit his finger and transferred some of his healing energy to him. The biker's injuries healed instantly.
The woman was approaching, and the crowd had caught the thief.
Tamim picked up the woman's bag and handed it to her.
"Thank you… Thank you so much. You're a hero," the woman said gratefully, her face bright with relief.
The word "hero" hit Tamim hard, and once again, he was lost in thought.
He remembered a moment from his teenage years when he and Fahim were in class. Fahim had said, "You know, Red Yodha and the Hexa defeated the mafia boss."
"So?" Tamim had asked, indifferent.
"They're the heroes of the country, and when I grow up, I want to be a hero too," Fahim had said with a spirited resolve.
"Think realistically. Dreaming of being a hero is pointless," Tamim had dismissed.
"Heroes aren't just strong or special. Anyone can be a hero at any time. If you help someone, you can be called a hero," Fahim had replied with conviction.
Tamim's thoughts snapped back to the present, and he said, "Check if everything is okay."
The woman checked her bag and replied, "Yes, everything's okay. Thanks again. You saved my life like a hero."
An old man passing by commented, "Yeah, he looked like a hero from a movie. It's real. Not all heroes wear capes."
Without responding, Tamim started walking away, deep in thought. *Why are these memories suddenly coming to me?*
He continued to walk slowly, realizing he had dropped his shopping bag on the road when he sprinted to catch the thief.
Tamim quickly turned back and reached the spot, only to find the bag missing.
'Ugh… crab. Where did it go? I clearly remember dropping it here," Tamim thought, looking around for his lost items.
From another direction, a man called out to him.
"Hey, young man, are you looking for a shopping bag?" the man asked.
"Yes, I am," Tamim replied, hopeful.
"Was it yours?" the man inquired further.
"Do you have it?" Tamim asked.
"No, but we saw a guy on a bicycle pick it up. I tried to ask him, but he took off before I could," the man explained.
"Great… I should've known that helping others would lead to something bad happening to me. This is why I don't help people," Tamim thought bitterly.
He resumed walking down the road, no longer concerned about his stolen clothes. His mind was fixated on the words "You are a hero" and Faria's "You've changed."
"It's true, I have changed. I still cringe thinking about the time I told Supreme Man, 'I don't care what happens to people.' But the fact that it feels cringe-worthy now means I've changed. I think my powers have started to change who I am."
That day, if I hadn't tried to stop the truck the police were chasing, I wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe I wouldn't have changed this much, but back then, I ignored the situation at first glance. Then, I don't know why, but my body and mind urged me to stop that truck, and I did,"
Tamim reflected as he walked.
At that moment, a soft female voice called from behind, "Are you Tamim?"
Tamim turned around to see a young girl with a round face, wearing a pink jacket, a pink skirt over blue jeans, long dark brown hair, and an artificial left bionic leg.
To be continued...