Reddit Stories 2019

Chosen One

"Hey, Poe, we need to talk," Jai said, propping her feet on the coffee table. Reaching over her head, she pulled Excalibur from its wall-mount, examining the blade. The tip was safely secured by a rubber mold, just in case Emm's grabby hands found themselves three feet over the couch.

It was a stretch for a baby, but we liked to play it safe.

Jai's purple eyes stalked me as I wandered out from the kitchen, fully aproned with a pan full of sizzle. Her expression was serious, instead of the usual upbeat demeanor ready with quips. I nodded slowly. "What's up?"

"First, I wanna say thank you. You've been great this year with Emm and everything." Jai glanced back to her room, where the baby was sleeping peacefully. It had been several long months since there had been any peace in the house. "You've really stepped up."

I swelled with pride. Jai was thanking me. Me! "Well, y'know, seemed like the right thing to do. I feel like I'm somewhat responsible for the situation."

"Oh, you are," Jai said with a nod. The pride faded a little. "But I appreciate that you took responsibility and have helped me with the situation. Not every guy would do that."

"Jai, come on. You're my oldest friend. I couldn't leave you hanging like that."

"Woulda hated you forever if you did." Jai laughed. I laughed. Both of us knew it wasn't a joke.

We used to be close - incredibly close - until she received the news. Every high school had detailed records of prophecies and yearly test. It was obvious to anyone that Jai would be fulfill one of them. She was athletic, with supernatural strength and agility, born under a lunar eclipse, and, though one was hidden under her curly brown hair, she had purple eyes. Jai was obviously a chosen one.

The surprise was that she was the chosen one.

Jai aced the test her first year. She matched every prophecy. Of course, the recruitment started like crazy. Our freshman and sophomore years, she was hounded by the fancy prep schools with a great adventuring programs. Our last two years, she was recruited by colleges. Everyone wanted to be the one who made the hero who saved us all. It was exhausting for her.

Through it all, I was by her side.

Until college. She spent four years training in a secret government lab. I went to the local school. She pulled a sword from stone and discovered the full extent of her latent abilities. I briefly dated Kal. The years passed and our calls turned to texts turned to Facebook messages turned to liking the occasional Instagram post.

We drifted apart.

Then, almost two years ago, she showed up half drunk on my doorstep, mumbling something incoherent about a cosmic horror and a guy named Ewe. We caught up over too much alcohol. She went from half drunk to full drunk. I went from sober to blackout.

Jai disappeared again after that. Her benefactors took her back to the base to continue saving the world. She was on a complete media blackout. I figured I'd seen the last of her. At least until the last prophecy was fulfilled.

Nine months later, I gained two new roommates.

"What did you want to talk about?" I prompted, extremely aware of the sword in her hand.

"I really appreciate your support for me and Emm. I know I've dumped my life on you. I was a mess, Poe. I know you know this, but it's not easy being the chosen one. There's a lot of pressure to not screw everything up, and, well —" Jai set the sword down, thankfully, before gesturing wildly at our small apartment. It originally was a studio, but the landlord never checked the place and I was not prepared to waste my architecture degree. "I kinda did."

"Jai, no you didn't."

"Poe, dude, we almost lost England because I was eight months pregnant and on the toilet instead of fighting aliens. I screwed everything up."

"They had contingencies. No one expected that there would only be one person for all of those prophecies. Besides, they worked it out. We only lost Essex. We would've lost them anyway. No harm, no foul."

"Some harm." Jai sighed. Leaning forward, she grabbed my hand with both of hers and clasped tightly. I felt my pulse quicken. Even before our act of creation, I'd loved Jai. We hadn't been more than roommates since, but every slight bump and every shy glance, I felt the warmth on my cheeks.

Jai released my hand, staring out the window of our fourth floor apartment. One of the overlord's sinister towers loomed on the horizon. The thirty-first of forty prophecies. She bit her lip, trying to keep her cheeks dry. I had never seen her cry in high school.

Now she cried a lot.

"I keep thinking about what it would be like without Emm. I was destined to save the world. I did save the world. Dozens of times! Then I failed England because we made a dumb mistake and I made a dumb decision. I am supposed to be a hero, Poe, but I'm not. I'm a twenty-six-year-old mom who lives in a studio apartment."

"Technically, it's two bedroom now."

Jai smiled, but didn't laugh. The tears rolled down her face. "I feel awful that I can't fulfil my destiny. I feel like a failure."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Then I look at Emm and I realize I'm not. I want to make the world a better place for her, but I also want to be there for her. I want to see all of those first moments she's going to have. I don't want to spend any time apart from her." Jai looked me in the eyes, lips trembling, cheeks wet, and make-up running. "Poe, I want to be done."

She let the silence fill the room while I took in what she said. "What do you mean 'done?'"

"I want to retire. I've been saving the world since I was fourteen. I've almost died a dozen times. I actually died twice. How long until it's permanent? The overlord is coming, and who knows what's after that. It could be.... It could be the one that took Ewe." Jai sighed. "I want to quit, but I can't. There was supposed to be one of us for each prophecy. But there's just me."

Jai slumped back on the couch. I could feel the waves of misery radiate off her. I had always known that she hated her destiny. It never made sense to me. I would have loved to be a hero, but I understood that she didn't and, even more than being a hero, I wanted her to be happy.

"Then quit," I said.

"I can't! Who's going to save the world if I don't?"

Standing with confidence, I slowly untied my apron and puffed my chest, striking the most heroic pose I could. "I will."

"What?"

"I will. Jai, you deserve the chance to rest and I want what's best for you and Emm. You have always been my friend."

"You don't have any powers. These are prophecies. You can't just sub in some random schmuck — no offense."

"None taken. I'm not some random schmuck though. I was with you every step of the way through high school. Yeah, I couldn't run a mile in under three minutes, and yeah, I couldn't bench-press a bus. Still can't do either of those things. But I'm not helpless." I winked at Jai. "After all, I was trained by the chosen one herself. I-if you will."

Jai stood, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You really want to do this?"

I didn't. But I wanted her to be happy and after I ended her career like that, it was the right thing to do. "Yes."

"I'll hate you forever if you die," Jai said. She laughed. I laughed. We both knew it wasn't a joke. Jai wrapped me in a tight, painful hug. A warmth spread through my body. If I died, it would be worth it for just that moment.

As long as Jai and Emm were okay, it would all be worth it.