After chasing the noisy birds for a block or two, Annie and Witz finally stop to catch their breath, and Annie finds they are where she wanted to be all along—right in the middle of the train station.
She rolls up the golden lasso and puts it back into her pocket pouch. Just then, as if by magic, the gates come down, and the bells start clanging. The train is on its way.
Annie steels herself, looking around and around, turning in circles, verging on dizziness. There has to be some disaster, but she doesn't see anything that needs a superhero—just the usual. There's a ticket-taker, a hotdog vendor, and a girl, a few years younger than Annie, who is walking with her family. She's eating ice cream in one hand while bouncing a ball with the other. It's fun to watch her. Bounce, step, lick, bounce, step, lick, bounce...
Oh, no! After one of the steps, the girl's ice cream slips out of her hand and falls onto the pavement—plop! The girl is so upset, she misses the next bounce of her ball. It's rolling away, down the sidewalk, off the curb, down the ramp, and racing toward the train tracks.
Annie's eyes dart back and forth—the ball, the girl, the ball, the girl... The girl might run after the ball, and Annie knows that no one should run near tracks, but she also knows that someone needs to put a stop to the ball's journey.
"Ready, Witz?" Annie asks. And again, using her superhero boots, she flies up the small incline, hoping to grab the ball before it rolls any closer to the yellow line. On her third step, her arm swoops around and scoops the ball up towards her body. Not stopping, Annie runs with the ball until she reaches the girl. All she can think about is the near miss.
With a smile on her face, Annie hands the ball to the girl and turns to KA-PLINK KA-PLUNK away.
The girl's parents, realizing what has just happened, hurry over to thank Annie, but they can't get there in time.
With a great bellow, the girl's father yells, "Thank you, young lady!" Unfortunately, Annie is too far away to hear him.
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Annie Rapinni : Superhero of Little Things
ActionAnnie Rapinni sets out looking for her superhero powers. Hoping to save the world from a disastrous calamity. Instead, she encounters people that need help with little things. Ultimately her humanity leads her to understand her powers, superhero pow...
