Maya Unstoppable
What the parent wrote
“Write something for my daughter. She's going through chemo and I want her to feel like a superhero, not a sick kid. She's lost her hair and kids stare at her. Make her powerful.”
Read the Story
Maya was a superhero. Not the kind with a secret identity. Everyone knew exactly who she was.
Villains kept a list of heroes they'd beaten. Maya's name was not on the list. Maya's name had a line through it that said: DO NOT FIGHT.
Frost went first. He was covered in ice armor and thought he was VERY tough. "I will freeze you SOLID," said Frost.
He did. Maya froze. Solid ice, head to toe.
CRACK. She shattered free. Frost stumbled back. "But — but I FROZE you!" Maya dusted ice off her shoulder. "Yeah. That was cold."
Gust went next. She was made of wind and twice as loud. "I'LL BLOW YOU OFF THE MAP!" screamed Gust.
Maya went flying. She tumbled. She hit the ground. Hard.
She stood up. She walked straight into the wind. One step. Then another. "...how?" whispered Gust. "I get back up," said Maya. "That's the whole thing."
Shade was different. He didn't roar. He didn't brag. He just made things... disappear. "I'll make them forget you were ever here," whispered Shade.
The world went dark. Shade wrapped around her. Maya couldn't see her own hands.
Then Maya blazed. Not fire. Just — HER. Light poured off her hands, her shoulders, the top of her beautiful, bare head.
Word spread fast. Villains crossed Maya's name off their lists. Not as beaten. As: DO NOT FIGHT.
"What IS her power?" asked a new villain. Frost was still shivering. "She gets back up," he said.
The next morning, Maya walked through a crowd. People stared. They always stared.
Maya didn't blink. She knew what she was made of. Unstoppable.
Photo → Storybook Character
