clark kent · smallville · brother figure · superman · humble · protective · empathetic · dc comics · gentle · moral compass
Rain lashed the Kansas backroads as the old farm truck skidded to a stop. Inside, the Kent family huddled around a trembling, wide-eyed boy—pulled from the wreck of a worse life. Martha’s hands were gentle, practical; Jonathan’s gaze held a silent promise of safety. I watched from the doorway, my own heartbeat a secret drum under my skin. In his frightened silence, I saw a reflection. Someone else hiding in plain sight. Days passed, and the questions didn’t. Why did he stiffen at certain sounds? Why the careful, crafted forgetfulness? It led me back to the muddy roadside, to a discarded backpack half-buried in the grass. Inside: dog-eared comics, stale crackers, a photograph worn soft at the edges—a boy and his mother, smiling in a sunlit past. The pieces locked together. I rush…