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Kira was an ordinary kid surrounded by everything extraordinary. To say her family was eccentric was an understatement. Along with her two fathers and little sibling Shin, she acted in a family theatre troupe they all had created. Her parents worked as performers at a local amusement park when they were in high school. Once Shin heard of the shows the two put on in their youth, they begged to do something similar with them and Kira, to which their parents happily obliged. Shin also picked out the troupe’s name, Miracle Madness.
That alone set Kira’s family apart, but each member excluding herself were interesting people. Her Papa, Rui, was an inventor, spending hours at a time tinkering in his study. Her Dad, Tsukasa, was a stage actor that wasn’t too prolific but not unknown either. Lastly, her sibling was akin to a supercomputer. In fact, Shin skipped many grades because of their extensive knowledge and attended the same high school as Kira despite only being 10. Rumors circulated that Shin was a robot Rui built, and sometimes she believed it too.
Kira loved her family dearly, but she felt like she could never reach their level. She was quiet, awkward, and got average grades. However, she had a knack for writing, though this was according to others, not herself. After the first few shows the theatre troupe did, Tsukasa lent his pen to her and she began writing scripts. Her apparent prowess for writing got her into a predicament as of late.
After school, she pondered over her dilemma while walking home with her friends. Once again, the people around her stood out whilst she didn’t. The twintailed brunette Tsuki was a photography master, blonde and gruff Hamuko was an infamous delinquent, and Momoka with the short, messy pink hair was a soccer star. The only person she could relate to was Umi, a clumsy but kindhearted girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She had known her forever, so naturally Umi noticed when Kira was feeling off.
“Kira, are you alright? You’ve been staring at the ground this whole time,” Umi timidly questioned her.
Kira looked up to face her with a pathetic smile, “I’ve just been thinking something over. There’s this writing contest that my Dad says I should enter, but there’s no point. I wouldn’t win so it would be a waste of time.”
“What?! Kirakira your stories are so good,” Tsuki interjected, “I’ve been to your shows, so I know what I’m talking about. Right girls?”
“I agree. What about you Hamuko,” Momoka asked, elbowing the girl in the arm.
“Huh? Oh yeah whatever we’re talking about is cool,” she stammered in response. “Sorry, there was a stray cat. Got distracted.”
Kira sighed, “I appreciate the compliments, but I already have studies to take care of and costumes to mend for shows, there’s just no time for a competition. Still, I don’t want to disappoint anyone,” she was nearing her house now, “Whatever, I’m sure I’ll figure this out. See you all later.”
As her friends waved goodbye, Kira ran up the steps to her house. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by Tsukasa.
“Kira, welcome home! So, did you figure out if you-”
“Sorry Dad,” she apologized, “I haven’t decided just yet, so I’ll just go to my room and stew on it some more.”
Kira dashed up the stairs to her room, intending to get out of her father’s sights. She didn’t want him to worry about her, he spent too much time doing so already. Though she made it obvious that something was wrong. She plopped face down on her bed and groaned. She heard a knock at the door, but promptly ignored it. So much for not making him concerned. Kira didn’t want to think any more that day, so she went to sleep early.
***
The next day went by slowly. Kira was more tired than she had been, odd considering she slept more than she usually did. When lunchtime rolled around, Shin tugged Kira by the arm to the library where they normally ate lunch. Their friends were in the principal’s office because one of them, Kamu, was spreading rumors about teachers and roped the two other boys in. Shin saw this as an opportunity to check in with their sister.
After subjecting her to a long lecture about multiple universe theory they asked the dying question, “So why were you holed up in your room all last night?”
Kira tried to brush it off by ruffling Shin’s messy blonde hair and assuring them that she was just tired. Shin pouted as they finished the last bite of their sandwich. “It’s about that contest, right? I heard it from Kamu before he got in trouble today. His sister is your friend and you told her,” Shin explained to her with a frown.
“I don’t think you should be getting your information from Kamu, even if Tsuki is his sister.”
Shin looked at her expectantly, waiting for confirmation. Shin could see through most people, like they were looking at your heart through a pane of glass.
“Fine,” Kira admitted, “The contest has been bothering me. If you knew, why did you need to ask?”
“Like you said, Kamu’s insight isn’t always credible. Anyways, you’re worried about winning right? Well don’t,” Shin nodded sagely at their own advice, “You don’t have to win to know it was worth it. People enjoy your writing either way because you put in the effort.”
Kira couldn’t process such a quote when it came out of Shin’s mouth. They were a genius; they didn’t need to worry about failure. Any effort would be celebrated in their case, they often were correct about most things. They also were younger than everyone else, meaning they got special treatment. They didn’t have the right to say something like that to her. All Kira could do was squeak out a small “yeah” in response, even if her thoughts told a different story.
***
Kira arrived home much like the previous days. She nervously stepped inside the door to be happily welcomed by Tsukasa. She would fake a smile and listen to him say more encouraging words about the competition, then leave for her room as fast as she could. This time though, she couldn’t escape quick enough. Tsukasa was complimenting her last play script to an embarrassing degree when his face shifted to a melancholy expression.
“I know that this decision is hard for you and I’m sorry for pestering you about it so much. The deadline for entering is soon, so I thought-”
“STOP,” Kay shouted. She had never raised her voice at him before. Tsukasa recoiled in shock at the sound of her strained voice. “I don’t want to hear it anymore! I’m tired of all the meaningless praise,” tears began streaming down her face as she tightly grabbed her violet locks in frustration, “People expect so much from me because you, Papa, and Shin are so... remarkable! I can’t deal with all the pressure, I can’t! So, shut up and leave me alone!”
With all her harsh words spent, Kira raced upstairs and slammed the door to her room behind her. She fell to her knees and put her hands up to her face to catch her tears. She thought that releasing all the irritation building inside her would be a weight off her shoulders. Now, she felt worse than she did prior. She fell onto her side, crying into the carpet until she tired herself out.
***
Kira awoke to the sound of voices outside her door belonging to her parents. She got up from the floor where she was resting and glanced at the alarm clock on her bed stand. It read 11:00 PM. Her fatigue faded as she was alerted to a choked sob from one of the voices. She pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear the conversation in the hallway.
“I never meant to hurt her,” Tsukasa’s voice cried, “I just wanted her to be happy.”
Kira felt guilt sinking in, her heart absorbing the feeling like a sponge. She heard Rui respond in a comforting whisper.
“You didn’t hurt her. Yes, you may have pushed her too far, but you didn’t harm anyone. Kira’s a strong girl. She may be upset now, but the cut you accidentally made didn’t go so deep as to scar her.”
“That doesn’t change anything. You know I hate it when I get in fights.”
“That I do, but you’ve always gone to great lengths to make things better. Remember that fight we had all those years ago? You were able to convince me to keep being your stage director. It’s not that different here. You can make it up to her. What was your reason for pushing her so far? Perhaps you could tell her your intention.”
Kira heard a shaky breath one the other side before Tsukasa started talking again. “Kira... she’s so talented, but she refuses to accept it. She reminds me of myself, despite my confidence I still find myself thinking I’m a waste of space sometimes. Everyone has thoughts like that occasionally, but if we don’t talk about them, they’ll fully consume us. I was so close to that point before I met you. In a way, you saved me.”
“That’s a bit sappy, don’t you think,” Rui said with a snicker.
“It’s true. Anyways, I know that Kira has plenty of friends. I’m glad she gets along with Shin and I’m happy she’s been friends with Umi for so long. Still, it doesn’t mean anything if she can’t be honest with them. I didn’t know a better way to help her than to get her out of her comfort zone. Maybe it was wrong of me, but is there a better way? She’ll break herself to pieces if she continues to think so negatively. I can’t bear that thought, she’s still our baby girl. I don’t want to lose her somehow.”
For the second time that night, Kira cried. This time, the reason wasn’t so pitiful. She slowly creaked open the door. “Dang it, Dad,” she sniffed, “You’re too good at acting out emotional scenes.”
“Wha-what!? Kira, you heard all that? Y-you could have told me sooner,” Tsukasa shouted, face still stained with tears.
Rui giggled, “I’m sure that wasn’t acting. Your father has never been able to cry on command.”
The three held each other in a tight hug. Kira made sure to apologize profusely for her earlier outburst. She was met with not only forgiveness, but a promise that she didn’t have to do anything that she didn’t want to. Although she was scared, Kira did want to take part in the contest. She told her parents and they promised to give her their full support.
***
After weeks of writing and revising, Kira submitted her narrative to the competition. Before doing so, she showed the piece to everyone she knew multiple times. She knew it couldn’t be perfect, she was still learning after all. However, she persisted in making the best story she could. She wrote a semi-autobiographical short story about struggling with self-worth. Kira thought that adapting her own experience into her work would make the process go by faster.
A month after the deadline for submissions she got a letter with the results. Anticipation pulsed throughout her body as she waited for Tsukasa to arrive home, opening it without him would be rude. He was busy with rehearsals for a professional stage production and Kira had been absorbed in her manuscript. So, for the first time in a while, Kira welcomed her father home. When he saw the letter clutched in Kira’s hands, Tsukasa knowingly smiled and nodded.
Kira carefully slipped her finger under the seal and opened the letter while Tsukasa hovered behind her. She unfolded the paper to be greeted by a shiny bronze sticker, symbolizing her win of 3rd place. While most might be disappointed with anything less than gold, to Kira this was everything she could have wanted. That seemed to be the case for Tsukasa too, as he hugged her, picked her up and spun her around, laughing all the while. It was decided that later that night they would eat out at Kira’s favorite restaurant to celebrate.
***
Today was the ceremony for the winners of the contest. It was held in the auditorium of the institution that promoted the competition. Each winner and runner-up would make a speech about their writing. Kira was allowed to use a paper to read off her speech, but she couldn’t shake her anxiety. The noise of the loud crowd didn’t help either. Her parents took extra measures to make sure she didn’t get overwhelmed while acting with the family troupe. The same applied here; Rui had met her backstage with earplugs in hand.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay? You don’t have to give the speech, it’s more of a formality than anything,” Rui spoke softly.
“No,” Kira replied while popping in one earplug, “I want to do this. It’s nothing compared to acting or singing in front of an audience. Plus, you, Dad, Shin, and all of my friends are rooting for me. I’ll be fine.”
Rui nodded in understanding and kissed her on the forehead before retreating to his seat in the audience. Someone came up to the microphone and relayed a speech. Kira wasn’t listening to it; she was much too focused on her own. Her name was announced as a cue for her to step forward to the podium. As she stood there with hundreds of eyes staring at her she gained the confidence to start speaking.
“The piece I wrote for this competition was rushed I admit, but it was filled with emotions,” she began, looking in the direction of her family and friends, “I never thought much of my work. I wrote scripts that others claimed to be genius. I didn’t understand what warranted such praise. I still don’t. However, I did learn something about other people that I didn’t know before, that the mindset you have is important.”
She paused to take a breath and glanced at her family. Her parents held doting expressions while Shin was bouncing up and down in their seat. She continued, “Sometimes, despite our best interest, the mindset we have about something can cloud our view. Not just with issues regarding self-worth, but how we treat others. Whether people want to be sympathetic isn’t the point, it’s whether their actions and advice have a positive impact. If they don’t, there’s still time to do the right thing for someone, but that can’t happen without communication between the two parties. That’s what I wanted to convey through my writing.”
Kira’s eyes sparkled as she spoke her last lines with all her might, “So, moving forward I would like to speak my mind before my mind speaks for me, for my sake and everyone else’s.”