"He's just a kid."
It was true; Spider-man was with out his mask. His identity was revealed in front of a train full of people. It was almost as if he was standing naked in front of us.
For a moment, he looked like he feared us. We all looked on in shock. We were all scanning him up and down, with our mouths hanging open. We were in disbelief that we were so close to the marvel, the man that saved so many and never gave a reason why. It was obvious that this is barely a man before us; at the most he's 23. How could someone take on so much responsibility? The city is dependant on him, and now knowing how young he is I wonder how he could take on so much. Looking at the rings under his eyes from lack of sleep, it became clear that it wasn't easy for him. The look of worry is starting to etch into his expression. The burden is in him, the burden of responsibility. He did all this without knowing how much an impact he has left on the people he helped.
Tears came to my eyes. He saved my mother from a robbery a year ago. Without him, she could have died. I touched his shoulder, looked him in the eyes and said, "You saved my mom, from muggers thank you." Someone else in the train followed my lead, "You saved my niece, and she lived to her 16th birthday thanks to you!" Then someone shouted, "My brother was almost in a car accident, you stopped it from happening." Soon the whole train was full of verbal gratitude for this one man.
The newspaper bashes him in print, the police force is jealous of him, and the city complains that he might turn against us one day. The citizens of New York know different. He's a person who cares, and has the ability to make a difference with his gifts. Soon you could see a change in his face, he probably never heard a single thank you for his deeds.
I looked around; I wasn't the only one with tears in my eyes. Spider-man helped so many people and this was just a handful. One woman had streams of tears down her face, and was crying so hard she couldn't say a word. She held his hand, and he just nodded as if he knew exactly how she felt.
Then a boy stepped forward with his mask. He said, "We'll keep your identity safe Spider-man. We need you, New York City needs you." He gave a smile, rubbed the kid on his head messing up his hair and put on his mask. He was getting ready to leave out the train window, but he paused while looked back at us and then he said, "Thank you."
Maybe the Thank You was because the boy spoke for us and said he would keep his identity secret. I felt it was because he knew now, without a doubt, that he truly was making a difference. He was not only a unique man with a special gift, but he was a young man with a heavy burden.