When time stands still

Ever since Ueda was little, there was a strange phenomenon that would occur once a day exactly at midnight. For only one hour, time would stop. Everything and everyone in existence would suddenly stand still. Everyone, except Ueda.

The first time this had occurred, was during a family get together. All of Ueda’s relatives had come to town for a certain event that went on until late into the night. Although she didn’t quite remember what the occasion was anymore, what she did recall vividly was crying during the entire hour that time stood still. At first, she had tried getting people’s attention by calling out their names or pulling at their clothes, but no matter what she did, nothing worked. It was as if all of them were frozen solid. Her cousins, her aunties, her uncles and even her own parents. She was scared and didn’t comprehend what was happening around her. She thought they were never going to move again. She thought she was going to be stuck in this nightmare forever. But after what felt like sixty minutes had passed, everything returned back to normal and everyone simply resumed doing what they did before, as if nothing ever happened. Needless to say, Ueda’s parents had a difficult time trying to calm her down that night.

From then onwards, Ueda always went to bed early to avoid having to live through such an experience again. However, once time stopped, loud noises would echo through the night, preventing her from sleeping during that hour. Ueda ended up hiding under her blanket many times, sobbing and cowering in fear as she waited for time to resume.

Sometimes the noises sounded like a big bang, as if something in the distance had exploded. Other times they sounded like the cry of wounded animal screaming in agony. Never once did Ueda dare to look out her windows. She was too afraid to face the terrors that haunted her each night.

It wasn’t until middle school that she mustered up the courage to take glimpse outside. Afterall, those noises meant that there were other things moving around during that timeframe, perhaps even people. If there were others like her out there, then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore, she often thought to herself.

On the night before her 14th birthday, Ueda was determined to venture outside in the hopes of finding somebody to keep her company. She had already prepared everything she needed: A torchlight to see in the dark, a bag filled with snacks for when she got hungry, and an hourglass to tell the time. Strangely enough, when Ueda interacted with the hourglass, the sand within would begin to fall despite time itself standing still.

She glanced at the clock in the hallway, its arms pointed towards 11:59 pm. Her parents were already fast asleep, while she quietly made her way to the front door. As she placed her hand on the doorknob the clock struck midnight. “Happy birthday to me.”, she whispered softly to herself with a smile. She then took a deep breath and walked out the door.

Ueda was immediately greeted by a cold autumn breeze followed by the sound of explosions in the distance.

In the direction of the noise, beyond the forest nearby, there were flashes of light in the sky. With slight hesitation Ueda started to walk towards the trees. She imagined that on her way there, she would surely encounter other people who were curious about the commotion taking place as well. The closer she got to the rumbling noises, the louder they became. As she kept going, the ground began to tremble beneath her feet, as if it was trying to warn her that she was approaching danger. But Ueda had already come so far. More than three quarters of the sand had fallen to the bottom of the hourglass, she didn’t have much time left. She stumbled over the uneven terrain as she hurried through the woods. All the while her hands were shacking as she tried to hold her torchlight still. Her heart was pounding so fast, it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest at any moment. Eventually, Ueda reached a clearing within the forest. It was illuminated by moonlight, allowing Ueda to see clearly without her torchlight.

When she finally made it out of the thicket, she couldn’t believe the sight that unfolded before her eyes. Towering over her was a giant robot. It probably was the size of a radio tower. The robot had a humanoid figure and was coated in a bright scarlet red colour. It held two large anchors in its hands, much larger than the ones seen on container ships. Attached to each anchor were sturdy chains that both linked back to huge holes on each side of what seemed to be the robot’s hips. Standing opposed to the robot was a creature that could only be described as a giant monster. Although, it had features that made it appear like an oversized crocodile, it was something Ueda had never seen before in her entire life – a kaiju. To her, what she saw felt like a scene taken straight out of an anime.

Paralyzed by fear Ueda simply stood there staring at the two behemoths facing off against each other. Judging by the destroyed surroundings it seemed like they had been fighting all night long. The clearing was most likely a result of that battle.

Ueda wasn’t the only one who was immobilized, however. The kaiju had been restrained by the chains attached to the anchors of the scarlet robot. Unable to move the creature roared in rage, forcing Ueda to cover her ears. She felt like her eardrums were going to rupture otherwise.

“Now!”, a female voice yelled over a loudspeaker from above, drowning out the monster’s cry. Ueda looked up to the robot, but before she could ponder over where the voice came from, she noticed a girl dressed in a white full body suit crashing down from the sky. The girl came out of nowhere and only seemed to be a few years older than Ueda. She wielded a massive diamond-shaped shield as she fell straight towards the kaiju’s head. Upon impact she rammed the sharp edge of her shield deep into the thick skin of the monster. Its skull cracked under the shield’s weight, causing the kaiju to screech in pain as it went down.

Ueda intensely watched the kaiju take its last breath and when it did, she fell on her knees. A feeling of relief and exhaustion spread throughout her body, resulting in her legs to give in. Simply observing the course of the battle, completely drained her of energy. She didn’t know whether to cheer or cry, there was just too much for her to take in at once. With tears forming in her eyes, Ueda looked up to the girl that defeated the kaiju who was still standing on its corpse.

As she stood there, her short lavender coloured hair glistened in the moonlight. She then proceeded to remove her shield from its lifeless body. The shield had a white core and purple tinted sides which made it resemble the colouration of an amethyst gemstone. It matched her suit’s design which consisted of two violet stripes that ran vertically along her body, from her collar bones all the way to her feet. Both the suit and shield however, were now soaked in a deep red due to the blood that erupted from the kaiju’s wound. The girl wiped off some of the kaiju’s blood from her face.

In that moment, the robot loosened its chains and slowly drew back it anchors. All of a sudden, a hatch opened on the back of the robot’s neck and out climbed another girl wearing a white body suit. She had spiky crimson hair and seemed about the same age as her companion. The highlights on her suit were shaded in a bright pink. Ueda was startled by the girl’s appearance. Never did she imagine that there was a human inside the robot piloting it.

Triumphantly, the pilot raised her fist in the air. Captivated by that moment, a thought crossed Ueda’s mind - these girls were heroes. The noises Ueda heard every night were them fighting off these monsters. Their actions protected those who were frozen in time. With this realization, all of the fears she had before seemed so unfounded to her. Knowing that these girls were out there each night, Ueda felt safe now. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore during those sixty minutes. As long as these heroes were around, she didn’t mind spending the hour alone.

Thus, Ueda’s search for somebody to keep her company during the night came to end and she began to make her way back home, before the last grain of sand fell to the bottom of the hourglass.

After that night, Ueda looked forward to the hour of heroes with excitement. But then one day, time didn’t stop anymore. No loud noises were heard and no giant robots seen again. As suddenly as it had all begun, it came to an end. There were no more hero hours. Or at least that’s how it was - until now.