The Unrecognized Hero

         Authors Note- Heroes are all around us, we just don't notice them.  They are the people who volunteer their time at places like H.A.W.S. or they donate money to the salvation army, or they simply donate food to the food pantry.  You could be hero, and you may not even know it.

           Selflessness is caring for everybody you meet, and to be willing to put your life in danger for a complete stranger. To Zanna, it means to be there for somebody and protect them even if it means putting her own life in danger, and that is exactly what she does. She cares about everybody she meets, even if they don’t want her to. She is an amazing person, but her actions are often overshadowed by her boyfriend, “the hero”.
           Zanna’s boyfriend David is the main character and hero of The Fire Within series by Chris D’Lacey. He’s your typical hero, always saves the day and gets all of the praise. But Zanna is a different kind of hero. She does good things that get ignored because the focus is on David. Does she care? No, she does the things she does without the praise David receives. When David’s special talisman went missing, she went out of her way to get it back from the person who stole it, and then she put it in a safe place. Nobody knew these events took place, so she did not get showered with compliments, she knew she wouldn’t but Zanna still put her life on the line to keep David safe.
           Sometimes I wonder if Zanna worries about her own safety. She’s so busy worried about everybody else, her life is often in danger and it turns out, the person who stole David’s talisman was a full grown Inuit man. She still challenged him. By the time she got the talisman from him he feared her. Now, Zanna is not some big tough mean person, but she stands her ground. Once you really get to know her, you learn that she is a very sensitive person who’s feelings are easily hurt.
          When Zanna’s feelings are hurt, she dwells on it for a long time, but eventually she comes out of it stronger than before. There was one time when Zanna was so upset she did something drastic that she regretted afterward. There was an incident in Chamberlain, between David and a polar bear. David tried to be the hero and stand up to the polar bear, and Zanna tried to come and help him but the police man would not let her. David was okay, but Zanna got so upset about his near death experience that she broke up with him. She obviously wasn’t thinking straight and I know she regretted it, but it was too late.
           There many heroes in this world who don’t get recognized, and they should. But they don’t do it for the recognition they do it because they are good people. Zanna is one of those people. She is a truly amazing person, and we need more people like Zanna in this world.