The Phoenix

Inside a working class home in 90's America, eight year old Charlie wants nothing more than to be a superhero. Her overworked parents are drifting apart, and their arguments just keep getting worse. Charlie's only escape is her dream of being super. Eventually, the toxicity around the house boils over, and Charlie watches as her mother throws a frying pan at her father. BAM. Charlie freezes time, her arms outstretched in a gesture of protest. She has finally unlocked her super power. Instinctively, Charlie discovers that she can not only stop time, but turn it back. Immediately, Charlie turns back time just before her parents' most recent fight and tries to avert it through her innocent, eight year old diplomacy. She is unsuccessful. No matter how many times Charlie turns back time, she cannot prevent her parents' fight and the inevitable thrown pan. Eight years later, teenage Charlie is caught by surprise when her favorite childhood superhero cartoon comes on TV. Her moment of nostalgia is interrupted by a tirade from her mother. Charlie freezes time, stopping her mother mid shout. The cartoon has struck a nerve within Charlie. She has found clarity: it is not her fault that she could not fix her parents' relationship. Charlie has discovered that she must lead her own life, and that others' refusal to help themselves should not hold her back. Charlie has risen from the ashes of her broken home, like a phoenix.