Claire wiped the tables a little more aggressively than usual.
If it’s not the house... then what is it?
Could it be—the world itself?
“No. It’s probably me.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6HSY2P6lC
She muttered to herself and scrubbed harder.
But if it was just her, then why only her?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wmknAvP74
Was no one else noticing this?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJY1gh5BOgf
Or were there others like her, who just... gave up looking?
“If there is someone like me, how would I even find them?”
She stood by the espresso machine, steaming milk, her brow furrowed.
Then suddenly—smack—she hit the counter.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FHCZJEoaD
“Wait. Tonight’s the Easter Vigil.”
If anyone knew what to do about “a tomorrow that doesn’t exist,”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0z1avSEc1T
it had to be that guy who came back to life after three days.
Jesus.
The Bible made Him sound like a full-blown sorcerer. Infinite power.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofzgTrzpNX
Maybe He could help.
“If I’m extra reverent tonight, maybe tomorrow’ll finally move on.”
Claire nodded to herself, decision made.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1sZXcupfy
That evening, she closed up early.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmmpjZTtrN
She pan-fried two slices of ham, stuffed them into warm bagels.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnrNhKLgm1
Brewed one cup of coffee, one of milk.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCi647fhI6y
Set them at the edge of her apartment’s balcony, just out of the wind.
The note was short:
For Nightwing and Robin.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDF0c1ivAR
Hot food. The milk’s hotter.
P.S. Nightwing—Robin’s looking for you on Queen Street tonight.
And with that, she headed out.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzf3b4PQ3h
The vigil crowd was bigger than she expected.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DsqdNUCIt
Candles everywhere, flickering like they were breathing.
Claire sat among them, eyes closed, repeating quietly in her head:
“Please, Jesus. Help me figure out what’s wrong.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKC5vRRQKX
“I don’t need much. Just let tomorrow… actually happen.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0IJup255a
“Or at least… tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
Around her, people prayed, sang slow hymns.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEH4aMct49
The candlelight felt like a soft sedative.
But Claire’s mind stayed razor sharp.
She didn’t believe in God.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBFKRcaNC7
But tonight, she was willing to pretend—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHQeTMA2CV
because facing an endless today alone was getting unbearable.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88CCwzpQZz
Midnight struck.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q2PRB79CK
The vigil ended.
Claire walked home feeling... untethered.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNPe0kTJlb
Not sure if it was exhaustion or just that hollow, post-hope ache.
She climbed to the third floor, switched on the lights.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoJpMtn0lq
Jacket off, not even halfway to the bedroom—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXJpHy3vhE
She looked up—
Two silhouettes on the balcony.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBOYxOXlVy
One tall. One small.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYAjML1Qus
Both watching her.
Nightwing. Robin.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp9Sk34f4z
Outlined by the indoor light,87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcklB1JhJL
like guardian spirits who actually kept their appointments.
Claire froze.
"...Jesus," she muttered. "I asked for help, not a pickup."
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKL8kwJ40U
Her brain stalled.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1TXnAhYpl
For a few seconds, everything just...buffered.
Then she snapped out of it, walked over, opened the window.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfkdteHc0z
Seriously, what else was she supposed to do?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QFj0rF6fX
Leave them standing there like weird bat-themed lawn ornaments?
The two shadows hopped in with practiced ease—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtTj6pjppM
Same moves as last night. Copy-paste.
Nightwing opened his mouth, looked like he was struggling for an opener.
"Uh… um…"
Claire cut him off: “I’m Claire.”
He blinked, then offered a polite half-smile.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5rNm9bYfw
“Claire. Thanks for the food, by the way.”
Robin, meanwhile, had gone full wolf cub.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFl1lNtmdV
Eyes sharp, body tense, scanning her like she was a suspect.
“You’re the sorceress?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbYSnoAYiM
His voice was high-pitched, suspicious.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSv5II2Dr3
“The one who talks to spirits?”
Claire frowned. “What sorceress? What spirits?”
Robin stepped closer, voice tight:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyGtkoHIrO
“Then how’d you know I was on Queen Street?”
Claire blinked. Then smiled—slow, smug, maybe just a little evil.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxxUNnzPuI
“I also knew you skipped dinner. Still hungry, right?”
Robin’s whole face crumpled, like a police dog catching a bad scent.
Nightwing quickly ruffled his hair, like calming a pet.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuowwOInyPs
“Sorry,” he said. “We really just came to say thank you.”
Claire nodded. Didn't say a word.
Nightwing started nudging Robin toward the window.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mqAN4g81J
Robin protested: “Don’t push me! I’m serious—we need to know if she’s psychic!”
Claire paused.
Something mischievous slithered up from her boots to her spine.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtbRJ9mkYy
A familiar itch.
She called out, loud and clear:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkSExA8PBM
“Hey!”
Both turned.
Claire tilted her head, voice calm, cryptic.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP2vorNhK3
“Batman’s looking for Robin. Somewhere in the city. Tonight.”
They froze.
Nightwing immediately touched his comms.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXZ6eRUFUR
Robin snapped his head sideways, like picking up a signal.
And then—
Their eyes widened. In unison.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xqJAzx37Z
They turned to her.
Claire grinned. That kind of grin.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhI4KqZfiO8
The “gotcha” kind.
Then she stepped forward.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuVCR4gyfw
Clunk —window locked.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUGobFj3eK
Shhk —curtains drawn.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQgj8XXFuV
Clean. Final.
She stood there for a moment…87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4pDKckR2k
And then started laughing.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7IOJx65zU
Claire sat down and let out a long, tired breath.
She twirled her pen between her fingers, then started drafting.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61YhQbrDLa
There was no guarantee she’d have time tomorrow morning—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPabdHgdb09
or that her freaky “remember last night after a reset” skill wouldn’t just crap out again.
Better to write now. While her head was still clear.
She needed to know.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWejmtj35L
Was there anyone else out there,87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiZOKfvnAp
living the same day, again and again?
At first, the letter got way too long—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AlJT1vSb7
Like something you'd submit to a conspiracy blog with a flashing GIF header.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8iz7OAdvC
Halfway through, she couldn’t even read her own nonsense.
Nope. Start over.
It had to hit fast.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxM8p9Iffa
One glance, and the right person would know.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBvU6sV0I6
This wasn’t a prank.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIMBTwwX1h
Wasn’t a dream.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkR5WjuKh5
This was real.
She cut ruthlessly.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEsHijcnFg
Trimmed the fluff.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8l1KYOZhT
Boiled it down to just the facts:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1TZEfB6Py
Time’s stuck.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvxUEWNXsa
You always wake up at the same moment.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jKT6janxb
No one remembers yesterday.
Then, as a final touch, she added something that read like a coded whisper:
“Have you ever felt the sun today won’t reach tomorrow?”
Yeah. That felt right.
She read the note out loud. Again. And again.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiDgJqt2jH
It wouldn’t survive the reset. But she still wanted to remember it.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR4hBVJoYS
She wanted to remember that she’d tried.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeXhzdlpkJ
Even if no one else ever saw it—she wanted to know she hadn’t given up.
Then—
A knock on the window.
She flinched.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ulOkbqHIE
Like a nerve snapped.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbgxZivmIb
Froze in place.
...Again?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWifZJqevjy
What now?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpZBBO070e
Was it Nightwing? The kid?
She didn’t go right away.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjTzlEVYjq
Her eyes flicked to the note.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHABrGY1N0q
Then to the clock.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMJAtgwV05
It was late. Way too late for casual drop-ins.
Slowly, carefully, she moved to the window.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7FVvw40Bs
Lifted one corner of the curtain.
And saw—him.
Tall.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsJ3fkHbpT
Cloaked.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxE214Gj9Cu
Cut from shadows.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzr16VTvnO
Standing on her balcony like a statue carved from myth.
Batman.
Claire’s brain went silent.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZ2R0HHtkL
Two full seconds of white noise.
She couldn’t hear her own heartbeat.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBPm4TBFOX
Or maybe she could—so loud it drowned out everything else.
He was here.
Why?
She didn’t open the window. Not yet.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbS6gVNmvpg
Just stared.
At the living legend.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NsqzK03VC
At the ghost of Gotham.
然後按「加至主畫面」