Jason didn’t come to school today.
Nana stared at the empty seat—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3z9l4EBpQI
the one Jason always sat in.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GMpEeyinp
He always sat up straight.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9dZgXM2rZ
Even though the chair wobbled,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVR2JhPTO4
he made it look steady.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ph49L53DQ
Made it look like his throne.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvmSDDSlwA
It was Jason’s spot.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8goxCqPd0
No one dared touch it.
Nana touched the bread in her pocket.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpPWVUlW2p
She had saved it for him.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7V85Ellwdm
The boy ate a lot—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHS1sLygUhl
he was always saying he was hungry.
She waited the whole day.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1KGagLPn5
But Jason never came.
Truth be told,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq3TBL6ew0
he looked like a troublemaker,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz34igfajie
but he actually liked school.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqx175FjSJM
He respected the teacher.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmUNDhdqDj
Even when scolded,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JSlwR7vdw
he just frowned—never talked back.
Nana grew more and more uneasy.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzHsrZK2ru
After school,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcquJDiAN58
she decided to go look for him.
She had never been to Jason’s home,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VF0Wwwn0Q
but he’d described it a few times—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVbfd7cnlp
the pawn shop at the corner with a broken sign,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiXeoyFnJr
stairs that creaked like they were ready to collapse,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxo2w4pGyg
and a bottom-floor door that smelled like rotten shoes.
She spent a while searching,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX61NoJXOe
asking directions,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfsLgKT0lV
following fragments of memory.
The sun began to set68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpY0EtcoDAo
when she finally stepped into a deeper part of the slums.
It was the slums within the slums.
Nana kept her body close,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqSMvejzQj
avoiding drunken men vomiting on the street,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp10Y6ha3ej
sidestepping women chatting in low, tired voices.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKmiHRG2p6
At the end of the road,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBJ5AnNWFt
there were barely any people.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNFbXmddbT
The doors were shut tight.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3iR9jZ6qF
Graffiti and grime smeared the walls.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWc1545NXph
The air reeked of mold.
Following Jason’s descriptions,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlqvJibAoK
she found the second floor of the abandoned pawn shop.
Each step on the staircase68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSFyRqvkI3
made her heart pound—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4DWXjd21T
every creak whispering that life here was uncertain,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2uZoLoMk7
like the world itself was warning her:68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JBiJqJO8q
No one should be here.
She reached the top,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGb4K5UVDJ
stood before a door blackened by filth.
She raised her hand to knock—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yzxlRWUEo
but realized the door wasn’t closed.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbIXeDmjLR
The frame was cracked.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCkVHjePx0
She pushed.
The door opened with a soft click-click.
Inside,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiZhHRYrCl
it was dark.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIGgPz83hw
So dark,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jed4rWDHz
it felt like light had never existed there.
Nana stepped inside slowly—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4p2K43jMt
and kicked something.
She looked down.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMxDxcSgXA
Her eyes had grown used to the dark.
What she saw68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmQSMP73Cg
froze her in place.
Jason was on the floor,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQLFQ4hpoU
his face covered in blood.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtg0UyZane
His lip was split,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJd8ZXSiAPU
his nose still bleeding.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2u0gkiG6Q
His clothes were wrinkled,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RmXr0Hguj
and dried blood stained his chest68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUTLU6Ro4l
like an old, torn blanket.
Nana dropped to her knees, shaking.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6g5DqOgpZ
She reached out and gently shook him.
His body was limp.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EAsvorSHN
No response.
She lowered her head,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOtoNF2dRs
pressed her ear against his chest.
Thank God.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvER5iL5r2t
There was still a heartbeat.
But it was faint.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzJHysxOU0
Slow.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Z8V9YJJ6L
Like the heart itself was drifting into sleep.
Her eyes blurred.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73B3a0sZyi
Tears streamed uncontrollably.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBaPx7r2uO
She had never cried like this before.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaHceOYFXA
Her throat burned—like it was on fire.
She opened her mouth—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyg1yUz2Nhg
and by sheer instinct,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigaPgnoMhk
made a sound:
“J… Jason… Ja… son…”
The voice was hoarse.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGr10heTH0
Broken.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNst1VA82nW
Like a rusty door creaking open.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnxOQixPF2
Like vocal cords that hadn’t worked in years68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4AnQrK81z
screaming for the first time.
Her face was soaked.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtzmoHJlaw
She cried and looked around,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMRZW4XDXm
not knowing what to do.
As she wiped her tears,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9X8kZHFnm
something on the wall caught her eye.
The Batman symbol.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksk3k7Rs2t
Drawn in chalk.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0NjdXqNTx
Smudged with time,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUKvZk3rMD
but still clear.
A bat with its wings spread.
The police used it to call Batman.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWF6zchnv2K
Jason said it was the mark of his hero.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhvxkbfxVQ
He said he drew it on the wall68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAURuWYYw2U
because he hoped—someday—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDhfMItJje
to meet Batman.
“…Batman,” Nana murmured.
And then,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6SNNqtAlL
suddenly, she understood.
She jumped to her feet68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqB2cv4Gcy
and ran outside.
The street wind was icy,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddUQDBVGlj
but she didn’t care.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtNAe9Zt7M
She ran—
toward the places Jason had told her about.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsbZpGgjPF
The underpass.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmswlLsPeS
The rooftop.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vzJ7QKT6a
The ruined lot.
Jason had once said,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8pdYw1xk5
completely serious:68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9HgBwh8P0
Batman definitely patrols here.
Nana stopped.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jXnfsmszg
Put her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.
“Bat… man!”
She shouted.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuspAdTTftV
The voice cracked,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0vmfl8IR2
the syllables broken by coughs.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaraqXldbJ
“Cough… Bat… man…!”
She cried.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0S4utdmcm
Screamed.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncbUgmUde4
Each word tearing from her throat68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhXdevOXCq
like strips of flesh.
“R… Rob… cough… Robin…”
She felt herself crumbling.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCyXqRZPs4
Her throat was on fire.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMMQjouGxG
Her voice—shredded.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIYsrA9HlW
But she didn’t stop.
She was scared.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFbIV7Q7va
Terrified.
She was about to lose Jason.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGkhbAGVmY
He was still lying there.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXZOjhQWbo
If they were too late…
“If you keep calling me Ro-cough-bin,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15qVJKeKVj
I’m gonna start thinking that’s my name.”
A voice.
Sudden.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRwAFOeD7x
Calm.
Nana turned sharply.
Through her tear-streaked vision,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52hkGYnLo5
a figure stood in the dark mist of the Gotham night.
Red.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Jl92FxltV
Green.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwENpivXAk
Yellow.
A cape.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKC39qhs0r
An R on the chest.
Exactly as she’d seen in the newspapers.
A figure once from fantasy68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJ4XBqDIc3
was now standing before her in real life.
Robin.
He stepped forward.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexIGlOaFUN
Gently ran a hand over her hair,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QRZ4f8Hks
like calming a bird about to break.
Then, softly, he asked:
“What happened?”
68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xmaQfdMvw
and then Add to home screen.