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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2y2gOaxbyP
She muttered to herself and scrubbed harder.
But if it was just her, then why only her?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrGQrDpeWI
Was no one else noticing this?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxDzzsdjXW
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyfFEHxaXy
“Wait. Tonight’s the Easter Vigil.”
If anyone knew what to do about “a tomorrow that doesn’t exist,”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoUMdvusUy
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb4ulMlrq8
Maybe He could help.
“If I’m extra reverent tonight, maybe tomorrow’ll finally move on.”
Claire nodded to herself, decision made.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWl8VAiGIz
That evening, she closed up early.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHzaYV8ktm
She pan-fried two slices of ham, stuffed them into warm bagels.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjem6QLBVA
Brewed one cup of coffee, one of milk.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhsnucvqu8
Set them at the edge of her apartment’s balcony, just out of the wind.
The note was short:
For Nightwing and Robin.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5WYRQwE16
Hot food. The milk’s hotter.
P.S. Nightwing—Robin’s looking for you on Queen Street tonight.
And with that, she headed out.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKnMVxtvbU
The vigil crowd was bigger than she expected.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Tm0cQhIsp
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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZuXFgAogL
“I don’t need much. Just let tomorrow… actually happen.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT32EP42s0
“Or at least… tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
Around her, people prayed, sang slow hymns.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdNC8NxTko
The candlelight felt like a soft sedative.
But Claire’s mind stayed razor sharp.
She didn’t believe in God.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJpOLMCbFO
But tonight, she was willing to pretend—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaSphqSkSW
because facing an endless today alone was getting unbearable.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjXFy9NfEC
Midnight struck.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dGbJb1gle
The vigil ended.
Claire walked home feeling... untethered.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgM2CpQuyDO
Not sure if it was exhaustion or just that hollow, post-hope ache.
She climbed to the third floor, switched on the lights.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTXHabtywB
Jacket off, not even halfway to the bedroom—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2adOZmCUgz
She looked up—
Two silhouettes on the balcony.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcaojDr7Y4
One tall. One small.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zPykmXNCw
Both watching her.
Nightwing. Robin.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebBGjqjwlB
Outlined by the indoor light,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkbiRbIhiB
like guardian spirits who actually kept their appointments.
Claire froze.
"...Jesus," she muttered. "I asked for help, not a pickup."
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDPnh2zyXe
Her brain stalled.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h7RJAFNi4
For a few seconds, everything just...buffered.
Then she snapped out of it, walked over, opened the window.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHo2jzIWyl
Seriously, what else was she supposed to do?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERSKz1eI1D
Leave them standing there like weird bat-themed lawn ornaments?
The two shadows hopped in with practiced ease—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iGj8b2eeY
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqqFSpShCf
“Claire. Thanks for the food, by the way.”
Robin, meanwhile, had gone full wolf cub.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxMQeFD1KU
Eyes sharp, body tense, scanning her like she was a suspect.
“You’re the sorceress?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWExEMA2qqY
His voice was high-pitched, suspicious.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26PnaazF3Y
“The one who talks to spirits?”
Claire frowned. “What sorceress? What spirits?”
Robin stepped closer, voice tight:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxg731DhZh8
“Then how’d you know I was on Queen Street?”
Claire blinked. Then smiled—slow, smug, maybe just a little evil.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EmT26AMHM
“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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVWPGxXVli
“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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUz2mtLH43
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKBCIbQo1h
A familiar itch.
She called out, loud and clear:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZGHMwklBf
“Hey!”
Both turned.
Claire tilted her head, voice calm, cryptic.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0pjlh9ttz
“Batman’s looking for Robin. Somewhere in the city. Tonight.”
They froze.
Nightwing immediately touched his comms.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXIp5eNS1n
Robin snapped his head sideways, like picking up a signal.
And then—
Their eyes widened. In unison.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjj2q2FAxU2
They turned to her.
Claire grinned. That kind of grin.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnfgVoQxBG
The “gotcha” kind.
Then she stepped forward.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPZDwV2m87
Clunk —window locked.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9M5NC3ALn
Shhk —curtains drawn.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnRzgXofdf
Clean. Final.
She stood there for a moment…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hSFnBkA2c
And then started laughing.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Am51yYzuz
Claire sat down and let out a long, tired breath.
She twirled her pen between her fingers, then started drafting.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OPgFZALGa
There was no guarantee she’d have time tomorrow morning—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhLl2mm2XU
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlopt3YfS5H
Was there anyone else out there,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgI3XapoKvU
living the same day, again and again?
At first, the letter got way too long—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcINEIewcI
Like something you'd submit to a conspiracy blog with a flashing GIF header.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07Tud4N6OS
Halfway through, she couldn’t even read her own nonsense.
Nope. Start over.
It had to hit fast.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbA4bU8lwhK
One glance, and the right person would know.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD3Ymbecau
This wasn’t a prank.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLfxxoP04B
Wasn’t a dream.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8GRagMdPB
This was real.
She cut ruthlessly.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4PjYXZ27d
Trimmed the fluff.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB6hSgG4zB
Boiled it down to just the facts:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqb09vReAXd
Time’s stuck.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBtTG3EwaI
You always wake up at the same moment.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0tNSJsXb0
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrUmCy3yGR
It wouldn’t survive the reset. But she still wanted to remember it.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDpfEcHDWQ
She wanted to remember that she’d tried.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRDLEdtHeZ
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEY92KxHoAH
Like a nerve snapped.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8fLV3MtWz
Froze in place.
...Again?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XtVsEXDFu
What now?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpRQ0UNgos
Was it Nightwing? The kid?
She didn’t go right away.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZowQR22tF4
Her eyes flicked to the note.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4zZ6q6R9w
Then to the clock.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMduWTeBdaY
It was late. Way too late for casual drop-ins.
Slowly, carefully, she moved to the window.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Z1kVtGoRd
Lifted one corner of the curtain.
And saw—him.
Tall.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7OcXSi32W
Cloaked.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxlAA3WJKP
Cut from shadows.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNHGVbTTS7
Standing on her balcony like a statue carved from myth.
Batman.
Claire’s brain went silent.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWoMd94Skt
Two full seconds of white noise.
She couldn’t hear her own heartbeat.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXxOF4O9Cl
Or maybe she could—so loud it drowned out everything else.
He was here.
Why?
She didn’t open the window. Not yet.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJ4Ng3ZzBy
Just stared.
At the living legend.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPvUeU8exE
At the ghost of Gotham.
