Nana stood in front of them,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt27RPBhxCN
hands quietly signing a memory long buried.
It was a story from many years ago—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4wNVidW6U
a time when she was even younger than she was now,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNznlyXC9E
perhaps too young to speak in full sentences.
Back then, she lived in an orphanage,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jXt9kb6V5
a place where winters felt endlessly long8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSthmzfrGFx
and colds were always going around.
In that place,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzr9FSHTMC
older children—especially girls—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa8aIKU2TC
were often tasked with caring for the younger ones.
That time, it was her turn.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34zoppTbgT
Five babies, still wrapped in swaddling cloth,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01WRrKVYz6
were laid out around her in little bassinets.
Outside, the flu was running rampant.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj74kATyBc
The nuns were overwhelmed—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0pA7FNgPM
coughing echoed through the halls,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfo65KPFoD8
cries filled every room.
Only Nana had not fallen ill.
She sat among the babies,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxJiWCUYt8
planning to watch over them while working through a math problem—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCLwyMjKFg
she remembered it clearly:8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGbGwKIoAA
a fill-in-the-blank problem where the numbers had to add up to 100.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPZWEtLR5b
Even the nun had said,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSA9F4Gvrt
“Leave it for now. We’ll come back to it later.”
But she didn’t want to let it go.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtiPKuqwaj
She stared at her paper,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4Nc7vuznC
biting the end of her pencil in thought.
Then one of the babies began to cry.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqeq9hq31T
Then the second.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPQcdzQf4q
Then the third…
Within ten seconds,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvrJH4bTxG
all five were crying at once,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9c6Yvqj601
their voices rising and falling like shrill alarms.
Nana stood up right away.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOu8qW3D65
She picked them up one by one, checked them—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyut8D4UpQ
No fever.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9HkvyL5Tv
No wet diapers.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgNEyv6mz3
No spit-up.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjYblT5dJW
Everything seemed normal.
But they wouldn’t stop crying.
She tried.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnv6v7ovkd
She patted them.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyv3VxXJLkF
She rocked them.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGEgx04Qmi
She hummed lullabies.
Nothing worked.
Her head began to throb—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1APVhLjIk
a deep, pounding pressure8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FhaMAlpZ4
like someone was hammering on her skull from the inside.
“So loud…” she thought.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLBxKyEXBa
“And I still haven’t solved that math problem…”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXh1ylkxFbW
“Will the nun come in? She’s already so busy…”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTvSuw8uDf
“It’s too loud… I need it to stop… My head…”
Her vision blurred.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0u3ijzU0t4
It felt like something was being torn8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQOTFTC2ys
from the inside of her brain.
She looked up.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6A3pnaS21
One single thought remained in her mind.
Her mouth opened—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYkWdhlkfd
almost on instinct—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26nCHJ4VFP
and she whispered two words:
“Be quiet.”
The voice was soft.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMwRck3q8L
Very soft.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpr574ASE6B
Barely more than breath—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHF9diTqmx
but perfectly clear.
And in the next instant,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaT3eFNwIKV
the entire room fell silent.
The babies went quiet.
Not calmed—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR6UHEksXk
stopped.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJ6J02zzl6
Not asleep—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupXZkCAIqn
silent.
Nana froze.
Her eyes widened.
She lunged toward the nearest baby,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBzBILsVXR
hands trembling, reaching out.
The baby was still crying—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoU2JKKo8nB
there were tears sliding down its cheeks.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASV8mLXspn
But its mouth—
Shut.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa09v14QyW6
Tightly shut,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL91sKH69wm
as if sealed by something invisible.
She checked the second.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BSRHwArFq
The third.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgjDcF8b0h
All the same.
Nana stumbled back.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OdLE34UM1
Her legs gave out.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzPSgdjeqK
She collapsed to the floor, trembling.
Her throat began to burn.
It felt like a red-hot metal rod was being dragged across her vocal cords.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEqIQ5vtRp
Every breath was fire.
The room was unnaturally quiet—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JUceWg5EY
quiet enough to hear the echo of water pipes in the ceiling.
And yet,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tuHnYK7QT
her head throbbed even harder.
No one spoke when she finished the story.
Batman’s face was grim.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeMx437pCQ
His brow deeply furrowed,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZMYvxWwG8
calculating the possible range of sonic anomalies8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a9UZ48HXp
and neural interference fields.
Dick and Alfred stood silent,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbovuLgg3V2
eyes on this fragile-looking girl,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGOuOn4gDk
a thousand possibilities running through their minds.
This wasn’t trauma.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKKdIySfuw
Not just voice strain.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHthWjP3EF
It was something else.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbcv9sdMSB
A power.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QXjLOS1Mz
Internal.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUV86zX03F
Immeasurable.
Nana kept her head down,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKup87Jjaq
fingers curling into the hem of her dress.
Then,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeWJ3AQdKC
a hand reached out.
Jason stepped up beside her.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKGSRyni0t
He didn’t speak.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRlP9sgGii
But his presence8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMEUVKeA2l
spoke for him.
His hand was warm.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuRhAPjKuD
Firm, despite his unspoken worry.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMQ69bGsXu
Grounded.
Nana paused—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb060mKeoqR
then slowly reached back and took his hand.
It felt like something unspoken was exchanged.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnks6gULlEC
A vow.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhG4mIraANm
A message that said,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlex1FvJlcJ
“I’m still here.”
She didn’t know what this power would bring,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdbzzuTTSN
or whether it would happen again.
But she knew one thing:
As long as Jason was beside her,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GnCzGHi94
she wouldn’t be afraid.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9l1WPmR8M
