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.”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYOAW4tKTD
She muttered to herself and scrubbed harder.
But if it was just her, then why only her?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjK8z6nKPO
Was no one else noticing this?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2witCUCDUw
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9Z6bMJWi0
“Wait. Tonight’s the Easter Vigil.”
If anyone knew what to do about “a tomorrow that doesn’t exist,”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEb4XPR743T
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6covK3I0AR
Maybe He could help.
“If I’m extra reverent tonight, maybe tomorrow’ll finally move on.”
Claire nodded to herself, decision made.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatbjCAiDtc
That evening, she closed up early.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWm2RUCuGR
She pan-fried two slices of ham, stuffed them into warm bagels.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUCU7f1sMP
Brewed one cup of coffee, one of milk.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpbfjp9rHt
Set them at the edge of her apartment’s balcony, just out of the wind.
The note was short:
For Nightwing and Robin.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUv6aKRnZ4
Hot food. The milk’s hotter.
P.S. Nightwing—Robin’s looking for you on Queen Street tonight.
And with that, she headed out.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQLvLxgGQ5
The vigil crowd was bigger than she expected.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DTUbjXwTI
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.”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQWawL9pTB
“I don’t need much. Just let tomorrow… actually happen.”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZwU4eG9DG
“Or at least… tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
Around her, people prayed, sang slow hymns.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9E1eueJlB
The candlelight felt like a soft sedative.
But Claire’s mind stayed razor sharp.
She didn’t believe in God.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL15WL4rJZm
But tonight, she was willing to pretend—54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86PhyEE1ea
because facing an endless today alone was getting unbearable.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4hKsdRhvn
Midnight struck.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8cBqvOyHN
The vigil ended.
Claire walked home feeling... untethered.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBlDqZPS42
Not sure if it was exhaustion or just that hollow, post-hope ache.
She climbed to the third floor, switched on the lights.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FjeU8bkoN
Jacket off, not even halfway to the bedroom—54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAFyiExQq8
She looked up—
Two silhouettes on the balcony.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2eVHS6J2u
One tall. One small.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34r0y7atQQ
Both watching her.
Nightwing. Robin.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnOp48GeUx
Outlined by the indoor light,54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNTncAsH25
like guardian spirits who actually kept their appointments.
Claire froze.
"...Jesus," she muttered. "I asked for help, not a pickup."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e8y8wivID
Her brain stalled.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuh7WAzIQDb
For a few seconds, everything just...buffered.
Then she snapped out of it, walked over, opened the window.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5oNh6UWD9
Seriously, what else was she supposed to do?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmT5qBhGXD
Leave them standing there like weird bat-themed lawn ornaments?
The two shadows hopped in with practiced ease—54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDLqtZY3Gs
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sYMF1S60K
“Claire. Thanks for the food, by the way.”
Robin, meanwhile, had gone full wolf cub.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeBAuqxZ0d
Eyes sharp, body tense, scanning her like she was a suspect.
“You’re the sorceress?”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTS9PU2qTd
His voice was high-pitched, suspicious.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKV3VH2jOAR
“The one who talks to spirits?”
Claire frowned. “What sorceress? What spirits?”
Robin stepped closer, voice tight:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwI9Q9njGOq
“Then how’d you know I was on Queen Street?”
Claire blinked. Then smiled—slow, smug, maybe just a little evil.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1tnfZwoTW
“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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73i7OwZskb
“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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFNDqp2h6o
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KSEXroPeR
A familiar itch.
She called out, loud and clear:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYDzmJGxcZ
“Hey!”
Both turned.
Claire tilted her head, voice calm, cryptic.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIWP9TuWGD
“Batman’s looking for Robin. Somewhere in the city. Tonight.”
They froze.
Nightwing immediately touched his comms.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9rqTD4drQ
Robin snapped his head sideways, like picking up a signal.
And then—
Their eyes widened. In unison.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3f0XGFnOP
They turned to her.
Claire grinned. That kind of grin.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolFwPrDdp0
The “gotcha” kind.
Then she stepped forward.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡje1J5Q78Zf
Clunk —window locked.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtEdmNtanx
Shhk —curtains drawn.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7TsZ3vHCe
Clean. Final.
She stood there for a moment…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eUKqkqsuw
And then started laughing.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihw32Wcf5q
Claire sat down and let out a long, tired breath.
She twirled her pen between her fingers, then started drafting.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mLTf6bvwN
There was no guarantee she’d have time tomorrow morning—54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1pqBYz8Ut
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyzlrOGB7z
Was there anyone else out there,54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DNDrBDHig
living the same day, again and again?
At first, the letter got way too long—54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRj2WWmtqf
Like something you'd submit to a conspiracy blog with a flashing GIF header.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DvmISELMp
Halfway through, she couldn’t even read her own nonsense.
Nope. Start over.
It had to hit fast.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TwdbRWrA5
One glance, and the right person would know.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9hVn7xRfE
This wasn’t a prank.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWGjhMzVtN
Wasn’t a dream.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGW2wIR7Mq
This was real.
She cut ruthlessly.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80zS2rEQ0L
Trimmed the fluff.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl54zSI7PC
Boiled it down to just the facts:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaislTLFq6
Time’s stuck.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt50RQV0oX3
You always wake up at the same moment.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIOgR2VkFf
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7DkWLUKPG
It wouldn’t survive the reset. But she still wanted to remember it.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgYkGVKegd
She wanted to remember that she’d tried.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz06as1faVi
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTc9p0gaNK
Like a nerve snapped.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEpDYcTM9M
Froze in place.
...Again?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6ViwlozCG
What now?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj4lC4Oibz
Was it Nightwing? The kid?
She didn’t go right away.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuz8s5IZOkR
Her eyes flicked to the note.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEQJZt0wRZ
Then to the clock.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzwT4VDPlp
It was late. Way too late for casual drop-ins.
Slowly, carefully, she moved to the window.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjH15IsLjso
Lifted one corner of the curtain.
And saw—him.
Tall.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCITUtChRUA
Cloaked.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDtRLlpcwI
Cut from shadows.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLTJkWVl9y
Standing on her balcony like a statue carved from myth.
Batman.
Claire’s brain went silent.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMNEeJAK4y
Two full seconds of white noise.
She couldn’t hear her own heartbeat.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKTzTUcWJn
Or maybe she could—so loud it drowned out everything else.
He was here.
Why?
She didn’t open the window. Not yet.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR4BaNjtRQ
Just stared.
At the living legend.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE460SlPW8i
At the ghost of Gotham.
and then Add to home screen.