The night was as still as water, and Wayne Manor slept within the boundary where shadows and memories intertwined.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqcDY24R5p
Jason sat in a chair, stiff, not looking away for even a second.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHedCTa9HT
The girl on the bed had her eyes closed, her breathing steady, as if she'd just fallen asleep—except this sleep had lasted six years.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj08PG7RW1i
He never imagined he’d see her again. Not like this.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKZia7GviX
And now, he had brought her back to his own room.
A room that had always held only himself and his shadows.
Nana’s old room was now Stephanie’s. That girl, who always came and went like the wind, had somehow become the most space-consuming presence in the entire manor.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFVcLEt3bY
Jason’s own room, though he’d been gone for years, was still kept perfectly in order by Alfred—as if he had never left.
Jason leaned down and gently smoothed out Nana’s black hair. Her long hair was like ribbon, falling across the pillow strand by strand. He carefully spread it out, like preparing a sacred object for a ritual. Then he sat back in the chair, quietly keeping watch.
Six years.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYioi3hP7n
He closed his eyes and asked himself: what had he done in these six years?7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNFFTYvmKa
He smoked. Drank. Fought.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKy1LXpSv8v
He yelled at the world and drowned in himself.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8nnciecW2
“…What the hell have I been doing all this time?”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunxGB2Y4Ag
He didn’t speak aloud—just let his gaze lightly rest on her face.
The communicator buzzed, breaking the silence.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHxFJ16YVV
Batman’s message was short and cold: “Down to the Batcave. Now.”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGBtlZGkU3
Jason turned for one last look at Nana lying on the bed. She didn’t move, as if that moment had been sealed in eternity.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxj2q3Xl2x
He quietly shut the door behind him.
Hours later, the door opened again.
Jason had only meant to come in quietly, to sit back down beside the bed, to continue whispering his prayers to this miracle.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMZumR0s9D
But as soon as he stepped into the room, he froze.
There were two extra people in the room—two little troublemakers.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrspYOfMNyu
Cassandra and Stephanie were “decorating” Nana’s long hair like they were wrapping a present.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunFHO551wf
They sat on the edge of the bed, braiding her hair into intricate plaits and clipping in pearl-like ornaments.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhe5njJCAs
She looked like some goddess of flowers from mythology being adorned for a festival.
Jason’s eyebrow twitched.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQwkgoL9YO
“…What are you doing.”
The two girls glanced at each other and smiled like kids caught sneaking candy.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6QzvLfTWJ
“Pretty, right?” Stephanie clapped her hands and stood up.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoBlwevwa6
Cassandra quietly packed up the accessory box, her movements swift and efficient.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrD8kpoDyX
“We’re leaving now,” Cassandra said softly, nodding to Nana as if saying goodnight.
Just as they reached the door, Stephanie suddenly turned around, flipped her hair, and smiled with a mischievous glint.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVbuxmNgkz
“Oh, right. Congrats, Jason, you finally broke our prediction.”
Jason: “…What prediction?”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOS7ZVxD8yS
Stephanie said it seriously, “We all thought you were gay. I mean, you hadn’t been near a woman in years.”
Jason’s eyes widened.
“But you’ve made me believe in love again.” She made a heart gesture with her hands.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOo0lQ7C0GU
“—Get out!”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8dPRahe8E
Jason roared and slammed the door behind them, shaking the frame.
The room was quiet again.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNlbtkiGbj
Jason returned to the bedside, looking at the sleeping girl, as if he could hear her dreams through time.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfj9mtQsyv
She remained still. That loud slam hadn’t stirred her at all.
——The door opened again.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6wzpYwEvQ
“Hey, forgot to say,” Stephanie poked her head in, looking innocent, “All the missing words in the scrapbook have reappeared.”
Before she even finished, she closed the door again herself.
Jason took a deep breath, staring at the closed door with a twitching mouth, but didn’t curse aloud.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHV2XNBPK6
He turned around and pulled out the familiar scrapbook from the bedside drawer.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95Du5GaeTG
The cover was already worn, but he remembered every page she had collaged, every article she had clipped, every handwritten note she left.
He flipped it open—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcqqTebTeb
The words were back.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprAkfSM9w1
The annotations that had once vanished into thin air, the traces of love and memory, were now neatly printed on the pages again.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqG4kHTTFS
Jason flipped through slowly, letting his fingertips brush each word.
Sunday was still two days away. And to Jason, those two days felt endless.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNcD6Dzqmv
Though Nana was still asleep, the atmosphere in Wayne Manor was like a festival, making it hard for him to breathe.
The two little troublemakers—the girls who treated Nana like a life-sized doll—came in almost every day, crouching at the bedside to whisper, bringing hair clips, ribbons, glitter, satin… as if they were dressing up the sleeping princess from a fairy tale.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBddafE2YFp
They seriously discussed which hairstyle would best suit “the future-awake Nana,” even saying things like, “We should reserve her style early, or it’ll be a waste if she wakes up with messy hair.”
Dick wasn’t much better.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pAsvR4o4p
If he wasn’t coming in for selfies, he was trying to record a “Welcome Back” video, muttering things like, “She’s my little sister, of course I have to post about it—well, anonymously, on the Gotham Observer fan account.”
Batman and Alfred, on the other hand, simply sat by the bed in silence, just watching, saying nothing.
Tim came and went, notebook in one hand and recorder in the other, like he was conducting some kind of informal interview.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHHhP8ruih
He asked Jason a bunch of questions—about Nana’s temperature, aura fluctuations, whether new words had appeared in the scrapbook.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xfYeUceyV
Jason tried to be patient, but eventually he lost it and yelled: “She’s not awake yet! What the hell are you even recording?!”
Damian was perhaps the most infuriatingly simple.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzP9FQmbBv
He walked in, glanced once, stared at Nana’s thin wrists and delicate collarbones, and coldly muttered, “Weak.”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTk9spidgu8
Then he walked out.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sUdCGMfGT
Like a hawk evaluating prey, losing interest and turning away.
Jason watched everyone come and go like they were touring an attraction, and his unease grew.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyexo7uE5k4
Nana was his.
He brought her back—pulled her from the seams of the world.
This half-hearted contact made him uncomfortable to the core.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbCok9ZTOv
If it weren’t for the people here helping care for her, Jason would’ve taken her away already.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlqBf216az
He wanted to hide her—wanted her to wake up only in front of him.
Finally, Sunday arrived.
Wayne Manor put on what could only be called a miraculous team performance.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nbrQneGNx
Everyone acted like a brand-new person, as if they had truly become devout Christians.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JP1vttgsj
They woke up early, washed up, put on formal suits or dresses.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBlJ2BT5LE
Jason even saw Damian tying a tie—without insulting anyone.
At the breakfast table, they opened a freshly bought box of Bibles, flipping through them like students cramming before an exam.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQak4hgZ6tB
Pages rustled, and people argued over which verse would catch a god’s attention best.
As for donations—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r8tZ2HoQM
That turned into a full-on farce.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqnxkJ0t6x
Stephanie had prepared a thick stack of cash in a handbag, saying “Gods deserve style.”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5cwZdTJFo
Alfred stopped her just in time, insisting they could only bring coins.
The whole mansion was ransacked like it was doomsday prepping—coins turned up from sofa cushions, behind bookshelves, even from the bottom of Damian’s weapon crate.
Finally, the group set off.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYFmUc6KUB
Each of them holding a Bible, dressed neatly, solemn expressions on their faces.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFEaP8Tpa6
Like they were headed to face divine judgment.
When they entered the church, they weren’t the Batfamily anymore.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWsFgT9Eqb
They were Gotham’s most un-Gotham-like believers.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMKHapUpNu
Singing hymns, listening to sermons, bowing and kneeling—they fully embraced their roles.
As they walked out of the church, sunlight streamed down in a perfect golden slant.
“To be honest,” Dick said, loosening his tie, “That was kinda refreshing.”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyROzlKsjV
Stephanie clapped, “Is this the new Wayne family bonding activity? Can we do a prayer marathon next time?”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNLhCb6Mkh
Tim murmured, “So… did it work?”
Just as everyone was still teasing, still wondering whether the gods had sensed anything from them—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTiCfQSo9H
Alfred’s message came in.
“Everyone, I have good news. Miss Nana is awake.”
For a moment, the entire scene froze.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmm8dJoCXdt
“What?!” Dick nearly dropped his phone.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwHFeMGild
Jason read the message and didn’t say a word.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRM82322o0Y
He ran straight for his motorcycle.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2WkeZ6Akk
A second later, there was only the sound of the engine and dust in the air.
Batman furrowed his brow and asked quietly,7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2brHalfaa
“Alfred… so what’s the bad news?”
“The bad news is… Miss Nana cried alone in her room because all her believers had vanished.”
Everyone: ???!!!
“Well, just hurry back.”
The team instantly fell apart.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwv09bfBc0G
A group of church-dressed individuals, still smelling of incense and guilt, scattered like lightning toward their vehicles.
Gotham’s goddess had awakened—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVd5GcIl04H
But her very first tear…7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoCFpBBbLb
Was because her believers had all disappeared at once.
Everyone’s guilt went through the roof.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy60oaOzjvR
