Nana stood in front of them,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8QRzSNiyr
hands quietly signing a memory long buried.
It was a story from many years ago—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnXKFWi231
a time when she was even younger than she was now,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ3UokzMMQ
perhaps too young to speak in full sentences.
Back then, she lived in an orphanage,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH4CMezq2D
a place where winters felt endlessly long79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3WsOFmXy8
and colds were always going around.
In that place,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04AIkDPQPd
older children—especially girls—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB5m1JbMeY
were often tasked with caring for the younger ones.
That time, it was her turn.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQe0grtIcvG
Five babies, still wrapped in swaddling cloth,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgy87ussW1
were laid out around her in little bassinets.
Outside, the flu was running rampant.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9tjRc6tpt
The nuns were overwhelmed—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKXQpwaJR3
coughing echoed through the halls,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx4onBVCra
cries filled every room.
Only Nana had not fallen ill.
She sat among the babies,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9txWANMmDm
planning to watch over them while working through a math problem—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdz5jEI5yK
she remembered it clearly:79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31n4JzCJeb
a fill-in-the-blank problem where the numbers had to add up to 100.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW31fBawqi
Even the nun had said,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuD90eyrVvN
“Leave it for now. We’ll come back to it later.”
But she didn’t want to let it go.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQWGfewxR9
She stared at her paper,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT6sbVyOmm
biting the end of her pencil in thought.
Then one of the babies began to cry.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69Rmv2dzxb
Then the second.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhr8nxSrKG
Then the third…
Within ten seconds,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Wtlji80Lg
all five were crying at once,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fzDuGySKt
their voices rising and falling like shrill alarms.
Nana stood up right away.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnKZK1JRJv
She picked them up one by one, checked them—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbCbtxT4tS
No fever.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiSuTdZ5v1
No wet diapers.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8buPTdbjfi
No spit-up.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5NWfasejG
Everything seemed normal.
But they wouldn’t stop crying.
She tried.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8zaMplFPq
She patted them.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVDWiiXcVG
She rocked them.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7jo2g3cWk
She hummed lullabies.
Nothing worked.
Her head began to throb—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2gAnKZ2dm
a deep, pounding pressure79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16KuC8UWxh
like someone was hammering on her skull from the inside.
“So loud…” she thought.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVq4GGQHWvV
“And I still haven’t solved that math problem…”79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJO2zR1QaO
“Will the nun come in? She’s already so busy…”79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiazH44Df6
“It’s too loud… I need it to stop… My head…”
Her vision blurred.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv2G3s5pRh
It felt like something was being torn79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlgHUBVTWC
from the inside of her brain.
She looked up.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CfpO88wQk
One single thought remained in her mind.
Her mouth opened—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GYuzblmiT
almost on instinct—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xXZbhh7fL
and she whispered two words:
“Be quiet.”
The voice was soft.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEhpFpzJFW
Very soft.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Oz8SoIpek
Barely more than breath—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYd6VSy9fM
but perfectly clear.
And in the next instant,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNaFh0Sd2W
the entire room fell silent.
The babies went quiet.
Not calmed—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9NLy1MXXU
stopped.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4Qb9xUpea
Not asleep—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6AEWtVGuB
silent.
Nana froze.
Her eyes widened.
She lunged toward the nearest baby,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uhtVIbBmh
hands trembling, reaching out.
The baby was still crying—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjNpYNzfkV
there were tears sliding down its cheeks.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNotYlHEs1r
But its mouth—
Shut.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPfFzc1XFs
Tightly shut,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgL9ALDoUr
as if sealed by something invisible.
She checked the second.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstVCE5bbf9
The third.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaS1rVbWkN
All the same.
Nana stumbled back.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pQlZYc41a
Her legs gave out.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqmsV4MQLL
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.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA8FRGpfr5
Every breath was fire.
The room was unnaturally quiet—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dh5Y4tIq7
quiet enough to hear the echo of water pipes in the ceiling.
And yet,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxNV5nWeMa
her head throbbed even harder.
No one spoke when she finished the story.
Batman’s face was grim.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYe5XmXehb
His brow deeply furrowed,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOhmesMNIQ
calculating the possible range of sonic anomalies79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhf2H3Awegp
and neural interference fields.
Dick and Alfred stood silent,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaVScJnXBs
eyes on this fragile-looking girl,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6TBMraKdH
a thousand possibilities running through their minds.
This wasn’t trauma.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPWg0ZSdar
Not just voice strain.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9R8eVlFWRh
It was something else.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qVpwUoXAA
A power.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6BSMxfCbp
Internal.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNh86LrUP7K
Immeasurable.
Nana kept her head down,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUCTpHdQwk
fingers curling into the hem of her dress.
Then,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVqBVxxhFl
a hand reached out.
Jason stepped up beside her.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEQmtEdRwj
He didn’t speak.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KpN5A0cwN
But his presence79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqs0vRNoU7
spoke for him.
His hand was warm.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBjU0lepwR
Firm, despite his unspoken worry.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh7xxNLhIF
Grounded.
Nana paused—79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkUAQZkutm
then slowly reached back and took his hand.
It felt like something unspoken was exchanged.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwgVf9P1jg
A vow.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qKba9O15x
A message that said,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9XKfi1cxE
“I’m still here.”
She didn’t know what this power would bring,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6bGwX016d
or whether it would happen again.
But she knew one thing:
As long as Jason was beside her,79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVL9rKeqVpu
she wouldn’t be afraid.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxf9GfBoSOO
and then Add to home screen.