Morning had arrived. Tim opened his eyes.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KA5VpGjH0
Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, falling at an angle onto the carpet by the desk. This wasn’t Nora’s small apartment—it was his room in Wayne Manor. Familiar, yet cold.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSB29oycqd
He’d spent the night there because Nora was away on a business trip. She’d be gone for a week.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDBj7V7rSZ
Tim stared at the ceiling, not quite fully awake yet.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMYBhyKS9j
I need to drive Finn to school, he thought.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLda48OmT1
He rubbed his eyes. There was a trace of exhaustion in him, but he pushed himself to sit up. He still had responsibilities to take care of.
In the dining room, he saw Finn—already dragged out of bed by Leila.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e0IIOpzJt
The little boy was still in his pajamas, his hair sticking up in tufts, slumped beside the table and blinking at the grown-ups, as if he hadn’t quite realized he was awake yet.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgdCCHh1vn
He yawned, half his eyes still closed. He had none of the usual energy, none of that “I can’t wait to see Miss Nora!” excitement.
He used to be thrilled to go to school just to see her.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXYIk7UaS8
Every morning in the car, he’d ask, “What color do you think Miss Nora’s wearing today?”73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrr9Q53cfWG
He would even wipe his water bottle clean all on his own—so Nora wouldn’t tease him for being messy.
But now that Nora wasn’t around, he had no motivation at all.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1twaeoYZe
He went through the motions at breakfast.
While eating his toast, Finn asked:73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZTryPqSuQ
“Mommy, when is Miss Nora coming back?”73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSETjQJnJxd
Leila looked up at her son, then glanced across the table at her brother, who was quietly sipping coffee.
She raised her hands and replied in fluent sign language: “She’ll be back next Monday.”73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBICF2b4GbK
Finn nodded, then started counting the days with his fingers.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrdK8zeA6r
Chewing on his toast, he concentrated hard, like he was solving a very difficult math problem.
When he got to five fingers, Finn gasped.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jaYBonjwe
“That many days?!” he exclaimed, full of exaggerated drama and despair.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARlPXCozsk
He stared down at his half-eaten toast as if the distance of time had taken his appetite, too.
He didn’t notice that his uncle sitting across the table looked equally defeated.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeyDUD3Zcz
Tim circled his fingertip around the rim of his cup, quietly drinking his coffee. His blue eyes fell on the toast as he, too, counted down the five days.
…Leila watched the two moody men beside her.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9cOTjUg9h
She silently rolled her eyes.
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Finn climbed into his uncle’s car.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExh9UgU0OP
He sat quietly as the seatbelt clicked into place. After swinging his legs a few times, he settled down.
He sat alone in his child seat, thinking.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0pvqcxoyl
His little head tilted back as he stared out the window, his face full of a five-year-old’s burdens, as if the weight of the world rested on his small shoulders.
Tim started the car.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAKjuCwkFt
It pulled smoothly out of Wayne Manor, heading toward school. The radio was off; only the engine filled the silence.
Finn looked at his uncle in the driver’s seat and said seriously,73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fiimWdbmz
“Uncle Tim, I think five days is way too long.”
Tim glanced at his nephew through the rearview mirror and replied in a calm but resolute tone:73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPE0q9sdx3
“Even so, I still have to take you to school.”
Finn suddenly channeled Shakespeare. His gaze turned solemn.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQlFLL3Xj7
“Love,” he said, “is always full of trials—that’s what makes it precious. A kindergarten without Miss Nora has lost all its light. Can Earth even sustain life without the sun?”
Tim…73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fBJ693Wiy
was momentarily speechless. His mouth twitched as he wondered what kind of show this kid had watched last night.
Finn kept going, still serious:73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlG6t5eqVt
“Uncle, if I went to find Miss Nora right now, would she be happy?”
Tim, gripping the steering wheel, replied,73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYGuRSbQXF
“You’re five. You can’t go on your own.”
But Finn persisted:73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA82jjAqCX
“But my heart hurts—so, so much. And you could come with me, right?”
Tim…73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjAKebO60Y
lightly tapped the brakes to turn a corner. He took a deep breath, realizing this little gremlin was dangerously close to convincing him.
Finn’s eyes sparkled. “Uncle?”
Tim swerved right. Toward the airport.
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Leila received the message three hours later.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWd5HhnM9Ms
She was about to make herself some coffee when her phone screen lit up with a text from Tim.
It read:73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaMmiIwxWq
[We’ve landed. I’ll take good care of Finn.]
Leila…73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRijXVKwEKp
Nearly tore the coffee packet in half.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvFNq75RH5
Her face twisted into an expression that could only be described as: beyond speechless.
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and then Add to home screen.