Morning had arrived. Tim opened his eyes.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uoBq05Ljk
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4kPpXzo4W
He’d spent the night there because Nora was away on a business trip. She’d be gone for a week.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjKpHhWts1
Tim stared at the ceiling, not quite fully awake yet.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlZiGCcFEH
I need to drive Finn to school, he thought.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AD6wJoCRQ
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4ZGYP9YXh
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeSzeHiict
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgcv62ZBUi
Every morning in the car, he’d ask, “What color do you think Miss Nora’s wearing today?”99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0Kbh1ymNs
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RJzbes5qR
He went through the motions at breakfast.
While eating his toast, Finn asked:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE78yOJtRr5
“Mommy, when is Miss Nora coming back?”99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDZ312My03
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.”99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaHhxVRqnd
Finn nodded, then started counting the days with his fingers.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI0HgqzPD4
Chewing on his toast, he concentrated hard, like he was solving a very difficult math problem.
When he got to five fingers, Finn gasped.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnzRWjaIlo
“That many days?!” he exclaimed, full of exaggerated drama and despair.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vxvUJrKLT
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3SfpMXGH5
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChPWbxX6Li
She silently rolled her eyes.
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Finn climbed into his uncle’s car.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioX2dbA0Cw
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvdxfRTdPc
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlg2uvz3ZXn
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,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogTTKIAfGg
“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:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgCZ64q6VF
“Even so, I still have to take you to school.”
Finn suddenly channeled Shakespeare. His gaze turned solemn.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38G4NGIei8
“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…99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnN7yQYEvm
was momentarily speechless. His mouth twitched as he wondered what kind of show this kid had watched last night.
Finn kept going, still serious:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjbJoAkU2d
“Uncle, if I went to find Miss Nora right now, would she be happy?”
Tim, gripping the steering wheel, replied,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRqHYZTpIL
“You’re five. You can’t go on your own.”
But Finn persisted:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYSJXoRPA6
“But my heart hurts—so, so much. And you could come with me, right?”
Tim…99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInzsHHgrkP
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.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCXmTvZAba
She was about to make herself some coffee when her phone screen lit up with a text from Tim.
It read:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm11MBULAB
[We’ve landed. I’ll take good care of Finn.]
Leila…99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqqARweM4R
Nearly tore the coffee packet in half.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYbjqULO05
Her face twisted into an expression that could only be described as: beyond speechless.
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and then Add to home screen.