Blessing In Disguise

Eight

Several sunrises and sunsets later, Damian and I arrive at a train depot. The signs are all lettered in Chinese, which I believe to be a small miracle. Damian reads them, and pulls me by the hand into a small shack, moving to the counter and talking rapidly to the man behind it. Before long, I'm yanked to a train.

The man says something to Damian, who responds with a light in his eyes. I smile, knowing by the kid's look that we're finally getting somewhere. The man pulls open a wood door and Damian asks him something, to which he replies and then gestures to the half empty car.

Damian nods, climbing up. I give the man a smile and he walks away. I look around my new surroundings. Crates line both walls and most of the floor, so we sit on a few near one wall and the door. Damian explains his conversation.

"I told him we are just trying to get home and oh, how tired and hungry we are, so pretend that is what is happening. He does not speak English. Also, he's letting us ride here because it is a shipment to the coast. We can travel much faster this way."

"Thanks, D. We're gonna be in the States before we know it."

"The train leaves in two hours, so we caught it at the right moment. I also asked the date before he left. It has been exactly six weeks since we left Mother."

It doesn't slip past me that Damian referred to it as the day "we left Mother," rather than "we started our journey" or something. His mom is first and foremost on his mind, though I'm not surprised.

Still, six weeks? It's got to have been at least a week and a half, if not two, since I made that phone call. I wonder if Bruce is looking for us. He probably got a call from Talia already. He probably knows we're out here, but I bet he started looking in Europe. If he did look at all.

Before the train takes off, the man returns. He has food for us, which we take with thank-yous and smiles. We feast on what appears to be some kind of bread and meat. I don't know or want to know what it is. I just eat.

The train takes off, us aboard, and I open the door slightly so we can watch the scenery. Beautiful nature scenes, forests and fog-tipped mountains we would have had to cross, make our next few days pretty. I close the door every night and we get back on a schedule of sleep in the moonlight, rise in the sunshine.

It stops every day, usually in the middle of the day, and we get out and search for something to eat. I regret wolfing down all the man at the station gave us, but then again, it does help to only have the backpack to worry about. Every time, we rustle in garbage containers, from cans to huge dumpsters, and then scramble to get back on the train in time.

We make it every day. I talk with Damian more now, safe from Ra's men hearing our voices. He explains that the immortal would beat and abuse him if he didn't do exactly what he was told. He always wondered if Dad would come to save him someday, which never happened, obviously. He also would worry about his mom, and if she was okay.

I tell him stories to pass the time. Those from when I was a street kid aren't too different from our lives right now, so they aren't interesting. The ones from when Bruce took me in are nice, because then he learns about his father. His favorites are my tales of being Robin though, and I have a lot to think about after that.

My least favorite topic is whether I will be Robin again. Probably not, especially with the new kid. Tim, I think his name was. I also think about what Bruce will say the first time he sees his kid. Will he get that glass look in his eyes, his fear of new people? Or will he smile and for once, have it be genuine?

What will he think of me coming home?