Chapter Text
Martha walked through the streets of Gotham at night all alone. She didn’t have anyone to come with her to the place she was going since everyone else was already there.
Throughout the streets, there were Christmas decorations around the streetlights and any house she came across. Christmas lights were placed around the streetlights, very few were on. To the ones that were on, some of them had gone out.
If you looked on some of the doors of the homes you passed, there were some Christmas reefs on few of the houses. The bigger the house, the more decorations there were.
If you looked at an alleyway, it was likely that you would see some street kids. Some having very little food, sharing it around a small fire they made before the sun had set.
Martha, herself, had continued to walk in the streets, knowing and not caring about the rogues that attacked the city.
Her hood was up and her hands were in the pocket that her hoodie had. The cool Gotham air blew, making her overgrown bangs blow away from her face a bit.
Martha continued her walking, taking her phone from her pocket. She checked the time. ‘December 31st, 2018. 11:00’
She put her phone back up and huffed. Her destination would take her a while to get to on foot, but she was sure she could get there. Even if it was the last thing she was going to do.
She continued her walk towards her destination, the streetlights guiding her. Suddenly, the one she was under flickered.
On. Off. On. Off. On. Off.
It continued.
Then it stopped.
Martha couldn’t see anything directly in front of her. The only time she would be able to was if she hurried and got towards the other light ahead of her.
But she didn’t care. Nothing in her life had ever gone her way, or in the very least, made her happy. The only time was when she made the decision to move away. Nothing else.
So maybe something would come and take her out of her misery. Sure, there were few things that made her smile. A small but real one. Whenever she was around him, there was just something that made her happy, but that was it.
Her family never made the effort to talk to her that much before she moved. When she did, she felt like they made it a requirement to continue to talk to her during the huge transition in her life. None but three people ever talked to her regularly before that, and to those three people, she was grateful.
Maybe if they all knew how she felt then maybe she wouldn’t be feeling that way. Maybe if she hadn’t left, everything would be different from how it was now. Maybe.
But you can’t change that. Every second that passes, you can’t change what you did back then. You just have to keep pushing forward. And that’s what she did. Without anyone to help her when she fell down.
Losing herself in her thoughts, she arrived at the place she wanted to. She took her phone out of her pocket, checking, once again, the time.
‘December 31st, 2018. 11:40’
Martha looked up at the gate she was in front of. She rang the bell that let someone know she was there. Not even a minute later, the gate opened for her.
She walked inside. With each step she took, she got closer to the door in front of the place.
She wouldn’t dare call that place a home while he was still living there. That place was less of a home than the place she was previously at. Unknowingly, she glared at the door.
Martha, when she stopped her glaring, took a deep breath in. She held it for a few seconds then let it out, seeing the air she breathed out with the cool temperature.
She went to put her hand up to knock on the door, but stopped. She couldn’t do it. She tried to move her hand again, wanting to get better results than her first try, but it wouldn’t budge. She was frozen.
Martha put her hand down.
“I can’t do this.” She huffed. She put her head down, looking at the ground. Something had come out of her sweatpants’ pocket, flying onto her shoulder.
“Martha, yes you can.” An encouraging and familiar voice said into her ear.
Martha looked at her shoulder and saw a tiny figure, red with black spots, sitting on her shoulder. Her lip quirked up a bit. The goddess of creation on her shoulder was giving her some encouragement that was definitely needed, but it wasn’t enough.
“I was taught not to show fear.” She said aloud. “I shouldn’t be afraid to do this. This is child’s play.” She said. She hesitated, not wanting to knock on the door.
She pulled her hand away quickly. “Why can’t I do it?” She questioned herself.
Maybe if he were here and telling her to do it, then there would be a good chance of her knocking on that door. Maybe he should have been out there encouraging her to do it instead of inside of the building she hesitated to knock on.
But maybe it wasn't enough. She was still out there by herself, wanting to complete her task, but there was something in her that just kept her hesitating.
Maybe it was because she was scared. Scared of what he would think. Scared that he would deny what she was going to say. Maybe she didn’t want to see him. Maybe it was because she didn’t want the door slammed in her face when she told him what she had to say.
Maybe it was all of those.
Martha, who was unaware of the time, had been staring at the door, contemplating whether or not she should do something for about fifteen minutes. She was put into a trance. She didn’t see that the door opened and that everyone inside had their attention towards her.
“Miss? Can I help you?” A voice called out.