November-December Entry One

—Moon Gazing—

It was past midnight and the night was cold. Not from the wind, for there was barely a breeze, but from the darkness that wrapped around everything it came across. Though the night was cold and uncaring, the dark, frigid sky seemed to grow warmer as it touched the moon’s illumination. Watching this, intently, was a caped figure on the top of a giant “T”.

She was sitting on the edge wrapped in her cape. As to why she was still there was beyond her knowledge. For some reason, it just felt right. So here she was, with her head lifted high to watch the giant light giver in the sky.

She did not know why, but she always became entranced when she came up here. It was if nothing else mattered besides the serene light that whatever it gently wrapped its grasping fingers around became peaceful. How she wanted to become peaceful. But she was too far away from the light to be touched. Chaos ruled her mind, though she might not show it.

She felt herself come out of her entrancement as she felt her bond with a certain other dark bird strengthen. “Why do you come out here, Robin?” She asked of him as he sat next to her and wrapped his cape around him, as well.

Robin did not look at her. He did not answer. He only looked above at the subtle but strong light that graced the sky every night. “How do you feel?” As he looked at her he barely made out the confusion on her blank face. “I mean, with everything that has happened, recently. How are you doing?”

“Trigon is coming and is going to make me help him destroy the world and annihilate every living thing. How would you feel?” Raven’s face turned solemn and he could not tell whether she was about to yell obscenities to the world or cry her eyes out. Robin could not bear it. Mentally scolding himself for bringing this on, he turned away from her face. “I don’t even know how much time we have left. . .” She said with fear deep within her words.

“You do know we’re with you two hundred percent, don’t you?” Robin told her in effort to give her confidence and encouragement in the darkest of all situations.

“Two hundred percent won’t cut it. Trigon is a high class demon. He destroyed Azarath; a planet full of monks and others with strong powers. If a whole civilization could not beat him, how could the five of us? Face it, Robin. It’s impossible.” Unfortunately, he failed.

“Sometimes the will to survive is greater than the odds against it. . .” Robin said. “Since when, Raven, have you ever given up? You’re too strong to give up just because you need assistance. We’re a team, Raven. We help each other and we never, ever give up.”

Raven sat gazing up again to the lit sky and thought about his words. Would it be wise to try her hardest. . . or foolish to run into her demise? “Raven?”

“Yes, Robin?”

“Do you know much about the moon?” She fixed her gaze on him and raised her eyebrow in her trademark expression as he continued on. “The moon has two sides; a light side that lights up the sky and a dark side that is never shown.” Raven looked up at the moon as Robin continued his explanation. “You see, the moon is mysterious, mystical, forbidden. Those qualities are the ones that draw you to it. It makes you want to get closer to it, but no matter how high you stretch your hand up, you can never touch it. It is like it is in a whole world of its own. And maybe it is. . .”

“Robin where are you going with this?” She asked him.

“Raven, the moon shines as a beacon of hope to everyone, and a light to their pathway. But it would not shine if it did not have the sun. It would just float there, in the space around the Earth. It would accomplish nothing. The closer it is to the sun, the more it will shine.” He saw that she was still looking to the moon, and, with the tips of his fingers, guided her chin so she would look at him. “The same with you. The closer you are to us, the more you illuminate everyone. We— I want you to shine, Raven. You light up my life when it goes completely dark. Though, you aren’t always there to help.” He looked away from her so she wouldn’t see the guilt in his eyes.

Then, the dreaded question, “What do you mean by that?”

Robin closed his eyes as a small sigh escaped his lips. “Raven, I am not always as strong as you are. I can’t always take the pressure put atop me. The reason I indulge in paperwork and train constantly is so I can’t, so I don’t think about the bad times.” He gave a sad smile as his eyes opened. “It doesn’t always work.”

“I know where you are getting at.” Raven told him.

“You. . . do?” He was bewildered. Had she. . . always known?

“I am an empath, Robin. I can feel others’ emotions. Sometimes, I feel yours. The burden you carry, the pain. So much pain. I feel it all, your pain is mine.” She paused to think of how to approach the real subject.

Raven reached out and grabbed his elbow, before he could react completely. She pulled his glove off to reveal scars. Some no more than an inch, others several, and even more were still red. Raven smiled slightly at the discovery. “We are alike in more ways than you think,” she pulled down her sleeve to show only a few red scratches, “mine just heal very quickly. These are from yesterday.”

Robin dumbly stared at the scratches. He never thought about how much others’ pains would affect her. He should have known. And if he could, he would wipe away every trace of pain from everyone just to keep her from suffering.

“You are my moon, Raven. You shine and give me hope when I have none. And you definitely guide me with your light.” He smiled at her and Raven stood up, offering Robin her hand. “That made me feel so much better, Robin. Being compared to a giant dustball, that is.” Robin rolled his eyes with a smile still lingering. And, together, they walked into the giant “T” hand in hand.

No longer did the cold and uncaring night feel so passionless, nor did the dark, frigid sky seem so forbidden. It had all been touched by the moon, touched by the hope that it harbors. Only after a long sixteen years did their world surrounding the two of them become the way it should have been all along; hopeful.

—Fin—