I used to love staying in the greenhouse, waiting for the sun to go down.
The last bit of light would linger on the tips of the highest leaves, the glass would gradually darken, and Gotham outside the windows would fade from view.
All those noisy, filthy things stayed outside, and I could lower my head and keep a seedling company as it unfurled its leaves.
It grew so slowly. I always had time to wait.
My mother had already passed away.
As for the place called home, there was no longer anyone there I needed to go back to see.
When an application asked for an emergency contact, I would leave that field blank, wait for the person in charge to ask again, and then tell him there really was no one left.
Most of the time, they stopped asking.
Tuition at Gotham University wasn't cheap, and without financial support from family, money was always tight.
My textbooks recorded the growth cycles of plants. My phone recorded the next payment I owed.
Sometimes, looking at those fresh, clean leaves, I felt that the world was at least reasonably gentle with them.
As for me... Just finish another semester. The plants I love will help me find my footing in this city.
That was about as far as my plans for the future used to go.
Things were a little different now.
I had already started thinking about which plant I should show him the next time we met.
My phone lit up.
"I'm downstairs."
I stood up from my chair too quickly, banging my knee against the corner of the desk and sucking in a breath at the pain.
I nearly knocked down the books I had just arranged. I hurried to steady them, then slid one of them