I sat there for a while.
Quiet.
Not because I didn't have anything to say.
I had too much to say.
My head was still trying to process everything they'd just told me.
It felt like someone had dumped an entire pile of emotional homework into my lap and then calmly asked me to finish it before dinner.
I didn't even know where to start.
I looked around the room again.
At the ghosts sitting against the walls.
At the blankets they'd folded into little piles.
At the books.
At the flowers in the cracked glass bottle.
They had made this place into something.
Not a home.
Not exactly.
But somewhere they could stay together.
Somewhere they didn't have to be alone.
Then something clicked.
I slowly lifted my head.
"Wait."
A few of them looked at me.
"What?"
I looked between them.
"Why aren't you with your..."
I hesitated.
"Person?"
The room went quiet.
Not dramatically.
Just...
Quiet.
A few of them exchanged glances.
One of the boys scratched the back of his neck.
"We had people."
I frowned.
"Had?"
He nodded.
"At first."
Another girl lowered her eyes.
"They couldn't handle it."
I shifted slightly.
"Handle what?"
She looked at me.
"Us."
The word was quiet.
Almost embarrassed.
I frowned.
"But..."
I looked around.
"You weren't doing anything."
"We weren't."
The boy near the window gave a small laugh.
"That didn't matter."
I didn't understand.
"Some fainted."
My eyebrows lifted.
"Seriously?"
He nodded.
"One screamed so loudly the neighbors came."
Another ghost raised her hand slightly.
"Someone threw a shoe at me."
I blinked.
"A shoe?"
She nodded.
"A very nice shoe."
I stared at her.
"...I'm sorry."
"Thank you."
Another ghost spoke from the corner.
"Someone called a priest."
"Another called a spiritualist."
"Someone else called both."
I slowly looked around.
"People really went that far?"
The girl beside me nodded.
"They thought they could get rid of us."
I swallowed.
"Get rid of you?"
"They thought we were dangerous."
I looked down at my hands.
"But you weren't."
"We knew that."
She gave a small smile.
"They didn't."
A boy sitting against the wall rubbed his hands together.
"When people are afraid, they don't always wait to find out if something is actually dangerous."
"They just react," another added.
I nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
I knew that.
Unfortunately, I knew that very well.
The girl beside me looked toward the broken window.
"They were scared of us."
Her voice softened.
"And when humans get scared..."
"They run," I finished quietly.
She nodded.
"Exactly."
I looked at the floor.
"So you just..."
I struggled to find the right words.
"Left them?"
"We had to."
"Why?"
She looked at me.
"Because staying would have hurt them."
My eyebrows pulled together.
"How?"
"Fear gets worse when you keep feeding it."
Another ghost spoke quietly.
"They stopped sleeping."
Someone else added,
"They stopped eating properly."
"They were afraid to be alone."
"They kept seeing us everywhere."
I swallowed.
"And eventually..."
"They wanted us gone."
The room fell quiet again.
I stared at the floor.
That was probably the part I understood the most.
Not the ghost part.
Not the supernatural part.
Just...
People getting scared of something they didn't understand.
And deciding the easiest solution was to make it disappear.
I slowly turned toward Niran.
He was standing a little away from us, leaning against one of the cracked walls.
His arms were crossed.
His expression was unreadable.
I stared at him.
"So..."
He looked at me.
"Why me?"
He didn't answer immediately.
His eyes stayed on mine.
For once, he didn't make a joke.
He didn't smirk.
Didn't roll his eyes.
He just looked at me.
Then one of the ghosts answered for him.
"He chose you."
I frowned.
"Why?"
Another ghost smiled faintly.
"Because you didn't run."
I blinked.
Another added,
"You didn't scream."
"That was because I was too confused."
Niran snorted.
"Still counts."
I ignored him.
"You didn't try to get rid of him."
I pointed toward Niran.
"I tried to ignore him."
Niran immediately looked offended.
"Terribly, by the way."
"Shut up."
The girl smiled.
"You accepted him."
I paused.
"Did I?"
She nodded.
"You could have walked away."
I looked at Niran.
"I didn't exactly know what was happening."
"But you stayed."
I looked down.
She continued.
"You're doing his wishes."
"That's not normal."
"Yeah."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"I figured that out."
She smiled.
"You're kind."
I immediately looked up.
"No."
Everyone stared at me.
I frowned.
"I'm not."
Niran sighed.
"You are."
"I'm literally not."
"You are."
"I insult you every five minutes."
"That doesn't count."
"That absolutely counts."
"It doesn't."
"IT DOES."
Niran crossed his arms.
"You once apologized to a vending machine."
I froze.
"...It ate my money."
"You said sorry to it."
"I was frustrated."
"You bowed."
"I DID NOT."
One of the ghosts covered her mouth.
She was trying not to laugh.
I pointed at Niran.
"You remember way too much."
"I remember everything."
The joking slowly faded from his face.
Then he looked at me.
"You stayed."
I stopped.
The words were simple.
But something about the way he said them made me quiet.
I looked away.
"...That's different."
"It's not."
I didn't answer.
Because maybe it wasn't.
Maybe that was why everyone kept looking at me like they already knew the answer.
I rubbed my palms against my knees.
Then I frowned.
"Okay, but..."
I pointed at Niran.
"This guy?"
Every ghost looked at him.
Then back at me.
I scoffed.
"He's rude."
Niran nodded proudly.
"Correct."
"Annoying."
"Accurate."
"Selfish."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Debatable."
"He insults me every five minutes."
"I do not."
"You just did."
"That was one time."
"You've been doing it all day."
"You're keeping count?"
"Because you won't stop!"
The ghosts started laughing.
I threw my hands up.
"See?!"
Niran looked completely unbothered.
"I like him."
I blinked.
"What?"
He shrugged.
"I said you're annoying."
"That's not what you said."
"I know."
I stared at him.
Then he looked away.
"I hate kind people."
I frowned.
"...Excuse me?"
His expression changed.
"They're stupid."
"Wow."
"They let people walk all over them."
I opened my mouth.
He continued before I could answer.
"They give everything they have to people who don't deserve it."
His voice wasn't joking anymore.
"They forgive too easily."
I looked at him.
"They break easily."
Silence.
Niran's eyes lowered.
"And I don't like watching that."
Something tightened in my chest.
I didn't know what to say.
He looked away.
"So I annoy you instead."
I blinked.
"...That's your method?"
"Obviously."
"That's terrible."
"It works."
"It does not."
"It does."
"It really doesn't."
He finally looked at me.
"You're still here."
I stared at him.
Then I laughed quietly.
"That's your proof?"
"Yes."
"Your logic is terrible."
"It's ghost logic."
"That's not a thing."
"It is now."
I shook my head.
Then he said something so casually that I almost missed it.
"I wanted to be your friend."
I froze.
"...What?"
He shrugged.
"I always did."
The room seemed to become quieter.
Even the other ghosts stopped joking.
I stared at him.
"Since when?"
"Before I died."
My eyebrows lifted.
"Seriously?"
He nodded.
I tried to remember.
"The bracelet project?"
"Yeah."
"The pen?"
"Yeah."
"The homework thing?"
"Yeah."
I frowned.
"That was just school stuff."
"It wasn't to me."
I stared at him.
He looked away.
"You didn't treat me like I was anything special."
I blinked.
"What?"
"No popularity."
He paused.
"No group following you around."
Another pause.
"No pressure."
He looked back at me.
"You just treated me normally."
I scratched the back of my neck.
"...I didn't do much."
"You did enough."
That hit differently.
I looked down.
For some reason, I suddenly didn't know where to put my hands.
Then I smiled slightly.
"...That's a really emotional way of saying you've been stalking me."
Niran clicked his tongue.
"I was observing."
"Same thing."
"Not the same thing."
"Extremely the same thing."
He rolled his eyes.
I laughed.
Then I stood up.
The others looked at me.
I looked at Niran.
"I wasn't avoiding you."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I was avoiding trouble."
I gestured around the abandoned building.
"This..."
I pointed at everyone.
"...is trouble."
One of the ghosts nodded.
"Fair."
I sighed.
Then I looked at Niran again.
"I didn't know."
He didn't say anything.
So I slowly held out my hand.
Toward him.
"Let's just..."
I swallowed.
"Start over."
Niran stared at my hand.
His expression went completely blank.
"...What?"
"We're friends."
Silence.
The entire room seemed to freeze.
Niran looked at my hand.
Then at me.
Then back at my hand.
"You mean that?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
He stared at me for another second.
"You're weird."
"And you're a ghost."
He considered that.
"...Valid."
I smiled.
"So?"
He didn't take my hand.
Instead, he grabbed my wrist.
I barely had time to react before he pulled me forward.
Straight into a hug.
My eyes widened.
"...Oh."
I hadn't expected that.
Not from him.
His arms were around me, and for some strange reason...
He was warm.
Not freezing.
Not ghostly.
Warm.
Real.
I stood there awkwardly for a second.
Then slowly relaxed.
"...You're hugging me."
"Don't make it weird."
"You're the one making it weird."
"Shut up."
I smiled.
"...You're warm."
"I know."
"That's concerning."
"Deal with it."
He finally let go.
Just like that.
He stepped back as though nothing had happened.
I cleared my throat.
Then tapped his shoulder.
"I'll do it."
He looked at me.
"Do what?"
"Your wishes."
His expression changed slightly.
I looked around the room.
"All of them."
My voice became quieter.
"Especially the last one."
Justice.
For him.
Niran didn't joke.
Didn't smile.
He simply looked at me.
For a moment, I thought he might say something.
Instead, he nodded.
Once.
"...Thank you."
I swallowed.
Then rubbed the back of my neck.
"But this is a lot."
He raised an eyebrow.
"How much?"
"Overwhelming."
"Fair."
"I mean..."
I looked around.
"You just introduced me to a room full of dead people, told me all their stories, and then hugged me."
Niran nodded.
"When you say it like that, it sounds weird."
"Because it IS weird."
The ghosts laughed.
The girl beside me smiled.
"Be careful."
I looked at her.
"Of what?"
She glanced at Niran.
Then back at me.
"You need to know what kind of friend he is."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
A boy sitting nearby snorted.
"That's easy."
He pointed at Niran.
"He's clingy."
Niran's head snapped around.
"HEY."
Another ghost immediately joined in.
"Flirty."
Niran looked offended.
"Excuse me?"
"Unpredictable."
"Stop."
The girl beside me smiled.
"And he treats you like a princess."
I choked.
"...WHAT?"
Niran clicked his tongue.
"Stop exposing me."
"Princess?"
I looked at him.
He immediately looked away.
"Don't get used to it."
"I'm not getting used to anything."
"You will."
"I won't."
"You will."
"Why are you so confident?"
"Because I'm always right."
I stared at him.
"That's the most incorrect thing you've ever said."
The ghosts laughed again.
I couldn't help it.
I laughed too.
For a few seconds, the whole room felt lighter.
Then I looked around at them.
The laughter slowly faded.
I smiled.
"...Can I be friends with you guys too?"
Silence.
Then the room practically exploded.
"Yes."
"Obviously."
"Of course."
"Finally."
I blinked.
"Finally?"
One of them laughed.
"We've been waiting."
Before I could react, the girl beside me pulled me into a careful hug.
Another joined.
Then another.
"Wait."
I laughed.
"One at a time!"
Someone patted my shoulder.
Another ruffled my hair.
I looked around in complete disbelief.
"You people are weird."
"Coming from you?"
I pointed at them.
"Fair."
And somehow...
For the first time in a long time...
My chest didn't feel so heavy.
I looked around at all of them.
At the broken building.
At the ghosts who had been abandoned by the people they once trusted.
At Niran standing nearby with that stupid little smile on his face.
And a thought slipped quietly into my mind.
This felt more like family than my actual family ever had.
I didn't say it aloud.
I wasn't ready for that.
But I felt it.
And somehow, that was enough.
By the time we finally left the building, the sky had become completely dark.
The streets were quieter now.
The bright noise of the city had faded into distant traffic and the occasional footsteps of someone heading home.
Niran walked beside me.
For once, he wasn't talking.
Neither was I.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It felt...
Full.
Like there were too many things we'd said tonight for either of us to know what came next.
I glanced at him.
He noticed immediately.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
"That's not nothing."
I sighed.
"...That was a lot back there."
He hummed.
"Yeah."
We kept walking.
A streetlight flickered above us.
I kicked a small stone across the pavement.
"So..."
Niran looked at me.
"Those ghosts."
"Hm?"
"They all went through that?"
"Yeah."
"And you just..."
I thought for a second.
"Hang out with them?"
He shrugged.
"We don't really have anywhere else to go."
I nodded slowly.
"...Still weird."
"You get used to it."
I looked ahead.
Then after a few seconds, I glanced at him again.
"You said something earlier."
"I say a lot of things."
"No."
I looked at him.
"You said you wanted to be my friend."
His steps slowed slightly.
Then continued.
"Since before I died."
I stared at him.
"...What?"
He kept looking forward.
"The bracelet project."
I blinked.
"The pen."
I remembered.
"The homework."
I laughed softly.
"That was all just school stuff."
"It wasn't to me."
He was quiet for a moment.
"You didn't treat me like I was special."
I frowned.
"Isn't that a bad thing?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"It was the best part."
I didn't know what to say.
He continued.
"You didn't care about popularity."
He glanced at me.
"You didn't care who I knew."
Then he looked forward again.
"You just treated me like a normal person."
I smiled faintly.
"...That sounds like I didn't do anything."
"You did enough."
I looked down.
Then after a moment, I smiled.
"...That's a weirdly emotional way to say you've been stalking me."
Niran clicked his tongue.
"I was observing."
"Same thing."
"No."
"Same."
"No."
I laughed.
He shook his head.
Then I looked ahead.
"...So you basically wanted to be my friend for years."
"Yes."
"And instead of telling me..."
"I insulted you."
"Exactly."
"It worked."
"It absolutely did not."
"You're here."
I paused.
"...Unfortunately."
He glanced at me.
That tiny smile appeared again.
I smiled back.
"I'm glad we're starting over."
He didn't answer immediately.
Then I added,
"No more insults."
He immediately said,
"That won't work."
"It will."
"It won't."
I turned toward him.
"Niran."
He stiffened slightly.
"...What?"
I smiled.
"Niran."
"Stop."
"Nina."
He stopped walking.
I nearly walked into him.
He slowly turned around.
"...That's not my name."
"Nina."
"You want your back broken?"
I burst out laughing.
"There!"
He frowned.
"What?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
He started walking again.
Faster this time.
I hurried after him.
"Relax!"
"Stop calling me Nina."
"We're friends now."
"That doesn't give you permission."
"It absolutely does."
"It absolutely doesn't."
I laughed again.
And even though he kept complaining...
Even though he kept telling me to stop...
I stayed beside him anyway.
Because now...
I knew I wanted to.