Gadalik packed his spook's supplies, including his steel-clawed staff, his dark green robe, and spell tags, into his duffle bag, although he stayed in his casual clothes.

"Whatcha doing?" Adya wondered as she peeked in from the open doorway of her older brother's bedroom. She followed him when he passed her and headed downstairs, where their parents were on the couch together in the living room.

"I heard this house is haunted, so I'll be checking it out in a little while," Gadalik replied.

"Can I come with you?"

He hesitated, then looked at the purple-haired woman.

"She can, if we come, too," she answered. Then she turned to her husband. "Gale?"

"I agree with Glacia. We'll keep her occupied," the darker-skinned man assured his son quietly as he approached.

"Alright, then," Gadalik agreed. He didn't normally want his little sister involved with spook's work simply because of the danger it posed. But with their parents keeping her safe, it shouldn't be a problem.

"It's almost lunch time, anyway," Gale added. "Maybe we could eat out on the way?"

"Sounds good."

It was late afternoon when they arrived at a somewhat fancy buffet near their destination. It was busy, with waiters and patrons alike roaming the place to clean up and get their food from the stations respectively. Due to Glacia's insatiable appetite that her daughter also seemed to inherit, buffets were the cheaper option to eat at.

They sat down at ate, chatting and enjoying themselves.

"Can I have ice cream for dessert?" Adya asked.

"Sure. Let me walk you to the dispenser," Gale said, standing up to do so and wincing from a recent wound in his leg that a criminal had given him during his last bounty hunt.

"I'll go with her," Gadalik offered.

"You sure? I could go," his mother pointed out.

"It's fine," he insisted. "C'mon, Adya. You want sprinkles too?"

His sister beamed. "Yeah!"

The siblings went ahead across the place to the ice cream dispenser. As she loaded up a cone, that's when Gadalik saw someone: a young woman with short black hair and a red-violet hood.

He just stood there, staring, until Adya tugged on his shirt. "Gadalik? Who are you looking at?"

"Oh… She's, uh…someone I know."

Her magenta eyes shone. Before he had a chance to react, she took off running. "Excuse me, miss! My brother knows you!"

"Oh? And who might that be?" the woman replied, resting her hands on her knees to meet the six-year-old's level.

Gadalik caught up and, refusing eye contact, began shooing his sister back toward their parents.

"Gadalik?"

He froze. Adya bounced excitedly.

"No way. Is it really you?"

He released a defeated sigh and stood straighter, turning to face her. "H-Hi, Mira…"

"Wow…you've grown," Mira commented, taking a step back and looking up at him.

"Well…it has been six years, after all."

"That's how old I am!" Adya chimed in.

"And who's this cute little girl?" Mira asked.

"This is my sister Adya," he introduced them.

The other spook immediately softened. "Hello, Adya! I remember when you were still in your mother's tummy."

The girl giggled. "So why six years? You're friends, aren't you?"

Both spooks fell silent. Adya looked between them, confused.

"Hey, you two," Glacia called her kids. "What's going on over there?"

They tensed.

"Gadalik's friend is here," her daughter answered.

He flinched. "W-We're not…"

"Adya, why don't you head back to your parents and let us grownups talk?" Mira suggested. "Tell them we'll be a while."

The girl pouted but did as told.

Gadalik watched his sister go. "You…want to talk…? But I thought…"

"Thought what?" Mira pressed, propping a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"That you… I mean… We haven't spoken since our breakup."

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "You're right. But…that was a long time ago. A lot has happened since then. You're here for the haunted house, aren't you? Maybe we could…work together for this, like we used to?"

"Um…" I'm not sure how I feel about this… Of course I missed her, but she outright refused to speak to me for all this time. The least she could have offered was a bit of closure…

But I shouldn't hold a grudge. She seems to want to reconnect. This could be the closure we never got.

"Gadalik?" Mira tried again.

"...Alright. Have you eaten…?"

"Yeah. I was just heading out."

Gadalik looked back at his family. Gale seemed suspicious of her, and Glacia scowled disapprovingly. Adya glanced between them, still thoroughly confused, but couldn't resist taking a lick from her ice cream cone.

Mira followed his gaze.

"Maybe we should get going, then," he tried to distract his ex.

Her eyes were narrowed solemnly, but she shut them for a second then faced the other spook with her usual determination. "Alright."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Stay put for a second," he instructed, returning to his table. "I can see you recognized Mira…"

"Oh, no. You are not working with her after how she left things with you," Glacia stated.

"Mom, I… I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions."

"He's right," Gale said. "You go on ahead with Mira, Gadalik. We'll hang back and sightsee, and we can meet up later."

"Can I go with them?" Adya spoke up.

"No," her parents said at once.

"Besides, you still have ice cream to finish," Gale added, wiping a sprinkle from his daughter's cheek. She couldn't help giggling at that.

"Okay, Gadalik. I'm trusting you to make your own choice, but don't think I won't say 'I told you so' when things end badly. You hear me?" Glacia warned her son.

The spook sighed. "Alright. I'll meet with you later." He went to the bathroom to change into his spook's attire, then met with Mira by the door, leaving with her.

"So that's your little sister, huh? I remember when you first told me you were setting up the nursery for her," Mira reminisced.

"Yeah," Gadalik responded halfheartedly. He still didn't know how to feel about his ex acting as though nothing had happened between them. Should I bring it up…?

"Over there!" She pointed at a small one-story house that had signs in the yard reading 'Keep Out' and 'Haunted'. "Think it'll be locked?"

"One way to find out." The young man carefully approached the door, an older male's sniffling and crying becoming audible as he neared. Gadalik knocked, and then there was silence. He gently tried the knob, but it wouldn't turn. "Hello?"

"Darn kids! Get off o' my property!" The door flew open at the last word, revealing the angry ghost of a middle-aged man, transfigured with fangs and claws as if to scare off the intruders.

Gadalik flinched, but only from the sheer volume of his voice. Instinct took over and he attached a shield tag to his staff, aiming the speared tip at the spector.

Mira charged at the ghost straightaway, sickle at the ready.

Her ex stopped her when the ghost paused and returned to his more human state.

"Spooks, huh?" the ghost realized. "So someone wants me gone, do they? I can't guess who…" He left the door open and went back into the dark house

Gadalik picked up on the sarcasm of his last sentence as he and Mira followed him in. "Jon, was it? My name is Gadalik, and this is Mira. We're here to help you."

"Don't kid yourself; you're here for a paycheck. A fat one from the government if you can rid this house of me, huh?"

Gadalik stopped in his tracks, offended. Then he shook his head. "I want to help," he repeated honestly.

"What's wrong with both?" Mira laughed, and picked something up.

From the sound of her turning a page, Gadalik recognized it as a photo album. He moved to inspect it. There was Jon–alive–with a woman of the same age. She was in a lot of photos, and they were smiling in every one.

"Don't touch that!" Jon snapped, swatting it out of her hands.

Mira growled and gripped her sickle as if to retaliate.

Her ex stopped her. "Jon, is that woman the person you think wants you gone?"

"That's none of your concern, young man," the spirit hissed.

"You seemed happy together… Who is she?"

"...Martha. She was my wife, many years ago…"

"Years ago? But you've only been dead for a week," Mira pointed out.

Jon snarled at her like a beast.

"Mira, let me handle this," Gadalik said, stepping between them. "Jon, were you widowed…?"

"No," the ghost said. "...Divorced."

"Is Martha still alive…?"

"I wouldn't know. I haven't heard from her since."

The spooks exchanged a glance. Mira looked away almost guiltily.

"I'll find her, Jon," Gadalik promised. "And I'll bring her here to you."

"Don't bother. She wants nothing to do with me. Now get out." The spirit shoved them out the door, which slammed shut.

She wants nothing to do with him…? Gadalik once again looked at the other spook.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's find Martha!" Mira exclaimed.

"My dad's a bounty hunter. He might be able to help find her," Gadalik suggested. "Besides, I should check up with them. Maybe I can meet you back here in a little while?"

"What? I… I mean… Alright."

Her disappointment was hard to miss. "Err… Would you want to come with me, Mira?"

She perked up. "Yeah!"

"Hey, bud," Gale greeted his son, then hesitated when he saw Mira there.

Glacia pulled Adya protectively behind herself, glowering at Mira. The little girl puffed her cheeks out indignantly, wanting to be included.

"Dad, I have a favor to ask," Gadalik announced. "Do you think you can find a middle-aged woman named Martha?"

"Sure. I'll ask around." His red- and blue-violet eyes shifted to Mira. Her violet ones quickly averted, almost in shame.

It didn't take long to pick up a lead, although there was an awkward silence the whole way.

Apparently Martha lived on the other side of town. Once they managed to pinpoint her current home, Gadalik thanked his father and separated from his family once more to return to work with Mira.

Gadalik knocked on the door of a modest sized house and hoped he'd get an answer.

He saw the same woman–albeit older than–in the pictures, peeking through the window before she opened the door.

"Hello. Are you Martha?" the spook asked, extending a hand. "I'm Gadalik. I'm here about your ex husband."

"Jon? Sorry, he passed away last week," Martha answered, then paused. "Wait… You're spooks, aren't you? Does that mean he's a ghost?"

"Yep. That's why we're here," Mira chimed in. "We think his unfinished business involves you."

Martha covered her mouth in horror. "He's been waiting there for me all this time…?"

"Yes," Gadalik answered. "Have you never thought to visit…?"

"I have, but then I just think about how unhappy I was when I was with him… He was good guy but some little things he did hurt me to the point where I fell out of love with him. And it's been so many years since the divorce–when we last spoke. What is there for me to say to him?"

"She…has a good point," Mira sided with her. "There's usually a small frame of time you can mend a relationship, and after that time is up, there's no relationship left to mend."

"And that's exactly worth talking about," Gadalik pointed out. "Why has it been so long that there isn't a relationship anymore?"

Mira clutched her sickle more tightly. "You can't expect someone to be hung up on a situation like that for years."

"You're a spook; you should know by now that unfinished business can be from any point in one's life, not just the most recent events. Some ghosts' business is from so long ago that they don't even remember what it is without help. And to help is why we're here."

"Well I don't see how this would help anything," Mira snapped. "If she didn't love him when he was alive, how is reconnecting now going to make a difference?"

"It's not like the endgame is getting them back as a couple," he defended himself. "There's plenty else they can talk about. Not knowing what to say doesn't stop her from listening to what he has to say."

Mira started to argue but was at a loss for words.

"You make a good point, Gadalik. I'll go see what the old coot has to say," Martha conceded.

The three of them made it back to Jon's house that evening. He immediately opened the door upon seeing Martha there.

At first the divorced couple just stared in disbelief at one another. Then he turned the light on and welcomed her inside.

"Let's give them some space," Gadalik suggested, stopping Mira from following them in.

They waited outside, and Mira seemed anxious the longer it took. She kept looking at her ex and taking a breath as if to speak, before changing her mind.

"Back at Martha's… What you said about relationships… Is that how you felt about me…?" Gadalik dared himself to ask.

Mira opened her mouth to speak, but then the door opened, distracting both of the spooks.

"Turns out he just wanted to apologize to me, for those little things I mentioned," Martha explained. "And I owed him an apology as well, for shunning him all these years. And now…I suppose there's nothing left to settle between us. He's gone."

"Oh… Then our work here is done," Gadalik figured. This felt too easy…

"I'd best be heading home, myself, now. You two take care," Martha said, waving goodbye as she got back in her horse-drawn carriage and left.

"That was easy," Mira remarked.

The other spook laughed. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I think…we really make a good team," she stated.

Gadalik would be lying if he said he disagreed. Regardless, he was still sore at her.

"I owe you an explanation…"

That got his attention.

"I know I cut contact between us all these years… But just like Jon did with Martha, the little things–like you rejecting my advances–really hurt me in the long run. You understand why I wouldn't want to stay with you after all that, right…?"

"I understand," he admitted. "I realized that after our breakup… I'm sorry I didn't reciprocate your feelings. I'm sorry that I hurt you. But…"

"But?"

"There's a difference between breaking up with someone, and then cutting them off for six years. We could have stayed friends, talked on the phone once in a while, or even be penpals, or something…!"

She looked away for a moment. "Do you remember what I said in our last conversation? I told you to let me get over you. And the truth is…I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you, or even hearing your voice on the phone…because I knew you'd just draw me back in. And, yeah, I got over you eventually…but by then, it was too late to reconnect with you. What could I possibly say?"

"...This," Gadalik answered. "Everything you just now said. That's all it would've taken for us to reconnect."

"What are you saying…?"

"I'm saying…this is the closure we needed. And now we have it."

"So where do we go from here…?"

"We don't have to go anywhere," Gadalik finally answered. "We've both been fine without each other for this long. Maybe…we can be friends again. Maybe not. You still have my number, so I'll leave the choice up to you."