Gadalik settled down in front of the TV, which was the only current source of light in the living room; his little sister was seated on the couch between their parents, and he had simply turned one of their chairs around and repositioned it between the couch and the staircase so he could watch too.

They had gotten invested in a show about a family of four and their everyday lives in a town full of kooky characters. Each episode usually consisted of someone getting into a wacky scenario, exacerbating the situation on their own, and then working together with a friend or relative to get out of it. Gadalik had waited a week to discover what shenanigans would occur in this new episode.

It began as usual in the family’s house. Everyone was drooped over the furniture with multiple fans running on the highest setting directly on them.

“I think it's finally starting to cool off in here,” the mom said hopefully.

At that moment, their breaker blew, the fans stopping in the dark.

“...We need a vacation,” the dad decided.

Cue a montage of the family packing their suitcases and loading them into the car. After a few hijinks on the road involving their flashy neighbor challenging them to a race, both subsequently getting ticketed by the sheriff for speeding, before they finally arrived at their destination: a vast lake.

Gadalik tensed. He caught his parents sneak a glance his way as well. He shook his head. It's just a show, he reminded himself.

“Oh, a lake?” his sister spoke up. “I’ve never been to one before. It looks like fun!”

The green-haired man closed his eyes for a moment. He could hear the family on TV laughing and splashing in the water, but his mind substituted the visuals with his own experience. “Excuse me,” he said, getting up from his seat.

“Gadalik? Where are you going?” Adya asked her brother, concern and confusion shining in her magenta eyes. “Don't you want to see what happens?”

“I'm not feeling well,” he replied as he moved the chair back. Reassuringly, he added, “You can tell me about it tomorrow, alright?”

They watched him go upstairs to his room, where he sat on his bed and tried to compose himself. He had never taken issue with lakes until he had a near-death experience drowning in one while fighting a water-bound spirit. If it weren't for his fellow spooks pulling him ashore and reviving him, Gadalik wouldn't have survived. This was nearly seven years ago, but it had left a huge impact on him, even if he had forgotten it until each time the memories were triggered.

His striped blue gaze focused on the nightstand–more specifically, the drawer.

One of the two responsible for his rescue was Mira. That was actually on the first day they'd met. They had worked together on ridding other spirits from the world after that, and eventually they'd even began to spend time together outside of work.

Things turned sour when Gadalik hadn't been able to reciprocate her romantic feelings for him, despite his efforts to maintain their relationship. It wasn't until somewhat recently that they'd met up by chance on their way to a haunted house, after having had no contact for six years. They were able to make peace with each other, but neither had reached out since.

Gadalik opened the drawer and dug through the letters and business cards he'd saved. By this time, the show was over and his parents would be putting Adya to bed, so when he reached the living room it was dark and he was alone. Without a second thought, he dialed on the phone. As it rang, he debated his choice to reach out, and with each passing second he came closer to hanging up.

Then she answered.

Afternoon the next day, Gadalik had rode his horse a few towns over, stopping just once along the way at a bakery he had called earlier, where he picked up an order to take with him to his real destination: a two-story home in the suburbs that he'd visited so many times in the past. Without thinking, he knocked with his free hand.

He only had to wait a few seconds before a young woman with short black hair answered. She was wearing lipstick and eye makeup that matched her hair, as well as casual dark clothes: a sleeveless top laced around her neck, high-waisted pants upheld by a silver-studded belt, and laced ankle boots with a bit of a heel on them.

“Hi, Mira,” he began awkwardly, still doubting his decision to visit her despite her invitation the previous night.

“Long time, no see,” she greeted him with a chuckle. The box he was holding caught her attention. “What's this?”

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“It's a thank-you gift,” Gadalik said, handing it to her, along with a note he'd written that read:

Hey, Mira

I'm sorry for ruining what we had all those years ago.

You've done a lot for me during our time as coworkers, including saving my life more than once. I feel like we've been through too much together to end up with no contact for so long. Maybe we could leave our troubled past behind us and start over as friends.

-Gadalik

After reading the letter, she looked into his eyes as if to gauge the sincerity of it.

“It’s…strawberry cake. With chocolate frosting,” Gadalik spoke up, feeling a bit tense since she didn't respond to the letter. “I also brought paper plates and plastic silverware. You mentioned you liked that flavor in the past, s-so I just thought–”

“It looks great,” Mira interrupted his nervous explanation with an amused smile. “Want to share it with me?”

He was caught off-guard by the offer. Does this mean she's open to being friends again?

“Come on, let's head to the park and eat there. Maybe catch up on life.”

He let out a relieved breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. “Sounds good..!”

After securing his horse at her house, the two left on foot. They chose a picnic table at the local park to set up their plates and cut into the cake.

Her violet eyes shone at the first bite. “Man, does this bring me back! I haven't had this since I stopped celebrating my birthday.”

“Huh? Why'd you stop?” he wondered.

She shrugged, wolfing down another slice. “Guess I outgrew them. At some point my parents stopped surprising me with parties, and I never bothered asking them to start again.”

“Aw… Well the best part of being an adult is that you can get your own cake to celebrate, if you still want to. In fact, you can get a cake anytime you want,” Gadalik laughed, proving his point by taking a bite of his own slice.

“True.” She grinned. “So how’s your family? Your little sister is just the cutest!”

“Well, we had a bit of drama recently…but yeah, she's a good kid.”

“Drama?”

“I'm partly to blame for it,” he admitted. “I told her about our mom’s parents, and that's what started the whole mess. Luckily we were all able to settle things. We even got a TV out of it, in the end.”

“...Huh. Your family is weird,” she laughed.

“I guess, haha. So how has your spook’s work been? Any jobs since the haunted house we worked together on?”

“Only a couple. They were easy enough to deal with.”

The two chatted about the ghosts they've encountered during the years they spent apart, as they finished the cake. They cleaned up and moved to sit on the bench they used to feed the birds from.

“So what about you?” she pressed. “Any recent jobs worth mentioning?”

“Not really. Like I said, most of the spirits were encountered while I was off-duty. Besides, I actually only came back home a couple days ago, after spending almost a week at my girlfriend's place,” he explained.

Mira froze, then eyed him skeptically. “...Girlfriend? Do you mean a girl that's a friend, or…?”

“N-No,” he stammered. “She and I have been dating for about two years now.”

She stood up from the bench, glaring at him as if in betrayal.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“If you have a girlfriend, then what are you doing here with me?”

He tilted his head, utterly confused. “I explained that already… I just want to be friends again.”

“Friends? Really?”

Was I not clear…?

“Friendship is how relationships start with you,” she pointed out. “Why else would you want to be friends with me again?”

Her words took a beat for him to process. “You… You really think that the only reason I want friends is to get with them?” He shook his head. “There are more types of relationships in this world besides romantic ones…! Does friendship alone mean nothing to you…?”

“I’d value our friendship if you weren't leading me on the whole time!” she snapped. “Calling me at night, bringing me my favorite cake, and your sappy words about our past and wanting to reconnect! Does that sound friendly to you?!”

“Yes!” he cried honestly.

The two stared at each other for a moment as they both realized it was a legitimate misunderstanding.

Finally, she sat back down. “So…a girlfriend, huh…?” Mira chuckled, but her heart wasn't in it. “I’m shocked. I mean, aren't you supposed to be demi-romantic?”

“...Yeah,” Gadalik replied as a matter of fact. He couldn't tell where she was going with this.

“So…what, then? You just woke up one day and decided you liked this girl?” She sounded almost hurt. “What did I do wrong?”

He froze. “Mira… Back when you and I dated, my lack of affection toward you wasn't personal. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“It's a wonder why you even agreed to date me in the first place, when you never loved me,” she went on.

“...I wish I hadn't agreed to date you,” Gadalik confessed.

She met his gaze, offended. “Then why did you?”

“Everything you said when you broke up with me was true: I just felt obligated to give you a chance, because you were the first person who ever said they liked me that way.” He averted his gaze. “If I knew things would end with us cutting ties, I never would have agreed to it. You did everything right. I just wasn't prepared.”

She narrowed her eyes solemnly. “So what about your girlfriend…? What does she have now that I didn't back then…?”

“N-Nothing! Just…time.”

“Time?” she echoed, somewhat indignant. “You and I had known each other for three whole months before we dated for half a year…!”

“And my girlfriend and I had known each other for five years before I developed feelings for her,” he explained.

She stared at him incredulously.

He sighed. “Mira, I'm sorry for how I handled things with you. Looking back, I know I hurt you something awful, and your feelings and your choice to end things with me are valid.”

“...And?” she laughed playfully, as if trying to lighten the mood.

He relaxed some, the slightest bit amused. “I'm not trying to get together with you–or lead you on. I just want us to go back to how things were before we dated. I want our friendship back. That's all I was hoping to accomplish.”

“...Alright. But ‘friends’ feels too personal a label after six years of no contact. Maybe we should start at the level we met each other as: coworkers.”

“Hm. That's fair. Coworkers, it is.”