Brandon sat on the bench outside the shelter, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows. His fingers trembled as he clutched a disposable coffee cup, now long cold and forgotten. Cassie sat beside him in silence, her presence patient but heavy, waiting not to press him, but to let him speak.
He finally broke the silence with a voice so raw it made Cassie's chest tighten.
"It happened sixteen years ago. I was ten. Lani was seven."
His eyes stared ahead, but they weren't seeing the street anymore.
"Our parents were always fighting. Screaming. Throwing things. I didn't even know what the fight was about that night. I just knew I needed to get her away from it."
He took a shaky breath.
"We did what we always did when things got ugly, we ran to the laundry closet. It was our secret fort. I had a flashlight with a little red lens, and she had this raggedy purple stuffed rabbit. We sat there and told stories. She said the Moon Castle had walls made of clouds and stars, and a princess who could talk to birds."
His lips twitched faintly at the memory, but it didn't last.
"Then we heard it. The loudest crash, like glass exploding. I thought they'd broken the mirror again. But when I peeked out... it wasn't a mirror."
Cassie watched him swallow hard.
"There was fire. The kitchen was...was already engulfed. The grease fire must've jumped. It was everywhere so fast. And smoke. God, there was so much smoke. I ran back to Lani. She was crying, holding my hand so tight."
He looked down at his hand now, as if he could still feel her tiny fingers clutching his.
"I told her we had to run. I opened the closet door, but the hallway was already filled with flames. I didn't know what to do. I panicked. I grabbed her hand and we tried to run through the kitchen, the only other way out... but a beam fell. It hit the floor right in front of us."
Cassie covered her mouth, tears already rising.
"I tried to pull her, but she stumbled. Her arm caught on the corner of the counter and she fell. And then the fire was just... there. Crawling up the curtains. And I...I heard her scream."
His voice cracked. His shoulders shook.
"I didn't let go. I swear to you, I didn't. But the heat...God, it was so hot...I couldn't see. My hand slipped. And someone...one of the neighbors...pulled me out through the window. I didn't even want to go. I kept screaming that she was still in there. But they didn't go back."
Cassie whispered, "They couldn't have. It was too late."
Brandon turned to her, his eyes red and haunted.
"But I heard her. I heard her calling my name when I was outside. Even through the fire trucks and sirens. She screamed for me. And I just stood there. I didn't save her."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"She died alone. Because I was too small. Too weak."
Cassie reached out, gently resting a hand on his.
"She knows you tried. And she never blamed you. She told me that. She only wanted to see you again. She missed you."
Brandon finally let the tears fall. He didn't hide them.
Tears poured down his face. ""I see her in my dreams. Every time there's smoke. Every time I smell burnt toast. I see her. Burned. Screaming...I thought she hated me. I've hated myself ever since."
Cassie sat beside him. "She didn't hate you. You gave her the memory of love, Brandon. You didn't fail her. She was scared. She missed you. That's all."
Brandon looked up at her. "What happens now?"
Cassie closed her eyes. "I think... she'll go now. She has what she needed."
For a moment, silence wrapped around them like a blanket of ash, heavy but intimate.
Then Brandon whispered,
"Do you think she's really at peace now?"
Cassie smiled softly, closing her eyes.
"I felt her go. Like wind after a storm. I think... I think she's home."
Cassie sat alone on the worn armchair by her window, the night pressing in through the cracked panes of the apartment. The air was still, almost reverent. Her heart was heavy from the emotional encounter with Brandon. She hadn't seen Lani since then.
The silence was broken by a soft breeze that didn't come from any open window.
Cassie looked up.
There, in the middle of the room, a soft white glow began to shimmer.
Cassie stood slowly, heart thudding. The cold, oppressive presence of a tormented ghost was absent this time. This… this was different.
From the light emerged a small form, delicate, graceful.
Lani.
But not the half-burnt, shrieking wraith Cassie had first encountered.
No.
Now she looked as she must have in life: a beautiful little girl with almond eyes full of wonder and cheeks pink like cherry blossoms. Her once-tattered white dress shimmered with light, whole and fluttering like petals in the wind. No burns. No soot. Just innocence and peace.
"Lani…" Cassie breathed, tears already welling up. "You look… you look beautiful."
The little girl smiled, and it was radiant.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice no longer distorted or shrill. "You helped me remember who I was."
Cassie stepped forward. "I'm sorry it took so long. I didn't know what I was doing. I.."
"You listened when no one else would," Lani interrupted gently. "You helped me talk to my brother. That's all I ever wanted."
Cassie knelt down in front of her. "Your brother loves you so much. He never stopped."
Tears sparkled in Lani's eyes. "I know. I felt it. Through the anger. The guilt. The fear. You made him remember love."
Cassie reached out to touch her, unsure if she could, but her hand passed through soft light warm, like sunshine through a window.
"You're not scared anymore?"
Lani shook her head, smiling. "No. Not anymore. Because I'm not alone."
As she said that, the room dimmed slightly, as if making way for something greater.
And then, from the shadows near the hallway, a new presence emerged.
Adrian.
Tall. Regal. Clad in a dark, flowing coat like woven night, with an aura of calm stillness that bent the room around him. His black hair fell in waves across his cold, impossibly handsome face. His eyes, silver as moonlight locked with Cassie's for a moment, unreadable. Then they moved to Lani.
Cassie stood protectively. "Wait..what are you...?"
But Lani turned and smiled at him.
"I know who you are," she said softly.
Adrian nodded once, solemn. "Are you ready?"
Lani turned to Cassie one last time, her hands clasped in front of her, like a child saying goodbye to her teacher.
"Thank you, Miss Cassie. You helped me go home."
Cassie felt something snap in her heart, a bittersweet ache of sorrow and relief. She choked on her own words. "You're welcome, sweetheart. You be happy, okay?"
Lani nodded, her form slowly becoming less solid, more glow than girl now.
Adrian raised a hand. A thin silver thread barely visible unraveled from Lani's chest and shimmered like stardust. With a quiet, breath-like sound, it drifted toward him. He held it between two fingers as delicately as one might hold a butterfly's wing.
Light filled the room, bright and comforting, washing over Cassie in gentle waves.
And then silence.
Lani was gone.
Cassie stood alone in the aftermath, trembling.
Adrian turned to leave without a word.
"Wait," she said, her voice cracking. "Where… where did she go?"
He didn't look back.
"Where she belongs."
Then he vanished, the space he occupied folding into shadow and fading.
Cassie dropped to her knees. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but for once, they weren't born of fear. Or despair.
They were born of release.
Of hope.
Of peace.