By the time Saturday came around, Paulo finally managed to leave the university grounds with us.
Apparently, my passive skill didn't just make spirits notice me more easily. It also made it easier for them to stay anchored around me without immediately getting dragged back to wherever they were tied to. Paulo himself looked surprised when we stepped outside the campus gates and he was still there beside us.
"…I can leave?" he asked quietly, glancing back toward the university like he expected something to pull him back.
"Looks like it," I replied while adjusting the strap of my bag. "You're still attached somewhere, but not enough to trap you there."
Millien, sitting on my shoulder, crossed his tiny arms. "Your connection to the human realm got stronger after staying around us."
Paulo stared at him for a second before letting out a small breath. "That sounds complicated."
"It probably is," I muttered.
Alicia, meanwhile, was already pulling at Paulo's sleeve excitedly. "Come with us! We're going to the store!"
And just like that, he got dragged along.
•••••••••
ParaSystem was quieter than usual that morning.
The glass doors reflected the pale sunlight outside while Sarah sat behind the counter organizing inquiries from the website. Cynthia was rearranging some items on the display shelves, making everything look far more expensive than it actually was, while Gino sprawled himself across the sofa like he owned the place.
Which… honestly, with how relaxed he looked, customers would probably assume he did.
Paulo stopped near the entrance, looking around slowly.
It was probably the first time he'd seen the place properly.
The shelves.
The displays.
The weird mixture of normal store aesthetics and suspiciously holy objects scattered around like we were running a religious convenience shop.
Alicia immediately tugged him toward the sofa.
"Sit here," she said proudly, like she personally owned the furniture.
Paulo obeyed without arguing.
Then somehow, without any discussion happening, he ended up babysitting her while we prepared everything.
Again.
I glanced over at one point and saw Alicia sitting beside him while showing him drawings she made on Sarah's notebook margins. Paulo listened seriously to every explanation like they were important blueprints.
Millien sat on the armrest nearby watching over them both.
Honestly, the three of them together looked strangely balanced.
A ghost child.
A ghost engineering student.
And a duwende munching cookies like an exhausted father of two.
I shook my head and focused back on the table.
"Alright," I said, pulling out one of the chairs. "Let's organize everything Paulo remembers."
Sarah immediately flipped open her notebook, pen already ready.
"Name?" she asked professionally.
"Paulo Balicasa," he answered.
"Age?"
"…Twenty-two."
"Course?"
"Mechanical engineering."
Sarah wrote everything down carefully while Cynthia occasionally added details whenever Paulo remembered something else.
Address.
Family members.
Landmarks nearby.
Bits and pieces slowly formed a complete picture until Sarah finally closed the notebook with a small nod.
"I think we've got enough," she said. "We should be able to locate the place."
Gino stretched his arms above his head and stood up immediately. "Nice. Let's go before traffic gets worse."
The drive turned out shorter than expected.
Since Paulo's house was still within the city, it only took around thirty minutes from the store. Gino drove casually while Sarah stayed in the passenger seat navigating through directions Paulo vaguely remembered.
Cynthia sat beside me at the back while Alicia and Paulo occupied the last row, with Millien somewhere between all of us like a tiny supervisor monitoring the car.
For a while, the conversation stayed light.
Mostly because nobody really knew how to ask a ghost if he was emotionally prepared to visit his own family after being dead.
"So…" Gino started carefully while turning into another street, "you remember your house clearly?"
Paulo nodded slightly. "I think so."
"You think so?" Sarah repeated.
"Well…" He looked out the window quietly. "Things get blurry sometimes."
That made the car fall silent for a moment.
Not awkward.
Just thoughtful.
Then Alicia leaned closer to him. "Do you think your mama misses you?"
Paulo froze.
The question hit so directly that even I glanced back.
He looked down at his hands for a second before answering softly.
"…Probably."
Alicia smiled immediately like that answer alone made her happy.
"Then she'll be super happy when she sees you."
Paulo didn't respond after that.
But I noticed the way his shoulders stiffened slightly.
Eventually, Gino slowed the car near a residential area lined with smaller homes packed close together. Not poor enough to look ruined, but definitely far from comfortable.
"Here?" Gino asked.
Paulo leaned closer to the window.
Then went completely still.
"…That's ours," he murmured.
I followed his gaze.
The house itself was modest. Slightly smaller than ours back home. Simple concrete walls, old gate, narrow front space.
But that wasn't what caught our attention.
It was the people.
The place was crowded.
Very crowded.
There were parked motorcycles outside, plastic chairs lined near the entrance, people standing around talking quietly while others moved in and out of the house carrying food trays and drinks.
For a second, nobody inside the car spoke.
Then Cynthia blinked slowly. "…Did we come during an event?"
Paulo kept staring at the house silently.
And little by little, realization started showing on his face.
Not shock.
Not confusion.
Something heavier.
"…They're holding something," he whispered.
Alicia looked at him worriedly. "For you?"
He didn't answer.
Millien stayed unusually quiet on my shoulder.
Even Gino lost that relaxed expression he usually carried.
I exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Well," I muttered, eyeing the crowded house, "this is going to be hard to explain without sounding insane."
Sarah let out a nervous laugh. "You think?"
"We can't exactly walk up and say, 'Hello, your dead son is currently inside our car.'"
"That would definitely end badly," Cynthia agreed.
Meanwhile Paulo still stared outside quietly, eyes fixed on the people entering and leaving his home.
Like he was trying to process the fact that life had continued there without him.
And honestly?
None of us really knew how to start that conversation either.