I walked out of the coffee shop, deep in thought. Aysel stared at me with a worried expression. She was about to say something when—
"Grrl."
"Ah… sorry. I guess I'm hungry. Let's eat something."
I said it casually.
Aysel looked at me and laughed softly. Even though she was worried, seeing me act normal seemed to ease her mind.
"Okay~"
We walked to a nearby convenience store and bought instant noodles. I sat by the window and started eating.
I noticed Aysel staring at me, gulping as I slurped the noodles.
"Do you want some?"
"Ye—no. I'm fine. Ghosts don't eat."
"So what do you eat?"
"We have food in the Garden of Aster."
"So you can't eat food from the living world?"
"Hmm."
"I see."
She kept staring at me. Suddenly, she smirked and pointed outside the window.
"Hey, look over there!"
"Hm?"
I turned my head toward where she was pointing.
Slurp.
I immediately turned back—and caught her eating my noodles.
"I missed this taste so muchhhh."
"I thought you couldn't eat living-world food."
"Hmm, you're right. But I was fine just now. Maybe I can eat more?"
Aysel stood up and walked toward the food shelf. She tried to grab a snack.
Her hand passed through it.
She tried again. And again.
Nothing.
Eventually, she walked back to me, disappointed.
"I can't eat other food. That's not fair."
"You tried to steal it. That's not good."
"Hey! Excuse me. I just wanted to try, okay? But I was fine when I ate your noodles."
"Maybe you can only eat food that I've already tasted."
"Hmm… reasonable."
I smiled softly and continued eating.
Aysel suddenly walked back to the shelf.
"Hey. Buy me this."
I turned to see her pointing at an onigiri, making exaggerated puppy eyes.
"Pretty please?"
I sighed, grabbed one, and paid for it.
When I handed it to her—
It passed straight through her hand and fell to the floor.
She froze.
"I think… you need to eat it first."
I picked it up, unwrapped it, and took a big bite—almost half of it—before handing it back.
"Did you seriously just bite half of it?! That's not fair! You food thief!"
"I paid for it."
"But—hmph!"
She snatched it and started eating slowly, glaring at me between bites.
It felt like déjà vu.
After school, we used to stop by the convenience store almost every day. We'd buy instant noodles. I'd steal her food. She'd steal mine. We'd argue and laugh at the same time.
I blinked and returned to reality.
She was still eating, enjoying the onigiri like nothing had changed.
"Aysel."
"Hm? What? I'm not giving this back."
"It's not about that."
"Then what is it?"
I looked at her seriously.
"I promise. I'll find that person. I promise I'll help you rest in peace."
She stopped chewing and swallowed slowly. Then she looked at me and gave me a warm smile.
"Thank you."
"No matter what it costs… I promise. I'll avenge you."