Before long, we were back on the ferry heading across the bay. The glistening sky scrapers of Logan’s Reach were behind us and we were sailing back to the slummier part of town. We were on deck and Noah was leaning on the railing, staring out across the water.

I honestly didn’t know what I was supposed to say to him. I just couldn’t wrap my head around how parents could be that cold to their own child. They were parents, they were supposed to love you no matter what. That was, like, their job!

I had no experience of what Noah was feeling right now. I mean, my parents were frick’n epic. They loved me for years, even after their deaths. I know for a fact that they loved me, because they told me every single frick’n day. And it’s not like I didn’t screw up, I did so many times, but they never took their love away. I mean, they totally chewed me out for stuff, but they never made me feel like they couldn’t love me any more because of what I did.

Noah’s voice was muted, almost monotoned.

“My parents have always been like that. The only time they ever noticed I existed was when I had won some kind of award or competition, and if I couldn’t managed that, then I was as good as invisible.”

Noah stared across the water, but clearly didn’t see how beautiful the scenery was.

“My dad’s a professor at the university, my mom’s the director for Central Hospital, it was just expected that I would have to be smart.”

I nodded, not really knowing where this conversation was going.

“Oh?”

He sighed, sounding tired.

“Yeah . . . I couldn’t get into a university.”

Noah tried to smile and give a soft laugh, but that lighthearted mask quickly faded away and any trace of joy was drained from his face. He slumped down against the railing, and stared at his hands.

Sunlight bouncing off the water played in his fluffy hair, illuminating the cottony tangle from behind. Now that all the filth and grunge had been cleaned away, Noah’s hair was dazzlingly white, like freshly fallen snow. Noah had been gently smiling all morning long, since the moment he opened his eyes at the crime scene, but now all the light just seemed to be snuffed out of him. Why did I get the feeling that he was used to closing himself off from people?

“I seriously tried. I tried to get into everywhere. I spent a whole year studying for entrance exams. It’s not like I got bad grades in high school. It doesn’t make any sense why I kept getting rejected.”

Noah slowly raked his fingers through his fluffy hair. He’d clearly had this rant before.

I might have not known him for long, but gods I really hated seeing Noah like this. He was supposed to be happy and a little dopey, right? That’s how he’d been for hours. Even when he was told he was dead, he had been pretty positive about it.

Seeing the sadness and confusion playing across his face, there was something hauntingly familiar about the mixture.

Right, when I found Noah’s spirit, he was surrounded with that same blend of sad confusion. Was this what was troubling him? Had he not been disoriented because of his murder, but rather thinking about his parents?

Something about that really pissed me off. What kind of parents give their own child so much grief that the poor kid’s last thoughts as he’s about to drift off to heaven is feeling all miserable because of them? I mean, talk about shit parents.

“You know what? Those people can go screw themselves, you don’t need them!”

Noah looked at me with his shocked bunny eyes.

“W-what?”

I turned and shouted across the water at the cityscape drifting by.

“Yeah, Noah’s mom and dad, SCREW YOU!”

Noah was a little bug eyed now as he stared at me.

“K-Kari!”

He whipped his head all around, checking to see if anyone heard that.

I turned to him.

“Noah!”

“Y-yeah?”

“You’re coming home with me. You don’t need that old, shitty family any more. You’re my zombie, that means you’re part of my family now. And my family is awesome! There’s plenty of people there that will understand you an-and support you.”

I grabbed his hand still hanging over the railing, and squeezed it tight.

“And we will never leave you.”

I looked into his ruby eyes and tried to form my feeling into words.

“I told you that as long as I’m alive, than so are you, right?”

Noah, nodded.

“Well, that means that I will be by your side no matter what, to the very end.”

Noah didn’t say anything, but his expression was everything. All the sadness, the confusion, the loneliness that was clouding his eyes, it all broke apart and cleared away. A smile dawned on his face, shining as brilliantly as the morning sun cresting over the mountains.

I stared at that smile for a long moment, it was maybe the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

Dude, what was I even thinking?

I turned and leaned on the rail next to Noah, watching the waves drift by. The sunshine bounced off the water, and the buildings of the city were shining like they were made of polished silver, and you could hardly see any of the smog from where we were out on the bay. It really was a beautiful day.

Noah used his hand that wasn’t still holding onto mine to point out to the water.

“Hey, is that a dolphin?”

I looked to where Noah was pointing, and it did look a bit like a dorsal fin.

“Yeah, it might be.”

Knowing Mora Bay, it was probably just trash floating on the water, but it was fun to think it was something special.

After that we kept trying to spot interesting things on the water to point out. We leaned on the rail, side by side as we watched the ferry bounce from dock to dock, dropping off passengers along the way. Noah told me some silly little stories about him getting lost in the city a few times. Honestly he could have been saying anything, and I would have been happy. Noah had a way of gently talking, that was just so strangely soothing.

After a long while, we came back to the dock where we had started this fun little family trip, and Noah gave my hand a little tug.

“Uh, Kari? Isn’t this our stop?”

I tugged his hand back.

“Nope, we got one more.”

The ferry drifted farther and farther away from the city center. The shore that had been lined with parks, boardwalks, small beaches, and long esplanades slowly faded away to old and half derelict industrial buildings, shut down factories, and rusting warehouses. Our stop finally rolled up, the end of the line, Ferryman’s Wharf.

“Come on, this is us.”

I turned to head off the ferry, but noticed as I started to walk away that Noah’s hand was still attached to mine. He was keeping up with my pace along the boat deck, but that didn’t change the fact that Noah forgot to let go of me.

I looked down at our joined hands.

Uh, Noah . . . your hand.

I flattened my hand out and made sure none of my fingers were curled around his.

N-Noah, your hand. . . . Your hand.

I have my hand a little shake as I headed down the gang plank. Yeah, he still wasn’t letting go.

(sigh)

Okay. Noah had a shitty day, and he probably just needed a little extra emotional support right now, that’s all.