Adam's POV
After Tommy left, I laid on the couch and closed my eyes, sighing. It had taken me a long time to get Tommy to calm down and to believe that there was no ghost in here. Which was a lie, of course. But what would he think if he knew the truth? That I lived with a ghost and spoke to –and with it- a lot. He'd probably want me to move away from here. And I didn't want to do that if it meant I'd need to leave my ghost friend behind.
I was pulled away from my thoughts as I felt smoke engulfing me. I didn't panic, though, because I knew it was just the ghost. I tried fanning the smoke away a bit, but all it did was fade away as it got too far from the ghost itself.
"Could you..? Uhh.. Take a step or two back, please?" I then asked, trying to be as polite as possible, but also trying not to breath in the smoke, since I didn't know what would happen if I did.
And the creature did as I said, moving back enough to free me from the smoke cloud. And then, it started materializing in front of me again, starting from face and moving down from there.
"So, your guest left..?" It then asked, sitting down to the floor next to the couch.
"Yeah. He did. Thankfully. It was a tough job to get him convinced that there's no ghost in this house. I knew it'd be risky to let him come here. Because of you." I said, probably sounding a bit angry, because the ghost's lines started to get blurry again.
"I'm sorry... ..I shouldn't have scared him..." The ghost said, it's voice sounding a bit distant, meaning it was going to vanish again.
"Hey.. It's okay. I'm not mad. Don't disappear, please. I want to ask you a question. Or two, actually." I said softly, reaching to take the ghost's hand. I felt the smooth, cold hand materialize even more under my touch and the ghost gasped, just like every time I touched it.
"Okay.. I'll stay.." It said, the blurry lines becoming clear again.
"Thank you. And now, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's your name?" I asked, finally voicing the question that had been in my mind ever since the moment I first met this creature.
"..Sauli.. My name is Sauli..." The creature said.
"Sauli?" I asked, pronouncing it wrong, since it sounded nothing like how the ghost had said it.
"Yes.." He answered, smiling a bit.
"Okay. Another question. What happened to you? I mean, how did you die..?"
Sauli went quiet for a long time. For so long, that I thought I wouldn't even get an answer. But eventually, after a long wait, I finally did get an answer.
"...I drowned.. Into a lake.. At winter.. It was so cold and... I just.. I couldn't.." He then said, looking down and only a while later, those same pearl-like waterdrops started falling to the floor, each rolling to whatever direction. I still didn't know what those things were and I wanted to find out.
And so, I gently reached to lift Sauli's chin a bit. He avoided my gaze as well as possible, but I still could see that he was crying. And that those pearls were his tears. Seeing him cry made me feel bad, since I was the one who asked him what happened to him. And that was clearly what had made him cry, so I was the one to blame, right?
I slowly got up from the couch, only to sit down to the floor next to the ghost. I gently wrapped my arms around him and held him close.
"I'm sorry.." I said softly. I really was sorry. I didn't know that ghosts could cry, but clearly it was possible. And since he seemed to have feelings too, it actually made sense.
I soon felt a pair of arms wrap around me softly and smoke partly surrounded me again, but this time, I let it be. I knew I couldn't suffocate to it, so why should I tell Sauli to move.
"It's okay.. Thank you..." He whispered, his voice sounding weak, yet still happy and relieved.
"For what?" I asked, confused now. What had I done to make him thank me?
"For making me tell you what happened to me.. I needed to do that to make the sadness start going away.. Touch that and you'll see what I mean.." Sauli said, his voice soft, as he pointed at one of those pearls that were his tears.
I did as I was told, and nothing happened. I felt the smooth, almost glassy surface of the tiny pearl under my finger, but it didn't disappear or explode or anything. It just was there, keeping it's round form.
"What happened..? What changed? Did I do something?" I asked, not understanding what caused this change.
"You helped me get rid of my sadness.. It has haunted me ever since I died.. And now I'm finally free and able to be happy again.." Sauli replied, sounding very, very thankful for what I did. And the smile on his face said it all as well.
"Okay..? You're welcome, I guess." I said and shrugged, but returned the smile anyway.
"I'm forever thankful for what you did.." He said, looking at me with nothing but happiness on his face.