It lay on the table quietly.

He stared at it as if it was some kind of threatening monster, a ghost. But it lay there, so quiet, so still, as all things without life are supposed to be. So quiet. So dead. He could, he supposed, throw it away. And no one will know he had it. No one. Not even his father. Not even his brother. No one.

But he would know.

He took a swing at his beer, grimacing in disgust when he realized it was already empty. He remembered it had been empty fifteen minutes ago.

The clock ticked loudly at the corner.

He remembered the voice of his old Logic professor. It was a subject he had chosen two semesters ago. The old man had a near-inaudible voice that went droning: "In every given statement, it has been proven that it can only have one truth function. Can anyone tell me what these two choices are? What? What? Speak up, children! Ah, yes: true or false. I don't know why you can't answer such an easy answer. Don't scowl, boy."

There is only one truth function, he thought to himself, smiling grimly.

He stood and threw the empty beer can to the trash.

The envelope lay on the table, unopened.

*

The drive was a little long; their client was on the outskirts of the town. At the backseat, there was a loud crashing noise, and Kylie Griffin shouted, "Garrett, don't ruin the equipment!"

Garrett Miller's head popped out and he grinned. "Just checking if they're working," he assured them. "Besides, if these babies don't get a practiced crash from me, how do we know if they're functioning or not?"

Eduardo Rivera snickered at the philosophy and even Roland Jackson, who was at the wheel, had to smile. Kylie blew on a stray black hair over her eyes in frustration.

Garrett tapped on the metal arm of his wheelchair. "So...um. Who's the chick again?"

"Amanda Dornkirk," Roland answered.

"For the fifth time," Eduardo grumbled.

"Just making sure," Garrett assured again.

Kylie glared at him. "And so you won't ask again, Amanda Dornkirk has been having problems with poltergeists and unnatural aura that has been affecting her family." Garrett opened his mouth again but Kylie beat him: "And, for the love of God, DON'T ask anymore questions! Ask them when we get there, okay?"

Eduardo snickered again and the other boy sent him a menacing glare.

There was a temporary silence again. The wailing of the Ecto-1's siren ruled, and Roland looked around. They had entered a slightly rundown neighborhood. A child was screaming with the siren, and there were five children playing hopscotch at the middle of the street; they cleared out as the Ecto-1 slowed.

"I think we're here," Roland announced. He eased the car into a nicely built house's driveway before cutting the engine. Garrett was already unlocking the backdoor and was wheeling his wheelchair down the ramp. The other three trailed behind him, carrying equipment.

The door opened even before they reached it; a woman wearing a flowered dress and apron appeared. Her hair was a light brown and her face showed concern although she smiled. "The Ghostbusters?" she asked when they neared.

"Yes, Ma'am," Garrett said cheerfully. "I'm Garrett Miller and these are Kylie Griffin, Roland Jackson, and Eduardo Rivera."

"Amanda Dornkirk," the woman replied. She indicated to the insides of her house. "Please, come in."

They trooped inside, Garrett making use of the ramp that was installed at the side of the house. Amanda smiled as they gathered around her.

"Do you mind, Mrs. Dornkirk?" Roland asked, holding up the PKE meter.

Mrs. Dornkirk shook her head. "No, please. Go ahead." Roland held it up, and it immediately gave a faint sign. The boy frowned. "I can't seem to pinpoint it."

"How about the closet under the stairs?" Mrs. Dornkirk suggested. Roland blinked, then nodded, going to the direction where she led. She opened the said closet, and when Roland stepped inside, the meter began to give solid sound of information.

"How did you pinpoint the location?" Kylie asked curiously.

Mrs. Dornkirk seemed surprised at the question, then gave a small shrug. "Well, you see, the 'ghost' seemed to have a particular liking to my sons. We just moved here. It was my sons who actually pinpointed it first. They keep their toys here--" She indicated to the small box at the corner of the closet "--and they told me they didn't like going in here."

"Have there been any other attacks?" Eduardo asked.

Mrs. Dornkirk speculated before finally answering, "Nothing serious. Joshua, one of my sons, said he saw a woman sitting in the kitchen once, but when he looked again, she was gone. He refused to give me a clear description, though."

"Where are your kids?" it was Garrett's turn to ask.

"Upstairs, sleeping." Amanda Dornkirk fiddled with her hands again. "So...?"

"Class three," Roland said. He stepped out of the closet and let Kylie and Eduardo enter, checking the insides. "You're right. It must likely be a poltergeist. You say there's been no damage?"

"None at all. Just aura, feelings--" Mrs. Dornkirk shrugged again.

While Kylie felt the wall of the small closet, Eduardo leaned closer to the box of toys. He heard a slight squeak and looked down. It was a squeezable toy, and he shifted so that he could pick it up, grinning.

"Unh," Kylie grunted when he bumped to her when he was straightening. "Found something?"

"I used to have this when I was a kid," Eduardo explained, squeezing the toy. It made a small protesting sound.

Kylie rolled her eyes and stepped out.

Eduardo threw it back to the box and followed her. Garrett poked his head inside and quickly turned away, closing the door behind him. "I guess it's nothing major," he muttered.

"Yeah," Eduardo agreed. "Routine check-up." He gave a slight yawn. "Nothing worth our time."

"Hey," Kylie reprimanded sharply, "you never know."

"Yeah, Eddy," Garrett said, mimicking Kylie's voice, "you never know!" He and Eduardo sniggered. Kylie threw up her hands and stood beside Roland, who was interviewing Mrs. Dornkirk.

"I just wanted this checked out," Mrs. Dornkirk explained, a little quietly. "And confirmed. We got this house for a low price because of its reputation of being haunted. The last owners said nothing really happened. And if anything damaging happens, or if anything starts flying, I'll call again?"

"That would be the best," Roland replied. He was frowning slightly. "I really don't understand it. Usually, when finally detected by the PKE meter, the ghost finally materializes. Why it didn't is beyond me."

Mrs. Dornkirk shrugged again and turned to the others, slightly bowing her head in gratitude. "Thank you very much. How much does this cost?"

"We'll send you the bill," Garret replied, waving a hand. He was the most business-oriented among the four. "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you." Her head dipped again slightly.

"Mommy."

Everyone turned to the sound of the voice that came from the top of the stairs. A young boy, about seven years old, stood there, owlishly blinking at them. His dark brown hair was messy and stood in different positions. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Mommy," he said, "who are these people?"

"Go back to sleep, Joshua," Mrs. Dornkirk told him sharply.

Joshua stared at the four figures closely. "Is one of them going to become my little brother?" he asked.

The four Ghostbusters blinked in confusion.

"No, honey," Mrs. Dornkirk replied gently. "Go back to sleep."

The little boy cast them a final glance before finally going back to the second floor.

Mrs. Dornkirk gave them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. Joshua...he always wanted a little brother. He fancies himself to be the middle child."

They smiled back.

"Well then," Roland went on, straightening and transferring his hold on the PKE meter. "Please just contact us when you have other complaints."

"Yes, I most certainly will," the woman replied, smiling broadly. She shook his hand, and smiled at them all. "Thank you for your time."

The four trooped out of the house back to the Ecto-1.

Eduardo let Kylie in first, to be squished between him and Roland. He turned, giving a final look at Amanda Dornkirk, who stood at the doorway, watching them with a small, trouble glance. A slight movement caught his eye and he looked up the window.

A face peered behind the curtains. But it was gone when he blinked.

You can always come back, a voice whispered in his head.

He shook his head and sat himself beside Kylie. And closed the door with a slam.

*

You.

*

He woke with the tangy taste of beer in his mouth. His ears rang as if he had been listening to someone shouting before he woke up. Briefly, he wondered how lead felt like, if when people used the term "his body felt like lead", if they had been lead, if they had somehow been something else.

"Always symbolized as p or ~p. A conclusion becomes invalid when one of the premise is already invalid."

He had fallen asleep on the couch; his back was stiff and sore, and his head was pounding. He sat up and buried his face in his hands, groaning softly.

"There are no validities," he whispered to himself.

The letter was still on the table, unopened.

*

Classes were uneventful. Eduardo Rivera usually sat at the back and was always the first one out of the room. He had no classes with any of his friends and he kept them that way. He didn't want them to know all his activities, and he usually never cared for any of them.

He listlessly opened his notes and listened, scribbling notes now and then. When he arrived at the privacy of his apartment, he would outline them, copy them neatly, write his theories for problems, and tuck them at the back of his notes where no one would think of looking.

When the bell rang, he stood and stuffed his notes in his backpack. Someone jostled him from behind and he ignored the muffled shouts of his schoolmates. It was his last class and he didn't feel like going back to his apartment. Kevin, his nephew, would undoubtedly encourage him to play Suikoden 2 again, and though he loved the kid, he couldn't bear undergoing the same game's betrayal of the friend again. The game had put him through a sleepless night.

So he went to pull his bike from the rack and began to pedal around, avoiding the heavy traffic. The loud horns sounded so far away, and he supposed he knew where he was going if he only looked at the street signs.

It was only when he saw the building, the apartments, that he realized he did know, and he didn't mind in the very least.

She stood by the open door, as if she knew he was coming. Maybe she did, because she smiled and said, "Hello, Eduardo. Park your bike at the side; no one will steal it."

Eduardo did as he was told, smiling a genuine smile. He didn't know why. "Sure thing, Mrs. Dornkirk."

"Call me Amanda, dear."

*

She always smiled, he remembered.

Even when she was sad, she smiled.

He could remember, though, many times when she had been sad. He could remember, touching her hand and wanting to comfort her. But she always smiled, even when she was sad. His brother...his brother was always crying.

"It will be okay," she would whisper to both of them.

And he would fall asleep in her embrace.

*

Egon Spengler was carefully stacking books into five neat piles before turning to answer Roland's question. "Yes, he was here. He only stayed a few minutes, though. Why?" The scientist turned away just as one pile began to wobble.

Roland reached out to catch them just in time and shoved them neatly into one corner. "Nothing, really. It's just that Garrett has this way of disappearing when it's his turn to clean the equipment," he grumbled.

Egon chuckled. He abandoned his stack and went to the corkboard where he had pinned a note to himself: Tuesday -- ex7505a type, lower right yellow. He frowned and went to the refrigerator at the corner, pulling out a bright yellow Tupperware from the lower right, labeled EX7505A. Only then did he turn back to Roland. "Why not have Kylie do it with you? Or Eduardo? He is here, right?"

"Yeah..." Roland watched as the scientist mechanically put on latex gloves and peeled the cover away. "But Kylie's in the library doing research and the only one left is Eduardo. And Eduardo--"

"--would hardly thank you for requesting him for such tedious work," Egon finished.

"Right."

"What?" As if on cue, Eduardo appeared at the doorway, blinking. "What wouldn't I thank you for?"

"Nothing," Roland replied quickly, which was overlapped by Egon's answer, "For cleaning the equipment."

"Oh." Eduardo shifted his backpack slightly, frowning. "Well I was kinda...going out..."

"That's alright," Roland told him. "I'll do it."

Eduardo flashed him a smile. "'Kay, thanks." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before disappearing from the doorway.

Egon and Roland turned to each other, and the scientist seemed to smile. "Well, Roland, I suppose the proton packs are waiting for you?"

The boy sighed, nodded, and walked out of the small lab to leave Egon to his research. He grabbed a cloth and the special cleaning facilities before trooping to the closet where the proton packs were being kept. He was getting them out one by one when he heard a set of footsteps behind him. He turned, blinking in surprise. "Oh...Eduardo?"

Eduardo was standing there, scuffling his feet. His backpack was still hanging from one shoulder. "I'll help you," he said uncomfortably.

Roland had to smile, then laugh. "You look like it's the end of the world."

Eduardo didn't answer, but he took one proton pack from Roland's arm and carefully settled it on the floor. The worked quietly and meticulously for some time. Eduardo kept his eyes on his work. Roland kept sneaking questioning glances at him before finally throwing the rag to the floor and blurting out, "Alright, what's wrong?"

Eduardo looked up. "Huh?"

"You didn't have to come back if you didn't want to," Roland pointed out. "What's wrong?"

"Nada," Eduardo informed him, slightly grinning. "Is it wrong that I finally realized that I've been skipping cleaning with Garrett for some time now?"

"It just seems too wrong," Roland muttered, retrieving his rag.

Eduardo cocked his head. "Does it seem to weird that I want to do this for a change?" He laughed. "Believe me, with the other choice, it's actually better."

"And what was the other choice?"

Eduardo looked down at the proton pack. It glistened in his hands. He wondered what kind of ghoul it would soon immobilize, if it was going to be a spirit of the dead, a deity, or just a fragment of memory left behind, so strong it could engulf a person whole.

"Eduardo? What was the other choice?"

"Staring at the ceiling," Eduardo whispered before he could help himself.

To that, Roland had no reply.

*

Kevin came to his apartment that night. He knew it was Kevin because the knocks were accompanied by small taps of the baseball bat. As he expected, his ten-year-old voice called out, "Uncle Eduardo! Mom told me to tell you there's chocolate mousse in the house." Silence, then another shout: "Uncle Eduardo! Dad and me'll eat it all up!"

He forced his eyes to open. Cracks at the ceiling stared down at him and he quickly looked away before it felt like they were enclosing towards him. With slow movements, and added rapping on his door, he made his way to the door, opening it before Kevin broke it down.

His ten-year-old nephew gave him a wide smile, putting down his bat. "You better hurry up or Dad'll come home soon," he told his sleepy uncle. "And then there'll be no more chocolate mousse for you."

Eduardo had to smile. He could never be angry with his nephew. "Think I'll pass for now, Kev," he replied, leaning on he doorway, fighting the drowsiness that was overcoming him. "I'm not up for anything. I feel like shit."

"You look like shit," Kevin agreed.

"Watch your language," Eduardo responded, rubbing his head. "Your mom'll kill ya if she hears those things comin' out of your mouth." He frowned, realizing his language. He was slurring and his usually flawless English language was suddenly thickened by his Mexican accent.

But Kevin didn't seem to notice. "She won't mind if I told her I got it from you." He snickered and made his way down he garage quickly before Eduardo could respond.

Eduardo gave a slight chuckle before closing the door. The kid was turning out to become more like him everyday. Not that he anted that. It wasn't that Eduardo didn't like his brother Carlo--Carl. It was just that...Carl had different ideas than Eduardo.

He lay back on the sofa, clenching his fists, throwing an arm over his eyes, trying to fight the anger that engulfed him whenever he thought of all he and Carl had been through. It wasn't Carl's fault, he thought, biting his lip. It was never Carl's fault at all.

Brown hair falling with wisps over his face and he breathed her scent all over again. He knew it was only a memory but he didn't mind. After all, what would he have if he didn't have these? The Carlo he respected the most was gone, leaving him only a memory, leaving him Carl. And Carl wasn't the one he wanted.

You can come back, a silent voice seemed to whisper out of nowhere. Come back--

He breathed her scent--

--and touched her hair--

--and he sat up with a startled gasp, wondering why the hell he had remembered someone else.

Maybe he shouldn't have passed up the chocolate mousse after all.

*

He was stumbling over his words but they didn't mind. Letter after letter, sound after sound poured out of his mouth and he stopped only to breath; even then, he regretted those brief periods. She would nod and watch him, listening, smiling now and then. Her figure never stayed at one place; she always had something to do, the cooking, cutting the vegetables, such. But he didn't mind. He felt comforted by those small actions.

It seemed he never ran out of words. It felt like a dream, telling her all about it, everything. Finally, he took a deep breath and realized there was nothing more to say. He stopped, looking down at the table here he sat. The pattern of the tablecloth seemed to interest him. He felt awkward.

"Eduardo," she said.

He looked up, knowing he was blushing. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I didn't mean to talk too much."

But Amanda only smiled. "I don't mind, really. I would rather listen, you know." She stirred a brew on the stove and looked thoughtful. "Why haven't you talked to anybody else about it?"

"Why would they listen?" Eduardo asked, frowning.

Amanda looked at him. "But I listened," she replied, smiling softly. "And I understood."

"You're different," he protested.

Amanda pushed back one curl behind her ear, folded her hands on her apron, smiled at him. The light from the fluorescent illumined her brown hair and gave her eyes a beautiful gold tinge. "And why is that?" she asked him pleasantly.

"Because--"

Because--

*

A small but heavy figure fell over Eduardo and the moment was over. Amanda laughed and returned to her cooking. Small arms hugged his neck from behind and he felt a body press into him. "Hey, Eduardo, you wanna play?" Asher asked excitedly.

Eduardo laughed. "We always play when we're here." He looked around. "Where's Joshua?"

"Upstairs," the eldest of the two brothers replied, grinning. "We were waitin' for you to show us how to handle that homework."

Eduardo glanced at Amanda, but she had returned to cooking. He turned to Asher again. He was ten, his hair cropped and painted into a dusty brown, a darker shade than his mother's. He had to smile at him. He remembered Carlo. "Sure," he told him, grinning. "I'll just follow ya, okay?"

"Eduardo!" a voice came from behind Asher and scowled up at him. "We were waiting!"

"I was coming upstairs, Joshua," the Spanish boy reassured. "I was just giving your mom a little talk, y'know..."

"She's your Mom, too!" Joshua insisted. "You can call her Mom."

There was a stark silence as Asher and Joshua stared at him intently and Eduardo turned to look at Amanda's face. Her smile had turned to a radiant glow and she brushed a lock of hair that curled on her forehead away.

And she spoke, "Eduardo, why don't you take the children upstairs? They seem to love you."

"Y-yes." Eduardo tore his gaze away to smile down at the other two. They half-dragged him up the stairs, taking him to Asher's room where they settled on the floor, barraging him with questions that he answered with ease.

Asher's pencil scratched on the paper as he answered what was supposed to be his homework. But the lead drew squiggly faces across the whiteness. He looked up at Eduardo, propping one elbow under his jaw. "Hey, Eduardo, why don't you come live with us?"

Eduardo grinned. "I have my own place, Asher. I live with my brother and my nephew who's about your age, and his mom."

"Are you happy there?" Asher continued curiously. His eyes were drawn down and he frowned at his doodles.

There was a lump in Eduardo's throat but he didn't know why. "Yes, I am."

"You're lying," came Joshua's blunt accusation. But his eyes were soft as if he understood. "You're not happy there, aren't you?"

Eduardo forced a grin into his face before his shocked expression gave him away. "We-ell, I do like it here. And, you know, if I could change things, I would have you as my brothers and your mom as my own mom." His voice turned wistful. "But we can't change things."

"Things can be different if you want it to," Joshua insisted.

Asher tugged at his hand. "You can come with us. You can become our brother and Mom can adopt you!" He sounded excited.

"Listen," Eduardo tried to explain, "I'm eighteen years old. I don't need anyone to adopt me because I can live on my own."

"But you're always alone," Joshua told him quietly.

"Always alone," Asher agreed.

Their eyes locked at his and held, and Eduardo found himself slipping, losing ground, losing time, and he found himself feeling the rush of something so warm that he could only embrace it because it didn't frighten him.

But there was another voice in his mind. He shook his head to break the daydream and he smiled again, his old smile. "Amanda won't want me around," he teased. "I can be pretty stupid if I'm left on my own."

"A child can be stupid," Asher replied easily.

Eduardo was taken aback and opened his mouth to answer, but Amanda's voice drifted from downstairs, calling them for supper.

*

"I'm taking the basement," Eduardo announced.

"Good idea, Eddy, I'll come with you," Garrett replied, shifting his proton pack from behind his back and wheeling himself beside Eduardo.

Eduardo smirked. "You'll probably scream y'rself loco when you get there."

"The dark does not scare me," Garrett replied hotly.

"Alright, you two, break it up," Kylie interrupted, frowning. "You take the elevator to the basement, then to the second basement. Radio us if anything happens. I'm going to patrol with Roland at the third floor. Maybe we can get something there." With a sharp turn, she walked away.

Roland handed them an extra PKE meter. "Try not to get lost, huh, guys?"

"That's gonna be hard with Eddy's magnificent lack of sense of direction," Garrett muttered under his breath.

"I don't get lost as much as you do, junkie," Eduardo snapped back.

Roland rolled his eyes and followed Kylie without another word. Eduardo and Garrett waited for the elevator braces to open before stepping inside and pressing the basement button. The short ride was spent in silence, and as soon as the metal braces pushed itself up, they stepped out.

Garrett held out the PKE meter. "Nothing yet."

"I know that." Eduardo clutched the proton blaster and looked around. "What was it supposed to look like again?"

"Guy with two heads, walking around like zombies," Garrett replied distractedly, turning to one direction. Eduardo hurried to follow him. "Been haunting this area for years and no one knew until they began to build the third basement."

"Basements should only be one," Eduardo muttered. He took a deep breath, scowling as an unfamiliar fowl stench engulfed his nose. He pinched it. "Like truth functions."

"Got Logic, too, huh?" Garrett's eyes never let the screen. "Who was your teacher?"

"Armado."

"Huh. I took it last sem and it was Vlad. The class was so damn unhappy. I think only one passed the fucking course." He stopped, looked around, and chose a direction. Eduardo stood beside him, also looking.

"What'd ya do?"

"Dropped it." Garrett smirked. "I hope you're not insulting my brain by commenting it was easy."

"I never understood a word," Eduardo assured him. He looked away. "The fucking logic drained half of my brain."

"Fig'res," Garrett replied. "Yours is--wait. I'm getting a reading." He frowned as it winked out then appeared on screen again. "There it is!" He rushed towards the direction the signal was strongest and pushed his wheelchair forward, dropping the PKE meter on his lap and pulling out his proton blaster

Eduardo blinked before sprinting beside him, pulling out his transmitter. "Kylie, Roland, section 9 B1!" He snapped off at the sound of static and clipped it to his belt. He looked around. Garrett was blatantly pursuing the shadows. "Garrett, wait!"

"It's here, I saw it!" Garrett called out excitedly.

From the radio, Kylie's voice was saying, "We're on our way."

Eduardo skidded to a stop beside Garrett, who had also halted before the cement wall. The boy was scowling. "I saw something," he insisted.

Eduardo charged his proton pack. "Whatever." He looked around. There were two separate pathways, going to the left and right. He turned to Garrett. "You--"

"I'm taking the right," Garrett interrupted, already maneuvering his wheelchair away from him. "You take the left."

"Your transmitter?" Eduardo asked.

Garrett waved it above his head and disappeared through the dark hall. Eduardo sighed and turned to the left.

*

He thought his eyesight was blurring and he stopped, but he couldn't be entirely sure because it was almost dark. He brought his transmitter and said, "I'm going ahead."

There was a hiss then Kylie's voice: "Asshole, don't you dare!"

Eduardo smirked. "I just did."

Silence, then Kylie's voice again, more frustrated: "Fuck you." He clipped the transmitter again to his belt as the voice continued: "Roland and I are on our way. The door's just stuck and the elevator's broken."

"Better go with Garrett then," Eduardo muttered to himself. "Maybe he'll appreciate the company, with that big mouth of his." He moved on forward.

There was a somewhat sticky liquid beneath his feat and he fumbled at his pocket for a flashlight, hesitated, and didn't look down. He didn't want to see what it was. Instead, he pushed on ahead, stopping now and then to avoid slipping. He groped at the walls, immediately twitched back when he discovered it was covered with slightly rumpled and furry things.

"Are you here?" he whispered to the darkness. His heart was pounding and he liked it. The exhilaration embraced him and he grinned. "Come out, zombie, come out."

There was no answer, but then came the faint sound and he stopped.

Was it his own...?

Breathing. In and out. Softly, hesitantly. It was as if whatever lived at the end suddenly came to life and gasped oxygen into its lungs.

He pulled the transmitter out of his belt and pressed it close to his mouth. "I think I found it," he mumbled.

The answer was only static, then silence.

He paused; unsure whether to go back and tell the others, wait exactly there, or go on.

Breathing.

He bit his lip, took a deep breath, and continued.

*

There was darkness around him. Garrett squinted and held out his flashlight, grimacing in disgust when he discovered the swarm of spiders that manifested at the walls, scurrying away to avoid the light. He clenched his proton blaster.

This fucking company is SO going to owe us, he thought angrily.

Carefully, he pushed on, careful not to disturb the light that was on his lap as he used one hand to maneuver his wheelchair. His eyes darted around the small space, almost nervously. He didn't like enclosed places. But he shook his head and went on.

Then, he saw his beam of light hit the far-off wall and he sighed. A dead end. Maybe Eduardo got a better chance, he thought.

There was static, then Kylie's voice came from the transmitter: "Garrett? Eduardo?"

Garrett rolled his eyes. He had heard Kylie and Eduardo's bantering a while ago and he had smiled, amused. He didn't answer, daring Eduardo to answer the girl himself.

"Garrett? Eduardo? Any of you? Answer me, dammit!" Kylie sounded frustrated.

Garrett looked around, trying to figure out why the tunnel was there.

"Garrett, Eduardo." That was Roland's voice.

Garrett frowned and finally picked up the transmitter from his belt. "Yeah."

"You goddamn bastard!" Kylie shouted before composing herself and going on, "Roland and I are coming with you. Where're you?"

"Where are you?"

"At basement one."

"At the edge of section 10, there're these two tunnels. Eduardo and I split up and I'm at the right, him at the left. Haven't found anything, though and I--GYAAH!" He instinctively dropped the transmitter. It fell on the cement with a loud CLUNK, followed by Kylie's scream: "GARRETT!"

Garrett quickly grabbed the proton blaster and aimed it at the two faces that loomed over him. A long arm swung dazedly towards him and he closed his eyes and quickly pressed--

There was a slight sound of protons charging, gathering, and blasting in a second. Sharp rays emitted from his weapon to direct and spread all over the Yin-and-Yang monster, which was what Egon had called it, and trapped. The zombie howled a cry that sounded so bad.

Garrett couldn't help but grin. "Gotcha!" he crowed, but it was captured by a sinking feeling. One person alone cannot hold the zombie for long, and he had not brought a trap with him.

There were few seconds as the zombie appeared stunned, but it began to fight back, stepping closer to him, closer, closer. Every step seemed to shake the walls and Garrett could not even back down because he holding the blaster too tightly--

"Garrett!" came a gasp from behind the zombie and Garrett's brain barely registered the name Roland before another proton charged ray blasted towards its direction. Another howl came and Kylie shouted, "I've got it!"

Garrett caught a slight movement at his right and, almost simultaneously, he shouted at Roland: "On three!"

"THREE!" they yelled together.

Immediately, they brought the Yin-and-Yang towards the direction of the trap. It fought once more, giving a scream as if it sensed its doom, but the trap opened almost automatically and began to be sucked by the trap. There was a sharp blast of light and it swirled, emitting another scream, before the trap shut down with a hiss.

The three gave a second to collect their thoughts before Kylie walked over and grabbed the trap, slinging it at her back. She looked around and frowned. "Garrett, where's Eduardo?"

Garrett met her eyes and said seriously, "Maybe he's dead."

It was answered with two angry scowls.

*

He was met by the sound of sobbing and he felt his heart constrict. His heart stopped. He knew that sound.

He looked around and caught a light twitch from under the bed. He neared it, almost as if in a trance. I know you. He knelt down and pressed his body against the floor, willing the lump in his throat to disappear without the slightest know how.

A little boy was crying under the bed.

You should stop, he thought. It was with a feeling of detachment. Or Carlo would hear you and think you're a coward. He never cries, and you should be like him.

As if he heard him, the boy stopped crying, sniffing only now and then.

And then, there were light footsteps and he looked up. He gave a startled gasp at what he saw. No, he was not really surprised to see her. He should, if he knew this was a memory. But it was the depth of emotion in her eyes that made him.

"Son," she said softly. "Did he hurt you again?"

"No, Mommy," the boy replied, sniffling.

There was a silence as the woman knelt before the bed, peering inside. Eduardo could see the bruises on her arms and her neck. She looked sad but she smiled. She always smiled. "You can always tell Mommy."

"He hurt Carlo, too," the boy replied. "And Carlo's not crying."

"Come here, baby," she said.

Slowly, so slowly, the boy crawled out of the bed and into her arms. The woman looked at the door where a figure hovered and beckoned. Carlo fell into her embrace and she began to rock them, tears in her eyes as her two sons buried their faces in her skirt, her shoulder, like little babies.

"Oh, my children," she sobbed, and she cried with them.

Eduardo stared at them, feeling the curling anger. Little Carlo wept. Little Eduardo wept. And their mother, their mother, was weeping.

He did not want to see this.

Because he hated his father and hated his mother. His father who drank too much, came home late, and still had the strength to shove his mother and his brother and him around. His mother--

His mother--

His--

*

"Eduardo."

Eduardo blinked and realized with a start that he was standing in the tunnel. He turned around slowly, staring blankly at the three figures that each held a flashlight, trained into his face. He squinted and blinked.

"Is it over?" he asked, almost nonchalantly.

"Yes," Kylie answered simply.

"What were you doin' here, man?" Garrett demanded. "Sleeping?"

Eduardo looked around. There was a dead end. He looked down at his shoes and discovered the soles were covered with thick oil. The walls were infested with spiders and other furry insects.

"Eduardo," came Roland's voice.

Eduardo shook his head. He felt tired, and he needed to see Amanda. His voice coiling with his thick Spanish accent, he said, "Let's go home."

The three exchanged glances as he pushed through them.

*

"I stood there and I saw her again. And I hated every moment of it. I hate her. I hate her."

Amanda stood at the kitchen counter, chopping cabbages for the evening meal.

"It was as if she had come back for me, for Carlo. She told us then that she loved us, and that she was willing to give up everything. But she's just a bitch, like everyone else, and she left us alone. And the beatings never stopped until Carlo was old enough to know about human rights and threatened him. Carlo was good with muscles, and he worked out. And Papa became afraid of him, so he'd beat me instead. But Carlo didn't want it, and he tried to protect me, so Papa never came home. I became such a liability to Carlo, and I think he hated it because I came to depend on him for everything." Eduardo stopped, then went on:

"But. But I really loved Carlo. He was my whole world after...after Mom went away. Even though he became rougher and became distant, he was still there. I think he followed Papa's footsteps into becoming a policeman to ensure no other kids will become like us...like him. But I was too soft, and I couldn't do anything to protect myself, and I think he hated that. I hated that, too."

There was a pause, then he went on: "Mama left for this Italian guy and I don't blame her, really. Except. Except...she promised she'd come with us forever and--" He choked and stopped, looking down at the table, at the sandwich on the plate with only one bite.

"Do you really hate your mother, Eduardo?" came Amanda's soft voice.

"Yes," Eduardo whispered. He fought back his tears. "Yes, I hate her so much."

There were light footsteps and arms surrounded him, and he felt Amanda embrace him as she would embrace her two sons. He choked back a sob.

"You don't have to be strong," she told him quietly. "You can hate her."

Her voice had a soothing effect to him, and it released his tears, and he was clutching her apron, her skirt, pressing his face at her stomach, emptying his tears, crying as if he had never cried his entire life. Sobs racked his body and he pressed closer, almost ashamed, but not willing to let go of the arms that embraced him.

And then came the words that seemed to fill him with warmth. Amanda's voice...Amanda's voice...was it Amanda's voice? No...no, it was his mother's...

"I'll be your mother, if you let me."

*

The letter.

Lay.

On the table.

Still.

So still.

Never fluttered.

On the table.

Unopened.

Unread.

Still.

*

Eduardo woke with a sense of contentment, and he found two pairs of eyes staring down at him. "Are you our new brother?" Asher asked him in awe.

Eduardo gave a smile. These would be his two older brothers. "Yes," he whispered.

Joshua and Asher curled at his side and slept.

*

Janine Melnitz felt like she was being harassed by time. She egged on Garrett for eating beside her desk and dropping ice-cream on the papers. She snapped at Kylie when she accidentally stepped on one of her reports. She shouted at Roland when he asked her what time it was. She threw things at Slimer who came to settle beside her, dripping slime.

"Janine angry?" Slimer asked meekly.

"OUT!" she screamed.

Slimer quickly fled.

Roland poked his head into her office. She glared at him again. "Do you want to know what time it is again?" she seethed.

But the boy only held out a box. "Peace offering?"

She glared at him, then her eyes softened. She sighed and offered him a chair. "Sorry for being such a bitch. C'mon."

Roland accepted the gesture and began to unpack the food he brought as the woman cleared some space on her desk. Janine sighed and took the burger he offered. "Better leave some for Slimer. I'm afraid I gave him quite a scare."

"The only people who've managed to get out of your way are actually Egon and Eduardo," he admitted. "And Eduardo's not here."

"He hasn't been here lately, hasn't he?" Janine mused. She unwrapped the burger and took a bite. "Oh, well, I suppose there're a lot to do in college." She gave a slight chuckle." Although I can't quite remember how long it's been since I was in your shoes." She shook her head again and pushed a lock of red hair away from her face. She sighed again. "I'm really sorry for snapping at all of you."

"It's okay," Roland assured her. "We all have our days. We're sorry we got into your way."

She waved her hand in a form of acceptance and began to tidy a stack of receipts. "I was trying to file some of the clients' names into a neat order but I'm afraid I've been lax lately and there are still some clients not billed for the jobs." She sighed again. "There are even some who're one month behind in their payment." She gestured at the list.

Roland quietly took it and saw the hastily checked and scratched-out names. The Reginald Offices, where the Yin-and-Yang had struck, was billed, but there were some minor houses whose payments were not that big that was still unmarked. He guessed those were the places that have not received the bill.

His eyes ran across the names, smiling now and then at the memories.

And he ran across something that tugged in his mind. "Amanda Dornkirk," he murmured.

Janine wiped mayonnaise from the edge of her lips. "Who? Oh, her. Yeah, she still hasn't been billed." She leaned forward. "Class 3, huh?"

"Yeah..." Roland blinked. "She had a helluva nice house in the downtown suburbs. Considering it's one of the sleazy-like part of the town." He handed her the folder.

"What was the ghost?" she asked. "Did you trap it?"

"Nah. Just some check-up. It didn't materialize and Mrs. Dornkirk was acting all nice about it." He frowned, recalling the scene. Somehow, it struck him odd now, remembering her almost motherly gesture, and the way the child Joshua had uttered the words: "Is one of them going to become our little brother?"

He chewed his lips. Roland never resulted to gut-feelings; he left that to Garrett. But the gnawing suspicion was there, and he couldn't sit still and not do anything about it.

"Janine?"

"Mmp?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

Janine grinned and held up the almost-finished burger. "In exchange for this? Sure!"

"Hold on to these files and don't bill Dornkirk yet. I think we're not finished."

*

It was Kevin who answered the phone.

"He's not there," he told Kylie solemnly. "Mom's even getting worried and Dad's already a little angry. He hasn't come back for a week now."

"Oh," Kylie replied, a little startled. "Are you sure?"

"Yup," Kevin replied. "I'm sure. We scheduled our time for playing Biohazard and he never misses those. It must be some important schoolwork or something--or else he would've told us."

Kylie had to smile at the boy's unfailing faith in his uncle. "Can you tell him to call Egon Spengler as soon as he comes back?"

"Sure!" Kevin chirped brightly. "Is it another mission?"

"No, but we really need to see him again, okay?"

"No prob." At Kevin's voice, Kylie would not be surprised if he was grinning. "See ya, Kylie!"

"Say hi to your Mom." She put down the receiver and turned to Garrett and Roland. "He's not there yet. Maybe we should leave without him."

"Anyway," Roland assured them as they walked to the Ecto-1, "it's not really a ghost-busting. We're just going to re-investigate the class 3 ghost."

"And maybe kick some ghoul-ass on the way," Garrett added, entering the Ecto-1.

The doors slam shut in a few minutes, the Ecto-1 was off speeding through the streets of New York.

*

It was dark.

He wondered belatedly why there were no cracks on the ceiling. He wondered why the sound of his two voices arguing over a toy seemed more unlikely than waking up to the sound of the banging on the door, a voice calling for him to play Suikoden or Biohazard again, the voice of--

He squinted up at the ceiling.

Whose voice?

Then, faces appeared before him and Asher looked down at him and he found himself blinking up at him.

"Hey, Eddy," he said, looking worried, "Mom was worried about you. You took that fall really rough."

"I didn't really mean to push you," Joshua told him solemnly. "It was Asher's fault."

Eddy smiled at his two older brothers and sat up from his bed. His short legs felt better now and his headache was gone. Ceiling cracks and the voice disappeared from his mind. "I'm okay now, don't worry. Where's Mom?"

"Downstairs." Asher grinned. "Let's see if we can bother her."

"Last one down is a rotten egg!" Joshua cried.

There was a flurry of sound as their short legs thundered down the stairs and into the dining room where they quickly jumped over their mother.

"Oof!" came Amanda's voice as she was buried beneath the pile of her three sons.

"I won!" Asher declared.

Eddy scowled. "No fair," he protested.

"You're older," Joshua joined in.

"And taller!" Eddy added.

Asher stuck out his tongue at them.

Amanda Dornkirk laughed at them and quickly gathered them in her arms. She smiled at Eddy. "Welcome back, Eddy, does your head hurt?"

Eddy shook his head and grinned. "No. But thanks for taking care of me, Mama."

"You're welcome, son." She placed a kiss on his forehead and Eddy found himself smiling for no reason at all.

*

"The Dornkirk?" The old man scowled. "What is that, Irish? Nope, nobody lived in that house for a long time."

"But it looks furnished," Kylie observed, looking across the road.

The old man, Mr. Samson, sighed. "The caretaker's been keeping it furnished just in case someone interested comes along to buy it but so far, no one has." He squinted at the house across the street. "There are strange rumors about that house. People sometimes hear children crying in there, or laughing. But whenever they knock on the door, they stop. Once, they forced the door open but no one was there."

"But. But--" Garrett stammered, looking pale, "we entered that house. We even checked it inside! We went into the closet under the stairs!"

Mr. Samson shook his head. "Look, I'm just telling you what I know. Nobody's been in that house for a long time, and you can ask Mrs. Thelma Parcius. She's just two blocks away from here and she's the caretaker."

"Okay," Roland replied weakly. He shook the man's hand and nodded. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Samson."

"Just stay away from that house," the old man told them. "It has an evil vibe." He retreated inside his house and closed the door.

There was silence as the three trudged across the road.

Roland was at the porch, knocking at the door. It created a hollow sound. There was no signs of life inside.

"I can't believe it," Kylie said, shaking her head. "It was about a month ago, right? We came here, right?"

"Yeah," Garrett said thoughtfully. "We came here. But there was Amanda Dornkirk. And her son Joshua, and her other son who was upstairs. And there was something cooking on the stove."

Roland pounded louder. "Maybe Mr. Samson just made a mistake." They waited a bit before Roland sighed. "Look, we'll go to Mrs. Parcius and ask her. We'll come back tomorrow when we've brought the equipment and snoop around."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Garrett agreed. He looked around and shuddered. "I hate to admit this, but this house gives me the creeps."

Kylie gave him a sharp glance. Garrett never said that before. It must be serious.

They trooped inside the Ecto-1 once more.

The trip to Mrs. Parcius's house took longer than expected; many people did not know where she lived. Finally, they arrived three blocks away and stopped the car across the street to a cheap apartment building.

After a brief conversation through the intercom, they were invited upstairs to the apartment of Mrs. Thelma Parcius. The woman, a worn-out lady, greeted them. She looked no younger than forty. "What is it about the house?"

"We were sent there to investigate, Ma'am," Roland explained gently. "We're the Ghostbusters, and a Mrs. Amanda Dornkirk called us to ask for an investigation of the closet under the stairs."

"What did you find?"

"Class-3, Ma'am. Poltergeist. But it didn't materialize."

"And now this old guy just told us that nobody lived in that house!" Garrett burst out. "That the people we saw inside never even existed!"

Parcius looked thoughtful and she motioned for them to sit down. Kylie and Roland sat stiffly on the sofa, Roland leaning forward eagerly, and Garrett sat beside them on his wheelchair. Parcius took an armchair beside the coffee table and turned to them.

"People have been reporting strange sights about the house," she admitted a little tiredly. "It's been so long. The last people who lived there was a family. It was about thirty-forty years ago, I think. I was a little girl then.

"A woman who was divorced and living alone with her three sons stayed there. It seemed simple enough. The woman was a battered wife and the children were abused by their father. The divorce was ugly, and the woman loved her children so much that even though she loved her husband, she knew she had to leave them.

"Nobody knows the exact story. Some saw the husband visit them one night. There were loud noises but nobody dared interfere. Until there were gunshots, and people burst in to see the three sons dead, shot by the husband, and the mother crying in grief.

"She wouldn't leave the house, not even after the three boys were buried. A few months later, they discovered she had hung herself in the closet under the stairs." She shrugged. "You can deduce that within a year, strange things began to happen then."

"Her name was Amanda Dornkirk, wasn't it?" Kylie asked.

Parcius nodded tiredly. "Yes. Yes, the person who saw inside the house is already dead."

*

"But why?!" Garrett burst out. "Why would she call us for investigation of her own closet?! Why didn't she just be quiet about it?"

"Maybe to throw off suspicion," Roland said tiredly, leaning against the cushions of the couch. The trip back to the Firehouse had been spent in silence. Night had already fallen. Janine had gone home and Egon was there with them, sitting at the armchair. Slimer hovered next to Kylie by the window. "Maybe after we billed her, we would've left it alone. After all, if someone complained about the house, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it because we have a record that she's the owner and we can't do anything without her permission because she likes the ghost."

"This poltergeist seemed to have a particular interest in your group," Egon put in. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Your theory, Roland, would seem to be the biggest factor. However--" He paused.

Kylie leaned forward, catching his hesitation. "However--?"

"Where is Eduardo?" Egon asked.

Kylie started and Garrett scowled. "You mean he hasn't called yet?" he asked.

"No," Egon replied calmly. "Should he?"

"Little brother," came Roland's voice, a sense of surprise. "Little brother."

They turned to him.

Roland looked up. "What struck me the most, the words that bothered me the most. The little boy asking if one of us was going to become his little brother."

All of their eyes met in shocked silence but it was Slimer who wailed out: "EDUARDO!"

*

Mama seemed nervous and she kept looking around. Joshua was worried about it but kept silent and Asher pretended not to notice. Eddy kept sneaking looks at his mother.

They ate dinner in silence, only broken by the constant reminder: "Please don't play with your food." After they finished their vegetables (Eddy hid most of his greens in his paper napkin), they jumped up and Mama wiped their chins.

"Brush your teeth," she told them solemnly, "and come back down here. I have something important to tell you."

They trooped up the stairs almost silently. They didn't fight over the toothpaste as they usually did, although Asher smeared white toothpaste on Eddy's cheek, making him yelp. He and Joshua snickered. They washed up and trooped down again, not even bothering to change into their pajamas. Something was wrong with Mama.

When they came down, Mama was fidgeting but she smiled at them. Tears were in her eyes. "My lovely boys," she whispered.

"What is it, Mom?" Joshua asked.

"Some bad people are going to come," she explained, "but they don't know about the closet. We're going to hide in there."

"The closet?" Eddy frowned. "The one where we keep all our toys?"

"Yes, Eddy, please, no more questions." There was a loud sound outside, like sirens wailing. Mama was nervous. "Please, Asher, Joshua, especially you, Eddy. Asher, Joshua, take care of Eddy. He's...he's not well after the fall down the stairs." Footsteps. She pushed them to the closet under the stairs. "Go!"

They stumbled inside.

There was a click.

They were locked inside.

Eddy buried his face in Joshua's arm and tried not to sob. He felt his older brothers' arms wrap around him, and he hugged them back.

*

The door burst open and Roland looked grim. "It's giving off signs of being class 5. Not just a poltergeist...it may have the ability to suppress its ectoplasmic record."

"What are you looking for?" came a mild voice.

The three jumped and turned to the direction of the stairs. The lights were off. One flashlight clattered to the ground. It was Kylie's. Amanda was looking at them with a puzzled expression.

"Where's Eduardo?" Roland demanded.

"Eduardo, your friend?" Amanda shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar," Kylie spat out. "You've been keeping him here. We saw his bike at the back. Bring him back!"

"But he chose to come here," Amanda told them pleasantly. "Just as Asher and Joshua chose to come here as well. They have been so deprived, my poor sons, and I'm being their mother. They're so happy now." She dipped her head and the door closed behind them. The curtains were flying. Her eyes were glowing. "And I, too, am happy."

"You're gonna bring him back, lady, whether you like it or not!" Garrett lurched forward to the direction of the closet.

Amanda's eyes flashed white and she shrieked: "You will NOT touch my sons!"

"AAH!" Garrett went flying back, crashing into the wall. He fell forward as his wheelchair tumbled beside him.

"Garrett!" Kylie shouted, whirling around.

"I'm okay," Garrett yelled back. "Get Eduardo!"

"You will not take him!" A plate came flying out of nowhere. There was a wind that pushed them away from the stairs, away from the closet. Kylie and Roland held out of their hands as if to stop it. Their fingers clutched the blasters tightly. "He has found happiness with me! My sons and I shall live forever!"

"In your dreams, lady!" Garrett quickly calculated and blasted her with his proton pack.

Kylie and Roland fumbled quickly and followed suit.

Amanda--the ghost--gave an ear-splitting scream. "NO!"

*

"Mama!" Eddy jerked up from his brothers' arms. He heard her yell.

Joshua sounded worried. "It's too silent. Too still."

In the darkness, Eddy could see the worried faces that outlined his brothers' expression. "I wish we can go outside," Asher complained. "I want to see Mommy. It's too quiet."

"No, it's not," Eddy said faintly. He can hear something.

Voices that sounded familiar. Voices that were not his mother's.

*

"Mortal beings," Amanda hissed. Her hair was flying wildly around her face, her flowered skirt whipping around her legs. The only physical transformation, through, was her glowing eyes and her enraged expression. She was levitating through the air. "I was once like you and humiliated."

Kylie opened her eyes from the floor and stared up at the figure. Roland was a few feet away from her, Garrett behind her. She groaned and pulled herself up, only to be pushed back once more by a force so strong.

Garrett turned his face away from the wind. "It's not working," he shouted.

"There must be an energy source!" Roland screamed out, voice barely audible. "We have to find it!"

"The closet!" Kylie screamed back. "It must be in the closet!"

Garrett crawled near her. "I'll blast and distract her, you make a run for it," he muttered.

"FOOL!" Amanda shrieked.

Garret gave a gasp as he was slammed back to the wall.

Kylie gritted her teeth and met his eyes.

He nodded and looked at Roland. Somehow, Roland knew.

"On three," Kylie shouted.

"THREE!"

Two rays charged out and met Amanda's body. Kylie clenched her teeth and crawled forward, trying to find something, anything she could hold on so she could pull herself forward.

Eduardo, please, she thought desperately. PLEASE.

*

Eddy looked up. "Someone's calling," he muttered.

*

Garrett scowled. "I'm coming for you, buddy," he said angrily. "And you are so going to owe me dinner, asshole!"

Amanda was still shrieking.

*

"Why?" Eddy whispered. "Why?"

*

Roland bit his lip. Blood was streaming out in a thin line down his jaw but he did not notice. Please be okay, he thought. His hands were getting tired but he pressed on.

*

"I'm not worth everything," Eddy whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Joshua asked.

There was utter silence outside but he could hear it. Screams, shouts, despair of Mama and...someone. People he somehow knew but could not remember.

Eddy pulled away from his arms. Asher flailed at him. "Hey, what are you doing, Eddy?" he exclaimed, looking shocked.

But Eddy did not look down at him. "I." He flailed then went on tersely, "I don't know."

Miraculously, the door opened in his hands.

*

You chose to become this person who could love. Isn't it better to love than to hate? Even if it is only a short time, even if it is only a dream, wouldn't you rather be here in my arms and be loved than to be alone and be hated?

But surely she remembered me.

Because...it was in her handwriting.

The letter.

It's still on the table and it's my fault I never opened it.

I can love you as she never did you. As she never did your brother.

But. But.

But I have something else...

Someone else living for.

Kevin. Beth. Even Carlo.

I will live for you. For Asher and Joshua. We will live for each other and we will have happiness. It will be the one thing...the one thing you always wanted and you shall have it.

Even then, I'm leaving important things behind.

The letter.

Maybe she cared, even a little.

Oh, Eddy...Eduardo...

But.

But. I still hate her.

*

A child stood before them.

He ran towards Amanda, leaving behind Joshua and Asher who stared incredulously from the closet. "Mommy!" he shrieked.

Amanda whirled around just as Garrett and Roland collapsed, trying to keep their blasters under control and not hurting Eddy. "Eddy!"

"NOW!" Garrett screamed.

In a second, the wind died down and Kylie lunged forward, pushing the two boys away.

The toys in the box were glowing.

Eddy embraced Amanda. "Oh, my child," Amanda sobbed. "My poor, innocent sons."

"Get away from those!" Joshua hissed, throwing himself over Kylie.

Kylie whirled around and slammed a fist into his face. "Not a chance, sucker."

Asher stood before her and she stopped, glaring at him. The little boy of ten only stared back at her. "Why are you destroying Eduardo's happiness?" he asked her. "Why are you keeping him away from the one thing he desires the most?"

"I'm his friend," she snapped back. "I want what's best for him."

"But you're keeping him from the ones he love." Asher cocked his head.

Joshua glared at his brother, pulling up from the floor. But Roland was there and he held on tightly to the squirming figure. "Asher!" he cried. "Don't let them get to the toys. Mother will--!"

"Why?" Asher asked simply, ignoring his younger brother.

"What does he desire?" Kylie asked, curious.

Asher blinked and smiled, a small sad smile. "Are you sure you are his friends? You don't even know?"

"I--" Kylie hesitated and felt something tug her memory. A cynical Eduardo. A laughing Eduardo. "I...I don't know."

A hand was on her shoulder. It was Roland. "Yes, we're his friends," he said firmly. "Because he never offered, we never asked, we never pushed for something he did not want to freely give. We wait for him to trust us, and we'll wait forever if we have to. That's what friends do."

Kylie smiled at him gratefully.

"Fair enough." Asher stepped aside. "Take these. My gifts."

"NO!" Joshua struggled. "NO! I won't let you!"

"Brat!" Garrett appeared, riding his wheelchair. Amanda was still holding the sobbing Eddy. "Get away from there."

"I won't let you take away my happiness!" Joshua howled.

Asher walked up to his younger brother, drew back his right arm, and slapped him hard.

Roland, Garrett and Kylie charged their proton packs and blasted the toys.

There was a loud shriek as Amanda threw back her head and began to spasm. Her hold on Eddy's body was beginning to loosen. Eddy was crying. "Don't leave me, Mama," he sobbed. "Don't leave!"

"Darling," Amanda cried out. "Darling, don't hate me!"

"I'll have to if you leave me alone!"

Two radiant tears slid down her cheeks, her throat. She was flying through the air. "I don't want that," she whispered. "I don't want the hate."

*

Eddy curled up on the floor as if in pain.

*

"Let's not leave Mom alone," Asher said quietly.

Joshua hesitated, rubbing his left cheek were Asher had slapped him. "What about Eduardo?"

"One of us has to grow up sometime."

*

Roland threw a trap beneath Amanda and blasted her, directing her above the trap.

"What did you want from Eduardo?" Roland shouted, not helping himself. He charged the proton pack higher so he could manipulate her himself as Garrett and Kylie operated on the toys in the box. "What did you want to take from him? His energy!"

"I am not so foolish as you!" Amanda shot back angrily, hissing. "I wanted his love!"

She gave a final scream before being engulfed by the bright light. There was a loud sound of the beam trapping her and holding, and she fell into the trap as it closed and hissed.

Smoke came out from the edges.

*

Garrett was weeping but he did not know why. He tried to wipe the tears away but they came faster and faster, without his consent. He felt ashamed for no reason, but felt better because Kylie and Roland were weeping as well.

Asher and Joshua knelt beside Eddy.

"Goodbye, little brother," they whispered.

The three Ghostbusters aimed carefully and pulled them together.

Two traps laid on the ground, thrown by Kylie. They opened and the two boys smiled at each other before finally being trapped inside.

There was silence.

Broken only when Eduardo gave a ragged breath that sounded as if he was choking back a sob.

Garrett neared him first and uncharacteristically embraced him. Eduardo gave a shuddering breath and tentatively wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer. Kylie and Roland neared, feeling the need to do the same, only too reserved, too unsure.

"There are no two truth functions," Garrett whispered. "There is only truth or there is false."

Tears escaped Eduardo's eyes; a fresh wave of sadness overwhelmed him. "There are no validities," he whispered back.

Kylie and Roland both embraced the two and wept.

*

The letter.

Lay.

On the table.

Quiet.

Still.

So. So. Still.

*

Eduardo Rivera stared at it, imagining the words that must be written inside, the memories that would engulf, the pleading strain of voice that would ask him to understand.

There is only truth or there is false.

I had my taste of truth, he thought bitterly. And I loved it too much.

Mama left for the Italian person, never looking behind. She would see in her memories two little boys who pined for her, who never grew up, who perhaps understood her then. But not now.

Eduardo drank the last of the beer in his can and stood.

His hand reached out to touch the enveloped, caressing it lovingly.

And ripped it.

*

The bits of paper, envelope, stationery, fell in the trashcan. It was followed by the empty beer container. It made a soft tinking sound as it fell.

The torn paper lay in the trash quietly.

The front door opened and closed. It was so soft that the only sound was the clicking of the doorknob before everything fell silent once more.