Ryan rocked back on forth on his heels as he stood in front of the white doors. He had just knocked and was waiting for someone to answer. After a while Lya opened the door, her eyes squinting.

"What?" she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"I've been insensitive." He placed his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "Or at least that's what Mahlik said." He rubbed his arm. "I mean I also think I was insensitive. I know that you want to find out what happened to your mom. I was just frustrated that none of our questions were being answered."

"I get it," she said shifting her weight. "I wasn't thinking about how it feels for you to have a voice stuck in your head."

Ryan blew out a breath. "Yeah, it's not fun."

"So are we back together on this?"

"Well, yeah considering we found Lawrence," he smiled.

"What," she said, her eyes widening. "Why didn't you start with that?"

He laughed. "We didn't really find him. That's what we're going to do now."

"How?"

"He lives on the north side of town and Mahlik apparently has a plan." Ryan didn't know what it was but he already wondering about how he was going to tell Lawrence that he can see his dead sister and that his mother is in his head. Well, not anymore.

I need to know

Ryan drew in a breath as the familiar presence of Myrtle rushed through him. The feeling that never was always there as long as she was in his head. It had only been a few days since she was gone but he had already gotten used to having his head to himself. He looked up at Lya who had a concerned look on her face. "Guess who's back."

***

"Okay, what we do is narrow down the houses. I know a few people that live around here," Mahlik said. They were outside his house which was close to the north side of town. The street was quiet and the only sounds were the sounds of birds singing.

"That's your plan?" Lya asked. "There's no other way to find him?"

"No. Mrs. Davidson doesn't know the exact house he lives in. No one else does either. I've asked around," Mahlik explained.

"Yeah, the guy's basically a ghost," Ryan added. The librarian had told him and Mahlik that Lawrence kept to himself a lot.

"Well if we find him we can probably get a lot of information out of him," Lya said. With that they crossed the street and walked down the sidewalk that would take them to the northside of town. The sun hid behind the clouds, casting a shadow over the street.

"What am I even going to say? What if he doesn't believe in ghosts?" Lya and Mahlik shrugged.

"So how did you start seeing ghosts again? Were you born with it?" Mahlik asked, tilting his head up to look at Ryan.

He exchanged glances with Lya and then turned back to Mahlik. "I had a near-death experience."

Mahlik raised his eyebrows. "Really? What did it feel like?"

"Like I was near death."

"Elaborate," Mahlik rolled his eyes.

Ryan paused for a moment. He had never really talked about it that much since it happened. He went back to the feeling he had. He didn't know how to explain to someone. "Like I was floating and then there was nothing. And then I felt like I wasn't in my body. Like I wasn't..."

"On this plane of existence?" Mahlik finished. Lya looked over at him, furrowing her brows. She lowered her head as they passed a tree, its branch hanging low.

"Sure. Something like that."

Mahlik nodded. "Makes sense. That's how you got your connection." Mahlik stopped and looked around. "This is it."

"Where should we start?" Lya asked.

"Over there." He nodded his head to the street he was referring to. "I don't know many people that live in that area."

Lya shook her head. "This is definitely not going to work."

They walked down the street lined older looking homes. Mahlik pointed to a house at the end. "Don't think I know who lives there."

"Do we just knock?" Ryan asked. They stopped in front of the house. They went up to the front door and knocked. Ryan's heart was racing in his chest.

A young woman opened the door. "Yes?"

"Is-is Lawrence here?" Ryan flashed her crooked smile.

"No one named Lawrence lives here. I think you have the wrong house," the woman replied, furrowing her brows.

He thanked the woman and then turned around to Mahlik and Lya. They walked towards the sidewalk. Ryan put his face in his hands as they continued walking down the street. "That was so awkward."

"Why didn't you ask if she knew where he lived?" Mahlik said.

"Because 'hey, I know this person but I don't know where they live. Can you give me their exact address?' sounds concerning." They continued walking until Mahlik found another house that had the potential of being Lawrence's. Ryan could see the paint peeling off in some places on the wooden door as they walked up to it. This time he looked at Lya and she groaned and then brought her hand up to knock on the door. This time an older woman opened the door, giving Ryan some hope.

"Is Lawrence here?" Lya asked. The old woman looked at them with narrowed eyes as she peaked her head from behind the door. Her face was wrinkled and the hair on the top of her head was grey and thin.

"Lawrence? It's just me in this house."

"Oh sorry, ma'am. We-" Lya was cut off by the woman shutting the door in their faces. She turned to face Ryan, a forced smile on her face. "Well, that was not rude."

Ryan let out a breath, running a hand down his face. "So, what next?"

"We try a different street," Mahlik answered. And they continued their search. It wasn't long before they were almost ready to give up. It seemed impossible to find someone this way. They would have to be lucky.

They came upon a small house, red bricks lining the exterior. The grass looked unkept. Mahlik said, "I think its abandoned."

The walked up to the front door. Ryan knocked on it and there was no answer. He knocked harder again but there was still no answer after that. "Great, you're right. No one lives here."

"Or," Lya added. "They could just be out. People have lives."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Ryan placed his hands in his pockets. "Wait it out?"

"I don't know," Lya sighed. "I guess that's it."

I need to know

Ryan shook his head. "We can't give up. We'll just come back tomorrow."

"We don't know if he actually lives here though." Lya crossed her arms as the wind picked up. Ryan looked over at Mahlik and he shrugged his shoulders.

Ryan opened his mouth to further protest but then he heard a car behind him. He turned around to see a red car driving into the driveway. A man with grey speckled brown hair stepped out. He furrowed his brows as he saw them and tiled his head. "May I help you?"

"Are you Lawrence Carson?"

The man narrowed his eyes at them for a while before answering. "Yes, I am."

"This might sound crazy," Ryan started. He swallowed hard, preparing himself for the man's reaction. "Can we talk about your sister, Nancy Carson?"