The mall was gargantuan.
At least, to Garin’s eyes, it looked like an endless, glittering labyrinth of glass and steel.
People moved in dense, colorful throngs through the wide corridors.
There were families pushing strollers, young couples holding hands, and groups of friends laughing loudly over the ambient noise.
Bright, artificial lights reflected flawlessly off the highly polished floors, and neon store signs stretched out into the distance in every direction.
Garin stood completely frozen just inside the glass entrance doors, her breath catching.
“…It’s big.”
Ellie looked down at her and smiled warmly.
“First time?”
Garin nodded quickly.
Ellie’s grip tightened on her hand.
“Then today’s going to be fun.”
Before Garin could even think to raise an objection, she was firmly yanked forward, dragged mercilessly into the nearest clothing boutique.
Ten minutes later.
The curtain to a small changing room rustled open, and Garin slowly stepped out onto the carpeted floor.
She was wearing a simple, pale blue dress.
It had no flashy patterns, no expensive lace, and no designer tags.
It was just a plain, modest piece of clothing that she thought looked acceptable enough to not offend anyone.
Ellie stared at her.
Her eyes widened, and she suddenly clutched her hands over her heart.
“Oh my God.”
Garin stopped dead in her tracks, her posture going stiff.
“W-What?”
“You’re adorable.”
Garin’s face instantly caught fire, the dark circles under her eyes contrasting sharply with the deep crimson blooming across her cheeks.
“N-No, I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
A saleswoman standing nearby, who had been watching the interaction with professional amusement, smiled softly and nodded her head in agreement.
Ellie pointed a triumphant finger at her.
“See?
Even she agrees.”
Garin looked down at her feet, wishing with every fiber of her being that the polished floor would open up and swallow her whole.
A while later.
The mountain of textiles piled over Ellie’s arms had grown to a terrifying, hazardous height.
She was currently lugging around three separate dresses, several casual shirts, a heavy autumn jacket, two pairs of shoes, and an assortment of hair accessories—half of which Garin didn’t even know the legal or practical purpose of.
Garin looked at the heap of fabric, her chest tightening with an old, familiar guilt.
“Aunt Ellie…”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“This is too much.”
Ellie paused, her eyes peering over the top of a frilly blouse.
“It’s really not.”
“It really is.”
Seeing the genuine distress on the young girl’s face, Ellie slowly crouched down to her eye level, the clothes rustling against her knees.
“Garin.”
“Y-Yes?”
“When was the last time somebody bought you something…
just because they wanted to?”
The question struck Garin like a physical blow, catching her completely off guard.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her throat.
She looked down, her gaze tracking a loose thread on the carpet.
A long, suffocating silence stretched between them.
“…I don’t remember,” Garin whispered quietly.
Ellie’s bright expression softened, a sharp pang of sorrow hitting her chest.
The honesty of the answer hurt more than she had anticipated.
She reached out, gently placing a warm hand on top of Garin’s messy hair, smoothing it down.
“Then let me spoil you a little.”
Garin turned her face away, her jaw clenching as she fought back a sudden wave of emotion.
Despite her best efforts to maintain her stoic, empty expression, the corners of her lips twitched upward into a small, fragile smile.
“…Okay.”
Meanwhile.
Back within the dim, quiet walls of White Requiem.
The landline telephone on the desk suddenly shattered the peace, ringing loudly.
Diana, who was currently nursing a fresh cup of coffee, reached out and snatched the receiver.
“White Requiem.”
“WHY DOES GARIN ONLY OWN THREE SHIRTS!?” Ellie’s furious, high-pitched scream blasted through the tiny speaker.
Diana flinched, nearly spilling hot liquid all over her clean desk.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Oh, for the love of—”
Back at the mall.
Garin sat quietly on a wooden bench, her small frame nearly swallowed by the half-dozen paper shopping bags resting beside her feet.
Her quiet, analytical gaze followed the crowd.
She watched children running giggling through the wide corridor, parents carrying exhausted toddlers over their shoulders, and people sharing mundane jokes.
Normal things.
Ordinary, peaceful human things that she had never really had the luxury or the time to pay attention to before.
She watched it all, her mind a blank slate of wondering silence.
Then, she felt a sudden, freezing pressure press against her right cheek. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Hm?”
She turned her head.
A large, double-scoop ice cream cone was being held directly against her face.
Ellie smiled down at her, holding the treat out.
“There you are.”
Garin blinked, staring at the cold, colorful substance as if it were a strange anomaly.
“What is this?”
Ellie’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by a look of sheer, unadulterated horror.
“You’ve never had ice cream?”
Garin tilted her head down, searching her fragmented memory.
“…I don’t think so.”
Ellie slowly raised her eyes toward the skylight of the mall, her voice grim.
“Diana is definitely going to prison.”
“Aunt Ellie,” Garin murmured, her voice laced with mild confusion.
“I’m serious.”
Garin let out a sound.
It was a laugh.
A small, brief laugh, barely audible over the chatter of the mall, but it was entirely real.
Ellie froze, her eyes widening slightly.
Then, a soft, genuine smile spread across her face.
That was the very first time she had heard a real laugh leave the traumatized girl’s throat all day.
And for the first time since she had arrived at White Requiem, Garin felt the cold, lingering knot of fear in her chest loosen.
She felt a little less like an unwanted guest, and a little more like…
family.
The shopping bags, however, were multiplying.
At this point, Garin was logically convinced that the paper bags were reproducing by mitosis whenever she turned her back.
She sat back down on the bench outside a high-end clothing store, dutifully guarding the small mountain of purchases while Ellie dug through another rack of dresses inside.
“Aunt Ellie…” Garin called out, her voice slightly muffled by a bag.
“Yes, sweetie?” Ellie’s voice drifted out from the store.
“How many clothes does one person need?”
Ellie’s head popped out from behind a clothing display.
“That’s a trick question.”
Garin blinked.
“…It is?”
“Yes.” Ellie held up a bright red garment triumphantly.
“The answer is always one more.”
Garin remained entirely unconvinced by the strange logic of consumerism.
Before she could articulate a counter-argument, a loud, generic ringtone began buzzing from Ellie’s coat pocket.
Ellie pulled out her phone, her eyes glancing at the flashing caller ID:
“Dad”
She slid the screen open, her voice returning to its usual cheerful chirp.
“Hi, Dad.”
Across the city.
Officer Andrew was currently enjoying one of the rarest, most sacred moments in his professional life.
He was dressed in his crisp police uniform, sitting comfortably at a small metal table outside a quiet, high-end café.
A cup of premium coffee rested in his hand—the actual, plant-based luxury stuff, not the sludge from the precinct machine.
His cruiser was parked neatly by the curb.
There was no active paperwork.
No emergency dispatches on the radio.
No rampaging entities.
Just pure, unadulterated chill time.
Life was exceptionally good.
“Hey, Ellie.
Where are you?” Andrew asked, taking a slow, appreciative breath of the afternoon air.
“Shopping,” Ellie replied over the speaker.
Andrew took a careful sip of his hot coffee.
“Again?”
“Not for me.”
“Then who?”
“My niece.”
The cup froze exactly halfway to Andrew’s open mouth.
The warm steam drifted past his unblinking eyes.
“…Your what?”
“My niece.”
Andrew slowly lowered the cup, setting it onto the saucer with mechanical precision.
His voice lost all its warmth, flattening completely.
“Ellie.”
“Diana’s daughter,” Ellie stated plainly.
Silence.
A very long, heavy, terrifying silence stretched across the cellular network.
“Dad?”
“…”
“Dad?”
Andrew slowly pulled the smartphone away from his ear.
He stared at the screen for three seconds, checking to see if he had accidentally dialed a mental asylum, then placed it back against his head.
“Diana has a daughter?”
“She adopted her,” Ellie said matter-of-factly.
“Dad, she’s super cute,” Ellie added, her voice muffled as she adjusted a shopping bag.
“…”
“Really cute.”
Andrew stared blankly into the middle distance, his trained police brain completely failing to process the data.
Diana.
The same Diana who currently held the city record for property damage during devil hunts.
The girl who survived entirely on a diet of stale pizza and unvarnished spite.
The girl who treated standard human sleep schedules as an optional suggestion.
The girl who once tried to pay her electricity bill three weeks late because she literally forgot that money was required to keep lights on.
That specific Diana…
had adopted a human child.
“Dad?” Ellie’s voice buzzed.
Andrew finally broke his paralysis, his jaw tightening.
“How cute?”
On the other end, Ellie gasped loudly.
“Super cute.”
“Super cute?”
“Super cute.”
Andrew looked up at the sky, his eyes wide as the final puzzle pieces locked into place within his mind.
The sheer, overwhelming reality of becoming a grandfather hit him like a freight train.
Then, he roared.
“DIANAAAAAAAAAA!”.
The shout was so loud that several civilian customers at nearby tables jumped out of their chairs.
A flock of pigeons launched themselves into the air in a panic.
The café owner inside the building scrambled, nearly dropping a tray of clean glasses.
Back at the mall.
Garin flinched, her supernatural senses picking up the tiny, distorted echo of a scream coming through the phone receiver.
“…Was that your father?”
Ellie pulled the phone away from her ear, wincing slightly.
“Yep.”
“He sounds upset.”
Ellie grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Oh, he’s absolutely thrilled.”
Outside the café.
Andrew was already on his feet, his chair scraping violently against the concrete.
The premium coffee was entirely forgotten on the table.
“Where are you?” he barked into the phone.
“The mall.”
“I’m coming.”
Click.
The call disconnected.
Andrew spun on his heel and marched directly toward his parked cruiser with long, determined strides.
The café owner rushed out the front door, waving a small white slip of paper frantically.
“Officer Andrew!”
Andrew pulled open the driver-side door, his face a mask of absolute gravity.
“Later!”
“Your bill!” the man yelled.
Andrew froze, his boots pausing on the asphalt.
He looked back at the untouched, expensive coffee.
He looked at the stressed owner.
He checked his watch.
He thought about Diana secretly harbor-parenting a child behind his back.
He thought about the supposedly adorable granddaughter he now possessed.
He made his tactical decision.
He dug into his uniform pocket, pulled out a thick wad of cash, and slammed it onto the outdoor table without counting it.
“Keep the change!”
The owner stared at the large bills.
“…This is way too much.”
But Andrew was already inside the vehicle.
The heavy engine roared to life with a violent growl, the tires chirping against the asphalt as the police cruiser sped away into traffic, lights flashing.
Back at the mall.
Ellie calmly slid her phone back into her coat pocket, dusting off her hands.
Garin looked up from her bench, her expression wary.
“Everything okay?”
Ellie smiled brightly, a terrifying glint in her eye.
“Yep.”
A short, suspenseful pause followed.
“Your grandpa is coming.”
Garin blinked, her logical faculties completely shutting down.
“…My what?”
“Grandpa.”
“…I have a grandpa?”
“Apparently.”
Garin’s brain stopped functioning entirely, the sheer speed of her sudden family expansion causing a literal mental error.
Meanwhile, somewhere within the quiet, safe walls of White Requiem, Diana suddenly sneezed for the second time that afternoon.
She rubbed her nose, looking around the empty, polished agency floor with deep, unadulterated suspicion.
“…Why do I suddenly feel like my day is about to get significantly worse?”