Holden and Sable made their way back to Holden’s apartment where the two of them flopped onto the couch. Exhaustion was the only thing they felt. However, the mystery regarding who the ghost girl was, and what had happened to her still hung over their heads.


    “Hey Sable,” Holden said in a weak voice.


    “What is it, Holden?” Sable replied with a weary tone.


    “Maybe your ghost girl’s not from Chrimoria. Maybe she’s from somewhere else, but she died here.”


    “Yeah. Maybe,” Sable groaned. “Wouldn’t she still be mentioned in the Residential Files? They kept records of those who died in town. The only other option is that she died, but nobody knew about it.”


    “I guess you’re right.” Holden kept racking his brains to think of something. This couldn’t be a dead end. If other people besides Sable could see the ghost girl, then that meant she was real. However, the girl’s merry loss didn’t make sense. How does a psychic impression lose their memories? The theory behind ghosts was that they were impressions of someone’s mind upon their death. They couldn’t remain without any memories. Also, a psychic impression couldn’t feel tired, which meant the ghost girl wasn’t a psychic impression, but a soul. However, souls don’t get tired either.


    That last thought made Holden gasp. “Wait. Souls don’t get tired. But the mind does. Or at least it can get lethargic. Sable, this ghost girl might not be a ghost. She might not even be dead.”


    The ghost girl''s eyes lit up with anticipation, Meanwhile, Sable perked his ears up in excitement. “Does this mean you’ve figured out what happened to her?”


    “We’ve been working off the impression that this girl must be dead. But what if that wasn’t the case? What would that mean?”


    Sable jaw fell open in shock. “That would mean that she’s alive, but her mind somehow traveled here. Which means-.”


    Both Holden and Sable said in unison, “She’s an astral projection.”


    Sable noticed how puzzled the ghost girl was, so he decided to explain. “You’re a person whose mind has left their body.”


    “Which could explain your lack of memories,” Holden added. “Astral Projection is a type of psychic magic. A drawback of which is losing memories when it is overused. You’ve been hanging around the apartment for years, so you’ve probably been an astral projection for most of that time, which is why you’ve lost your memories. It would also explain why you’re feeling tired, because your magic is running low.”


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    “But wait,” the ghost girl squealed. “If that’s true, then how do I return to my real body?”


    “It’ll happen naturally,” Holden said with a smile. “You’ll be just fine. Once your magic runs out, you’ll be back to wherever you were. I can only imagine how many times you must have used astral projection over the years. Most psychic mages could remain in the state for a few days at most.”


    Sable held up his paw in a stopping gesture. “Hold up, Holden. Astral projections aren’t visible to anyone not on the astral plane. So, how is it that I could see her, but no one else can?”


    “Ah. That’s right,” Holden said, snapping his fingers. “So, how can something on another plane of existence just show up here?” Holden rubbed his chin in contemplation. His eyes met with Sable’s which struck a chord. Sable was a spatial mage who always used minor teleportation whenever he needed to use the restroom to get to the bathroom window.. “I have it. Your use of minor teleportation must have created a spatial rift that she traveled through.”


    “Minor teleportation couldn’t create a spatial rift. The spell is too weak. Maybe if I were to use it constantly for hours.”


    Holden raised his chin up slightly and declared, “But what if our apartment was already the location of a large spatial distortion?”


    “What?” Sable said bluntly.


    “It was something I learned when we were at the Grand Library. There was an article in the paper about someone who lived in our apartment many years ago. He was a spatial mage who liked to experiment. This could’ve easily created a rift at one point.”


    “If there was such a rift in our apartment, I would’ve sensed it.”


    “Not if that rift had been closed. Hasn’t the use of spatial spells in areas where large rifts occurred caused smaller rifts to open up on occasion?”


    “Well, yes. But-.”


    “But nothing. Your use of minor teleportation probably created a small, temporary spatial fluctuation that the ghost girl traveled through, allowing her to appear before you. A fluctuation that you could barely sense, even if you were to search for it. Usually something the size of a human couldn’t fit through a small rift. But a consciousness doesn’t have size, thus they can fit through some of the smallest tears.”


    “So, wait. Are you saying-.”


    Holden snapped his fingers again. “Yes. This girl has likely traveled through minor spatial rifts multiple times over the last twenty years since the apartment was reported to be haunted. It would explain everything that people have experienced. Feeling like someone was watching them. The chills. Everything.”


    “Someone was watching them. Plus, her presence on this plane creates minor spatial fluctuations, which causes the temperature to drop. And it’s also why only I have been able to see her.”


    Holden and Sable’s eyes lit up with excitement at having finally found a plausible explanation. The ghost girl couldn’t stop herself from giggling. All she had ever seen these two do was bicker. Be that as it may, at that moment both Holden and Sable looked like excited little kids having the best time of their lives talking to each other.