The answer wasn't entirely unexpected. The kid didn't really seem like the type to believe in ghost stories. So he answers the question instead.

"Her name was Gabriella."

The decision to step in for her lent itself to a messy knot of guilt and other feelings left unsaid. Especially with how catastrophically he failed. Still, he looks on with a distant fondness for someone he would could only consider as a daughter.

"I took care of her after she lost her father."