2nd December 2019

NOAH

Clover Hayes has been running on a serotonin high for the past few days.

It was as though her smile had been permanently glued onto her face, her green eyes locked in a dreamy gaze as she sang sonnets about Mike and their love. Give it a few days, and I'm certain you'll find her singing to birds and squirrels like one of those Disney princesses.

While I listened with mild interest and a confused Sam asked multiple questions, Renee had retracted to the side, looking misty-eyed.

"Aww, don't worry Ren," Clover seemed to have picked up on her mood. "Once you've been unsevered, Mike will visit you."

Renee nodded quietly. I remembered that Phyllis had charted out a date for Ren's journey to the Tree of Life, just a few days from now. Fergus Smith, a.k.a Johannes, had agreed to oversee the procedure and make sure that she did it right.

Little did they know that I had to blackmail him to help Renee out, or I'd reveal his secret to Phyllis.

"Well, Shay is the one guiding Mike, so she'll make sure that they visit you," Clover told Ren.

"Shay?" I looked at her, distracted. "You mean my friend, Shay Williams?"

"That's her," Cloves affirmed. "Noah, did you know about her breakup with Isaac?"

WHAT.

"What the f-fudge?" I fumbled, knowing that Renee didn't like it when I swore. "They broke up?!"

"It's not just that," She continued. "Shay miraculously got some of Isaac's power, which makes her a Half-Enlightened."

My eyebrows shot up. "Is that even a thing?" I asked Cloves.

"Don't worry, Noah," Clover reassured me. "Shay said that she's going to visit you in a few days since she has a lot to tell you."

"I'm relieved," I muttered sarcastically.

How had so much happened, and I hadn't even noticed?

I vaguely heard Clover tell Ren that Mike missed her, and would visit her as soon as she was unsevered. Renee nodded, looking morose as she forced down her sandwich. She was sinking back into her secluded shell, thanks to Phyllis's training sessions to reach the Tree of Life.

Phyllis and Fergus Smith had advised Renee to meditate for three hours a day. It was an effort to try to retract her soul so that it was easier for her to transcend into the Tree of Life. Every evening after school, Ren could be found at Clover's place, clutching crystals in her hand and chanting crap that I had no belief in.

Being the stellar boyfriend I was, I sat through her sessions, doing homework and clutching a box of tissues so that I was always ready to wipe her tears.

"That's it," Phyllis told her encouragingly. "Dear, you're getting it."

Renee exhaled, the colour flooding into her pale cheeks as her eyes fluttered open. Her brown locks framed her face into pretty waves, which she tucked behind her ear as Phyllis handed her a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Phyllis," She beamed. "I think I'm finally understanding the whole process."

"You're a higher Spirit, Ren," I told her, snapping my math book shut. "These things are easy for you."

"Retracting your soul is not that easy, Noah," Phyllis looked surprised at my words. "It takes immense patience and confidence-"

"Which Ren already has," I pointed out. "I don't understand what incense sticks and crystals have to do with any of this."

I didn't realise the effect of my words until I saw Phyllis looking positively aghast.

Did I say something rude?

"What Noah means is that Spirits don't require objects to ascend," Renee corrected hastily. "He's just curious, Phyllis."

"Ah, I see," Phyllis said, but her tone was suddenly cold. "For a moment, I was afraid that you were heavily influenced by Sir Johannes. Like you, Noah, the man has no faith in the human ways of Spirituality."

Because they don't make sense, I wanted to retort.

Instead, I chewed on my tongue, nodding earnestly to Phyllis, before whisking Renee away from the clutches of the old woman. I did respect Phyllis, but that didn't mean that I blindly followed everything she said.

"I had the same question too," Renee told me as we walked back home from Cloves's place.

"With the crystals and Tarot and tea?" I questioned.

"Yeah," She smiled. "How in the world are random objects related to spirituality?"

"Exactly, it makes no sense," I told her. I pulled out a notepad Renee had given me, making a note on the list of questions I had to ask Johannes.

So far, I had a ton of questions, with no straight answers to any of them. Johannes had a way of twisting his words so that multiple meanings could be derived from one sentence.

The guy thought he was modern-day Shakespeare or something.

"What did he say about you creating a human body?" Renee pointed to our first question. "The thing where matter can neither being created nor destroyed. How if you created a human body, you'd be destroying matter elsewhere."

I sighed, trying to remember Johannes's exact words.

First, he'd laughed as if I'd asked a highly amusing question. And then, he began to answer, explaining slowly as if I were a toddler.

"Spirits are beings of light, Noah Stark," He told me. "We're made up of high energy, similar to the sun and stars. Also, we have the power to summon abundant energy from the universe, depending on how Spiritually advanced we are."

He'd then sipped on his fancy wine, before proceeding further.

"The answer to your question is Einstein's formula. E=Mc². Where he says that energy and mass are interconvertible. Where you channel your energy to create matter, that is, your human body in this case."

As I parroted out the words, Renee looked too stunned to speak.

"It makes sense, Ren," I told her with a knowing smile. "The laws of classical physics don't work here."

"I can't believe Johannes found a way to logically explain all the magic he's been performing," Renee blurted out after a while. "It's blowing my mind."

"Well, he's called a mastermind for precisely this reason," I shrugged. "No wonder Isaac and I always admired him, despite his evil deeds. He's one of the few spirits who try to view the magic through science."

Renee nodded, looking impressed.

Our shoes crunched through the snow, and I felt the snowflakes drifting past my eyelashes again. Overhead, the sky was purplish-black, too foggy to notice the subtle glint of the stars and even the silvery moon hiding behind the clouds. I turned towards Ren, admiring her reddened cheeks that camouflaged into her crimson scarf that was wrapped around her neck. Somehow it made her more beautiful.

As her house approached, I didn't feel like letting go of her tiny gloved hand now clutching onto mine.

"Why do you never invite me over?" I asked her suddenly.

Renee threw me a careful look.

"Do you want to be invited over?" She raised an eyebrow. "With my possessed dad and overly-frantic mom?"

I bit my lip nervously, thinking about how I'd playfully labelled her family members months ago. Never had I visualised a circumstance where I'd actually meet them.

"Yeah, why not?" I replied, trying to hide any trace of guilt. "I'd love to meet them. They are your parents after all, can they get worse than you?"

In reply, she shoved her elbow into my abdomen which left me gasping for air.

"That's doing no good to your boyfriend score," Renee threw me a playful glare.

"What the heck is a boyfriend score?" I spat out.

"Well, it changes according to your behaviour. Currently, it's minus fifty, thanks to your so-called witty remarks," She huffed.

"I'm not that bad of a boyfriend, am I?" I gave her my puppy eyes. "Come on, Ren. Don't be a meanie."

"Minus fifty-five, for calling me a meanie," She answered, pressing her lips together to hide her laughter.

I stopped walking, now giving her the most intense look I could muster. Her eyes widened as I moved closer, with my hand now placed securely against her waist.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "You're the best girlfriend I could ever ask for."

"Minus ten," She giggled. "Keep going."

"You look so beautiful tonight," I laid the flattery thick, although most of my words came from my heart.

"Really?" She asked eagerly.

"Is my score improving?" I asked her cheekily.

She threw me a glare.

"Jokes apart, you do look amazing," I told her softly. "The way the snow glistens on your eyelashes, and your blush..."

At that, she blushed even more, turning away shyly. I lifted her chin, hoping to get lost in her eyes again. She parted her lips, leaning in for a kiss, and I obliged, my mouth barely against hers when the porch light turned on.

Renee jumped away from me, eyeing her house nervously as if the door would open any moment. Sure enough, the door did open, revealing a woman who looked exactly like Ren, save for the wrinkles and sandy brown hair.

"Renee?" She questioned, sounding surprised. "Is that you?"

"Yeah mom, it's me," Ren squeaked.

"I thought I heard you," Her mom squinted into the front yard, before placing her glasses onto her nose. "Although I did hear someone else-"

Her words fell short as her gazed at me, nearly gasping as she peered up.

"Mom this is Noah," Renee blurted out hastily. "You know him, I've been talking to him all summer. With my helmet and everything-"

"He's real?" Mrs Durvont burst out, her eyes nearly popping out of her eye sockets.

Renee looked taken aback.

"Mom, what do you mean, of course, he's real!" She replied in disbelief.

"But..." Mrs Durvont's voice faltered as she peered up at me. "But, I thought you'd invented him!"

I turned toward Ren with a curious look. Did her mom believe that her daughter would invent herself a boyfriend?

Although considering Ren and her mad skills, I wouldn't rule out the possibility.

"I'm very much real, Mrs Durvont," I told her politely. "See, I'm a living, breathing human."

I wiggled my fingers, before extending my hand for a handshake. Somehow that little action seemed to have surprised her, for she simply stared at me.

Then her face broke into a huge grin.

"Oh, I'm so glad to meet you, Noah. I just wish that Renee had introduced me sooner to you. I must say when Renee said boyfriend, I'd been picturing a scrawny guy with glasses, but, you have exceeded my expectations-"

"Mom," Renee warned, exasperated.

"Ah yes, well... Let's go inside then? It's freezing out here, right?" She laughed airily. "Come in you two, I've just baked cookies."

"Cookies?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes!" She smiled back. "I'm a pretty good baker. You know, I'm surprised that Renee hasn't told you about my skills... However, my daughter does tend to hide important things..." She threw Renee a glare at this, before striding through the door.

I exhaled a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Renee gave me a knowing look.

"If you want to escape, do it now," She whispered. "You won't know when she'll start her drama."

"And miss out on her cookies? No way!" I grinned at her.

Renee rolled her eyes. I laughed at her expression, before leaning forwards to kiss her cheek. Her face broke into a soft smile, and then she sighed, taking my hand and leading me inside.

Time to find out how scary her mom really was.

*****

(A/N : Hey guys, I'm really sorry for the extremely late update. However, here's the good news, I'll be updating more frequently this week!
I hope you're all doing well!!! )