30th May 2019

NOAH

"Where have you been?"

It wasn't Shay. It wasn't even one of the other Spirit guides either.

It was my boss, the Higher Spirit Sir Claudius.

Sir Claudius sat before me, his face as blank as ever. His robes were shockingly white and blinding like they were weaved out of light. Higher Spirits were eerie since none of their facial features was detailed, all constantly blurring and shifting with one another.

They could lower their dimensional energy, from the ninth to the seventh dimension, and look more human. However, they didn't because they were huge show-offs, trying to appear as though they were better than the rest.

"I have been on duty," I replied as calm as possible, "I was collecting the soul of-"

"I meant to say, where were you before, Spirit Guide Noah Stark? We were unable to find you in the Spirit Realm." Claudius said through telepathy, his voice resembling the drone of a vacuum cleaner.

Shay had warned me earlier that my absence wouldn't go unnoticed. That I had to stay prepared with my fake story of losing energy and passing out at home.

Before Claudius had met up with me, I'd whipped out a bit of the remaining Shield, protecting the core of memories that revolved around Renee and her Realm. It has been a year since I've done that, a year since Isaac was severed from the Realm.

"I have been at home, Sir Claudius," I told him steadily, carefully watching his bland face for a reaction. "I lost energy."

"You lost energy." He repeated in a sad voice. "Tell me, Noah, what do you gain by deceiving all of us? Why the tales of falsehood?"

"I have no motive to lie, Sir," I replied quickly and saw him shaking his head hopelessly. "You can examine my mind."

"I can see the deception in your eyes, child. Why would I need to penetrate your mind?"

For once, I wished I was a higher Spirit, dead of emotions. Because my stupid face was a giveaway and I hastily drained my face of any guilt that might have crept up.

Suddenly Claudius looked directly into my eyes, into my mind. The deep black orbs pierced through my memories and found an image of me lying on my bed, unconscious. I hold the thought with conviction and believe the reality it projected.

I had been at home. I had passed out.

And now I was fine again.

Finally, Claudius withdrew his x-ray examination, his eyes now trailing down my face for any stray emotions. My heartbeat steadied and I looked at him back in the eye.

I didn't think that he believed me. But he had no proof to frame me either.

"You may leave," Claudius said abruptly, as my eyes withdrew from his.

Bet he didn't like me staring at him in the eye. He couldn't bear to get a taste of his own medicine.

"Thank you, Sir," I said clearly, and bowed my head, before heading through the door.

"Maybe I can't find your memories Noah," He said in a dangerously gentle voice, dripping like sweet poison. "But I will certainly find out where you have been."

I turned behind to give him a clueless gaze, but he had already left, his chair as empty as if it had never been occupied.

*****

Shay was stunned but impressed with my escapade. We were in her room now, her walls plastered with her pictures of when her human life, where she'd been an actress. Shay didn't want to leave her human life behind but the ISA didn't care.

"But didn't Claudius read your mind?" She asked me worriedly.

"He did," I told her with a proud smile. "But I covered my memories with the Shield-"

"You used the Shield?" Shay gasped, now looking positively furious.

Uh oh. While I viewed the Shield as a powerful object, Shay saw it as the only remains of her one true love, Isaac.

Two years ago, Isaac and I had built the Shield, pouring our energies into it. And after Isaac had been severed from the Spirit Realm, we swore to keep it safe until we had a desperate need for it.

"I used only a bit," I added, but it was no use because Shay was glowering at me.

"Don't tell me you used it to shield her Realm..." Shay watched me with a scowl as I looked away. Then her eyes widened. "You did, didn't you?!"

I hadn't told Shay how I was going to protect Renee's Realm. I had conveniently left the detail out for the exact reason. Shay would never approve, but I didn't need her approval anyway.

I pulled out a tiny jar, one that contained the remnants of Isaac's energy. I'd separated it from the Shield before I'd cast it over Renee's Realm.

"His energy is here," I placed the jar on her palm. "I'm not that heartless, Shay."

Shay gaze softened as she grasped the tiny jar, turning it over in her hands. Then she unscrewed it, causing the contents to flow out, and I could almost feel Isaac's presence. His snarky sense of humour, his rebellious nature, his underlying goodness of heart; everything fills me with sadness.

Suddenly Shay stuffed it inside and screwed the lid. I watched her in surprise as she shuffled to her bedside drawer and dropped the jar inside.

"He's too much to deal with," She shrugged, trying to hide the pain in her eyes. "Besides I need my privacy."

I knew talking about Isaac only made Shay cry for hours together and get drunk. After Isaac was severed from the Spirit Realm, Shay became an alcoholic, except that alcohol was tasteless and barely made us high. This is why Shay would chug fourteen bottles down at one go every night.

And now, she picked up her stash from under her bed, pulling out her first bottle for the evening. Alcohol was her way of coping with everything, and though it wasn't the best way, it was effective to a certain extent.

"So," She started in her usual bossy tone, "Did you kiss your girl yet?"

I stared at her in horror. "What? So soon? This is the third time I'm running into her."

"So?" Shay drawled. "The way you spoke about her all the time... You should have gotten some action in by now."

"Well, I held her hand, and we went for a walk," I told her, but Shay rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, and she also gave me a hug."

"Lame, lame, lame," Shay muttered.

"Come on, Shay. I liked it," I argued, but she gave me a look of pity.

"You have a whole Realm to yourselves, Noah. And there's no ISA to intrude. Perfect place for you know," Shay gave me a meaningful look.

I sighed. "I don't want to scare her away. All this is new for her... And me too," I added as an afterthought.

"She clearly likes you," Shay stated. "I could see that she was getting jealous of me. Probably she thinks I'm your girlfriend or something." She smiled at my scowl.

"Shay you idiot, why didn't you tell me this before!" I growled at her. "No wonder Renee was so confident about letting me read her mind-"

"What are you rambling about?" Shay narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't read minds."

I gave her a shifty look. "Well, I told her that to see who she liked."

"And did she tell you who she liked? No? That's what I was thinking." She gulped down the alcohol. "You're a baby, Noah."

"I am not a baby!" I yelled.

"You are. You don't just go ask a girl who she likes, that's completely tactless. Probably she felt uncomfortable telling you that she likes you in front of you..."

"She didn't feel uncomfortable...she asked me to read her mind and see for myself," I mumbled.

"Oh did she?" Shay grinned. "Haha, she's smarter than I thought. She knew you were a gentleman and you would respect her privacy."

I sat there, astonished. I hadn't considered this aspect at all. I had been fearing that Renee liked someone else, which is why she had no problem with me looking inside her mind.

Honestly, I wanted to believe Shay. But something about Renee's confidence unnerves me, how was she so bold, how someone so smart would ever fall for me.

"Noah?" Shay shook me from my thoughts. "You okay?"

"What if she likes someone else?" I uttered, and a sinking feeling formed in my chest. "That's a possibility too."

Shay made an impatient noise. "So what if she does? Are you going to sit and let the one girl you love leave you?"

"No," I admitted.

"Good. Then focus on how you're going to impress her and get her to like you..." She paused to pick up her second bottle and handed me one in the process.

I opened the bottle, thinking of how merely using my appearance wasn't going to help me. I had to be smart, and strong and reliable and-

"When are you meeting her again?" Shay interrupted my thoughts.

I told her the time and also the purpose of our meeting. This means that I tell her the whole story about Truffles too.

"We decided is that she needs to protect herself, which is why I'm going to make her reach the seventh dimension," I explained, and I saw Shay deep in thought.

"Why stop at the seventh dimension?" Shay said slowly. "Why not reach the White Realm itself..."

I laughed at her. "Are you serious? No one has reached the White Realm in four hundred years."

"That's because everyone listens to the ISA. What if there's another way?"

"Do you know of another way?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

Shay didn't reply. She was thinking hard, her eyes glancing frequently at her closet. Then she sighed, before walking towards it and pulling out a notebook.

"Remember how Isaac often wondered if there was another way to reach the White Realm?" Shay said as she handed it over to me. "I think he figured it out."

"What do you mean? He would've told us!" I gasped as I poured through his notes.

"Well, he didn't. After he was severed, I tried to salvage most of his inventions. And that's when I found this. His theory about reaching the White Realm."

I looked at her. "Why didn't you try it?"

Shay shrugged. "It seemed too risky at the time. And the ISA was watching us closely."

"But now, we have the Realm." I sat up, excitement coursing through me.

"And we have Renee," Shay grinned. "An unauthorised Spirit, who the ISA can't track."

"Could this work? Can we actually find a way out of this hell hole?"

Shay looked at me, her smile finally reaching her eyes, after an evening of complaining.
"Maybe we can."

~END OF PART 1~

*****