9th June 2019

RENEE

Once I found myself alone in the confines of my room, my eyes darted to Clover's grandma's book, lying innocently upon my desk. The book appeared moderately old, with yellowing pages and faded font.

Sure enough, the first thing that captured my attention was the abbreviation, MBTN.

Michael. Bianca. Timothy. Nicole.

Did it really stand for their names? Or was I looking too much into it?

However, Mike wasn't alive at the time the book had been published, and neither were his friends. The coincidence seemed highly unlikely unless he knew about the past.

Unless he knew about the Spirit Realm.

My eyes glanced upon the author's name, Sir Johannes. Was he still alive? Was there a way to track him?

And how did he know about the Spirit Realm?

I closed the book and stared at the blank ceiling, wanting to know and figure out more. There was just one piece missing in the puzzle, and somehow, my mind wouldn't budge off that.

Maybe Noah knew something about the MBTN. Maybe, he would see things differently.

Sadly, there were still four more days left for me to see Noah, and I didn't feel like waiting.
If only there was a way to see Noah now...

There was a way.

A highly dangerous way, but if it worked, not only would I get all my answers, but also see Noah.

As I close my eyes and meditate, I think about the place Noah had initially given me access to and had forgotten that it was still open.

The Spirit Realm.

And that was where I was going.

*****

The street was serene yet eerie, with not a soul in sight. I felt dizzy from glancing at the identical, perfectly aligned houses glaring at me from both sides of the street like they somehow knew that I was an outsider. Trees looked almost as straight as the sidewalk, and birds chirped at timed intervals, pecking at the same spot every five seconds.

The whole place felt like a highly realistic video game simulation, the perfection exaggerated.

I had usually visited the Spirit Realm during the night. This was the first time I was visiting during the day, and it looked a lot scarier than I had expected.

The last time I was here, a strange sensation had guided me towards Noah. It was like my intuition was telling me what to do and which turn to take.

However, I couldn't sense that feeling today.

I paused in my tracks, staring at a house that felt strangely familiar. My heartbeat raced, and I walked closer, wondering if Noah was inside.

And then I felt it, two hands gripping my shoulders and moving at supersonic speed, causing the world to turn into a blur. I struggled against my captor, but they placed a well-aimed kick against my abdomen, causing me to double over.

The person was still moving, and before I knew it, I was slammed into a wall. I felt my head hit the floor, and I tried to see if I was bleeding, but I instead saw stars.

And when the stars disappeared, I'm left with a black, soulless sky.

*****

When I opened my eyes again, I saw pale green eyes the colour of mint toothpaste glaring at me.

"What were you thinking, you complete idiot!" Shouted the person in front of me.

I rubbed my eyes, and sat up, recognising my captor to be Shay. Her white-blond hair was messed up sassily, and she was holding a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

"Anyone could've seen you, including the ISA!" Shay yelled. "Didn't you build a Realm so that you never come here?"

"I wanted to see Noah urgently," I explained.

"Urgently?" Shay mocked. "What's so urgent?"

"Is Noah here?" I tried to peek behind her, glancing around the room for the first time. "I'd rather talk to him."

"You don't trust me?" Shay raised her eyebrows, looking affronted. "I told Noah to look for the sunset in your stupid realm. I was the one who guided your dog after her death."

Shay took a hearty swig of her alcohol.

"And right now, I just rescued you! Are you really that dense that you don't understand the gravity of this situation?" Shay spat out, before gulping down her alcohol.

I scowled at her ugly face, even though I knew that she was right.

"I had to see Noah. It's about my brother," I told her, my patience wavering. "And if you can't help me, I'm going to leave."

"Noah isn't here," Shay gave me an evil grin. "He's at work."

I threw her a look of disbelief. "Why do I think you're lying?"

"Because you're stupid. You know, I thought you were smart, but you're clearly so retarded-"

"Shut up, Shay!" I got up, tired of her insults. "I get it, you can't help me. I'm going to leave..."

She drew back, her eyes narrowing. "So you don't trust me. Not even a tiny bit."

"No, I don't. Goodbye." I walked towards the door, and a split second later I realised that we were in Noah's room. The blue walls, the messy interior, and the Noahness of it just screamed to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Shay, who was chugging down another bottle of alcohol.

"I'm waiting for Noah," Shay replied tartly, removing the bottle from her mouth.

"Well, in that case, I'll wait too," I said, and sat on the edge of the bed.

Shay got up, her eyes scanning over my face. She was nothing like the sickly sweet girl like last time, but rather she was looking at me with so much dislike that I couldn't help but hate her back.

"You can't wait." Shay shook her head, sitting next to me on the bed. "You'll be invading upon our privacy."

"Privacy?" I questioned, now wary.

"Of course, I can't be alone with my boyfriend if you're gawking at us," Shay replied swiftly, handing me a bottle of alcohol.

"Your boyfriend?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah, my boyfriend Noah," Shay laughed, now picking up another bottle for herself.

"NOAH IS YOUR BOYFRIEND?" My jaw dropped, and I saw her smiling smugly at me.

"That's what I just said," Shay said, as she took the bottle from my hand and opened it for me.

"No... You're lying!" I said in a high voice, taking the bottle from her hand. "I mean, this doesn't make sense."

"Love isn't about logic or making sense. Love is about feeling." Shay replied deeply.

"But, he said that he couldn't lust over people and that the ISA forbids it..."

"To hell with the ISA!" Shay screamed. "You know that Noah doesn't care about the rules."

"Why should I believe you?" I took a sip of the alcohol. I had never really drunk alcohol, except wine, and I found it tasting bland, but it strangely made me calmer.

"Because it's the truth." Shay snorted.

"But he said that I was hot..." I turned towards Shay with suspicion.

"He said that to be polite. You didn't honestly take that to heart, did you?" Shay leaned forward and messed up my tangled hair. "Poor, pathetic Renee."

I stared at the floor, feeling my heart slowly crack into pieces.

Noah was just being friendly.

He wasn't attracted to me at all.

I was just the infatuated, stupid idiot who fell for a guy, who had absolutely no feelings for me.

This time I gulped the alcohol, feeling much better, the liquid searing through my thoughts.

"Renee, you may be book smart, but there are other kinds of smart too, alright?" Shay said gently as if she were talking to a toddler. "For one thing, you're severely lacking in the department of street smartness."

"Maybe I am," I shrugged, taking another sip.

"At least you're smart enough to not resent me for dating Noah," She said in a honeyed voice and I tried to ignore her.

"Why are you here?" Shay asked me after a while. "Did you come to confess your undying love for Noah?"

Her voice was heavy with sarcasm, but I'm so depressed that I ignore it.

"No. I wanted to ask him something." I took a deep breath, "See, I have this need to always know and figure out things. And right now, I'm on the brink of figuring something out."

"What do you mean?" Shay prodded gently.

I tossed Shay a careful glance. She looked sincere, waiting patiently for me.

Maybe I could trust her...

"I wanted to ask him if he knew about the MBTN," I shrugged.

"MBTN. Hmm... Doesn't ring a bell," Shay leaned back, looking thoughtful.

"Or Sir Johannes? The guy wrote a highly detailed book about the Spirit Realm," I said, and Shay widened her eyes.

"Sir Johannes? That criminal mastermind?" Shay grinned. "He's my role model."

"You know him?" I stared at her, shocked.

"Not personally, but I wish I did," Shay sighed. "The number of times he sneaks to the Earthly Realm and back, without anyone noticing... Wow, he's like the greatest Spirit ever."

"How can a Spirit write a book, a solid object in the Earthly Realm?" I wondered aloud.

Shay seemed to be thinking deeply. At last, she shrugged. "I haven't got a clue, but he's a spiritual genius. He has his own secret ways, Renee."

"Woah, that's cool." I smiled.

"It really is." Shay agreed.

I told her the story about Mike and his business. Shay listened intently, having completely abandoned her bottle of alcohol.

"I feel like you're reading too much into it since it seems like a coincidence," Shay remarked at the end. "Besides, your brother didn't finalise on the name or anything, did he?"

"No. He said that he'll change it." I replied.

"Hmm. Then there might not be a problem." Shay nodded.

"When is Noah going to come back?" I asked her, feeling tired all of a sudden. There was no use in sitting and talking to Shay all day.

"No idea." Shay shrugged. "But it's safer for you to leave. You know that you can't stay for long, right?"

I gulped down the remaining alcohol, wondering how weird everything was. I had come to the Spirit Realm, and I was drinking with Shay in Noah's room.

Sounds fantastic.

"See you around, Renee!" Shay chirped.

"Bye, Shay," I said tiredly, as I got up from the bed.

I closed my eyes and thought of my human body, all the way back in the Earthly Realm.
I felt myself fading from Noah's room, getting pulled back into my body, and when I opened my eyes, I was back in my room.

As reality hit me, only one thing stood out clearly amidst the others.

Shay was Noah's girlfriend.

And that broke my heart.

*****

(A/N :
We've reached 500 votes and 2.4k reads on Realm of Renee, and I'm so happy!!! Thank you all my readers for your support and encouragement, without which this wouldn't have been possible! ❤️

On a less exciting note, I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, and hence I'll be updating only once a week, on Saturdays. I really hope that you all continue to support this book like always! )