19th May 2019

RENEE

When we entered the ICU, I saw my brother standing near my body, clutching my right hand with his.

"Renee," He whispered, "I..."

"Sir, you are not supposed to enter," a nurse walked in, "No one is allowed in the ICU."

"But she's my sister!" He protested as the nurse steered him out. "I don't even know if she's going to be alive!"

"Well, she is alive, sir," The nurse replied tartly. "By the way, are you, Jeff, from L.O.Ltube?"

"Yeah I am, will that get me back inside?" Mike snapped.

So he really was Jeff...

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask the doctor, sir." The nurse informed him. "Oh, and my daughter's crazy about you. Can you give me an autograph if you're free?"

"Sure, whatever," He sighed as he leaves.

"That's your brother?" Noah asked me.

"Yeah. That's Mike," I told him. "Why?"

"He seems familiar for some reason," Noah mumbled then shook his head. "Anyway, we've got work to do."

I tried to lie down on my body, adjusting my arms and legs to the exact position I was in. Noah stood next to my body, placing his long fingers on my forehead.

"What makes you feel human, Renee?" Noah questioned in a low, meditating voice that hardly suited his cheery personality.

"I don't know... What makes you a spirit, Noah?" I laughed, and he rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"You're too happy to be a human again, I see," He shook his head. "Unfortunately, we don't have time."

"Why?" I asked.

"Do you always need to know everything?" He crossed his arms, throwing me a challenging look.

"Yup," I replied, crossing my arms too.

He gave me a smirk, "Fine, then I won't be telling you."

"No-ah!" I whined playfully, tugging the front of his t-shirt. "Tell me."

"No chance, Renee," He gave me an evil grin, leaning towards me, and placed his fingers on my forehead, my head against the pillow.

I stared at his blue eyes, and he looked deep into my grey ones, unblinking. A moment passed, and we stayed the same until he cleared his throat.

"You're supposed to close your eyes."

"Oh right," I muttered, "Sorry."

Even when I closed my eyes, I imagined him staring intensely at me, and felt my face considerably heat up.

"What makes you human, Renee?" He started in the same low voice, which suddenly sounded deeper.

"Okay... food makes me feel quite human," I told him.

"Then think about your favourite food." He instructed, his fingers pressing upon my forehead. "The idea is that your thought must resonate at a high energy, which makes it easier for me to send you back into your body."

"Okay." I closed my eyes and concentrated on what I liked to eat.

Burgers.

Pizzas.

Ice-cream.

"Not working," he said.
I shrugged and tried to get up, but he shushed me and sent me back inside.

I thought about my school, and the invention I had wanted to display at the fair. And all my friends, especially Clover. And of course Truffles.

"Filling a void is the easiest way to resonate at a high energy." He told me. "Think about what you lack, not what you already have."

"Well, an hour ago I didn't have them," I snapped. "Besides I don't lack anything. My brother is back too."

"No, you lack something," Noah insisted, his voice so low that I almost couldn't hear him.
"I see an empty void of desire."

"Desire? Ugh, no way!" I opened my eyes in disbelief.

"I know that you think you're above such stuff," Noah said, with a hint of sarcasm, "But guess what, you're not. No human is."

I glared at him, as he gave me a smirk, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Can we please continue?" He asked with mock politeness, and I rolled my eyes deliberately, before shutting them again.

I thought of all the things I didn't have in my life.

Perfect Grades? Check.

Happy Family? Check, (at least my brother was back)

Good friends? Check.

Truffles? Check.

Food? Check.

I racked my brains for the other things I could possibly want.

Money? Not a desire, but check?

Fame? I was well known as the class nerd and inventor. Check.

Intellect? I thought about all the blueprints I'd drawn in my room, never quite coming around to build any of it.

I'd wanted to build so many things, but I'd actually built only a small per cent of it.
Including the homework completer.

"Well, that's not quite it," Noah said faintly, his low voice rumbling. "But, you're close."

"Okay," I breathed, not understanding why I wasn't getting to figure out the void.

Love? Check.

My parents and friends loved me. I wasn't bad on the self-love department either.

Which left...

Oh no, no no no.

Romance.

A sudden image of me walking with a boy comes to my mind. He leaned in for a kiss, his arms wrapping around my waist, and I was completely breathless, overwhelmed by something so simple.

He then pulled away, and my fingers touched his face, caressing every feature.
His high cheekbones. Bright blue eyes. Straight black hair.
He grinned at me.

I gasped violently upon realising who he was.

My eyes flew open to see Noah in front of me, grinning widely. A light emanated from my spirit self, rich, golden, calming. As I aligned to the confines of my body, I glowed brighter, into pure white colour.

"We're done!" Noah exclaimed excitedly. "You've figured it out, Renee! The void is now filled."

"Okay," I told him, still in shock, "Noah, did you see what I just saw?"

"No, I didn't, but whatever thought it was, it surely had high energy." He replied while pulling out his phone.

I sighed in relief, he hadn't seen the kiss in my head.

I watched him typing excitedly into his phone, his fingers gliding rapidly over the screen.
"I can't believe that we did it," He exclaimed, grinning at me. "You have strong psychic abilities, Renee."

"Thanks," I said, as I observed his face, stunned at how he looked the same in my vision.

"That's it, then. You can enter anytime now," Noah said quite cheerfully, pocketing his phone.
"Bye, Renee! Enjoy being a human again!"

He was leaving already?

"Wait, Noah, wait," I said, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Did you forget something?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"I... Thanks," I said, not trusting myself anymore. Better not complicate stuff. "Bye Noah."

"Don't mention it," He smiled, "It's my job."

With that, I got into my body, while staring at Noah the whole time.

Wishing that time would stand still so that I could stay in this moment forever. Knowing that our goodbyes had come too soon.

When I finally forced myself to close my eyes, I knew.

Knew that from now onwards, Noah would be a mere memory.

And I didn't want to accept it.

*****

I woke up to an oxygen mask on my face, and my body covered in bandages. My head was heavily bandaged too, except for the slits around my eyes and mouth.

I felt groggy, sore like I was waking up from a long dream. It took a few seconds for me to feel the pain hit my nerves, and when it did, I nearly died.

No wonder my soul was severed from my body.

When the nurse entered, she gasped at me.

"Doctor, you won't believe it, she's awake!"

Which led to a slew of doctors and nurses entering and examining every part of me.

"How do you feel?" A doctor asked me, the same one that had spoken to my parents earlier.

I blinked at him, unable to find the strength to speak.

"Oh, and you're in a hospital. Don't worry, we've just run you through minor surgery." He said in a reassuring tone.

Yeah right. Minor surgery.
The glass piece in my leg probably said otherwise.

Then, once they felt like my vitals were steady, they let my parents inside.

Followed by my very surprised brother.

"Oh, Renee! Sweetie, don't worry, okay? You've hurt your head and stomach just a bit, but you'll be fine soon." Mom caressed my face.

"Yes, she's right, Renee," Dad gave me a warm look. "You're too strong to be affected by something like this."

I felt the pain subsiding, not only because the nurse had injected something into my arm, but also because of the encouraging words my parents had just said.

"Renee," My brother said finally, "I'm Mike."

I blinked at him.

"I'm back now," He said, throwing my dad a dirty look before turning back to me, "I won't leave you ever again."

Dad pretended to ignore him as he grasped my hand.

"Well, she's still tired, so I would advise you to visit her later once she regains strength." The doctor advised and my parents' nod. Mike still watched me with shock, as though he couldn't believe that I was alive. Then he gave me a small smile, to which I had slowly blinked.

I soon drifted back into sleep and tried to forget the throbbing pain in my head.

*****