(Warning: Some parts have mentions of abuse and self-harm, so please read at your own risk!!!)

2nd August 2019

RENEE

I was in the headquarters of ISA, watching the two Spirits in a conversation.

Sir Claudius paced anxiously around his office. Shay observed him, her arms crossed, her eyes sharp, as she waited for his answer.

"You are demanding a lot from me, Spirit Guide Shay Williams," Claudius spoke telepathically.

"It is simply a matter of your choice, Higher Spirit, Sir Claudius," She replied, with the air of a negotiator.

I'd never seen this side of Shay. She wasn't drunk and angry, but rather reasonable and business-like, which is why Claudius found himself considering her proposal.

To join the Astrascends. A group that would aim at liberating a large number of Spirits from the ISA.

"You know about the ISA more than anyone, Sir Claudius," Shay said. "Another hundred years of service, and even then would they never divulge the secret of reaching the White Realm."

Sir Claudius stopped pacing, now watching Shay carefully.

He had two choices ahead of him.

To either lick the shoes of Lord Augustus or become Lord Claudius himself.

This wasn't the first time Shay had informed him of the plan. He had been thinking about this for the past one month, and while he wanted to join, he was afraid of the consequences.

Consequences that wouldn't even matter when he'd reached the White Realm?

The ISA would see him as a criminal.

The ISA were the real criminals. The ones who had punished innocent Noah for no real reason.

Claudius paused, thinking about Spirit Guide Noah Stark. How he was on the run for ascending to the ninth dimension.

It was finally time to stand against the ISA who had bullied him and countless others for years.

To show them that he wouldn't turn a blind eye to this system of injustice anymore.

Trusting him to take the right decision, I watched him anxiously, before his cloudy face broke into the smallest of smiles.

"I will join the Astrascends," He answered.

Then the scene disappeared, leaving me no time to analyse what Shay was up to.

***

Broken, dilapidated houses stood before me, and my eyes fell to the floor, with deep red stains that could be blood.

Blood that belonged to a wounded puppy, who was chained to the metal gate, howling and begging to be released from this torture.

"Stupid dog," Yelled a harsh voice. "I can't even sleep with all that noisy barking."

The puppy was oblivious to the sounds, still struggled against the chains, the wounds fresh from recent abuse. This made the owner throw another stone, one that hit the metal gate, before falling on the puppy's tiny head.

I knew that I couldn't change the thoughts of the abusive owner this time. The puppy was the only living thing in my line of vision, and I didn't see a way out of this.

Unless there was a way to release her.

I walked up to the puppy, and found her staring at me, her bright eyes carrying a familiar warmth. I'd often heard stories that animals could see beyond the physical reality, and I found it is proved for the very first time.

Surprisingly, I felt my hands solidifying, touching the cold metal chain, and releasing the puppy who had been chained for three long days.

She gave me a little bark, a little thank you, before dashing away into freedom, her tail wagging rapidly at the million possibilities life seemed to offer.

I knew what would happen.

Two days from now, the animal protection services would find her. A week later, the little puppy would be adopted into a better family.

And that's when Renee Durvont would decide to name the little puppy Truffles.

***

"This is your last test," The Enlightened said, their voice echoing.

I nodded readily.

What I saw wasn't something I was expecting.

A woman in her late twenties was curled up on her sofa, crying about her baby who had died nearly a year ago. They had been on a fishing trip, and her daughter had toppled off the boat, resurfacing dead before her very eyes.

She was completely traumatised by this. Her life had lost all its meaning.

Maybe life wasn't worth living anymore.

She stood up, and walked to her cupboard, before taking out a bottle. It was rat poison, and I suddenly realised what it implied.

She was going to kill herself.

The temptation was so strong, stripping her off her rationality. She unscrewed the bottle so fast that the cap fell off and rolled onto the floor.

I couldn't convince her strong mind. Not when she was in no position to listen to anyone else.

What should I do now?

Then I nearly laughed at how simple yet amusing the solution was.

The sudden noise of her phone ringing caused the bottle to slip off her fingers and crash onto the ground. Her eyes darted in annoyance before she picked up the call, completely irritated.

"Is this Mrs Emily Orden?"

"Yes," She spat out.

"My daughter, Gabrielle, was in your class last year. And she wanted to talk to you because you're her favourite teacher."

She thought about five-year-old Gabrielle giving her a flower every morning. And the card she'd made on her birthday. Her heart warmed at the thought, completely forgetting what she wanted to do a few seconds ago.

As Gabrielle spoke with her tender voice graced by that little lisp, praising her and telling her that she was the best teacher in the world...

Sometimes that's all we need to hear.
A reminder of the change we can bring into another person's life.

I smiled. As I higher Spirit, I had the power to change circumstances of the physical reality, to aid with the matters of the mind. Just like how Lady Teresa had assumed the form of Truffles.

As the woman looked at her life in a new light, the surroundings transformed back into the White Expanse.

***

"Congratulations Renee. You have passed your test." The Enlightened spoke in a thunderous voice.

I was elated. I only did my best to help all those people out, and I was thrilled to find out that I'd done the right thing.

"We are pleased to tell you that you are officially one of the Highest Spirits," They spoke, their voices rising. "We would be delighted, if you joined us, the Enlightened."

Happiness exploded through me.
I'd done it. I'd done it. I'd finally done it.

"Upon joining us, you will be devoted to an eternity of service, working as a harbinger of love and peace. We do not impose, we offer. However, once you join us, you cannot leave."

I couldn't leave? But what about my life back on earth? What about Clover?

What about the ISA who were searching for me? Did Lord Augustus know what I'd done? Was he standing here, among the enlightened?

"I have a lot of questions," I replied. "And I need to go through my options before I accept the offer."

A smaller beam of light separated herself from the larger one that vanished into thin air.

"Renee," It was Lady Teresa. "I know that you only approached the White Realm to save Clover. You do not truly wish to stay here."

"That's right, Lady Teresa."

"Unfortunately, that puts us in a bit of a dilemma," She said, her voice wavering. "Either you join the Enlightened and stay in the White Realm, or you leave."

"What happens if I leave?"

"You cannot exercise your abilities as the Highest Spirit," She said. "You can simply take the form of a beam of light."

"So I do not gain the knowledge to know everything right away?" I asked. Noah told me that if you reached the White Realm, you become all-knowing.

"Exactly."

I fell silent. If I didn't gain that ability to know everything, how would I know where Clover was?

"It isn't necessarily a bad thing, Renee," She said gently. "Many highest Spirits do not join the Enlightened. It demands a lot, especially from a human like you. You would be required to leave your life, and everyone you love behind."

She was right.

I wasn't ready to join the Enlightened yet.

"I understand that you reached the White Realm with the noble cause of finding your friend. We appreciate your selflessness, and would like to grant you a gift."

"A gift?" I asked.

"The gift of three questions," She explained. "You see, Renee, the Enlightened are all-knowing. You may ask me three questions, and I shall answer them. So ask wisely."

I paused, wondering what I should ask to get the maximum information out of her.

"What exactly happened to Clover and Mike?"

Immediately, a series of images from the past came to me. Mike running away from home and meeting an old man who eventually possessed him.

His LOLtube fame and his possessed friends being the ones behind my car accident and bookshelf incident.

Mike explaining all this to Clover, when he was possessed again. He ended up stabbing Clover and made it look like a car accident. 

Clover was now trapped in a fifth-dimensional realm, and the coordinates flashed before my eyes.

"Thank you," I replied, once I was met with the white expanse again.

"No problem," She answered. "Next question, Renee."

"How do I deal with the ISA?" I asked, remembering that the ISA was still after me.

Shay's face swam before my eyes.

"She is a resourceful Spirit, she will support you in your endeavours," Lady Teresa informed. "Sometimes the aid of a foe is more significant than what it may seem to be."

Of a foe.

Shay was my enemy?

And yet she was going to help me?

"Thank you again," I answered, wondering how this would play out.

Which led me to my last question.

"Noah and I... Can we ever truly be together?" I asked, knowing that the words I spoke were from the heart.

If Lady Teresa could smile, she surely did for this one.

"The answer lies in you, Renee. So far, your relationship has thrived based on Noah's choices and your own. I think that is far more important than circumstances or fate." She told me.

When I continued to look puzzled, she spoke up again.

"It isn't a yes or no, Renee. It is simply a matter of how far you would go for love," She clarified. "Remember, you are the sculptor of your destiny." 

"Thank you once again, Lady Teresa," I bowed down out of respect, knowing that she couldn't be clearer than this.

How Noah and I would do anything to be with each other.

How we'd already risked so much, and yet we were ready to risk more, no matter how dire the situation was.

How this was simply love.

Love.

Maybe Noah did really mean what he'd confessed.

"A pleasure to aid you, Renee," Lady Teresa replied warmly. "You may join the Enlightened whenever you wish to."

"I will think about it," I answered.

And as I bid farewell, I heard Truffles's little barks once again, filling my heart with so much love and warmth, and sadness too.

Reaching the White Realm felt better than I'd imagined.

*****