29th May 2019

RENEE

Two days ago, I was discharged from the hospital and was finally back home. Truffles was the one who missed me the most since she hadn't seen me for more than a week.

She made up for it by spending every minute by my side, acting as my personal guardian.

The doctor had asked me to use crutches to move around, and it was a bit of a hassle to get used to it. I'd also turned the guest room temporarily into my bedroom since it was on the ground floor. That made it easier to move around the house.

Now that I was home, I felt free to work on the device I'd been planning to make, one that would help me create a stable Realm.

The Meditation Stimulator.

At least that was what I called it until I got a better name.

Truffles was my only help since she was the one who makes sure that my family didn't see the device. I'd told her that it was a secret, and somehow it seemed like she understood what I was doing.

How important it was to me.

Clover, on the other hand, disapproved of the whole set-up. She wasted no time in telling me that it wouldn't work, that I'd rather improve my psychic abilities than create a machine for making a realm.

"Renee, this isn't going to happen. There's a reason why no one mixes spirituality with science." She told me severely, as I worked on the device.

"I wonder why?" I asked her dryly, as I attached the generator to the helmet. Plugging the helmet in, I switched it on, waiting for it to heat up until the forcefield was created.

The electric force field would appear in the exact location of the pineal gland when I wore my helmet. It would stimulate my gland, helping me focus better on the Realm, giving me sufficient energy to make it stable.

"Renee," Clover wailed, watching me as I place the helmet on my head and tighten the straps under my chin. It began to buzz, and sparks of excess energy flew out, dissipating into thin air.

Then there was a sudden boom before the machine switched off. I removed it immediately, putting out the smoke that came from the device. Truffles barked in panic, but she soon stopped, realising that I was alright.

Beside me, Clover choked on the smoke, cursing under her breath.

"I guess the current was too high," I looked at the generator, trying to adjust the flow of the current.

"Renee, please don't kill yourself in the process," Clover wailed, eyeing the machine with hatred.

"Maybe that's the only way I can see Noah again," I joked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Don't you dare use Noah to lure me into excusing you," She shook her finger threateningly. "A girl can have a crush, but she can't kill herself for him."

"Gee, Cloves. I was just kidding. See, I'm alright." I placed the machine on the table, wondering why it didn't work. I had to do some fine adjustments until it actually did the job, I guess.

A sudden knock on my door made me shove the machine into the desk drawer, and the tools in my cupboard. Truffles sat up, her ears all pointy.

"Sam's here," Clover announced, once she answered the door, frowning for some reason.

"Oh good. I'd just messaged him." I nodded, taking my machine out.

The next minute, Sam entered, carrying his bulky bag. He grinned at me, placing the bag on my bed. Truffles sniffed at him, then wagged her tail.

"Did you get it?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"What?" Clover asked, looking from me to him.

"The generator." He answered, placing it in my hand.

"Is it new?" I inquired, as I examined it.

"It's brand new," Sam replied shortly. "Just like you'd wanted."

Sam worked at a digital shop in his free time, where he often found spare parts and wires and sold them outside for a higher price. He claimed that it wasn't illegal, rather a chance for the parts to be put to use again.

"Don't you have a newer one? This looks a little old..."

Sam studied the generator and gave it back to me. "It's the best that I have. Will you take it or not?"

"I'll take it," I replied hastily, as I tried to shove it inside when he grabbed it suddenly.

"It costs a hundred dollars," He said, holding it out of my reach.

"Won't you reduce it for me?" I asked him sweetly, but he didn't even blink.

"Only if you do my homework for a month," He answered mercilessly.

Clover made an impatient noise, pointing to my leg. "She's injured, Sam. She hardly has time to do her homework. And you want her to do yours?"

Sam shrugged as he put it inside. "No homework, no generator." He said simply.

"Can I do at least your math homework?" I tried to compromise, eyeing the shiny generator that was peeking out of his bag.

"Okay. Fifty dollars?" He asked again.

"And physics," I added.

"Deal." He gave it to me, wrapped in plastic. "Twenty dollars, Renee."

Clover smashed my piggy bank and handed him the note, while I clutched onto the generator like it was a newborn baby.

Sam carefully placed the note inside his pocket, before dumping his math homework on my desk that I needed to solve later. Clover glared at him as he scrambled out, highly disapproving of the whole set-up.

"What do you need that thing for?" She asked, looking at the board with distaste.

"For the meditation stimulator, of course. Since I just burnt the old one." I pulled out the old smoky generator with my bare hands and tossed it into the trash can, which Truffles pushed towards me.

Clover sighed, "Do you really need to do this, Ren?"

"I want to, Cloves. And it's not just about seeing Noah again. It's about the Spirit Realm... How it seems so fascinating."

Her eyes softened. "You never believed in such stuff. Now, look at you," She smiled, and took the helmet in her hands.

I smiled back, glad that Clover finally approved.

*****

After lunch, Clover and I took a break on the porch, just like old times. Truffles joined us again, her head upon my lap.

"Mom's working late tonight too," Clover told me, her face lined with worry. "I think she's thinking about my dad again."

Clover's dad had died two years ago and her mom was never the same since. She immersed herself in work, completely neglecting Clover, who at this point had been unofficially adopted by my family.

"So it's a sleepover time again?" I asked Clover with a grin, trying to take her mind off her mom.

"Yeah," Clover said unenthusiastically.

Suddenly we heard a loud snore, and I realised that Truffles has fallen asleep on my lap. We giggled at her, and I thought about how lazy Truffles had become in the past few weeks.

I touched her forehead, and she still seemed asleep, unmoving.

"I didn't know Truffles could snore," Clover looked at Truffles curiously.

"Me neither," I replied. "Maybe she ate a bug from the garden or something."

"Eww gross," Clover laughed. "Do you even feed her properly?"

"Of course I do!" I answered, then try to wake Truffles up.

"Get up girl, too much sleep isn't good." I shook her back.

Truffles didn't stir.

"Did she stop snoring?" Clover asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," I replied, "Truffles wake up!"

Truffles lay motionless on my lap.

Panic hit me, my vision became blurry with tears.

"Truffles!" I screamed. "Wake up! Wake up, wake up!"

I quickly lowered her to the ground, placed my hands on her, trying to resuscitate her like the vet had taught me.

In. Out. In. Out.

"Truffles! Girl, wake up! Please!" I sobbed as I continued with the chest compressions.

It didn't work, and after five minutes of trying, I knew it was useless. Clover's cheeks were glazed with tears as she quickly called my parents and Mike out for help.

Somehow, my parents called the vet, and he arrived soon, completely shocked at what had happened.

"She was a healthy dog, there was no need for her to... Oh..." His eyes widened as he examined her pupils, then her mouth. He checked for her heartbeat and took his stethoscope off, dejected.

"It's poisoning. She must've eaten a poisonous weed." The vet stood up and hung his head.
"I'm sorry, but she's dead."

Tears fell down my face, as I watched a motionless Truffles, wishing that I could see her alive again. Knowing that it would never be a possibility.

I thought about how Truffles had evaded death in the car accident. How it would've created a minor imbalance in the Spirit Realm.
How her death now would balance the scales again.

The ISA were back for her soul, and this time, they were successful.

My dog had to die.

It was fated to happen, sooner than later.

*****

(A/N: Guys, I'm so so sorry about Truffles, had a hard time writing this😭😭😭)