After Ené was transported to Rivemm, I lingered my eyes on Earth to keep an eye on her things. I was aware that she had a cat at home, and being the animal lover that I am, couldn’t in good conscience allow myself to be the reason her pet starved to death. Since Debbie gave me permission to interfere with Earth as I pleased, as long as it was subtle, I decided to send her little friend a signal. 

There Carl sat, at his kitchen table, clicking away on his laptop. He brought up a notepad on it, with various computer problems listed. He crossed off “Malicious Site” and looked to the next item. He leaned back in his chair and smiled a bit, blushing. 

The young man finished typing and closed his laptop while humming. He stood up and tucked his chair back under the table, then pulled out his phone and spoke to himself. “Hmm, let’s see…what do I have left for “Big Blue?” 

He checked another note on his phone that listed various computer parts. “Hm, alright.” 

I sensed the perfect opportunity to send the signal, and routed it into his mind, making him believe he needed to go and buy those parts immediately. The route he would take would be perfect for what I needed from him.

Carl made his way into his bedroom in preparation for leaving the house, his unfinished blue PC sitting on a desk in the corner of his room.

Ah… this boy is quite the deceiver. Peaking into his mind, I see countless times he’s purposefully created problems on his PC and paid Ené to fix them. Is that what he believes he needed to do in order to spend time with her? He is very fond of her, after all. Perhaps he believed she would be too busy or refuse his advances for quality time. That is unbelievably sad, how backwards his mind is. I hope he learns how to interact with other humans soon. 

The blond got into his truck and drove towards the electronics store, only to stop on the side of the road once he spotted Ené’s lone motorcycle parked in the grass. 

Confused and concerned, he pulled over and made his way to it. He called her name a few times, looking around to see if she was nearby. He pulled out his phone and called her number, only for her phone to ring within the pockets of her saddlebags. 

At this point, Carl had become extremely worried and overcome by thoughts of her having been kidnapped. He called 911 and spoke to the police, then filed a missing person’s report after checking all of her things as evidence. Forgetting all about buying those parts, he loaded Ené’s motorcycle into the bed of his truck to take it home where it wouldn’t be stolen. 

Carl drove back to his house and removed Ené’s personal things from the saddlebags before moving the motorcycle into his garage. He brought her bags into his home and stared at them for a while before having a realization. 

The young man hopped back into his truck and drove over to Ené’s abode. Making his way onto the porch, he realized he didn’t bring her keys with him to get in. Thankfully, he remembered her telling him where a spare key was hidden: in the fake bottom of a plastic porch plant.

Sweet memories of that time flooded his mind; Ene looking at him softly while saying, “If you ever need to come to my place when I’m not here, you know where to find it.”

“Is that really okay?” he’d responded out of concern.

“Of course! You’re welcome any time!” she had replied with the sweetest smile. 

Carl smiled at the memory,  a tinge of sadness in his brow for her missing state. 

He then unlocked the door and poked his head through the doorway. 

“...Ené…?” he called out weakly, “you wouldn’t be here, by chance… would you?” He waited for a moment, hoping for a response. “... Guess not…” 

He hung his head and stepped through the doorway, only to be greeted by a loud “Mrow!” from the back of the house. 

A slim Siamese cat came bounding out from the living room, prancing towards Carl with a pep in her step. She went up to him and affectionately rubbed against his legs. 

“Hey, Candid,” he said to the feline. 

Carl squatted down and gifted the cute fluffy with pets as she perched her front paws on his knees, rubbing her head lovingly into his palm. He stood back up and she reacted by jumping up and continuing her barrage of meows. 

“What is it, noodle?” he questioned, to which she walked forward a bit, looked back, and continued to scream.

“You want... food?” he asked, her responding by running towards her food bowl. When she did, he chuckled and added,“Okay, okay, hold your horses, child.” 

Carl fought with the ravenous beast to pour her food without spilling it on top of her head. She ate happily through her purrs as he sat next to her, gently petting her back. The lovesick human spent the rest of his time at Ené’s getting things together to bring Candid back home with him. A symphony of the cat’s complaints were Carl’s only music during the trip until he pulled back into his driveway. Candid took a short while to adjust to the new environment, but was easily won over by another offering of food.

Carl sat at his kitchen table, hunched over with his head in his arms. “Please be okay…” he mumbled quietly to himself. 

Candid was the only comfort he had now. 

My job here was done. I had to return to Rivemm to monitor Ené, and so Carl was left in his despair.