Noodles, 2021

"Twenty five year old JEANIE has struggled with mental health her entire life. Over the past year, she has tried everything she can to forget that it's her fault someone is dead. She works at an animal shelter and goes to church, but she can't escape the guilt. Flashbacks allude to a terrible tragedy in her life when she struck a jaywalking pedestrian with her car in her hometown. She now bears the responsibility of guilt and taking care of the victim's dog, Noodles. In an attempt to focus on herself, Jeanie hires a DOG WALKER. The Dog Walker, equally self destructive, brings out new feelings in Jeanie; perhaps she does deserve love and other good things. They begin a relationship that both of them can't commit to. Any glimpse of happiness is taken away when Jeanie takes Noodles to the vet and he is given a couple of months to live. On a night where Jeanie overcomes the urge to stay in bed all day, her medications mixed with alcohol put her in a very dangerous situation, but the near death experience doesn't faze her. She realizes she doesn't mind the thought of being dead, but needs to stay alive. Jeanie knows she must come to terms with her past tragedy and prepare for life without Noodles. She makes a plan to visit the family of her victim before Noodles' death. She finds out the dog she has been taking care of isn't the real Noodles. As her Noodles' health deteriorates, she makes the decision to get him euthanized. After Noodles is gone, she finally starts a new routine. Although she still can't forgive herself, there is a glimmer of hope that maybe she will change her life for the better." -- Abstract