Empath

Chapter 25

"I'm telling you, Evelyn, there's something wrong with our son!" Adam MacAlistair raised his voice as he moved toward his four year old child, who was crying loudly.

"There's nothing wrong with William," his wife proclaimed, as she kneeled and embraced the small boy in a protective manner. "He's just sensitive, is all."

"Sensitive?" Adam scoffed. "It's one thing to be sensitive, but he cries all the time!"

"He's a child!"

"The problem isn't the crying itself," he elaborated, "it's the fact that he cries about nothing. Absolutely nothing! Every time we go out, he cries! It's like he's terrified of people!" The boy's wails grew even louder.

"He's shy!" Evelyn yelled. The word came out harshly. "It's not a crime!" She held her child right to her chest, but he flailed and tried to escape her grasp.

"When we went to the park a couple weeks ago," Adam steadied his voice a little, "we passed by Mrs. Linx, and Will started sobbing. I didn't see anything happen. I asked Will what was wrong, and he said..."

"Mrs. Linx is upset," Evelyn finished her husband's sentence. "I remember."

"But she wasn't," Adam argued. "Mrs. Linx was as chipper as always. I asked Will if she had yelled at him or something. He said... Will, tell your mom what you told me." He kneeled down beside his child.

William was still sniffling and sobbing. His mother let him go and stroked his wavy black hair in an attempt to sooth him. "What was it, honey?" She asked. But she was given no response, as the boy continued to cry and stare at a wall.

Adam was calm and collected now, and he looked straight into his wife's eyes and told her. "He said 'Can't you tell she's really, really sad? Daddy, I think something bad happened to her. Something really bad'... What am I supposed to make of that, Evie?" His gray eyes squinted at her pleadingly.

"What are you suggesting?" She let go of her child's hair and looked at her husband with her sad periwinkle eyes. "Do you think...?"

Adam nodded. His red curls fell into his face. "This might sound weird coming from me. You know I don't believe in anything supernatural, but... I think our son is psychic."

"Psychic?" She asked, wide-eyed. "Not sick?"

"I don't think he's delusional, if that's what you mean," the father said. "I think he saw something in Mrs. Linx that we couldn't see."

The mother looked to the side and pondered this concept. "It's possible, but... how do we know? There's no way of knowing if she was really upset."

"A couple days later, I went out with the guys," the father said, reluctantly, "and someone said Mrs. Linx's husband might've been cheating on her."

"Goodness!" Evelyn exclaimed, "you don't think our little Will heard that, do you?"

"I don't," he said, confidently, "which is why I'm concerned."

"Well, maybe we should take him to a specialist," she suggested.

"Like a paranormal psychologist?" He suggested.

"I was thinking a regular psychologist to start with."

"Let's do it."

"Mr. and Mrs. MacAlistair, it seems your son has Asperger Syndrome," the doctor deduced. "The sensory overload, stimming, impaired motor skills, and especially his social and emotional difficulties all point to this."

"Aspergers," Evelyn MacAlistair repeated. "So that's it. See, Adam? There is a logical explanation for this."

"Wait a second, Eve," Adam said, with suspicion in his voice. "Doc, is there any connection with Aspergers and extra-sensory abilities?"