Hospice

Truth

As the days went on, Ominis found himself going through similar routines. Only now, he had the added benefit of seeing Sebastian every now and again. In the cafeteria, Sebastian helped Ominis pick the best fruit cup, one without any dried up or discolored fruit. Sebastian also took Ominis to the kid's room down the hall, a place Ominis was too nervous to go in alone, due to the screaming children and overwhelming smells.

"And if anyone messes with you—" A thud, like Sebastian punched his own palm. "—they'll answer to me."
Ominis giggled. "Okay. Just try not to get into too many fights."
"Who, me? Never."

And sure enough, Sebastian was a natural in a group. He talked to anyone with impunity, and always seemed to know what to say. Ominis saw this firsthand when two of the other children were fighting.

"It's my turn to play with the crayons," said the kid, who sounded younger than him and Sebastian.
"No it isn't!" shouted the other, about the same age as the first.
Sebastian got up from the reading corner with Ominis and headed to the art corner. Ominis followed behind, curious.

"Hey guys," said Sebastian. "What's the issue?"
"I wanna play with the crayons and she's been hogging them!"
"I have not! I'm just still playing with them!"
Sebastian went quiet for a second before responding. "Ooh, I see the problem. One of those crappy sets of 24. I hate those. Can't you just share?"
"No way, she's using all the colors I want!"
"Hmm... Hold on, I've got an idea."

Sebastian shuffled off for a moment, then returned. Ominis heard the snap of a crayon breaking, the girls yelling, and the sharpener working its magic.

"Smart," said Ominis as the girls quieted down. "Now you've got two sets of crayons."
"Yep!" Sebastian agreed. "Here you go, ladies. Two crayons and the sharpener. Now you can share!"

The girls thanked him and giggled as he walked away.

"Resourceful," said Ominis. "And a hit with girls."
"Yeah, well," Sebastian started, sounding immodestly modest. "It's really no big deal."

Ominis disagreed, but kept it to himself. Thinking about girls fawning over him, too, was both delightful and sweat-inducing. He didn't understand girls.

Later that evening, Ominis went back to his Sunday death bets, bringing Sebastian along. Ominis introduced everyone and the men took to Sebastian just as easily as the kids.

"If Ominis says you're all right," said Richard. "Ya must be."
"Thanks, Rich," said Sebastian. "It comes naturally."

The group laughed, including Ominis. Laughter felt so alien to his body, so bizarre as it rocked his core, so good as it lightened up his face. Everyone staked their claims for the week's death bets, except Sebastian, as Ominis waited for a passing nurse. When one rolled a cart through, he dug into her mind as fast as he could.

'God, I miss my cat—Pauline is doing much better—Herman loved his family visit today—I think Betty's dementia is finally getting to her, the poor woman. Couldn't remember her daughter last week, but that sudden clarity today isn't a good sign.'

"20 bucks on Betty," he said.
"Batty Betty?" Phil asked. "I've given up on her. I don't think the reaper will ever claim that old crone."
"Are you doubting the master?" asked Tony. "The little man is two for two! I swear he's got a gift or something!"
"Is it too late to change my bet?" joked Richard.

When everyone headed off to their rooms for the evening, Sebastian walked with Ominis back to his room.

"What did they mean you 'have a gift'?" asked Sebastian.
"Oh, umm... I'm not sure. I just guessed right a couple times and they think I'm psychic or something."
"How did you guess right? Do you know the patients here?"
"Not really." Ominis shrugged. "I don't know."
"Oh, come on, Ominis. You expect me to believe that out of all the people living here, you just happened to know who was gonna die by pure luck? I might be a stupid kid, but I'm not that stupid."

Ominis stopped in the middle of the hall and rolled his cane in his sweating palms. His heart rate kicked up at the thought of telling Sebastian his secret. Would Sebastian even believe him? Would Sebastian think he's weird?

"You might think I'm crazy," said Ominis, voice soft so no one else could hear. "I've never told anyone this before, so you have to promise to keep it a secret."
"Of course, I promise," said Sebastian, whispering just as quietly.
"Ever since I was a little kid, I could read people's minds."
"No way. What am I thinking?"

He probed into Sebastian's mind. 'There's no way he could. But what if he can? Oh man, I might be in trouble. How much can he see?'

"I can see as much as I want," Ominis answered aloud. "Even things you aren't actively thinking. I can't see your memories with my vision, but I can feel your remorse and guilt for pushing Anne off the monkey bars last year. Try not to be so hard on yourself."

There was a lull in their conversation. Ominis wished to see Sebastian's face—if he was shocked into silence, repulsed by his intrusion, or terrified of what Ominis could do. Ominis' adrenaline coursed through him, pulsing in his ears. Fear gripped his mind, keeping him focused on Sebastian's presence, heightening him to any little thing Sebastian could be doing. There was a muttering whisper of a breathless, "woah", nigh imperceptible.

"That's so cool, Ominis," said Sebastian. "No, that's not just cool, that's amazing. So that's how you're winning these death bets?"
"Yeah, I'm reading the minds of the nurses. I don't really like doing it, but..."
"But?"
"I finally have people who like me and accept me. I finally have money to buy things that I want. I finally have a reason to use my power instead of being afraid of it."
"Why would you be afraid of it?"

Ominis quickly probed deep into Sebastian's mind, like second nature. He felt things he had no business feeling, knew things he had no business knowing. It all hit him hard, rushing through his mind like the fuse of a firework until it hit its explosive crescendo, ending in the gas leak and collapsed home that ultimately killed Sebastian's parents. When he came to reality, Ominis felt his lungs burning as he breathed heavily, and sweat dripped down his brow.

"See?" he panted. "It's that. The lack of control. Like the lack of control you feel with Anne being ill. How you feel about your Uncle Solomon. How you felt about your—"

He stopped, his senses returning though his gut still swirled. Even Sebastian breathed heavier.

"I... I'm sorry," said Ominis, composing himself and standing up straight. "I shouldn't have done that. I don't want to keep knowing these things. They scare me."
"But Ominis, your powers are incredible. It's like you can know anything about a person just by concentrating. You can use your powers to win at these death bets. You can use them to win at anything."
"I guess..."
"If you keep using them like this, who knows how much money you could get. Ominis, you're sitting on a gold mine!"
"Shh!"
"Sorry," Sebastian whispered again. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But we should keep participating in these death bets and honing your skill."

Ominis frowned. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that after his invasive search through Sebastian's memories. But he liked his mum being happy. He liked the praise he got from the death betters. And what he liked most of all was making a friend.