The Whisper Seekers

It's Exhausting to Know Everyone's Thoughts

His thoughts are racing at a million miles an hour. I don't want her to go. How do I tell my mom? What if something happens and we break up? What happens when she goes to college? I can't leave her behind. I listen and he closes his eyes. I leap onto him and throw my arms around his neck. I kiss him and he secures me around my waist. I inhale the scent I'm becoming too familiar with.

Between kisses, he says, "We'll figure this out, okay? I won't leave you unless you want me to. We'll figure it out as we go." He kisses me again and I wrap my arms around his waist.

"I can take this day by day if you promise not to leave during the school year. You have to stay through graduation," I tell him.

He reluctantly nods his head and holds his pinkie out to me. With a smile, I grab onto it with my pinkie and tell him, "You can't break a pinkie promise." He smiles too and leans down to kiss me again. When I open my eyes, I don't see him. I feel him around me, but we've disappeared. I pull away from him and suddenly we are both in full sight.

"Did you walk me to my car last night? At the stadium," I ask.

"I just wanted to make sure you got to your car safely, but I didn't want Harper to spot us," he grabs onto my hands and adds, "I didn't want to fight when I told you about this Ellie, I just wanted you to know why it took me a little while to tell you."

I nod and he pulls me over so we can both sit back on the bench.

"That's the exact reason I haven't told anyone my secrets," I say as I lean onto his shoulder, "I don't know what their reactions would be if they found out. It becomes exhausting to know everyone's thoughts all the time. It's hard to have a conversation with anyone. I used to love finding out secrets about people and then file them away in case I ever needed them, but now, nothing is a mystery. I know everything about everyone and I know what everyone thinks about me. It's definitely made me grow thicker skin."

"I am with you there. Being the poor kid with an absent father generated a lot of thoughts from the people in our old town. I was a pity party to people all the time. I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't wait to get away. I was so glad when Mom decided to get the hell out of that town."

"So your dad has no idea about what you can do?"

He shakes his head, "Nope. My mom has even made it clear that if he found us, I am not supposed to share a detail of what I can do. To be honest, I think it freaks her out that I can openly read her mind so she chooses to stay away from me. She's made a lot of mistakes in life and she doesn't like me knowing about all of them."

"Yeah, I would never tell my parents. I couldn't watch their reactions or listen to how they honestly felt about me cheating my way through life." It's weird to finally say these things out loud. These secrets I've held so close to me for years just flow out of me now. And what's amazing is that I don't feel like I am being judged.

I pull a penny from my pocket and place it in Liam's hand. I imagine a dime is in his hand and soon he thinks that's what he sees.

"You're still holding a penny," I tell him, "I've just made you think it's a dime." He runs his finger along the edge and smiles, "Yeah, it's smooth. There are no ridges." I turn the penny into a quarter and he smiles.

"And now you're the only person who knows how my trick works," I say as I grab the penny from his hand. "Have any of the others you've met had only the ability to read minds? Or did they all have multiple talents?" I ask as he leans his head against mine. The light breeze is attempting to cool us off and it's nice to be alone.

"I think all of them have the ability to read minds and then, as far as I know, they only had one other talent, like you do. I'm still the only one I know with three. He looks out toward the grassy field beyond the swing set and continues, "I always wondered if I developed this talent through thinking about it. When I was little, my parents used to have loud, scary fights and I wished I could become invisible and leave the house without them noticing. I was stunned when one day I could actually do it." His fingers trace the lines in my palm and all the angry energy is gone. His touch is soft and his lightness gives me goosebumps.