The Telepath's Daughter

Mind-Walking

It wasn't like the other times.

Reid had encountered various types of environments when he'd accessed people's minds. There had been hellish mazes populated with monstrous things. There had been convoluted passageways obscured by cloudy, clinging filaments. There had been repressed memories that appeared as images frozen behind thick, undulating glass. There had been quiet, ordered peace at times, too.

Melinda was none of these.

Reid didn't know if it was because they shared genetic material. He couldn't know how the inside of his own mind would appear. Can't see the forest for the trees, he thought with a faint smile.

Whatever the reason, Reid found his daughter's psyche to be beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Magnificent. And not just because I'm her dad. Mellie is truly remarkable.

He didn't want to linger too long, but he could still appreciate the sensations and visions that seemed to glow before him. Traversing Melinda's mental landscape was a joy. It was like stepping into a masterpiece of art and being able to see each brushstroke from the inside. Reid could sense the elegant construction of a work-in-progress.

When it came to worrying about his child, Reid found the clear, open vistas of her mind reassuring. He wished he could bring Ana along for the ride so she could be reassured, too. Maybe later I can share the memory of this with Ana, but for now...

Reid brought his own concentration to bear and thought "school." A small nugget of his own memories formed. He felt a respondent pull in one direction and followed it. And there was Mellie's brief experience with the educational system, beautifully, lucidly and eidetically displayed.

Reid felt a catch in his throat at the innocence of it all. There were no dark corners. Everything was set out with a joyful lack of concern. As she grows up, she'll lose some of this. She'll learn about cruelty and anger and...

I already know about those things, Daddy.

Reid caught himself. He'd forgotten this journey wasn't a one-lane highway. It was a two-way street. He couldn't poke through Melinda's thoughts and memories without her being aware of it. Just how aware was the unknown quantity in this equation. Her answer about the downside of humanity troubled him.

Mellie-bear, have the other kids been mean to you? Reid felt her stir in his arms, snuggling closer. A slight shiver rippled through the vistas of Melinda's mind. To her father, it looked like coruscating colors. He recognized the lavender-gold mistiness that had been his first impression of Mellie even before she was born.

Daddy, I learned about those things from the Bad Lady...the one who hurt Mommy and hated Uncle Aaron.

Reid's own mental state did the equivalent of a full-body cringe before he could get control of himself. Melinda hadn't ever said anything about Carol Bescardi, the woman who had kidnapped her after attacking Ana. Reid had just assumed the whole episode had happened too early in Mellie's life to be retained as an active memory. His first inclination was to throw up his shields to protect his child from the ugliness in his own mind that was there courtesy of Bescardi. But he pushed the impulse down along with as much of his own cognitive processes as possible.

I'm sorry you and Mommy had to go through that, Mellie-bear. If you ever want to talk about it, or have any questions, I'm always here for you.

I know. But there's nothing to ask. An image of the venerable, old doctor who'd attended her birth emerged. He explained everything.

Reid felt a slight chill, like a psychic effervescence. The realization of just how little he knew when it came to his daughter's retention of her experiences threatened to overwhelm him. He reminded himself of his immediate objective: to make sure Melinda hadn't compromised her or her family's safety by her behavior at school. He sent out a pulse of paternal love and hoped it would suffice as a response for the moment.