The Telepath's Daughter

Complications

"Who...are...are...you?" Melinda was so scared that it came out as a breathy, half-formed whisper.

"Bobby."

Melinda tried to reach out what she'd heard Mommy refer to as a 'tendril,' but she couldn't make it work. The numb place in her brain felt like a dark sponge that was soaking up whatever energy used to come so easily, so naturally that she never doubted it would always be at her beck and call. She couldn't tell if this person before her was friend or foe. He frowned at her, which didn't do anything to make her lean toward the 'friend' side of the scale.

"What's wrong with you?" Bobby could feel something odd about this little girl's mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was. The only thing he knew was that it had nothing of the grayling rot about it. Their touch on her had left deep fissures of fear, but they hadn't been able to burrow into her psyche as he had no doubt they must have tried. His frown deepened. Can you hear me? At all?

She edged closer to her fawn as though the animal was the only source of warmth or safety left in the world.

Bobby didn't move. He sensed ESP-er power like no other he'd ever encountered in this child, but she didn't seem to be making use of it. Maybe she can't? He let his own mind drift outward, following again the psychic trail that had led him to her, and...What?! He took a step backward, retreating more from surprise than fear. She's using the fawn? How is that possible? How...?

Bobby pulled back even a little more, giving girl and deer enough room to bolt if either felt the need. He realized he was behaving the way he would with a wild animal rather than another person, but his instincts told him that's what he was dealing with. There was some sort of meshing between the two that baffled him. When he spoke, his voice was gentle.

"You're Melinda, aren't you?" The girl nodded. "I know you went to the graveyard. I've been there, too." Both girl's and fawn's eyes widened, a precursor to panic. "It's okay. I know what it's like. I got really scared, too." Both creatures still looked as though they might run at the least provocation. "And...and they can't come after you. The things that live there. The...the graylings." Bobby smiled. "That's what you named them. I never knew what to call them. I think maybe I was too scared to call them anything at all. Graylings. I like it." His smile faded a little. "I think you're braver than I was."

The compliment worked. At last, Melinda swallowed and looked a little steadier. But her voice held a tremor of uncertainty and lingering fear. "I have to go now. I have to go home." Her arm tightened around the fawn's neck. The fawn began to take cautious steps, edging past Bobby. It reminded him of a Seeing Eye dog's movements that guided and protected all at once.

"Okay. Me, too." Without trying to get any closer or impose his presence on them at all, Bobby turned and took his own slow steps back the way he'd come. When he saw Melinda hesitate, he shrugged. "We might as well go together. If we didn't, one of us would just be following the other, 'cause we both live in the same town. And that would be kind of dumb."

"I don't live there."

Bobby glanced at her over his shoulder with a complete lack of surprise. "I know. If you did, I would've felt you there a long time ago. Now c'mon. It's gonna be morning by the time we get back."

Melinda watched the boy for a moment. When he didn't show any sign that he would come closer or try to make her follow him, she loosened her hold on the fawn. As Bobby watched, she buried her face in the soft, spotted fur and whispered, "Thank you. You better go find your mommy, too."

The little deer nuzzled Melinda, it's cold, wet nose making her giggle. It gave a skip and sidled into the underbrush, clearly knowing where it was headed.