The first couple’s thoughts began to fade away, but for some reason it was difficult for her to ignore the second man’s thoughts. She started to rattle off more descriptions of the woman. Dark red sweater, black slacks, long black coat, red nail polish…
The man’s voice wouldn’t completely fade, but she was able to hear the woman’s thoughts a bit clearer now.
It’s been over a month now since they’ve talked. I thought coming here with Olivia and George would give us a distraction, but… Oh, I miss my James. Rick needs to reach out to him and fix everything. As the father, he needs to be the bigger man and apologize.
Melina’s forehead creased as she continued to frown.
“What is it?” Walter whispered. “Have you figured it out?”
She slowly turned toward him, still looking a bit sad and confused. “It’s both of them.”
“Very good.”
“Is that why I had a hard time shutting out her husband’s thoughts when I was trying to hear hers?”
Walter nodded.
“How do you determine which one needs more help?”
“You don’t,” said Walter. “They both need equal amounts of help.”
“You have to help more than one person at a time?” Melina asked.
“We usually just have one person that needs us, but it happens from time to time. Especially in family situations.”
Melina looked back to the couple, pondering what Walter had said, when the other man standing closest to her started backing toward her. A short gasp escaped her as she tried to step back as well, but she wasn’t quick enough. She closed her eyes as the man bumped into her, waiting for it to happen… but it didn’t.
“Oh, pardon me,” said the man as he turned to look at Melina.
“Excuse me,” she replied. She smiled briefly and then turned to walk away.
“What was that about?” asked Walter as he followed her.
Melina didn’t answer immediately. She was glad she hadn't had another vision, but yet she was confused as to why she hadn't. “I was a little scared that when the man touched me, I would have another vision.”
“They don’t happen every time you come into contact with someone,” Walter said as he caught up with her. “But why are you scared of having a vision?”
She stopped in a deserted corner and then turned to look at Walter. “The one I had earlier today was so real and emotional and… painful.”
“Ah yes,” Walter said. “When we experience visions, we feel everything that the person in the vision is feeling. I’m sorry your first vision was such a painful one, but I can teach you how to lessen that pain. I can tell the vision really bothered you, that it still bothers you. Why don’t you explain it to me.”
Melina lowered her gaze to the ground as she began to speak. “I bumped into a man when I was leaving the coffee shop this morning, and the vision just sprung into my head. He was standing in front of a sink, crying, and then suddenly he grabbed a knife and plunged it into his left wrist. It was a very deep cut. I could tell not just by looking at it, but I could actually feel the pain in my own wrist.” She reached down and clutched at her wrist again.
“It was excruciating at first, but it eventually faded away. I was so scared that I didn’t even say anything to the man before I ran out.” She looked up at Walter with panicked eyes. “I should’ve tried to help him. What if…”
“Melina, I’m sure he already has one of us helping him, especially if he’s that bad. You were scared and confused. Your reaction was perfectly normal.” He walked up to her and placed his hand on her wrist.
Shaking her head, she lowered her face into her hand as she pulled her other arm into her body. She didn't think she could do this. Walter said that the man at the coffee shop probably already had an angel helping him, but she still should’ve done something. Even if she was scared and confused. She kept her hand over her face as she softly started to cry.
After a minute or so, she stopped crying and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She turned around to look at Walter and noticed he was now standing a few feet away with his back turned to her. He was trying to give her some space, which she appreciated, but space from him wasn’t what she needed right now. She needed space from everything else. Without saying anything, she turned back to the front of the building and made a beeline for the exit.
Chapter Four
“Melina, wait!” Walter yelled.
Melina didn’t stop but turned her head briefly to see Walter rushing out the museum door, trying to catch up to her.
“Melina,” he said as he caught her at the bottom of the steps. “Where are you going?”
“Someplace where I can be alone, where it’s quiet.” She turned to her right and walked briskly down the sidewalk.
Walter hurried after her.
She didn’t know where she was going, but she wasn’t going to stop until she found a place where she could be away from everyone. Well, except Walter. She really didn’t want to be away from him. Other people in her shoes might be angry at him and blame him, but she didn’t feel that way. He hadn't given the powers to her. She'd absorbed them from him. It would’ve happened sooner or later, and he was here to help her.
Melina walked another couple of blocks and found herself across the street from the park. There were plenty of people there, but she knew a spot where no one would be. She checked for traffic and then jogged across the street. Upon entering the park, the walking path split in three directions. She slowed her pace and took the path to the left.
A few minutes later she found her spot — a lone park bench, old, weathered, and hidden behind a patch of spruce trees. As she walked closer, though, she saw that it wasn’t vacant. There sat a young man who didn’t appear to be much older than her, with his elbows on his legs and his chin resting in his cupped hands.
She stopped in her tracks and sighed. “Oh, what’s the use?”
Walter approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’s far enough away that his thoughts shouldn’t be too audible.”
“They’re not very loud, but I can still hear him.”
His brow furrowed a bit as he looked at the young man and then gently led her farther into the seclusion of the trees. “What’s wrong, Melina? Why did you run out like that?”
“I can’t do it. I can’t do any of it.”
“Yes, you can,” Walter said. “You need to believe in yourself and—”
“No,” she said as she spun around to look at him. “It’s not about whether I believe in myself or not. I literally can’t do it! Instead of trying to help the man in the coffee shop, I ran away from him because I was scared. Powers or no powers, what sort of a person who has any ounce of compassion would do that?”
Walter remained silent so she pointed at herself and answered her own question. “A weak person like me. Any other caring person would have put his fears aside to help that man.”
“It was your first time to experience a vision,” Walter said. “You weren’t just scared, you were also confused. How were you to know that what you saw was even real? Your reaction was perfectly normal.”
Melina pondered what he'd said for a moment. It made her feel a little better about herself but not completely. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Why could she still hear that man’s thoughts? She opened her eyes and glanced back at him.
“Is something else bothering you?” asked Walter.
She looked down at the ground and shook her head. “I couldn’t even figure out that the best way to help people through a situation is to change their attitudes and outlooks. Maybe you’re right about cutting me some slack with the man in the coffee shop since I didn’t know what was happening, but changing their attitudes is something that should’ve been obvious to me.” She raised her eyes to Walter’s, waiting for him to explain that one for her.
He hesitated a few seconds then finally said, “Melina, you are being way too hard on yourself.”
She gave a sma
ll nod as she turned her gaze back toward the ground. That was probably one of her biggest flaws. She was always too hard on herself.
“We didn’t expect you to already know everything. We didn’t even expect you to understand it right off the bat. It’s only happened three times before you, so we’re not experts either.” He tried to give her a comforting smile, but she wouldn’t look up from the ground. “Listen, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing great. And up until now, you’ve had a commendable attitude toward the situation. Now instead of wasting time doubting yourself, you need to work on surviving. Shall we continue to practice here in the park?”
Melina was still looking at the ground, rubbing her forehead.
“Are you okay?” Walter asked.
“I can still hear his thoughts. Can you?”
Walter narrowed his eyes. “No, I can’t.” He looked over at the young man sitting on the old, rickety park bench. “Melina, come with me. I need to figure something out.”
“Um, okay.” She glanced at the man on the bench and then followed after Walter.
She was being led farther and farther away from the young man, and every five feet or so, Walter would ask if she could still hear his thoughts.
“Yes,” she replied. “They’re growing quieter, but I can still hear them.”
They were more than halfway back to the entrance before she finally stopped hearing them.
Walter stopped and looked at her, almost as if he were worried.
“What is it?” she asked, still confused about what he was trying to figure out.
“I didn’t expect for it to happen so soon, but I believe that man is the one you’re supposed to help.”
“How do you know?”
“That’s how it works. Once we encounter the person we need to help, his or her thoughts will be louder than anybody else’s. They’ll also remain audible to us even when we’re very far away, much past the normal range. It’s like we can’t shake them.”
“So that’s why I could hear his thoughts when you couldn’t.” Melina looked away from Walter and back in the direction of the young man. She hadn’t expected to find him so soon either. “I’m not sure if I’m ready yet.”
“I was afraid you might say that, but you have to act now. Once you’ve found your charge, you can’t lose him. You need to go to him before he leaves.”
She gave Walter an anxious look.
“Are you scared to approach him?”
“No, it’s not that.” Approaching the man wasn’t what scared her. She approached strangers all the time in her store. What she was afraid of was the fact that she had no idea what to say to him. “How do I even start the conversation? How do you talk to someone about his intimate thoughts without him thinking you’re crazy for knowing his intimate thoughts?”
“What was he thinking about?” asked Walter.
“I don’t know. I was trying to block them out earlier.”
Walter took her by the arm and started to lead her back toward the park bench. “When you start to hear him again, immediately try to hone in on what he’s thinking about. As soon as I can hear him, I’ll do the same, and then I’ll help you to come up with a conversation starter. If we’re lucky, he’ll be thinking about something that you’re familiar with.”
Melina’s brow furrowed.
“You know,” said Walter. “Something you’ve maybe had a similar experience with.”
She nodded. They only had to walk a little bit farther before she began to hear the man’s thoughts again. “He’s still there. I can hear him.”
“Good. Now focus and try to make out what he’s thinking.”
Melina nodded again and tried to picture the man in her mind. She had caught a glimpse of him before Walter had led her away, and luckily it had been long enough for her to have gathered a decent description of him. He was a simple yet handsome young man with ruggedly strong features and a thin, stubbly goatee. His eyes were a soft brown, and his distinct tawny-colored hair was messed about his head in an attractive sort of way. He was wearing jeans with a brown shirt and a dark tan peacoat. Within a second, his mumbled thoughts turned crystal clear, and she was finally able to make out what he was thinking.
Everything is such a mess right now. I was supposed to fly out to New York next month, but I can’t possibly leave now. My father just died yet I’m angry that it’s messed up my plans. What kind of a person does that make me? I’m a horrible son.
Melina couldn’t hear him anymore, but they didn’t have too much farther to go. Once they arrived back in the area, she could see that the man had his face buried in his hands and was crying. She stood in place, unsure of what to do now. His emotional state made her even more nervous, but it seemed as though she might be able to relate to his situation.
“Give him a moment,” Walter whispered. “You never want to approach someone when they’re overly emotional.”
Melina nodded. She felt relieved that Walter had told her to wait because she wasn’t ready just yet. If only she could have a little more detail about why his father’s death messed up his plans. She waited in silence.
After a few minutes, the man finally lifted his head and gazed out into the park as he wiped at his cheeks and under his eyes. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then his thoughts started up again.
I wasn’t expecting what he left for me. That’s why I’m so upset. I’m not really a horrible son. But it’s like he didn’t know me at all by leaving the store to me. And he even had business cards made up for me already. He knew I had other interests. He knew the dreams I had for myself. No, no. I’m a bad son for not caring about the fact that he entrusted me, instead of my sister, to carry on with the family business. I just don’t understand why. I don’t even know what I’m doing.
The man shook his head and stared down at the ground.
“Do you need help with a conversation starter?” Walter asked.
“No,” said Melina, not taking her eyes off the young man. “I actually know what he’s going through.”
Walter smiled at her. “Then it’s time that I leave you.”
She gave him a surprised look. “What?”
“Just for now. He might be intimidated if we both approach him, especially if we both try to talk to him about what’s bothering him. He’d probably run off scared. Your best chance is to approach him alone. Ease into it. You want him to trust you.”
Melina nodded. She took in a deep breath and walked over to where the man was still sitting on the old park bench. He didn’t look up as she approached, so she lightly cleared her throat to get his attention.
“May I sit down?” she asked as he finally glanced her way.
He gave her a small nod and then scooted over to his right.
She sat down next to him. “What’s got you so down?”
“Excuse me?”
“You look like you’re a little upset, and I like to come here when I have something bothering me.”
He looked away from her and didn’t say a word.
“Let me start over. My name’s Melina. Melina Rowe.” She extended her hand out to him and waited.
After a couple of seconds he glanced over at her. He took notice of her hand, but instead of reaching out his own, he looked away again. “Lee Atwood.”
She slowly pulled her hand back into her lap. “Nice to meet you, Lee.” She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but good grief. He was making it almost impossible to have a conversation. She thought she knew how to get him to talk about his problem, but she would have to ease into it like Walter had said. “So… what do you do, Lee?”
“Heh. I currently don’t know.”
She gave him a small smile then said, “I own my own bookstore.”
“Really?” he asked as he continued to stare out in front of him. “And how’s that going for you?”
“Oh, it’s great now. I love it. But I didn’t feel that way at first. When I was a freshman in college, aspiring to be an English teacher,
mind you, it was sort of thrust onto me when my parents died in a car accident. My major quickly changed to Business, and in three short years, at the ripe age of twenty-two, I was responsible for running the family bookstore.”
Lee slowly turned to look at her. “I’m sorry. About your parents, that is.”
Melina’s eyes started to tear up, but she quickly blinked them away and just smiled, hoping her silence would prompt him to keep talking and open up to her.
“I have to be going now. Excuse me.” He stood up from the bench and hurried away.
His abrupt departure took her by surprise, so he was already a good distance away before she realized he was leaving. She shot up from the bench. “Lee, wait! Please don’t go.” It was too late, though. He wasn’t going to turn around, and she wasn’t going to chase him.
Chapter Five
Melina needed to talk to Walter. But how was she supposed to get in touch with him again? He hadn't mentioned that before he left.
She was about to try calling out his name when she saw a strange figure looming in the patch of trees over to her left. It looked like it was someone’s shadow, but there was no sunlight that far back. She leaned forward a bit to try and get a better look, when she heard the figure let out a low, grumbling growl.
“What the…” Melina’s voice trailed off as the figure started to inch its way closer to her. That’s when she noticed its eyes. They were a deep crimson color, and she could swear they were glowing. She wasn’t sure what the thing was, but she knew she needed to get away from it. Scared that any sudden movement might provoke it, she began to back away little by little when suddenly her cell phone started to ring.
Startled, she jumped and pulled her phone from her coat pocket. She glanced down to silence it, but when she looked back up, the shadow figure was no longer there. She blinked a few times. Had she imagined it?
She gave the immediate area a quick scan and, seeing no sign of it, headed straight for the walking path. Once she found it, she picked up her pace and made her way back to the entrance of the park. Her eyes darted all around her as she went, still paranoid about the strange shadow figure.