Elise stepped out of the battered Ford pick-up and eyed the house before her with trepidation. In its prime, it would have been attractive, she thought, but definitely not now. The gravel driveway where she stood boasted more dirt than rock. The drive wound itself toward a large oak and, like the tree, branched in half. One branch continued toward the back of the house while its twin marched to the front porch.

Shouldering her duffel bag, Elise moved toward the porch. A wall of shin-high grass surrounded her and the path. The loud crunch of grave under her feet also drowned out her thoughts. However, despite the noise, she could hear her uncle tromping behind her. She quickened her pace and soon mounted the steps to the front porch.

The boards creaked under her light weight. She gazed down to study their sturdiness and noticed layers of dirt and debris hid the true hue of the paint. 'Most likely gray,' she thought absently. She turned and walked to one side of the door, waiting for her uncle to catch up. He presently came up the steps, his heavy boots drowning the protests of the boards.

“You didn’t have to wait. The door isn’t locked,” he stated, harshly opening the torn screen door. “No one comes out here anyways.” He turned the knob on the inner wooden door and stepped inside. Elise was left to follow him in the dark doorway.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few hours later, Elise was seated across from her uncle, pretending to eat a cold TV dinner. The lone light bulb in the ceiling fixture gave a deceivingly cheerful glow on the two. Completely uninterested in her food, Elise engaged in a search for the remaining frozen carrot chunks in her dinner.

“Did you get unpacked?” her uncle asked, not looking up from his food. Elise looked up to notice he was not looking at her. She sighed. ‘I wish he would talk to me,’ she thought.

“Yes,” she replied emotionlessly.

“Do you need anything, like for your room or something?”

“I don’t think so.”

“School begins the day after tomorrow. Will you need supplies?”

“School starts in two days?! Back home school doesn’t start for another two weeks.”

“You’re in Mississippi now, Elise.” He paused letting the reality of her situation sink in. Then he continued. “You could stay home a few days if you want to.”

“No, I’ll go,” she replied softly, realizing the permanency of her move. She attempt to brightened. “I don’t want to get behind. I’ll need some supplies but we better wait until after my first day. You know, just to see what I need.”

“That’s fine,” he said. Then he finally looked up at her. “What grade will you be in anyway?”

Elise felt like laughing hysterically. 'How well we know each other!' she thought. “I’m going into the eleventh.”

“Eleventh?” he asked, startled. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“Sixteen? Can you drive?”

“Yeah,” she replied, shrugging, “except when it comes to manual transmissions. I’ll probably need to change my driver’s license now, huh?”

“Guess so. And we’ll work on the straight shift driving later.”

“Okay.” Elise then picked up her food and left her uncle alone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A week later, after her uncle had picked her up from school, Elise announced she would cook dinner. Her uncle had no objections, growing tired of bland frozen, pre-made food. He left his niece alone in the kitchen to her own devices and began to do so much needed work in the yard. He had never noticed its current state until Elise’s arrival. He almost felt ashamed somehow.

During that meal, Elise discovered how hungry she had become since living with her uncle. ‘TV dinners are so disgusting,’ she thought, completely repulsed. ‘How could Uncle Brian eat them so heartily?’

For the first time in Mississippi, Elise had completely eaten a meal and was absolutely filled. She watched as her uncle dished another helping of the chicken casserole unto his plate. ‘Apparently he likes this, too.’

“Very good, Elise,” he praised, echoing her thoughts. He mopped up some vegetable juice with a roll. “Maybe you could cook more often.”

“Anything’s better than those TV dinners!” she replied before thinking. She was terrified that she had offended her already distant uncle. To her relief, he smiled.

“They’re not that bad, Elise,” he joked, actually grinning. Elise groaned mockingly. The two shared a chuckle over the lame joke. Then the room fell into silence, but for the first time, a kind of familiar quiet.

Elise stared at her plate, debating whether she should risk indigestion for another roll. While lost in the debate, she thought she hear her uncle say something.

“What did you say, Uncle Brian?” she asked. She didn’t look at her uncle, reaching for a roll.

‘I didn’t say anything!’

“Yes, you did,” she replied, tearing the roll in half. She looked at her uncle, annoyed. “I heard you.”

Her uncle looked her dead in the eye. ‘So, you’re gifted, too.’

Elise gasped, dropping the pieces of the now forgotten roll. ‘His lips didn’t move, but I heard him,' she thought. 'His lips didn’t move!’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elise found herself seated in a stiff chair in a room she didn’t even know had existed. She studied the room, searching for some comforting aspect, but she was finding none. Portraits of proper men and women with an occasional child lined the walls. The pictures formed a unique wallpaper, covering the upper part of each wall to a chair back height.

Uncle Brian opened a side door and entered the room with two glasses. With his foot, he closed the door silently, the first gentle movement she had ever seen him make. He crossed the room and stopped by her chair, handing her a glass of ice water.

“Thought you might be thirsty.”

“Thanks, Uncle Brian.” She smiled gratefully at him, accepting the beverage. She watched as her uncle seated himself across from her. Once he had shifted into a comfortable position, he focused on her once more.

“I never imagined I would have this conversation,” he began, “especially with you. I thought I was the last of our kind. But I’m glad I’m not. I’m glad you’re one, too.”

“One what?”

“One of the talented, of the gifted, of the telepathic.”

“Telepathic?!”

‘Yes,’ she hear in her head, ‘you are telepathic.’

‘Why?’ she thought back. The situation was too weird for her. Her head throbbed, and here she was, having this insane discussion with her uncle. ‘I’m going crazy. That’s the only possibility.’

‘You’re not crazy, Elise.’ Her uncle coughed before continuing. “And as to why, that question is a little harder to answer. I can only tell you what I know or have guessed. First of all, there seems to be a genetic link, at least in our family. See our family tree is full of the gifted, especially in the past. But the appearance has declined in the past few generations.

“My father, your grandfather, was one of the strongest talents the family has ever seen. My mother was also talented, but not as strongly as her husband was. I was their only child. My mother died while I was in my early teens. My father grew despondent and stopped using his talent.

“He eventually remarried, this time to a normal woman. I always believed so he couldn’t bond on the same level again. They also had only one child, your mother. I hoped that she would be talented, but she wasn’t. She was just merely sensitive. That’s why I rarely visited you and your family when you were younger. I hated being different from my own family.”

“It must have been awful,” Elise whispered, recalling her own isolation. She knew exactly how he had felt. For the first time, she felt a true kinship, a true link, to her uncle.

“It got pretty bad at times,” he admitted, “and I never thought that you would be talented. I just assumed since your mother wasn’t, then you wouldn’t be either. Have you ever had any idea before tonight?”

Elise looked down at her hands, nervously twisting her class ring. “Yeah,” she said softly, “yeah, I have.” She looked up and faced her uncle. “When I was little, about second grade or so, the school had my IQ tested. Mom and Dad knew about it ahead of time and had stressed to me how important it was for me to do well on the test. I was so excited and was concentrating so hard that I actually began getting the answers before the questions were read.

“The poor lady who was giving the test was absolutely terrified, especially after the third time. ‘This kid is reading my thoughts,’ I heard her “say.” Sensing her fear, I stopped and relaxed. The rest of the test went without problem and the poor lady never told a soul.

“Anyway, that’s how I knew. And now, whenever I touch someone unexpectedly, I get, well, blasted by their thoughts. I began avoiding large crowds and touching anyone more than I had to. I kinda got a reputation of being reserved and shy. I really didn’t mind. It kept the normal people safe and me from getting blasted.”

“Sounds pretty lonely,” he said.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “but it sounds a lot like you.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shouldering her bagpack, Elise crunched up the gravel driveway and bounced up the steps. Once on the porch, she turned and waved at the green Taurus in the driveway.

“Bye, Alan! Thanks for the ride!” she called.

A black-haired head emerged from the rolled-down driver’s window. “Sure thing!” Alan answered back. He put his arm on the sill, giving him better leverage to lean out further. “Hey, don’t forget about chemistry tomorrow night! You’re my only hope, Red!”

Elise smiled at the nicknamed, unconsciously running a hand through the name’s sake. ‘I so hate having red hair,’ she thought. “I’ll ask Uncle Brian, okay?”

“Beg, plead, grovel! Just do it for my sake, please!”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She grinned, and Alan’s face lit up in turn. “See you tomorrow night.”

“I’ll pick you up at six o’clock. Bye!” He put the car in gear and began backing down the front porch branch of the driveway. At the intersection, he turned the car to face the county road. With a final wave, Alan drove away, beginning the long trek to town. Elise waved until he was out of sight and then entered the house.

“I’m home,” she called. She stilled, listening for a sound of her uncle. She jumped when he emerged from the living room. 'The dead picture room, rather,’ she thought. Uncle Brian frowned at her as he placed a glass by the kitchen sink.

“I thought you had better respect, young lady,” he chided, half seriously. “Especially for your dead relations.”

‘So he heard me,’ she thought.

‘I would have to be deaf not to hear you at times, Elise.’ Then he smiled. “Well, I guess we’d better make today’s training short. After all, I think we have to discuss an already arranged study date tonight.”

Elise groaned. ‘Nothing gets by you, does it?’

‘You have a lot to learn before you can even try to hide things from me.’

Elise sighed dramatically. “Okay, let’s get at it.” Her uncle turned and began to walk through the house. Elise followed, pulling her copper hair into a low ponytail.

‘We’ll train in the living room today, Elise.’

‘Man, he won’t ever forget that.’

‘Not in this lifetime.’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elise walked through the hall, heading to the doorbell. ‘Don’t answer the doorbell. Please, don’t answer the doorbell!’ Horrified, Elise watched as she opened the front door to discover two state troopers on the porch. ‘It’s happening again! Not again!! Please!’

The younger trooper pulled off his hat and studied its trim. “Ma’am, I’m sorry.” His focus never left the trim. His finger caressed the braids. “There’s been an accident. We need you and an adult relative to come with us, please, to the hospital.”

Elise relived swallowing her fear, trying to maintain a grip on reality. “I just live with my parents.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “My nearest family is three hours away. I think my neighbor Mrs. Jerkins could come, though.”

“That’s fine, miss. Grab what you need and we’ll take you to Mrs. Jerkins.”

Then there was a flash. Elise found herself wandering the halls of a frightfully familiar hospital. ‘Not here! Please anywhere but here!’ She recalled the stinging tears that swelled her eyes. Her mind, her whole body, was numb.

‘Back there,’ she thought. ‘That back there can’t be true. It’s not true. Don’t think! But I saw them. They were there. Mom was okay except for the ugly bruise on her temple. And Dad... Dad was... Oh, God, Dad was... They’re both... Oh, God, no! Please, God, no! Not them. Don’t leave me alone. Not me alone. Not me...’

“Elise! Elise!!” Her uncle was calling her name and shaking her. She opened her eyes and focused on his face. Uncle Brian gently pulled her into a sitting position. He looked at her anxiously, almost looking guilty. Somehow that was reassuring to her.

‘God, that was so real,’ she thought, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘It was just like that. Just like that.’

“I’m sorry, Elise. I didn’t think that that would still be so real to you.”

“You kinda never forget your parents’ deaths!”

“You’re right. I should have known.” He was silent for a moment. “You’re a real talent, Elise, a real talent. Your gift is so strong that you took control away from me.”

>“Why would I do that?!?”

“I don’t think you have truly dealt with that yet. Maybe this can be some kind of therapy for you.”

“I don’t ever want to do that again, Uncle Brian. Ever! Once is enough for anyone. Besides, don’t we still need to talk about Alan and chemistry.”

Uncle Brian frowned. He knew she was changing the subject, but after dragging up her most painful memories, he felt obligated to be a little more considerate. ‘I shouldn’t have been so careless. I could have done some real emotional damage to her.’ His thoughts surprised him. He was finally beginning to care about Elise and her welfare. She was finally becoming family.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Sodium has a positive charge because it loses its outer electron. It’s a member of the IA family. You know, hydrogen, magnesium, and such. Well, this whole family of elements only have one electron in their outer shells. Now which would be easier...”

“Which would be easier: talking here or talking on a date?” Elise jerked her head up from the chemistry textbook. She found Alan studying her, rather than the chemistry notes.

“What?” she asked innocently, acting like she hadn’t understood what he said. ‘Please let me have misunderstood. Don’t mess this up, Alan.’

“I was attempting to ask you out, like the movies or something.” Elise stared at him in stark disbelief. 'She’s not making this easy,’ he thought. He hadn’t really expected this of reaction. ‘Maybe a “no way” or “yes, I love to.” Definitely not this.’

“Well, I... I...” Elise stammered, trying to give herself some time to think. ‘I would love to, Alan, but I just can’t. I wish I could explain.’ Suddenly, she found herself saying, “Well, if you can make a B on tomorrow’s chemistry test, I’ll think about.”

“What would make you go no matter what?” he inquired, grinning slightly. He was beginning to like his chances.

“Really up to a challenge, aren’t you? Let me think.” She paused and absently chewed on her bottom lip. Then she smiled and faced him. “Okay, Boy Wonder, if you ace that test, I’ll go out with you no strings attached.”

“That is a deal.” He stuck out his hand as if to shake hers. Elise’s smile broadened and stuck hers out to him. Instead of shaking it and sealing their deal, he flipped her hand over and kissed the back. “I guess we’ll talk after the chem grades are back.”

Elise didn’t answer, turning her attention back to atomic bonding. His gesture had taken her completely by surprise. In her shock, she was open to receive Alan’s feelings and thoughts. The pure expectation and hope that coursed through his mind tore at her heart. ‘What have I done! He may pass the test, but he can’t make an A. Either way we both get hurt. Uncle Brian is really going to yell at me about this one.’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Hey, Elise! Wait up!” Risking being trampled by the herds of rushing students, Elise turned to face the voice that had called her. Her stomach began somersaulting as she saw Alan eagerly force his way to her. He was waving a paper triumphantly over his head.

“Hey, how does Friday night sound?” he asked. Due to his apparent excitement, his words ran together.

“What?” ‘Friday night?’ As if to answer her thoughts, Alan shoved the paper in front of her face. It was a copy of the chemistry test. Under Alan’s name, in ominous red letters, was his grade.

“A 92? You made a 92?” Elise looked from the test to its owner in complete amazement. ‘No way. This can’t be happening.’

Alan gave her a cocky grin. “Yeah, sure did. So, is Friday night okay with you? Or would Saturday night be better? Remember your promise. You said you’d go with no strings attached.”

Elise didn’t need to be reminded of her promise. She also didn’t need to touch Alan to feel his triumphant and also his excitement about the weekend. ‘A promise is a promise. Besides, I have to enjoy this while I can. After he knows the truth, he’ll never speak to me again.’

“Saturday night would be better for me. What are we going to do anyway?”

Alan grinned at her seductively. Becoming annoyed, she frowned at him. He laughed and broke into a good-natured grin. “Okay, okay. We’re going to the movies, if that is all right with you and your uncle?”

“That’s fine. I’ll talk to Uncle Brian. I guess I’ll call you about the details. You know: where, when, what, and who?”

“I think you know the who. Well, you better get to class. I don’t think Uncle Brian will like you having a date on Saturday and detention on Monday. Hey, I’ll give you a ride home if you like.”

“Thanks, but Uncle Brian is coming today. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Okay.” With another smile, he turned and headed to his art class. Elise watched for a second and turned, running down the hall. She managed to enter the Spanish class just as the tardy bell rang. ‘Well, at least I don’t have detention yet.’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elise watched as Uncle Brian parked his Ford in a space in front of the football field. She dreaded this thirty minute ride home more than any other. ‘Better get this over with.’ She stepped to the sidewalk, waited for a bus to pass, then jogged to the pick-up. She yanked the rusty door open and jumped in the cab. With a good tug, she slammed the door. She pulled the seat belt across her. When it snapped, she announced, “Ready.”

Uncle Brian nodded, backing out of the parking space. The truck shuddered and screeched as he changed gear. With a milder degree of vibration and noise, they headed home.

“Uncle Brian, I may not be able to work on the garden all day Saturday like we planned. I may have other plans.”

“All right. What are these ‘other plans?’” he asked. Elise sighed, then swallowed.

“I might have a date, with Alan.”

This time her uncle sighed. “Elise,” he groaned, “I thought we had talked about this.”

“I know, Uncle Brian, I know. Alan asked me while we were studying for the chemistry test. I made a deal with him. I told him if he made a B, I’d think about. And, if he made an A, I would go with no strings attached. I never dreamed he would make an A. I was praying that he would just pass it. But I saw it myself. He made an A. A 97, in fact.” She paused, allowing the situation sink in for her uncle. “I can’t break my promise, Uncle Brian. I can’t.”

“I know, Elise. Just be careful. I don’t want you or him hurt by this.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry long. There won’t be a next time after Saturday.”

“What makes you say that? I thought you like Alan.”

“I do. I like him a lot. That’s why I am going to tell him the truth. I figure he won’t talk to me after that.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alan glanced at Elise, who was huddled in the passenger seat beside him. ‘This is definitely not an evening for the record books.’ Elise had been moody and mostly silent during their date. ‘If she really didn’t want to come, she didn’t have to. Why didn’t she just tell me? I would have backed off, if she had simply told me.’

Once more he looked at his passenger. She was staring at her hands, playing with an emerald ring on her right index finger. On the right ring finger was her class ring. He noticed that her left hand, including her ring finger, were without jewelry.

‘We’ve got to talk this out,’ he thought. ‘If she just wants to be friends, fine. But I am not going to lose our friendship, too.’ Determined, Alan turned unto a back road.

Hearing gravel, Elise looked up. They were not at her house. ‘What is he doing?’ The nervousness then replaced itself with a fatalistic sadness. ‘Well, I guess this is my opportunity.’

Alan pulled the car into grassy field on the right. He turned off the headlights and killed the engine. He turned and faced her. He noticed how the moonlight made her look even more pale and her copper hair appear more auburn.

“Okay, what’s the deal? You have hardly spoken the whole night.”

Elise studied his face. He was clearly confused and annoyed. “Nothing’s wrong, Alan.”

“Don’t give me that, Elise. Every time I try to touch you you jump or jerk away from me.” He leaned and grabbed her hand. Instinctively, she pulled it back. She saw the hurt in his face. He turned back and faced the steering wheel. “See what I mean.”

“Alan, it’s not what you think. Honestly.” ‘I have got to tell him the truth. I’m not going to let him think I hate him.’

Alan looked at her cautiously. “What is it then, Elise?”

“I am different from everybody else. I mean really different.”

“I know that, Elise. That’s what I like about you. Ever since I moved here, I have felt drawn to you. I like you because you are different from everybody else.”

She sighed. “You don’t understand,” she replied wearily. ‘This isn’t fair! I shouldn’t be forced to do this!’ Yet, she knew she would. It was the right thing to do for the both of them.

“I’m gifted. I’m not talking like being good at basketball or being able to sing or being smart. I have a special talent. I am telepathic. I can ‘read’ people’s thoughts or feelings, especially by touch.”

She looked at him to gauge his reaction. He just stared at her, in complete shock. ‘I won't let him think I am crazy, either.’ Suddenly, she had an idea.

“Fine, I’ll show you.” She leaned across the seat and grabbed his hand. Due to his shock, she had little trouble joining their minds. She heard him gasped in surprise. ‘Sorry, can’t stop now,’ she told him. Then, Elise began to concentrate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elise led Alan’s mind through some of her various memories. She showed him her first encounter of her uncle and of her life at home. Then she let him see what school was like for her. Finally, she revealed what their friendship had come to mean for her.

Suddenly, she was viewing some of Alan’s memories: his first impressions of her, their first real conversation, and his feelings about her. In total surprise, she dropped her hand, breaking the link. For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

“Oh, my God! You’re gifted, too!” she whispered in total awe.

“So, that’s what you call that,” he joked. Then her words hit him. “What do you mean I’m gifted?”

“You took control of the link, of the memories. Only a talented mind can do that, especially with another talented individual.” She began to feel calmer as Alan, on the other hand, grew more uneasy. “You had no idea before this, did you?” ‘God, this must be a real shock to him,’ she thought. She sympathized completely.

“Never.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I never knew such a thing existed. I just thought I was just sensitive.” He paused. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“The memory thing. There was a sense of sadness, like you were saying goodbye or something.”

“Well, I was, in a way.” She looked down at her hands. Gathering her courage, her looked at him again. “If you want to, you don’t ever have to speak to me again. I would understand.” She forced a smile. “No feelings hurt.”

“You’re such a bad liar, Elise.” He smiled at her. “And I’ll keep talking to you as long as you let me. Maybe even longer.”

She smiled, relieved. “If you like,” she offered, “you could train with me and my uncle. You could learn to control your talent and how to benefit from it.”

“Sounds great,” he said, trying to let the whole situation sink in. ‘Man, oh man. Alan, what have you gotten yourself into now?’

“Wait,” she warned. “The training leaves you very vulnerable. Your memories, any memory, can be reached and relived. You may not have many secrets left.”

He studied her, weighing the choice. Then he frowned. “If I train, won’t we train some together?”

“Yeah, it’s a good possibility.” ‘A damn good possibility,’ she thought, dreading the way she thought his thought was going.

“Well, if the training leaves me vulnerable, then it would leave you just as vulnerable. Right?” Elise nodded. “Yet you still offer me this? Even when you hate me?”

“Hate you? Alan, I don’t hate you. I was totally miserable tonight, thinking that this was the last time you would ever speak to me. I thought after I told the truth about me, you would think I was either crazy or you would be afraid of me. I never dreamed you were gifted, too.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“No, I don’t hate you! God, Alan, sometimes you drive me crazy!”

He smiled and leaned closer. “Feeling’s mutual. Well, since you don’t hate me, I hope that you won’t hate this.” He wrapped his fingers in her hair and drew her face to his. The kiss started out normally, but then each began to feel the other’s emotions. Finally, as their oxygen was reaching minimal levels, they stopped. Their faces were just inches apart.

“You know, I think I could get use to this.” He grinned at her.

She smiled. “Leave it to you to ruin a beautiful moment with a joke.”

“But there will be other beautiful moments for us. We better get you home. Uncle Brian is probably polishing his shotgun by now. Besides, I think we all need to have a little talk, don’t you?”

‘Most definitely.’ Alan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Elise just smiled. ‘You’ll see that there are some advantages to this situation.’ Alan relaxed and smiled. Shaking his head in laughing disbelief, he cranked the Taurus and headed toward the house.

During the drive, the two didn’t talk, leaving the other to private thoughts. ‘Six months ago, I was completely alone,’ Elise thought, glancing at Alan. ‘But now I have found Uncle Brian and Alan. I am no longer alone. Or completely unique, for that matter. There’s three of us now.’ She smiled and found that thought very comforting.