The Stranger

I sighed heavily, for the moment everything was so indifferent to me, even the fact that I spilled half a cup of coffee on myself when I fell. Would it be appropriate to take over this even a little? The dog grunted loudly, chasing its owner, but still wouldn't move and let me get up. He was waiting for my answer, so I strongly denied it. The animal was sad, but it did not move anyway. I couldn't think of any particular breed when I looked at him, so I bet he was a crossbreed. He looked so fluffy, and that was an incentive to pet him.

"You could get off me, though," I said, taking my hand back, I wanted to see if his fur was actually as nice to the touch as it looked.

"No." He looked at me offended. "Until you agree. I have already chosen you."

"If so, why did you even ask?" I grunted.

"Kiba! Get down now!" the man shouted, rushing over to us and forcing the dog to move, which he reluctantly finally did. "Sorry, I thought and did not look where I throw the snowball."

"It's my favorite game. To catch them all!" The dog's head appeared above me so I could read his thoughts.

"Kiba! Stand back!"

The owner offered me a hand and helped me up. I was able to finally see him a bit. He looked like a nice man, at least that was what I could deduce from an uncertain smile and kind, almost black eyes. I looked up a bit, his thoughts revealing nothing to fear. His grip was firm and confident, but his demeanor was slightly withdrawn, as if worried, which also showed itself moments later on his face.

"I am so sorry for myself and Kiba," he said. "Nothing happened to you?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied, smiling. "I thought a little bit too. I could have been a bit more careful myself."

"I see you've lost your coffee, can I at least buy you a new one?" he asked, his tone strong enough for me to know he would not accept a refusal.

"Okay," I said and bent to pick up and throw away my coffee cup.

Kiba was faster, grabbed the empty one, threw it into the basket, and barked thinking in my direction, "Look what a good dog I am."

"And when I tried to teach you this, you couldn't get it," muttered its owner. "Are you showing off now?"

"If you want it from me, I don't want to then," Kiba thought to himself.

I started to laugh honestly, perhaps for the first time so merrily since my birthday. I felt as if a heavyweight dropped from my heart for a few seconds, and for a moment I didn't have to worry about anything. The crossbreed started jumping and barking around me, insisting that he was laughing because of him. The man looked at me and wondered if I had hit my head hard when I fell.

"Relax," I said, amused. "Your dog just said something funny."

"Ah yes?" he asked amused. "I'm Tetsuya, by the way," he said, shaking my hand, this time to introduce himself. "And this is my four-legged friend Kiba."

"Lucretia," I said, returning the gesture. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. So what? Come for a coffee." He gestured towards the path that led to a door-to-door cafe in the corner of the park.

Kiba did not leave my side and his master felt a bit awkward in my presence. He might be Hyacinth's age, and I wondered why he felt he shouldn't be next to a woman. He stared rather sadly in front of him, and I noticed that he was checking every now and then to see if there was anything on the ring finger of his left hand. Everything just got a little brighter.

"Divorced?" I asked directly.

"What?" He looked at me surprised. "Where did this question come from?!" He got angry.

I don't know why this interested me. Sheer curiosity or a subconscious desire to alienate people because I had been in a bad mental state for some time and didn't feel like a closer relationship with anyone. Although deep down I wanted something completely different, someone, just for myself. I no longer had Victor, I had to give him to Alex, and Hyacinth was an option only in my dreams.

In response, I pointed to his hands and said that he makes this gesture from time to time. He narrowed his eyes and stared at me for a moment, half curious or still angry at my directness.

"And I can read in mind," I added, causing him to smile amused after a moment.

Tetsuya didn't know me, so he simply didn't believe me in the world. For a moment, however, I felt that I did not want to lie, although for once in my life I needed to start with the truth. My interlocutor also evoked an aura of security and trust around him. I said it for my own awareness, and I didn't think it would make me feel so good to say it. I treated it like a kind of one-off experiment, I wasn't going to introduce myself since then, "Hi, I'm Lucretia and I can read in mind."

"Needless to say, my wife told me exactly a year ago that she wanted a divorce, and six months later it was over," he said sadly. Kiba whimpered a little and walked closer to his master.

"It doesn't work like that," I laughed. "Which doesn't change the fact that she chose a bad time of the year," I said, nodding. "For a broken heart, in general too."

"Yes," he nodded.

We just reached the cafe, where we were greeted with a smile by a young student who earned extra money in this way and cursed that it was so cold. But he had an ambitious plan in mind, and he clung to it as a motivation. Even though Tetsuya was buying the coffee, I fumbled with a few bills and added them to the tip.

"To make your dreams come true." I winked at a boy not much younger than me.

We walked a bit farther, neither Kiba nor his master wanted our meeting to end with compensation for damages. I admitted to myself that I also did not expect goodbye now.

"So how does your mind-reading work?" he asked jokingly.

"You don't believe me anyway," I replied, gripping the cup tighter in my hands and enjoying the warmth that warmed my hands.

"But I like to hear good stories," he smiled. "And these are what I need now."

"And then you will think I'm crazy," I insisted.

I was suddenly terrified and upset at my own stupidity. I have never spoken freely to anyone about it, only to Victor and David. It would also be hard for me to describe how my power works now. I started to feel more and more nervous, and so I slowly lost myself in a spiral of blaming myself for not following my own rules and not watching my tongue.

"Then prove it," he said more seriously. "What am I thinking?"

"About the fact that you'd eat ramen, but it's so homely, made by your mom," I replied when I looked at him.

"Her name is Keiko, you miss her a lot and you promise yourself so many times that you will call her, but still something is stopping you," I added after a moment when he directed his thoughts to her person.

I saw the surprise and a bit of terror in his eyes. I could have foreseen it, I clenched my fist. Even when I told the truth, it still seemed to be for nothing. Who would want to hang out with me? I felt a single tear run down my cheek, what was I hoping for? I do not know.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be doing this," I said. "I am really sorry. I'll go now. Thanks for the coffee."

I quickened my pace, trying not to run. I felt more and more ashamed and stupid. He really couldn't think of anything else, like a number, a name, anything but something so delicate. I heard an angry bark from Kiba who appeared in front of me.

"You promised to be my new lady!"

"I didn't promise anything, doggy," I replied, close to crying. "I have to go."

"No," I heard Tetsuya's voice emphatic. "It doesn't matter if I believe you or not. I want to hear your story. You also look like you need to finally tell someone else about it."

I looked at the man who was holding my arm, holding me back from my next step. His expression was very fierce. He saw a reflection of himself in me, that's why he said it. He knew what it was like to not share what was on your mind with anyone. In his case, it was about divorce, disappointment, endless remorse, blame, and sadness. I could somehow get out of my way, but I was too touched that someone wanted to honestly listen to me, without judgment or obligations. We were strangers to each other, we could help each other by listening to each other.

"Okay," I replied and I felt Kiba opening my, so far clenched hand with his wet nose. I patted his head. "So you will be one of three people who know about it."

"I feel honored," he replied. "Wait, do I have to answer you, can you read everything in my head?"

"It depends," I said, searching my head for the right words. "My eyes are the center of my power. I can only read someone else's mind when I look at him and that's just what he is thinking at any given moment. Therefore, sometimes, when I want to know something, I have to force a topic or situation into the conversation. It's like such peeking."

"Peeking?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Hmm, I see people's minds in the form of houses that reflect a particular person. Some have abstract forms, others classic. Sometimes I saw them so eclectic that it was hard to attribute any more general characteristics. A little version of you lives there, which creates your thoughts and they appear on a kind of big screen. In this form, I can only sort of look out the window, and that way I know what you are thinking. And I can also read emotions, they are like colored spotlights placed around houses. The color depends on what you feel," I told him without checking what he was thinking. Putting it in words gave me some sense of relief. "Your memories, and thoughts are related to the rooms. If I would like to know anything about your childhood, I would have to look at the children's room. I would find culinary preferences in the kitchen, etc."

"Can you just come in?" he asked curiously and a bit concerned.

"Not at the moment," I denied. "I mean, I would have to try very hard to do it, waste a lot of strength, and you wouldn't feel my presence too much, but I have lenses now. They dull my powers a bit so as not to accidentally harm people and live a normal life."

"I don't understand. Can you hurt someone with this? Apart from causing moral harm, of course?"

"Yes, sometimes I do not control it, and if I hadn't had lenses and I would look you in the eyes by accident. I couldn't help but my power from breaking into your mind by force, I'd have free access to it from then on. Nothing would hide from me, I could deceive your mind, make you see things that are not there, and feel the pain that no one would really inflict on you. I would only be limited by my own ingenuity," I replied dejectedly. "I'm not proud of it and I hate doing it."

"And when you don't look someone in the eye?"

"It's not nice either, especially when I'm in the crowd. Without lenses, I can see all minds clearly in my sight and hear their thoughts on the fly, all the time. Some people are really loud. I can function normally with lenses and then it only works for the people I focus my eyes on, but I generally try not to do it. I prefer staring at the floor or whatever. I hate myself enough for being born with this," I finished sniffing. At the end of it all, I couldn't help but cry.

"You have a good heart," I heard in reply. "You are not defined by having any extraordinary skill, but by what you do with it. Thank you for being honest."

I looked at him, he had to go to work, though he would have liked to stay with me and share his worries. I smiled and understood and didn't want him to worry about me. I felt some relief unknown to me so far, and I knew that I would not be given so much happiness. We're about to part ways, and he'll probably mention a madwoman he once met in the park to someone from time to time. I wouldn't hold it against him, I would probably think so about myself.

"But you have to come back because you still have your duty at work today. I should be thanking you for listening,” I smiled. "It was really nice meeting you. Kiba, thank you for bumping into me, take care of your master." I stroked the pet who started whimpering and asked me to stay.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and walked away. I was hoping the guys would forgive me for coming home a little earlier, but there was enough excitement for one day. I felt so strange, a bit relieved, and on the other hand sad and ashamed. When I was talking about it loudly it sounded so stupid and after all, I don't think I was ready to see what he is thinking about it now.

"I was hoping that I could count on someone to listen to me too." Tetsuya caught me again. "And it won't happen if we don't meet again somehow. May I have your number?" He gave me his cell phone.

"My number?" I asked surprised. "Sure," I said, a little nervous, taking my phone and typing a string of numbers. "I am glad that you want me to be able to repay you."