Dead To Me

Co

I stopped to check the wares at one booth and noticed a young Asian woman approaching Co

“Right this way,” she said with a flourish of Mandarin in her voice. It rang out like the soft tinkling of wind chimes. Co

I hurried over, waving at the woman. I grabbed her hands from Co

“Ohhh,” she said, with a knowing wink and a coy smile. “I see how it is. We have something nice he buy foryou then!”

“What?” I said and then it dawned on me-she thought we were a couple. I had to give her credit as a salesperson, though. Without any judgment call or even skipping a beat, she continued her sales pitch unfazed.

“No, it’s not like that,” I said.

She nodded and winked again.

“Co

Co

He stormed off down the aisle like a faux drama queen before I could get a word in. I chased after him, thankfully ending my conversation with the woman. Co

“What’s wrong?” he said when he saw I wasn’t laughing.

“Can you please not make a scene?” I said, angry. “Do I have to remind you that I’m recognizable in these circles? I’ve worked very hard to be taken seriously here.”

“Sorry,” Co

“Whatother psychometry experts?” I said. “With the Mayor’s budget cuts, there’s only Mrs. Teasley and myself as the select few in the Department who exhibit any signs of psychic awareness. And truth be told, the jury’s still out on Mrs. T.”

But I was willing to play this game. I moved through the piles of decorative fabrics, watching them shimmer with dancing lights from the hundreds of tiny mirrors sewn into their patterns. I kept going until I came to a table piled high with books. Hardcovers, dog-eared yellowing paperbacks, and two full stacks of comics. I slipped my gloves off and passed my hand over the books one by one, looking for anything that might stir my power.

“In the past,” I explained, “my visions have been somewhat sporadic when they come, but when they do…it’s like I’m seeing a slice of the former owner’s life. Some are clearer than others. Sometimes they don’t come through at all.”

“What’s your best guess as to why it’s so hit or miss?” Co

I paused my hand over a beat-up copy ofHouse of the Seven Gables. Usually holding an old edition of a Hawthorne was good for something, but this time I didn’t feel the slightest twinge of my power. I continued rummaging.

I shrugged at Co

I picked through more of the books, but it was hard to concentrate with Co

“Anything?” he said with finality in his voice.

I shook my head. “None of this stuff is charged with anything I can read.”

“Well, kid,” he started, leaning against one of the support beams between the booths, “that’s part of the problem.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. My hands were dusty from touching all the books and I wiped them against my coat.

“If you want to help Irene and be part of this investigation, you need to think of what you do as something scientific, and in order for something to be labeled science, it’s got to be repeatable. Some of the people who teach psi-science theorize that you should be able to pick upanything and get a reading off of it.Every object is supposed to have its own vibrations that reflect its entire history. So it follows that every object should resonate with that at all times.”

I had never really treated my abilities as something scientific. They were simply an unexplainable phenomenon.

“If that’s true,” I asked, picking up another book, “then why aren’t I getting a reading from this?”

“I don’t know,” Co

“Fine. What do you sugg-” I started, but didn’t have a chance to finish my sentence.

Co

Co

I jolted out of the vision with the fleeting memories of the randy professor’s sexual encounters locked into my mind. My body’s sugar dropped but the donuts I had scarfed helped make the aftereffects minimal. I swayed slightly as I attempted to shake off the disorientation. Co

“Well?” Co

“You don’t want to know,” I said. “Trust me.” I felt my face flush from embarrassment. The stinging sensation in my cheek rose again and I rubbed it. “What the hell was with the slapping?”

Co

“Great! So I’m the psychic equivalent of the Incredible Hulk.” I snatched the book back from him.

Co