Occasionally she would catch slight glimpses into his thoughts, and always it would be of work, and oddities, and Talents.  His mind buzzed with ideas whenever she caught it.  However, she could always feel something else.  Listening in someone’s head gave insight to the emotions behind the thoughts as well.

By now, Julia had been able to hear thoughts quite clearly, even in complete strangers when she pressed herself.  However, feelings surrounding thoughts added a subtle complexity to everything.  Some people would loudly think about how a person is a jerk or selfish, while at the same time the emotion of jealousy would trickle through their thoughts.  Other times, she would see a new couple and could feel the lust raging through both of their thoughts. 

Reading words came easily, reading emotions proved quite difficult.  The same set of words could have completely different meanings depending on the emotion involved.  Julia had always thought that “I love you” would be surrounded with happiness and joy.  However, she found many people had horrible emotions surrounding those words.  More often than not, she hear complicated thoughts that started with these words…  <I love you but I can no longer be with you…>  <I slept with your best friend, but it’s you that I love> <I love you, but I love her more…>  She could read the rage, jealousy, disdain and a myriad of other emotions floating through these thoughts.   

However, when she caught glimpses into Jacks thoughts, the overriding feeling that came through every time was greed.  It was more than simple wanting more, it was a lust for more.  She could not really understand what his hunger was for, but she did not press the issue. 

Jack became more and more distant, taking long trips that he always said were work associated.  He would sometimes be gone for weeks at a time.  When he came home, he would never give any explanation, other than he was doing more research.  He always wanted everything to remain the complete same at home, even if he had been gone for weeks.  Julia had a brilliant mind of her own, and it did not take much to figure out that something different was going on.  Jack had all but silenced his mind to her, and that worried her.  She decided a direct approach would be best

How could he even think about that after she just realized that her lifelong affliction was actually a gift?           

            Julia and Jack were married within a year.  She moved into his home near the company while continuing to finish her PhD.  Jack continued to help her hone her abilities.  She realized that she could most easily understand those that she knew well.  When she went home to visit her parents, their thoughts practically screamed out to her.  They were nearly all good thoughts, though.  She could feel the emotion and love in their thoughts.  She also heard their worry and concern about rushing into a marriage with Jack.  They had told her that they thought he was a good man, but their thoughts loudly proclaimed a deeper concern.  All of this she read with an undercurrent of love, so she knew her parents hearts were in the right spot. 

She did not dare tell them the truth.  They had noticed that she had stopped taking medication, but they did not press the issue.  To them she seemed more stable than ever, and with the PhD work, she really was taking the world by storm, right?  Reading her mom and dad came without effort.

 However, when she really pressed herself, she could start to understand other people.  At first she felt guilty for peering into the minds of others.  It was the ultimate intrusion.  What at first seemed like innocent spying, ended up showing a world where deception was everywhere.  She saw her neighbors smile and wave, but could hear their thoughts deceiving their smiles.  Apparently, Jack had made a few enemies around the neighborhood.  It seemed the current theme of the neighbors was one of “how could a nice girl like that be with a jerk like him?”  She figured people were just stuck up, and they really did not understand how brilliant Jack was.

After four years, Julia finished her PhD in psychiatry.  Her Talent slipped into her profession perfectly.  The first time she used her new talent in the field, she felt as if she was intruding into her client’s life.  However, when she thought about it, was that not why they hired her in the first place?  A client wanted her to get inside his or her head and figure out why they feel the way they do.  Julia had the perfect technique for such things.

Jack, on the other hand had become quite deliberate about keeping his mind completely blank when he was home.  She was not sure how he did it, but he was able to completely stop thinking.  One day she had been able to read him whenever she tried to, though she rarely did, then the next day it was like trying to listen to a wall.  Somehow he had either stopped having vocal thoughts, or he had found some way to prevent her from hearing him.  She supposed it was fair, since it was really spying and intrusive on such an intimate level.  However, it seemed odd that he would not want her to see his thoughts.  Actually, it seemed weird, since they were married.  But she did not press the issue.