“Hunter, this is hard. I know it. I went through the same thing. You could hear what that mom was thinking, and then you said it out loud.”

“But she was saying it! In her head!”

“But not out loud.”

“That was what she was saying.”

“In her head.” He was just being stubborn now. “Hunter, you’re a very young man. But to make your own life easier, you have to start thinking before you talk.”

Hunter’s eyes were wide and brimful with tears.

“You have to think, and you have to keep your mouth shut.”

Two big tears coursed down his pink cheeks. Oh, geez Louise.

“You can’t ask people questions about what you hear from their heads. Remember, we talked about privacy?”

He nodded once uncertainly, and then again with more energy. He remembered.

“People—grown-ups and children—are going to get real upset with you if they know you can read what’s in their heads. Because the stuff in someone’s head is private. You wouldn’t want anyone telling you you’re thinking about how bad you need to pee.”

Hunter glared at me.

“See? Doesn’t feel good, does it?”

“No,” he said, grudgingly.

“I want you to grow up as normal as you can,” I said. “Growing up with this condition is tough. Do you know any kids with problems everyone can see?”

After a minute, he nodded. “Jenny Vasco,” he said. “She has a big mark on her face.”

“It’s the same thing, except you can hide your difference, and Jenny can’t,” I said. I was feeling mighty sorry for Jenny Vasco. It seemed wrong to be teaching a little kid that he should be stealthy and secretive, but the world wasn’t ready for a mind-reading five-year-old, and probably never would be.

I felt like a mean old witch as I looked at his unhappy and tear-stained face. “We’re going to go home and read a story,” I said.

“Are you mad at me, Aunt Sookie?” he said, with a hint of a sob.

“No,” I said, though I wasn’t happy about being kicked. Since he’d know that, I’d better mention it. “I don’t appreciate your kicking me, Hunter, but I’m not mad anymore. I’m really mad at the rest of the world, because this is hard on you.”