“Shhh, it’s okay, you’re okay,” my mum says, trailing her hand through my hair. My face is pressed against her shoulder, my hands clutching her green blouse. The material is wet with my tears, but she doesn’t seem to notice as she holds me tight in the protective circle of her arms

“Let it out, honey. We’re here,” my dad says, his hand stroking my shuddering back.

“It might not feel like it now,” my mum says, “but you’ve been given a gift, my beautiful, brave girl.”

“It f-feels like a c-curse,” I say through my sobs.

“I felt the same when I first started to Speak,” my mum admits. “I was so scared to open my mouth, so scared that I’d accidentally convince someone that something happened or didn’t happen, that I kept silent for a whole week.” A smile quirks at her lips from the memory.

“W-what made y-you talk again? What m-made you r-risk it?”

“Well, I eventually decided that I wasn’t going to let my power control me—instead, I would control it.” She guides my head back until I’m looking at her as she says, “It’s the same for you, my darling. You have an enormous power within you, so now you just have to learn how to control it. And once you do—sweetheart, your words could change the world.”

My face crumples. “That’s w-what I’m a-afraid of. One wrong w-word and—and—”

“The fact that you’re afraid is a good thing, Lyssie,” my dad says. “It means you’ll always be careful not to take advantage of your power. It means you’ll never use it for the wrong reasons, with the wrong intentions.”

“But m-my control—”

“We’ll help you, sweetheart,” my mum says. “Riley, too. You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone. Do you hear me?”

I nod against her shoulder, releasing a shaky breath. “I love you. Both of you. So much.”

“We love you too, baby girl,” my mum whispers, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. “And we’ll be with you through this, every step of the way.”

The scene fades around me, blackness setting in along with the disorientation that comes from falling through the dark. But I don’t feel the discomfort this time. I’m too numb from what I just saw, from what I just felt.

I’d forgotten. Forgotten how much I loved my parents, how much they loved me. For days now, I’ve been wondering why my mum might have forced me to believe I killed both her and my dad. But … seeing this memory … hearing her promise to never leave me alone …

It doesn’t make sense.

None

of

it

makes

sense.