Insight

Since I was a child, I could easily read any living thing’s feelings and know their entire history just with a single touch. Humans, dogs, birds, and even trees—I felt everything they’ve ever experienced. It was both a blessing and a curse, for while there was so much joy, there was also an equal, if not more, amount of pain. When I first proved to my classmates that I had these abilities, most of them were amazed, however, a few classmates, and even a number of teachers, began to fear me and call me names.

My mom forced me to stop talking about my abilities with others from that point on, but eventually, I came to be labelled a freak by most children at school, as well as by many people in our neighbourhood. Mom and I moved to a new town not long after, and there, I kept my secret to myself even after I graduated and joined the police force. My abilities allowed me to quickly rise through the ranks and become a detective. In the field, even though my abilities were a secret, people began to question the speed at which I closed many cases. Some even suspected that I was involved in those crimes.

I couldn’t blame colleagues for thinking I had a hand in certain cases, even though I could never see myself committing any major crime. At times, I even felt hopeless seeing just how many people’s lives were cut short every year. And it wasn’t until I became a detective that I realised that I could learn someone’s history even with their remains. When this helped me catch a serial killer, the rumours surrounding me grew louder, and I once lost my temper and punched another detective in the face for a sarcastic comment they made. I was suspended for a month.

During my time at home, it occurred to me that I’d be better off working independently. It wasn’t long before I left the department and became a private investigator, and my business gained traction faster than I ever imagined. I learned that many people whom I had helped as a detective were recommending me to those who needed help.

One day, I found myself taking on a strange case. A man walked into my office and said he woke up three times in the past month with bloody clothes, having no recollection of the past nights’ events. When I shook his hand, I felt the paralyzing fear that gripped him. The man was innocent. There was no memory of a crime, but there was one suspicious detail that stood out in a single memory—that of an ex with whom he had recently broken up. 

After our meeting, I asked him to take me to his house, and, following a thorough search, I found three bodies hidden in the walls of his attic. They were his acquaintances. We had a long discussion and I eventually got him to open up about his ex. He said she was possessive and jealous, never allowing him to keep in touch with his friends and acquaintances. He broke things off with her over a month ago, a couple of weeks before the mysterious memory losses began to occur. Upon further investigation, I was able to prove that she was breaking into his house and drugging him. She was arrested and tried a month later.