Prologue:

Silence. It's a word that most people take for granted. Sure, there are famous poems and saying around the concept and how great it is, but no one truly understands how beautiful silence can be. That is, other than myself.

See I have a story. Well, a story that is different than most other people's story. I'm not really good at telling it since I'm not good with beginnings, middles, and definitely not ends.

I guess I will start by telling a story about what happened the other day. I was taking the bus home from work and there was this man sitting in the aisle over. He was pretty quiet until the bus made a stop and a woman sat down next to him. I don't know what it is about women that cause men to become so disgusting but he wouldn't shut up.

Lord Tubbington would have called him a perv, but I know that he is just a man. His thoughts weren't any different than what I've heard from many other men when they are sitting next to an attractive woman - Especially if that woman has larger than normal breast.

Going back to about six months ago, there were a couple of children playing ball outside of my apartment complex. They couldn't have been older than 6 years old and although I don't know their names I've seen them around before.

I enjoy kids because of their pure and innocent spirit, so I decided to gaze out my window and watch them. It reminded me of me and my best friend when we were that age. I was broken out of my thoughts when a man walked out of the building, headed towards them, and began to yell.

"Stop making such a ruckus! Some of us are trying to sleep," The grey haired man shouted at them. I am guessing that he was probably around 70 years old. Not because he looked that old, but because he was thinking about how in his time kids would get stoned to death for being so loud. But like I said, I can't be sure. I was never good at history.

As he was walking back in the building, his thoughts of harming the children were so mean that I don't want to repeat them here. He obviously didn't think that anyone would hear them.

My apartment is on the top floor and right next to the stairs in the corner of the building. My mom helped me get it positioned so that I don't ever have to socialize with my neighbors.

It's better this way.

Knowing their inner most thoughts would definitely make it difficult to see them daily. It's just easier for me to be alone.

There was a time in the past that I was normal. I grew up with two parents that loved me. Together, with my cat, we all lived in that perfect fairy-tale house complete with the white picket fence. We lived in the suburbs of New Jersey where I knew all of my neighbors and their children.

The house next to ours was owned by my best friend's family since birth. He name was Mindy. We were inseparable – from womb to doom is what we used to say.

It wasn't until I hit my 12th birthday that it happened. I wish I could explain exactly what "it" was, but it's too early in the story for me to tell you. Basically, all you need to know is that on that day my life changed.

Oh, and you've probably gathered by all the posters around the room, but I'm talking about reading minds here.

Mindy no longer wanted to be my friend because of course she thought I was crazy. I had to be home-schooled because I couldn't focus in school with all the voices invading my thoughts. Even leaving my house was hard since there were so many people.

My parents tried taking me to every type of doctor or specialist imaginable, but none of them believed me. They didn't even have to say it out loud, I could read their minds. The only people that believed me were my parents. Too bad they had no idea how to help me.

A couple months later my mom found out that she was pregnant again. It was then that my parents relocated our family and we moved to the small town Lima, Ohio. I was once again home-schooled and despite my parents trying to get me out of the house, I enjoyed staying home and helping them with my sister Katie.

Finally, I had found some peace. It turned out that I couldn't read the minds of kids. I'm not sure of the exact cut off, but I couldn't hear Katie until she was 10 years and 9 months old.

I am going to be honest and tell you that I don't want to be up here talking to all of you today. I never wanted anyone to know of my… curse, as I call it. But six months ago I met someone who turned my life upside down in the best way possible.

For once, she made me believe that maybe I wouldn't end up alone.

So here I am semi-ready to tell you what my psychologist, Dr. Brooks, calls – "The Story of the only Proven Mind-Reader on Earth." I just call it my life.

My name is Brittany S Pierce, not to be confused with Britney Spears, and I am a Unicorn.