The light was almost blinding to Toby. Trying to focus on his surroundings he found a face to focus on. The boy looked to be about five years old. The boy sat cross-legged on the sidewalk, looking at the ground. As his surroundings became clearer he tried to remember what happened.
Toby turned around looking for something familiar. He didn't recognize any buildings. People walked past him, most looked like they were headed to work. Feeling groggy and confused he tried to stop a man walking toward him.
"Excuse me," he tried to get the man's attention. "Excuse me!" Toby got a little louder as the man passed him. "Fine, ignore me."
He tried listening to the man's thoughts but heard nothing. He knew he couldn't read everyone. He continued trying to find out where he was.
"Excuse me," he said to another man with a black hat and cane. Toby thought the man looked like he would help him out. To his disappointment, he walked past Toby as well.
Great! I'm surrounded by rude people.
Toby squatted in front of the boy. He was still focused on the ground. His red hair glistened in the light. Toby could see the tears running down the boys cheeks.
"Hey," he said softly, "you ok?" Toby had a gentle side that came out at the right times. He waited for a response.
Nothing. The boy continued to look at the ground. Maybe he can't hear me. Toby waved his hand at the area the boy was looking at, anticipating a reaction. There was still no response from the boy.
Toby stood up and looked around again. This was definately not a place he was familiar with. He looked for a street sign, business names, anything that could help him get his bearings. It was then that he realized that there were none.
Jumping in front of a woman, he'd hoped for a response from her. There was none. No one even looked at him.
Frustration had set in and he yelled at the top of his lungs. Waving his arms he yelled until he couldn't yell any longer. People still walked past him, not looking at him, not responding in any way to his actions.
After several minutes he regained his composure. He had to figure out where he was and what was going on. He headed to what looked to be a coffee shop.
Opening the door to the shop he expected to see people in the shop, the smell of coffee and the swoosh of the cappachino machine. He was shocked to see none of that.
Oh crap! What is going on? Where am I? He thought as he looked back to the street. People still passed him, not acknowledging him, not even looking at him.
He tried once again to get into someone's mind. He chose the boy he'd seen several minutes before. He headed back to where the boy was sitting. Good. He's still here. Concentrating he tried to hear the boy's thoughts. It was silent in his head. He tried several more times with people that passed him.
He had finally accepted his gift and started to embrace it. He'd used telepathy to do good and help people, now it was gone. He stood looking around in the silence of his own thoughts. Man, this will take some getting used to. He thought as he searched for someone he could recognize. He still thought he could find someone he knew. He knew he'd never been here before.
As he searched for a familiar face, any familiar face, he noticed the noises around him. He was in a city, but it was so quiet for a city. It didn't feel right to him. He could hear the people talking around him, nothing really loud, no one yelling. He still couldn't understand why people were ignoring him. It was as if they couldn't see him.
He walked on for what felt like hours, walking the same never-ending street. It was then that he realized that there were no cars, to busses, no vehicles of any kind. The buildings became blurry as he tried to focus more on his surroundings. He could still see them, just not clearly.
What the? What's wrong with me? Am I dead?
Toby stood still, listening once again. This time he could hear what the people around him were saying.
The woman walking past with the short blonde hair spoke of someone named Frank. Then the black man standing by the lamp post, spoke softly saying "I will love you forever" to no one around him.
Toby felt more confused the longer he listened. Once again he tried to get someone's attention. It almost seemed pointless, but he knew someone would listen to him, eventually.