Free The Visitors by Katy Newton Naas Page A

that…kiss…You just made the feelings even stronger. You have a gift. I don’t know why you won’t just admit it. I mean, Sir Andrew told me that humans don’t have gifts as we do, but he was obviously wrong. Is that why you’re not telling me? Because humans aren’t supposed to have gifts? You’re not supposed to explain anything about it?”
    She continued to stare at me, and to my horror, her bottom lip began to tremble as tears filled her eyes. “Noah, I wish I knew what you were talking about. I don’t have a ‘gift,’ as you call it. Whatever this is between us, I’m not sure, but trust me, it’s confusing me, too. I obviously mistook it for something else. My intentions were never to make you mad, and I’m sorry that I kissed you.”
    She was obviously telling me the truth. I could see that as the regret and disgrace drizzled from her body. Tears rolled down her cheeks. I was ashamed that I had anything to do with her current emotional state. My heart ached for her.
    Suddenly, another idea hit me. “Jady, you really don’t realize that you have a gift, do you.” It wasn’t a question. I knew the answer in her befuddled eyes. No response was offered as she stared down at the ground with rolls of embarrassment still coming off of her forcefully.
    I stared at her with overwhelming sympathy. As I watched the various emotions pass over her – confusion, anger, rejection, and most of all shame – I wished I could take her pain away and bear it myself. Remembering all the coaching I had undergone before their arrival, and the instructions Sir Andrew had given me about what information was safe and what information was off-limits, I hesitated to continue. Gifts were a prohibited topic of discussion. But, Sir Andrew also thought that humans didn’t have gifts, while this one obviously did. As horrible as he made humans out to be, I believed she was something special. She couldn’t be capable of the evil thoughts and actions that Sir Andrew so adamantly claimed they all had. There was definitely something about her. If I could educate her on using her gift, she might have a bigger purpose. Maybe she could harness her gift for good, somehow. I wrestled with what I should do. If I disclosed this secret to her, I would be betraying Sir Andrew and risking my citizenship. If I did nothing, she would spend her whole life never realizing her own ability.
    As I watched her agony, I knew what I had to do. I walked back over to the rock where she sat and took a deep breath. “Jady, there’s something I need to tell you.”
    She peeked up at me from under her dark hair. “What?” she asked in a quiet voice.
    â€œWhat I’m about to tell is going to surprise you. There are some things you don’t know about us, and obviously, yourself. You do have a gift, Jady. I don’t know everything about your gift yet, but together, we can figure it out. The only thing is, I need this to stay only between the two of us. Before I can tell you anything else, I need you to promise me that.”
    She leaned in toward me, suddenly radiating more curiosity than embarrassment. “I promise I won’t tell a soul. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
    I nodded. “In our society, gifts are common. Well, not common , exactly, but not unusual. I have one. Sir Andrew has one. My colleague Lucy has one. There are several others who have them, too.”
    â€œWhat do you mean by ‘gift’?” she interjected.
    â€œUm, I guess the closest comparison I can give you to help you understand would be what you call a talent. Except, gifts aren’t skills that have to be learned and developed. They just exist. It’s something you’re born with. There are only a handful of us here who possess these gifts. As a result, we have been bestowed with some…special honors from our