I wasn't prepared for what she was going to tell me. Of course, I though she was delusional or something, especially with that look of hers. It seemed like she hadn't showered in days or something.
     "What are you talking about?" I asked.
She sighed as if she was going to tell me something that she would regret.
     "What's wrong?" I asked.
     "Okay," she started, "I know this is going to sound totally ridiculous, but you can now read people's minds."
     I looked at her if she was crazy, but for some reason, a part of me felt like I believed her. It would explain as to why I was hearing voices, but it was hard to believe I could hear people talk in my head. She noticed I was skeptical, and further explained.
     "It's passed down if you read those words on the ball. The only thing is, there are few that can actually see it. I've been able to read people's mind for nearly ten years now. You're not going to like it. I know it. There are only a few people that can control it, and if you can't control it after ten years, you never will."
     I didn't believe her. She couldn't have been much older than I, and I doubt that she'd been able to read minds for the last ten years.
     "How old are you?" I asked.
     "That doesn't matter. You have to listen to me. I know how to control it."
     "How old are you?" I insisted.
     "You have to listen to me before it's too late, before the thoughts get out of control."
     "How old are you?" I asked again.
     "I'm twenty six, but since I read the words in the ball, I don't age after I reach twenty." She stared at me for a few seconds. I guess she was expecting a response from me or a reaction from me, but I didn't say anything. I gave her a blank stare.      "Anyway," She continued, "you must understand. I don't know how long you have before it gets out of control."
     "Before what gets out of control?"
     "The voices." She answered, "Do you think the voices will stop? People never stop thinking, and you're going to pick it all up."
     I took what she said into consideration. I guess it all made sense. I was known to be gullible, so I guess this wasn't so hard to believe for me either. For a moment, I gloated at the fact that I was going to be able to listen to what everyone had to say about me. I guess it must�fve shown because the girl looked at me sharply.
     "Don't celebrate just yet. You're never going to have a normal life, ever. You'll stop ageing after you're twenty. Of course, you will die. Even though your appearance won't change, you'll die at a normal age, so keep track of your age. You'll die of a natural cause. Say, a heart attack, or perhaps you were drinking and driving, or maybe you got cancer. They still apply to your possible lists of death. Only your appearance won't change."
     "Why?"
     "Well, the ball is actually kind of human."
     "What?" I wasn't sure I heard right.
     "Yeah, it recognizes you by face. I don't know why it chose at the age of twenty, but it did. This is why only certain people can read the passage in the crystal ball. You have to be sixteen, because the first four years, it recognizes you by your soul, then after that, by your appearance."
     I stared again, skeptical.
     "Yes, I know it's weird, but that's the way it works. Another rule is that, your original parents must be dead. Your current guardians can't be close to you. This is because the ball doesn't like to be interfered with your love for others that are alive. Otherwise, the ball is weak. The more you love, the more the ball is weak, the more the ball is weak, the weaker you are at controlling the thoughts. The only love that the ball is immune to is friendship love. For some reason, the ball isn't affected by it. So yes, you may have as many friends as you want."
     "How do you know all this?"
     "That, I can't say."
     "Why me?"
     "Because I couldn't control it."
     "Why couldn't you control it?"
     I saw her eyes flash with pain, and I regretted asking her the question.
     "I fell in love" she said quietly, "with a guy, Ryan."
     "Oh. Where is he now?"
     "Dead." It was a simple statement, but it wasn't so simple at all. I stared in disbelief and I couldn't believe she just said it so simply. I didn't know what to say. I felt so bad that I'd even said anything.
     "I'm sorry." I said.
     "You shouldn't be. You hardly know me."
     "Yeah, well." I muttered, unsure of what to say next.
     "Michelle." She said, "My name is Michelle."
     "Jay."
     "I know." She said. "I know everything about you. Don't ask me about it now. First off, don't worry about my leaving you, because I won't, not until you control the thoughts. I suppose I could tell you a few things about myself. I wasn't planning to, but knowing that you won't be able to control the thoughts yourself, well, that will just destroy you, and myself as well. I can transform myself into animals. Yes, I was the rat you saw earlier. I know you're shocked, but I don't know why I can do this myself. I've always been able to do it for some reason.
     "I was able to find the crystal ball because the previous person that gave it to me hated me, but I didn't know until it was too late. She didn't tell me anything, but along the way, I figured it out myself. I was able to control it for awhile, until I met Ryan. If I had met him after I was twenty, well, then I would have been able to control it. See, in four years, the ball doesn't contain the power anymore, you do. The ball is just a guide. The power is in you, because you will be able to control it by then. Eventually when you die, the ball itself will find someone new, unless you give it to someone beforehand. However the ball doesn't always agree with who you chose. They will not show themselves to these people.
     "Now, I need to teach you how to control your power, and you can't love anyone more than a friend, otherwise you will lose control. Your love will make the ball blind and lose control, and then you will be destroyed like I was. You can't fall in love until after you're twenty."

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