Who: Theo What: A dream in which her mother tells her a little about her psychometry, and also laying the foundation for keeping herself protected from the world. When: This morning Where: Her apartment Warnings: Low Status: Narrative; complete
In the waking world, Theo had realized that her ability of touching objects and getting a vision about them, or touching a person and feeling what they felt, was most likely psychometry in some form. However, her ten year old Dream counterpart had no idea what was going on. However, she hadn't talked to anyone, her siblings or her parents, about being able to sense things through touch. It was something she didn't know how to really talk about, and it made her feel like a weirdo. She didn't want her siblings, mostly Steve and Shirley, to make fun of her for claiming such an ability, and she didn't know what her parents would say. So she held it in, and pretended it didn't exist.
At least until this new Dream. Her mother asked her about how she'd known about the bottle of wine she'd found while cleaning cupboards out with her dad, and some other things. Theo had shrugged, saying she'd just guessed. The conversation had been both enlightening yet also frustrating. Her mother had told her that she was sensitive, just like her grandmother, how her grandmother had always been bundled up and hated the air on her skin. Theo didn't exactly hate the air on her skin, but she was constantly cold in the old house they'd moved into. It was summer and yet she was always wearing sweaters. Olivia had also said that she saw things when she'd get her headaches, but didn't give many details. It was quite the conversation of beating around the bush on both of their parts. However, it also let Theo know that she wasn't the only one that was different. Or sensitive, as her mother had called it.
Then came Olivia's gift, a pair of elbow length gloves that would help Theo with the cold, and the ability to sense things about objects and people when she touched them. She'd put one of the gloves on, then reached out to touch her mother's outstretched hand, testing it. For the first time, she didn't sense anything, and a smile crossed her face. It was a method of protection, of keeping unwanted contact from the world. But it was also the first brick being laid in the brick wall that Theo would build around herself to keep the world out.
Upon waking up, Theo rolled onto her back, and took a couple minutes to gain awareness. She lifted her hands and looked at them. At least now she knew where her ability came from. It was apparently genetic, and both Shirley and Nell also seemed to have some sort of ability themselves from what her mother had said. Theo briefly had a thought of calling Nell, but knew the question she wanted to ask would only lead to questions being asked about herself, and she didn't want to give up anything right now. Sitting up, she decided she should get ready for work. Though that was when she saw the gloves from her Dream resting on the bedside table. She stared at them for a moment before tentatively reaching out and picking them up. They were a little small for her now, but she felt like she definitely needed them.
Some days, the world was too much. Incidental contact while dancing at a club. Picking up a glass or touching any object. She couldn't not feel or sense something when she touched anything, so the gloves were the off button. And given that Theo felt too deeply on her own, she didn't need the world overwhelming her even more. So she took her mother's advice to heart and got out of bed. She went to the box that had her winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves in it and opened it. She sifted through it until she pulled out a pair of leather gloves. She pulled them on and went into the kitchen where she was keeping the bottle of wine she'd gotten from her Dreams. She stared at it for a moment before she reached out and picked it up.
Nothing. She didn't get a vision of the person who had hidden it in that box. She smiled a little bit as she set the bottle back down and looked at her gloved hands. At least she had a line of defense now. And she was content to keep as much of the world out as possible. It had been invading for too long, and she was more than weary of it. She took a breath, and let it out in a soft sigh. At least she could fight back now. Of course, it meant isolating herself, but that was vastly preferable to being constantly bombarded by unwanted feelings or visions. It was just another brick in the wall she'd been building around herself since she'd been ten years old.
And she was more determined than ever to not let anyone get in.