A few days has passed, and it’s finally the day for Farrel’s parents to come home after spending almost two weeks in Malaysia. Usually his father’s personal assistant would be the one assigned to pick them up from the airport whenever they’re back from overseas, but this time Farrel would be the one personally welcoming them at the airport.
It wasn’t his idea in the first place. If you asked him, he won’t even step a foot outside since it’s still quite early in the morning of a Sunday. However his mother asked for him to be the one picking them up, and Farrel can’t really say no to his dear mother.
The three are now in the family car together, heading towards a seafood restaurant that the family of three often frequents to. Liu Xiaoxiao — Farrel’s full-Malaysian mother, or now commonly known as Emi Otniel, happily hums along the tunes of her favorite music playing on the car radio as she relishes in the early afternoon view. She occupies the shotgun seat, leaving Farrel’s father to sit alone in the back seat.
“You going to the gym ah? Why your arms look so big, last time I saw you your arms lembik macam sotong.” Emi asked as she squeezed her son’s growing biceps. The biceps’ owner groaned, not appreciating how his mom keep on squeezing and poking on it. “Mommy I’m driving lah, I cannot focus. If you want to touch it do it later leh, or else we gonna get into an accident.”
“Aiya this boy, how can you speak like that,” Emi smacked Farrel’s biceps that she was previously squeezing before retracting her arms back. “Mommy just missed you so much, you don’t miss Mommy ah?”
“Kasian anak kamu, diuyel-uyel gitu padahal lagi nyetir. Wait until we arrive home then you can pamper him all you want,” Raymond Otniel — Farrel’s father butted in. “Besides, you know he’s gonna stick to you like a baby koala later.” He added with a teasing laugh, Emi joining in with him while Farrel could only roll his eyes. His parents loves to pamper him with love and affection as he’s the only child, and he’d be lying if he says he doesn’t love the attention he gets.
Sometimes his mother forgets that he’s no longer a ten years old and would treat him like a baby who’s just learned how to walk. “Don’t be sad once I grow up later.” Farrel huffed, making his parents laugh even more.
“Okay all of that aside, how are you feeling?”
Now this, is a tricky question. Whenever his mother would ask this question, it could mean either one of two things. Option one, which is pretty straightforward — asking how he actually feels. Or it could be option two, regarding his mind-reading abilities.
You see, Farrel isn’t the only human in existence to possess the powers of telepathy. It runs in the family, and all of his predecessors once possessed the said power during their lifetime.
The story goes way, way back around two thousand years ago when a queen named Morana Elfreda ruled over a large kingdom all by herself. Everyone regarded her as a wise, righteous, and dignified ruler. She had the most loyal subjects that would sacrifice themselves in the frontline to protect her and the kingdom. Her kingdom was blessed with natural riches that any ruler would ask for.
However Morana felt like it wasn’t enough, she never felt satisfied with what she had. She wished for a greater power that would make her invincible, so that no one would ever take over her throne. Until one day, a small, fragile-looking old woman came to her and said, “I shall grant you a power that rivals that of a God, but it shall come with consequences. Use it wisely, my child. Or it will slowly eat you away.”
From then on, every few generations that descended down from Morana would bear the power of telepathy and the bloodline continued on for two thousand years before finally finding its way to Farrel, the current wielder of said power. The previous generation who had the power was his great grandfather, but he died shortly after Farrel was born.
It sounds like something out of a fairytale that no one would ever believe. Farrel himself felt the same way when he heard the tale from his grandmother, but his skepticism was washed away when he heard his friend’s thoughts on his seventh birthday. It was a turning point in his life that he could never forget.
“Ya kaya gitu lah… Kadang bikin capek, bikin aku ga ada tenaga sampai berhari-hari if I ever let my guard down. I’m getting better at locking it out, I guess.” The boy shrugged, eyes still focusing on the road. “No need to worry Mom, Pa.”
“We just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I know. You guys being here for me is already enough. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
Some might say it’s a curse, some might say it’s a blessing. Farrel think it’s neither, just something he happens to be born with that inconveniences his life a little.
