Knapp Now… Vlad reached out to give the cashier money for his candy bar. A chipped name tag pinned to the cashier’s shirt read “Dimitri.” When Vlad’s skin made contact with the old man’s hand, he saw what Dimitri had for dinner. He saw his thoughts during his smoke break, the agony he was in over the recent loss of his wife, how he replayed seeing her on her deathbed six times before his break came to an end. The memories and sensations were fleeting. Vlad saw as much as he could in the split seconds his fingers brushed Dimitri’s outstretched palm. He was used to this now. His face didn’t betray what he’d just seen, though his own heart felt the phantom burden of the old man’s feelings as if they were his own. Dimitri blinked slowly. “Did you say something?” “No, why?” Vlad asked, curious. People normally didn’t feel his presence inside their minds. Over the years he’d only encountered one or two.
