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didn’t come here often, but now she regretted the decision. The paintings that lined the walls were beautiful and intriguing, but the place itself was spectacular. Majestic stone pillars flanked each room, and the black-and-white marble floors were as sleek as glass. She stood in awe of the place until she was interrupted by the sound of Walter’s voice behind her.
    “It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?”
    “Oh yes,” Melina replied as she turned back to him.
    “Unfortunately, though, I didn’t bring you here to enjoy the view. The museum is perfect to hone your mind-reading skills. You’ve mastered it with one person, but now we’re going to try it out with various numbers of people. That way you can try blocking out people’s thoughts as well. Some exhibits will be crowded, and some will only have a handful of people around them. Let’s start with the less-crowded and work our way up.” He gestured over to his right where two elderly couples were admiring a landscape painting.
    “Okay.” Melina nodded as she followed him over toward the couples.
    “It will also help to strengthen your visions.”
    Melina paused for a moment. The visions. How could she have forgotten about them? She let out a low groan as she rubbed her left wrist. The one vision she did have was awful enough. She didn’t want to think about how they’d be once she had strengthened them.
    As they approached the couples, the murmuring started up again in Melina’s mind. The voices eventually turned into loud chatter, but it was difficult to make out what any of them were thinking since she was hearing all four of them at once. She closed her eyes, trying to focus, when Walter leaned over and whispered in her ear.
    “It’s impossible to make out what they’re all thinking at once. We can’t even do that.”
    Melina opened her eyes and turned to look at Walter.
    “You need to learn to tune the others out and try to focus on one at a time. It shouldn’t be too difficult with only four of them. Once you’ve figured it out, tell me which one is the most troubled.”
    Melina turned back to the couples and started with the man who was closest to her. What seemed to work before with the cabdriver was thinking about him. Maybe thinking about what the old man looked like would help even more to single out his thoughts from the others. She began to list off details of his appearance in her mind. Average height, thin build, gray hair combed over to the side, mustache, hazel eyes…
    The other voices slowly started to fade into a low background like sound as the man’s thoughts were amplified. Her eyes narrowed as she took a step closer.
    I wonder who the artist is? Where are my reading glasses?
    The man started to pat around on his jacket. Melina moved on to the woman next to him, presumably his wife. Short and plump, curly white hair, dark brown eyes…
    It happened the same way as before, with the woman’s thoughts slowly projecting over all the others.
    I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight. Maybe George will want to go to bingo with me. Then we can eat there.
    Melina smiled a little and then turned her gaze on the second couple. She started with the man again. Tall, very skinny, wispy white hair, pale skin, light blue eyes…
    Again, it took a little while for her to tune out the other three, but she eventually honed in on what the man was thinking.
    Maybe it was my fault that he left. I only wanted what was best for him. I didn’t want to push him away. I’ve got to call him and make it right. He’s my son for goodness' sake.
    Melina frowned and hesitantly moved on to the woman, again probably his wife. Very tall for a woman, slender build, brownish-gray hair that comes down to her chin, blue eyes…
    The first couple’s thoughts began to fade away, but for some reason it was difficult for her to ignore the second man’s thoughts. She started to rattle off more descriptions of the woman. Dark red sweater, black slacks, long