I had an opportunity to speak to Danit today, for which I was glad; I have been wanting to ask her about what happened with Freya. It was a surprise, though, to arrive and find Zezette there as well. They were speaking of some of Danit’s other juniors, and I could not help but wonder if they had been talking about me as well. I have been aware of closer supervision than before in the past few weeks, but nothing has been said to me as to what the seniors think about the observations they have made.
There was no hint of any of this in Zezette’s smile as she turned to me. “I hope I find you well, Asa’el,” she said.
“Quite well, Zezette, thank you.”
“Danit tells me that you have taken on two new charges recently. How are they faring?”
I told her about Anna, how I have been working to persuade her to try new things, activities like choir or recreational clubs that might introduce her to some people in the area. These were plans that I had for Shannon when she moved to her new home, plans that I never had the chance to use. I did not tell Zezette this, but I imagine she could tell it has been on my mind—I know Danit is aware of it.
After giving them a brief update on all my charges, I turned to Danit. “I had a question for you, Danit, but it can wait if you are busy.”
“No,” Zezette said before Danit could, “please, do not let me stand in the way; Danit and I can continue our conversation at any time. Shall I go?”
“Oh, no,” I said. “In fact, you may have some wisdom to offer in this matter.”
She folded her hands and waited.
“It’s about Freya,” I went on. Perhaps I imagined the flicker that ran through both of their auras, gone too fast for me to see what it was.
I told them in as much detail as I could what had happened. “I have never had a charge to be perceptive enough to sense my very thoughts,” I said. “Perhaps I am overreacting and it was simple coincidence—”
From the look my two seniors exchanged, this was not the case. “Coincidence is a rarer thing in the universe than humans realize,” Zezette said. “It is true that Freya is far more perceptive than the majority of your charges.”
My heart sank. “Then I have come too close to her?”
“I think it unlikely that this is a result of your time with her, Asa’el,” Danit said, setting a hand on my arm. “Some humans are simply more aware of the universe around them. Freya is one such.”
I was confused. “Then—is there a way of measuring this perception? Of knowing who is more…aware, as you say?”
“There is a way,” Zezette answered, but she did not elaborate.
“We do not intend to be secretive, Asa’el,” Danit said after a moment, her tone genuinely apologetic. “But if we tell you more, it may bias you against Freya.”
The thought almost made me laugh. “I do not think anything could bias me against Freya. In fact, I am so biased in her favor that a bit of negative bias might bring me back into balance.” I said it as a joke; I could not, and cannot, imagine anything about Freya that might make me love or admire her less.
Both Zezette and Danit smiled, but Zezette shook her head. “Take comfort in the fact that Freya’s perception is a result of her own sensitivity, and not your closeness to her. You may continue to tend to her without concern.”
This was a dismissal, and so I thanked both of my seniors and went on my way. But I have not been able to stop thinking about the things they said. There is something that they know about Freya’s soul that they cannot share with me. What could that be? And why would they believe that it might change my opinion of Freya? I know that to be impossible, but still it worries me.