Madison

    This was all so new to her. With little warning, Madison found herself capable of things she hadn't thought possible. With the help of her foster brother, Mark, she discovered things about herself that she could only dream of before.
    Mark had noticed that Madison seemed to have a bit of a sixth sense to her, even though she hadn't noticed that about herself. Madison seemed to understand others' thoughts and feelings without direct communication. She knew when someone was keeping something from her. She was also nearly unbeatable in card games, as if she knew the cards in the other players' hands. When Mark suggested an experiment to test Madison's 'intuition', Madison figured she would humor him. When they realized that Madison could guess numbers from Mark's mind and usually get it right, they knew that something big was going on.
    Madison had been placed in the foster care system when she was five years old, and was still in it now that she was twelve. At twelve, she had been put into Mark's family's home. This home, by far, was the best she had experienced. Unlike the others, this home was actually an overall positive experience. She was treated well and she knew that the family cared deeply about her. The longer Madison stayed in the home, the more she hoped that this family might be permanent. None of the homes she had stayed at before had lasted longer than a few months, but Madison hoped this one might be different. Mark had made it all the better for her. He seemed to really like her, and to really want to be a good friend and brother to her. Now, with the suggestion that she might be somewhat special, he wanted to see just what she was capable of, showing amazement and joy with each new discovery.
    Their testing started out simply enough. In Mark's room, where they had the most privacy, Mark would think of a number and Madison would make a guess as to what it was. Her rate of success quickly grew from ten to nearly a hundred percent. Mark would come up with a number - 42, 108, or 1024 - and Madison would quickly recall it out loud, calling out each digit as they appeared in her mind. After spending weeks up in Mark's room, secretly experimenting, there was no doubt as to what she was capable of. Eventually, as Mark read through whole paragraphs from a book, Madison could call out the entire passage verbatim. Madison could complete a pencil and paper maze blindfolded, reading Mark's mental commands to tell her where to move the pencil. Moreover, at any moment, Madison could tell what Mark's current mood was, and pick up on any stray thoughts he had. It was through this that Madison learned a secret.
    After spending hours upon hours in Mark's brain, effectively reading his mind, Madison couldn't help but pick up on his feelings toward her. He may have tried to hide it, but it was obvious to Madison how he felt. Mark loved her, as deeply as the thirteen year old could. He knew, inside, that those feelings likely didn't run both ways. He knew that, regardless of what Madison felt, no crush could exist between them. They had only known each other for a few weeks, but they were still foster siblings. Mark did his best to put aside this love, and to instead appreciate Madison as a foster sister and a friend. Regardless of his relationship with her, Mark just hoped that Madison would get to stay with his family longer than the few months that had been originally intended by the state. He would put aside his feelings and learn not to have them, so long as she stayed.
    Madison knew all this; nothing in Mark's mind was hidden from her. Madison had never felt this feeling before. She had had a difficult life, and she could count on one hand the people in her life who had actually liked her. And here was Mark, loving her despite how terrible a person she was. She couldn't just detect this love within him, but she could fell it. She could feel how he loved her as closely as if she felt it herself. She didn't feel for Mark what he felt for her, but she treasured that she was actually loved by someone.
    Mark's parents didn't like Madison as much as their son did. They felt the depression inside her, as well as the trouble she had gone through in previous foster homes. Beyond this, they worried what kind of influence Madison might have on their son. They sensed, though not telepathically as Madison had, that there was a kind of an underlying relationship between their son and Madison. They didn't think that appropriate, and they didn't think Madison would be a good fit for their home. So, when the six months of Madison's foster care with them were up, Madison was sent to another home. It would be four years before she and Mark would meet again. In those years, Madison never had a home as nice as when she was living with Mark.