The snow was just beginning to fall as the school day ended. The large flakes fluttered slowly but the swarm of junior high and high school kids exiting the building melded into a rush of organized chaos. Some were quickly piling into the waiting cars of parents who had cared enough to drive the younger ones on such a cold day, and others were mingling together with friends and siblings who had driven their own vehicles to school.

I was neither. I stood back and watched it all unfold as if it were in slow motion. I had no where in particular I had to be and there was no one waiting for me. I did what comes natural to me and stood back - taking my time and watched people, somehow feeling what they feel and knowing their thoughts. I didn't understand then how I could see people so definitively but none seemed to see me.

I never thought of myself as particularly special, just kinda average. I'm shorter than most girls my age, and my medium-length hair is a shade somewhere between bronze and blonde. In the grand scheme of life I have felt mostly invisible, but it works to my advantage. My name is Lacy Holt and up until this one particular snow storm, two weeks before my 16th birthday, I thought I knew myself, just as much as I knew everyone around me.

For instance I knew deep in my heart that while Alicia Sites was shrieking about the snow on her beautiful long hair and messing up he eyeshadow; she was really gloriously happy to have as many eyes on her as possible. Her gaggle of friends were pretending to worry over her too, but really they were just afraid to appear unpopular so they stayed uniformly concerned.

Mandy Redding was fumbling with her books and saxophone case, while rushing to her brother's truck because she didn't want him to leave without her. I could feel her thoughts, "keep it together. Keep it together. You can be a screw up. You have to keep it together."

Colton and Akin, the star football players, were making their way across the parking lot, playfully jumping and bumping into each other. The real motive only I could see was that Colton wasn't as wild a heart as his best friend, but he thought Akin would be isolated as weird without a partner in his antics. Akin on the other hand, really had no loyalty to Colton and was secretly jealous of him for his talents and good looks.

There were 145 students there all going about their lives with motives and feelings inconspicuous to ever other person around except for me. I always knew, though I had no proof my intuition was actually correct. I had even considered the possiblity that I was imagining the feelings I felt when I looked at people, but it was always so strong. With the exception of one person, my father, the sensation was somehow in me no matter who I met or how long I'd known them. Sometimes I would catch little actions that seemed to prove me right but I couldn't be 100% positive.

Bored and beginning to feel the chill I began my walk home. There was no wind so the snow continued to softly float down in heavy flakes that had begun to collect in the grass. The air was brisk but still enjoyable. The roads and sidewalks were still warm enough to melt the precipitation so I decided to take the long way home instead of cutting across Hardigan Park.

I was in no hurry because I knew my father would not be home for hours, if he managed to make it home tonight at all.

My father was the one person in my life that confounded my perception. He and I had moved back to his hometown after his mother died 6 months earlier. I had never met my grandmother but we now lived in her house, just the two of us. My mother had her issues and had never really been a constant in my life. I knew she had endured a lot of pain and heartbreaks so I didn't blame her for forgetting about me years on end. She would look us up every now and then and I would know she loved me but she wasn't good at responsibility. I felt sorry for her and loved her regardless.

In the short time we had lived in Jasper, I had gotten to know my way around very easily, however, for some reason as the snow began to fall more intensely, I began to feel lost. I hadn't taken my normal route, but that didn't explain the odd feeling that swept over me. I had lost track of what direction I was walking and the gray sky above didn't help. The intersection sign said "Perryville Street", but wasn't one I knew. The traffic had all died down even in the distance, so I couldn't discern where the busier more familiar roads were.

Then I heard it. If ever I thought I could read people's thoughts, I had never audibly heard one. "Behind you," it spoke sweetly into the air. "Turn around and see me in the window."

I suppose I jumped, but I did turn and see an older woman standing by in the front window of a big two-story yellow house and she was watching me.

Every light in the house must have been on because it seemed to glow while all the other homes on the block seemed dark and currently uninhabited. The house itself seemed to welcome me and beg me to come closer but as for the woman inside I couldn't imagine what she was thinking or feeling. "perhaps," I thought I'm too far away, but that doesn't seem right."

"Come to me where it is warm. I want to meet you," the voice spoke again.

"No way!" I mumbled to myself. Something didn't feel right and I had to get out of there.

I began to run away and I heard the faint lingering of the voice, "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you...."

I ran until I began to recognize the neighborhood again. Everything seemed turned around but I knew where I was. I turned on a familiar street and quickly found my way home. I ran into my room and curled up on my bed. I had never felt so unnerved before. I didnt understand what had happened.

I stayed in my room all evening. I watched out my window as the world was blanketed in white snow and a blackening night sky. My father didn't come home.