Jessie Tompkins thought hearing other people’s thoughts was a gift—until he overheard one that could get someone killed.
Opening Line & Paragraph
The first thought hit him between bites of a Big Mac.
Jessie Tompkins could read minds as easily as you can read the menu above the counter. Usually, it was harmless static—someone thinking about fries, a forgotten errand, or the next TikTok video. But this was different. A man sat alone by the window, sipping black coffee, his mind whispering something cold and certain: I’m going to kill her tonight. Jessie froze, his pulse hammering. He glanced up, pretending to wipe his mouth, trying to see the man’s face. Calm, ordinary—too ordinary.
He couldn’t go to the police. Who reports a murder based on a thought? They’d think he was insane. Jessie’s hands trembled as the man stood, left his half-empty cup, and walked out into the rain. The thought echoed one more time in Jessie’s mind—tonight. He grabbed his jacket and followed.
Question for Readers:
If you could hear someone’s thoughts and discovered they were planning a murder, what would you do—intervene or stay silent?
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