That evening, as Emily scribbled drawings in her sketchbook, a sense of foreboding washed over her. She paused, her pencil still, staring blankly at the page. The feeling gnawed at her, inexplicable but undeniable.

“Danny? Do you feel it too?” she murmured softly.

Daniel’s voice responded in her mind, tinged with quiet resignation. “Yeah… something’s brewing. It feels like…something is about to go down.”

Her thoughts drifted back to the previous day’s near-confession at the park, working hand in hand with her mother and Daniel. She had come so close to telling her parents the truth, and deep down, she longed to end the charade. Pretending in front of two people who loved her so much felt exhausting—wrong.

“How much longer can I keep us a secret?” she wondered aloud.

Daniel sighed heavily. “You’ve been strong, Em, but you don’t have to carry this forever.”

Before she could reply, a knock on her door made her freeze. Her heart raced, mirroring Daniel’s unease.

“Come in…” she said, forcing a cheerful tone that sounded hollow even to her own ears.

The door creaked open, and her parents stepped inside. “Hey, Emily, we need to talk about something,” Thomas began hesitantly, his expression serious.

Emily’s stomach dropped. Their faces, their body language—they told her everything she needed to know. This wasn’t a casual conversation. She nodded slowly, her throat tightening as she tried to prepare herself.

“Just breathe, kid…” Daniel whispered, though she could sense his own nervousness.

Thomas pulled up a chair, sitting beside her, his thumbs fidgeting. Sarah stood behind him, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Their cautious energy unsettled Emily further.

“I’ve never seen them like this before,” she thought, her heart sinking. She glanced at the floor, gripping her sketchbook as though it could anchor her. Even Daniel was uncharacteristically quiet.

The silence stretched on, heavy and suffocating. Finally, Thomas inhaled deeply and spoke.

“Emily… there’s something we need to understand—something that doesn’t add up.”

Emily nodded again, her anxiety mounting. She wanted to respond, to explain, but words just didn’t seem to come.

Sarah knelt beside her, taking her hand gently. “You know we love you very much, right?” she said softly, her voice a lifeline of warmth that both comforted and terrified Emily.

“We’re not angry, Emily,” Thomas added quickly, his tone steady but filled with concern. “But there are things that…well, don’t make sense. How did you know how to fix the computer last month? Or how to use an EpiPen so precisely?”

Emily’s pulse quickened. Her heart felt like it might burst. She tried to deflect, her voice shaky. “Oh, you know…I like to read…I tinker,” she said, forcing a weak smile. But she could feel the cracks in her facade. The excuses sounded flimsy even to her ears.

Sarah’s gaze remained steady, though her concern deepened. “Sweetheart, we’ve checked. There isn’t a book in the house—or at your school—that explains how to use an EpiPen in that kind of detail. Where did you really learn about that?”

Thomas leaned forward, his hands clasped together. “And the computer,” he said, his voice firmer now. “It’s not possible for a child your age to troubleshoot hardware like that. Emily… we need the truth.”

Her defenses wavered under the weight of their questioning. She glanced at the window, searching for an escape. But there was none—not this time.

“We’ve noticed other things too,” Thomas continued, his expression almost pleading. “The way you talk sometimes, like you’re older than you are. And then you switch back, like you’re trying to cover it up. Why, Emily? What’s going on?”

Sarah reached out again, brushing Emily’s arm. “We’re not upset with you for being curious or smart, but these things…they don’t add up. Please, we just want to understand.”

Thomas nodded in agreement. “We love you, Emily, and we’re your family. But isn’t it time you trusted us?”

Inside, Emily felt Daniel stir. His presence was steady but insistent. “I think...it’s time, Emily,” he said gently. “It is time they learned about…us.”

Emily stood abruptly, pacing toward the window. She stared out at the darkening sky, her thoughts a storm. “I don’t want to lose you…” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Please… if I tell you…”

Sarah exchanged a look with Thomas, something unspoken passing between them. Her voice softened further as she approached. “Emily, I know I pushed you too hard earlier today. I’m sorry if I made you feel cornered. But we’re here now, and we’re listening. You don’t have to be scared.”

Emily turned around, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Her voice cracked as she asked, “Would you still love me? Would you still accept me? What if you think I’m…crazy?”

The raw vulnerability in her words made Sarah and Thomas falter. They reached for each other’s hands instinctively, grounding themselves.

“Em…” Daniel’s voice broke through her despair, his tone soft but resolute. “They love you. I promise, they’ll understand.”

Emily bit her lip, holding back a sob. “Danny, I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice trembling.

“I know,” he replied. “But you’re not alone, lil sis. I’ve got you. Always.”

She managed a small smile despite her fear. “Lil sis, huh?” she murmured, her tone lightening just enough to mask her tears. “I like that…thanks, Danny. Let’s do this.”

Turning back to her parents, Emily took a deep breath. Her hands clenched at her sides as she steadied her voice, her resolve hardening. “Mom…Dad…you’re right. There is more to this. I’ve been hiding something…something big.”

Sarah and Thomas stiffened, their eyes widening at the gravity in her words. They could sense the enormity of what was about to come.

Emily’s heart raced, but Daniel’s steady presence gave her the courage to continue. “I’m not… an ordinary child. I’m so far from being ordinary…”

—

She turned back to face her parents, ready to reveal her truth.

A light warmth brewed within her—a sensation she’d come to recognize as Daniel’s way of hugging her from within. Feeling less alone, yet her voice trembling, she tightly clenched her hands, her eyes wide as she pushed past fear and steeled her resolve.

“Mom… Dad… you’re right. There is more to this. You are right—I do backtrack and feign ignorance when I say something complicated. You are right, there are no books in this house on how to use an Epipen or fix a computer.”

Sarah and Thomas’s expressions widened as the directness of her statement hit them. Perhaps they had expected something unusual, but hearing it so plainly left them momentarily speechless. It was as if the very ground beneath them had shifted, altering the foundation of everything they thought they knew about their daughter.

Meanwhile, Daniel, even in this moment, couldn’t resist a light quip. “You enjoyed that mic drop just a bit, didn’t you?” “Shut up, Danny,” Emily fired back mentally, her lips twitching with a small smile at his attempt to cheer her up.

The smile faded quickly as her gaze returned to her parents’ stunned faces. The weight of what she was about to share pressed down on her, making her voice falter slightly.

“I know this must sound strange... and it’s only going to get stranger. But please, I need a moment to sort through my thoughts—just a moment—and I’ll share everything with you,” she pleaded, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination.

Her parents exchanged a glance, their expressions a blend of shock, concern, and hesitant understanding. They both nodded slowly, their movements deliberate as they tried to process what they were hearing.

Sarah’s voice was a whisper. “Of course, Emily. Take all the time you need.”

“We’re here, whenever you’re ready, kiddo,” Thomas added, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions beneath it.

Emily sat down in her chair, looking away as she closed her eyes. She began her deep breathing exercises, connecting with her dual consciousness and employing the meditation techniques Daniel had shown her for dreamscape access.

“Are you with me, Danny?” she asked internally.

“Always, Em… let’s do this… together… when you’re ready,” Daniel reassured her. His voice grew softer, almost wistful. “Kid, you’re braver than you know. This whole existence of ours… it defies everything. I don’t know how I got here or how we ended up like this, but you’ve handled it with so much grace, so much kindness. No matter what happens, I’m grateful to have shared this with you—to learn and grow alongside you.”

His words caught Emily off guard. She inhaled deeply, letting them settle over her, filling her with a quiet strength. “Thanks, Danny,” she whispered back. A flicker of a smile returned to her lips, this one tinged with gratitude.

She fell into her groove, her breathing steadying as her posture shifted. A calmer, almost ethereal aura seemed to envelop her, radiating through the room.

“What is she doing?” Thomas’s voice broke through the quiet, tinged with unease.

“I don’t know… but she seems so… different,” Sarah murmured, awe creeping into her tone.

Emily heard them faintly through the veil of her focus but didn’t waver. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, meeting her parents’ gazes with an intensity that made them flinch. Her expression had changed—more focused, sharper, radiating a maturity far beyond her years.

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“I am different, Mom,” Emily said softly, a sad yet determined smile on her face. “I’ve been different for a long time…”

–

Resettling into her chair, Emily’s voice carried a profound solemnity, each word deliberate. Her eyes locked onto theirs, unwavering yet filled with nervous energy. “You were both right—about everything. I possess knowledge far beyond what a child, or even most adults, should know.”

She hesitated, her hands gripping the edges of the chair. “Yesterday, at the park, I came so close to telling you the truth. I wanted to—I really did. But I didn’t know how to explain it, how to make you understand something so…outlandish.” Her voice wavered, trembling under the weight of her confession. “This secret… I’ve shielded it from everyone, not just you. Carrying it has been such a struggle, and for the longest time, I didn’t even understand it myself.”

Absolute silence settled over the room. Sarah and Thomas were transfixed, the air thick as they struggled to process Emily’s words. Even Daniel remained quiet, his steady presence offering support as Emily pressed on.

“It was inevitable, wasn’t it?” she murmured, almost to herself. “I’ve been hiding something, and it was bound to surface sooner or later.”

Leaning forward slightly, her gaze swept between her parents, each look deliberate, searching. “Mom, Dad…what do you know about past lives? What are your thoughts on them?” She didn’t bother feigning childlike innocence, allowing Daniel’s memories and consciousness to merge seamlessly with her own.

Exchanging a loaded glance with Thomas, Sarah’s voice tinged with bewilderment as she began, “Past lives? Emily, how do you… well, there are theories—stories about past life regressions. I’ve heard of them but never seriously considered the idea. Right, Thomas?”

Thomas nodded slowly, his brows furrowed. “Why are you asking, Emily? What’s on your mind?”

Emily paused, her calm exterior faltering briefly as fear flickered across her face. “What if I told you,” she began, her voice steady but laced with vulnerability, “that I can experience memories that aren’t my own?”

Her gaze grew sharper, more intense as she whispered, “What if I told you…that everything you’ve read about past lives barely scratches the surface of reality?”

The words felt final as they left her lips, her heart skipping a beat as she sensed Daniel’s silent reassurance. She exhaled slowly, her hands trembling slightly. “What if I told you that I carry the consciousness of someone who isn’t me?”

—

For a moment, Sarah and Thomas were unable to speak—frozen in place, disbelieving yet unsure of what to believe.

Sarah furrowed her brow, her lips tightening as she struggled to process Emily’s words. “Memories of another person? Another consciousness?” she finally asked, her voice tinged with both disbelief and a mother’s concern. “Emily…can you explain more? I don’t…understand.”

Thomas leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly together. “How is this even possible?” he said, his tone growing sharper. “Another person’s memories inside you? Emily…this doesn’t make sense.”

Emily nodded, her eyes flicking between them, searching for signs of understanding. “I know it seems unbelievable…but yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Inside me, I carry the memories and consciousness of a person from another time, another universe—not too far removed from ours, but different enough. His name is…Daniel.”

She hesitated, her lips curving into a bittersweet smile. “I call him Danny sometimes.”

Thomas blinked, his face pale. “Wait…another person? Living inside you?” His voice cracked slightly as if searching for a rational explanation. “Emily, are you sure? What if—”

“I’m sure,” Emily said, cutting him off. Her voice trembled with irritation. “It’s as real to me as anything else I’ve ever known. I thought I was losing my mind at first too. But his life—his emotions, his memories—they’re all part of me now.”

Sarah reached out, her hand brushing against Emily’s arm. “Sweetheart,” she said softly, her voice cracking, “this is…a lot to take in. We believe you, but we just…we don’t understand.”

Emily hesitated, letting the silence settle for a moment. “Give them time, Em,” Daniel’s voice murmured gently in her mind. “It took you a while to accept me too, remember?”

Emily exhaled slowly. Her parents’ faces shifted between disbelief and hesitant realization, their confusion evident.

“It’s not every day you tell your parents, ‘Hey, guess what! There’s a soul living rent-free in my head,’” Daniel quipped nervously, his unexpected humor momentarily easing Emily’s tension nearly making her snort with laughter.

“Sorry,” Daniel added sheepishly. “Overcompensating…”

Thomas ran a hand through his hair, his face pale. “Emily… how could this be possible? Are you absolutely sure there’s not… a simpler explanation? Something you misunderstood?”

Sarah’s eyes welled up with tears. Emily could see her mom trying to make sense of this, her gaze searching for something concrete to hold onto. Tentatively, Sarah reached out, her hand shaking slightly as it rested on Emily’s arm. “Sweetheart,” she said softly, her voice cracking, “this is a lot to take in. We’re not saying we don’t believe you… but how is this even possible? How can someone have memories from a past life—let alone from another universe?”

Emily hesitated, biting her lip as she searched for the right words. “I know this doesn’t make sense,” she said, her voice trembling but steady. “I know it’s hard to reconcile me—your daughter—with something that feels impossible. But it’s the truth, no matter how absurd or fantastical it may seem.”

Her parents blinked, startled by the maturity in her tone. Before they could interject, Emily continued, “It’s like part of Daniel’s essence—his consciousness—merged with mine. And because of that, I’m not just me anymore. I’m… us.”

She paused, glancing toward the floor, unsure how to go on.

Daniel’s voice nudged her gently from within. “You’re doing great, Em. Keep going.”

With a small, slightly proud smile, Emily pressed forward. “I have access to his experiences, his knowledge—things from thirty or fifty years in the future. Technologies you can’t even imagine, like…” She glanced at her parents. “Phones that fit in your pocket. Internet everywhere. Cars that drive themselves.”

Thomas leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean, ‘phones that fit in your pocket? Cars that drive themselves’? That’s… not possible.” He paused, his expression tightening. “And how do you even know about the internet? How can any of this be real?”

Emily’s smile faltered. “It is,” she said quietly. “To me, it feels as normal as anything else. But it’s not just information I know.” Her expression darkened, grief washing over her features. “I feel his emotions too. His isolation. His fear. He was sick—really sick—and it made him… shut everyone out.”

Sarah inhaled sharply, her hand instinctively tightening on Emily’s arm. “Sick? What kind of sickness?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Emily admitted, her voice breaking. “He doesn’t tell me… says he wants to protect me from those memories. But I’ve seen bits and pieces—it was bad. He was in a lot of pain, and he was so scared, so alone… He built walls in his mind to protect himself, but they only made him feel worse. He started losing hope.”

Clasping her hands tightly, she looked down as her voice rose in desperation. “His experiences—they live through me. His joy, his pain, his despair—they’re all part of my life now. Some days, it feels like his world is crushing mine. Like his life is… mine.”

—

The room was quiet. No one spoke—not even Daniel, who was silently absorbing this third-party assessment of his life.

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Emily raised her hand to stop him. “Just one more second, Dad,” she said, her voice steady but strained. She took a deep breath, grounding herself before continuing. “This merging of souls—this ‘two become one’—is real. I don’t know how or why it happened. I don’t think Daniel does either. It’s as if the universe stitched our lives together, crossing boundaries of space and time that we can’t even begin to understand. It doesn’t make sense… but it’s the truth.”

Sarah blinked, her expression shifting from shock to cautious curiosity. “Wait… you can talk to this Daniel?”

Emily hesitated, searching her mother’s face for doubt. Was Sarah questioning her sanity? “Yes, Mom. I can talk to him. We share a mental link. We can feel each other’s emotions and share thoughts—when we choose to. It’s hard to explain, but… it’s real.”

From within, Daniel sighed. “Oof. It does sound a bit nuts when you say it out loud, doesn’t it? But hey, at least Sarah seems open to the idea.”

Thomas leaned forward, his voice quivering with a mix of awe and disbelief. “And..Emily…you have knowledge of the future?”

Daniel sighed again, his tone resigned. “And there’s Thomas, already moving on to the practical. Classic.”

Emily’s lips twitched at Daniel’s commentary, but she quickly refocused. “It’s more complicated than that, Dad,” she said, her tone mirroring Daniel’s quiet exasperation. “Yes, I carry memories and experiences from thirty or fifty years ahead. It’s not an impossibly distant future, but it’s far enough to change… everything.”

Her hands clasped tightly behind her back as she tried to read her father’s reaction. His furrowed brow and tight grip on his knees betrayed his struggle to grasp the implications of what she’d just said.

She paused, her gaze sweeping over her parents’ stunned faces. “There’s no turning back now, is there? Let’s just lay it all out, here I’ll prove it…prove that I have knowledge I shouldn’t have.”

Leaning forward, her eyes locked onto Thomas. “Dad, you work with MRIs, right? Magnetic Resonance Imaging devices?”

Thomas blinked, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “MRIs? How do you know about those?”

Emily’s voice grew steadier, adopting a tone almost too professional for her age. “An MRI uses powerful magnetic fields and radiofrequency pulses to create detailed images of the body. In Daniel’s time, they developed 7-Tesla MRIs—far more advanced than the ones you use today, which are, what… 1 to 1.5 Tesla?”

Thomas’s jaw tightened as he processed her words. “That’s… experimental technology,” he said, his voice tinged with awe. “How do you know this? How, Emily, do you know about 7-Tesla MRIs? That’s… beyond experimental—it’s futuristic.”

Sarah remained silent, her body rigid as she absorbed Emily’s words. Her eyes flicked between her daughter and her husband, trying to reconcile this impossible knowledge with the child she thought she knew. “Emily…” she finally whispered, her voice trembling. “How do you…? How is this even possible?”

Turning her attention to her mother, Emily pressed on. “Mom, you’ve used TENS units before, right? For pain relief? Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, I think it’s called?”

Sarah nodded slowly, her intrigue momentarily overpowering her disbelief. “Yes… TENS is fairly common.”

Emily’s voice grew firmer, gaining momentum. “It blocks pain by sending electrical impulses to nerve endings, right? In Daniel’s time, they evolved this technology far beyond basic pain management. They could target specific areas of the brain—not just for pain, but for depression and other conditions.”

Sarah’s composure cracked slightly as she stared at Emily, her hands trembling in her lap. “Emily… that’s incredibly specific. It’s almost as if…” She hesitated, her voice breaking. “It’s almost as if you’ve seen these technologies yourself. How? How could you possibly know this?”

Emily’s voice wavered as she met her mother’s gaze, the weight of her confession pressing down on her. “Because…” she began, her hands trembling slightly. “Because Daniel knows this. He went through this. And now… I have this knowledge because of him.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with implications. Thomas’s analytical mind churned visibly, his brow furrowed deeply as he tried to find some rational explanation. Meanwhile, Sarah’s gaze softened, her tears glinting in the low light as she tried to reach for the child behind the impossible truth.

—

Emily’s mature demeanor crumbled, the adult aura vanishing as she reverted to a vulnerable seven-year-old. The weight of her secrets, the bewildered and concerned faces of her parents, pressed down on her like a storm. For a fleeting moment, she had felt pride—pride in sharing the incredible knowledge and experiences Daniel had given her. But now, that pride dissolved, leaving only raw fear and self-doubt as she stared at her parents’ thunderstruck expressions.

“I… I need a moment,” she stammered, her voice trembling with apprehension. “This… this is what I was dreading. You think I’m… weird… crazy. How could you not? How can I prove it?”

Her voice cracked under the strain, the weight of her fears bearing down until it felt unbearable. Panic surged within her like a wave, drowning her resolve. Before her parents could respond, she turned and fled the room, overwhelmed by her own revelation and their reactions. Her hurried steps faltered, a slight stumble emphasizing the desperation of her escape as she dodged Sarah and Thomas.

For a moment, the room was silent, the echoes of her words hanging in the air. Sarah and Thomas stood frozen, their minds reeling from the revelations. They could barely comprehend what they had just heard—yet their daughter’s fear and pain cut through the chaos like a blade.

“Emily, wait!” Sarah called, her voice breaking as she sprinted after her daughter. “Sweetheart, it’s okay! Please don’t run!”

Thomas followed close behind, his voice urgent but steady. “Emily, we’re not upset! Please, just stop for a moment!” His heart pounded as he realized they had unwittingly intensified her fears.

Their footsteps echoed through the house as they raced to catch up, both driven by the same instinct: no matter how incredible or unbelievable Emily’s words had been, she was still their daughter. And she needed them now more than ever.