We always knew there was something special about Anna,but it wouldnt be until years later that i realized just how special she really was. only days after coming home from the hospital,she seemed unusually alert for an infant. her eyes would follow us around the room as we moved about,and she would even turn her head to watch us in our daily activities. no glassy-eyed blank stares from Anna. at times it was unsettling. she would also smile when we said her name or give her a kiss. i dont care what they say. ive been around babies before,and this was not just gas. she was aware.

i was proven correct. by the time Anna was a year old,she was speaking in full sentences. sometimes her words were not pronounced perfectly,but she had an amazing vocabulary and knew how to string sentences together. this was not a matter of simple speech such as "i want cookie" which would have been impressive in itself. she would say things like "daddy,i want one of those too."

funny thing was,she only did this at home. she was very quiet and observant in public,as if she was trying to absorb the whole world into her amazing little mind.

by the time she was 5,she was reading 500 page books by herself. she loved to read,and had a strange fondness for art and history.

her mother and i agreed that she didnt get it from us. must have been some kind of recessive gene. we found all of her abilities amusing,but sometimes it made us worry. she didnt have any friends in her own age group since she was years beyond them in development,and she was mostly shy around adults as well. we considered putting her in a school for the gifted,but after long debates which included Anna's input,we finally agreed to wait. she was already educating herself at the library and on our home computer. we also decided to use the ruse of home schooling,as we didnt feel she would fit in with the more "normal" kids. whenever the school representative came to check on her progress,she would "dumb it down" a bit so as to not draw too much attention to herself. this was her idea,not ours. very crafty.

you would think that with all of these daily feats of high intelligence i would have been a little more prepared for what came next,but i was completely caught off guard. when Anna was about 8,i began to notice some of her "other" abilities. i kept these observations to myself because i found them to be a little frightening,and i knew her more emotional mother wouldnt know how to deal with it. my wife Julie had already had a breakdown in the past over the death of her mother. Julie is a nervous person who lives in a constant state of unease. so much for Zoloft and Paxil.

i got my first big surprise one day after getting home from work. i went to Anna's room to let her know i was home and to give her a piggy ride down to supper. as i approached her room i heard her talking to someone. i didnt think much about it and didnt bother to listen as it was common for Anna to talk to herself as well as her dolls and animals. we assumed this was because she didnt have any playmates. when i opened the door,my mind went blank,and i forgot why i had come to her room. i was so shocked at what i saw. for a few seconds after the door opened,i saw two of her dolls dancing on the table and a third one circling the table in the air as if it were supergirl. when Anna realized i was seeing this,the dolls suddenly dropped as if shot by a gun,and the third one flew at the north wall and shattered the lamp. the room was silent. we stared at each other in anticipation. finally she broke the awkward stalemate with a question. "daddy,are you ok?" i nodded to her silently and then said the only thing that came to my mind at the time,"dont worry about the lamp,its not important." she nodded and then followed a shakey kneed father down to supper.

supper for us was very quiet that night,but that didnt stop her mother from rattling on. her incessant jabbering became a blurry drone that i couldnt concentrate on for long. Anna was speechless,but she watched me intently as we ate. she seemed worried about something. i couldnt decide if she thought she was in trouble or if she was worried about my own mental health. after supper we watched tv in silence for awhile,then when it was time,i took Anna up to her room to tuck her in. as she was getting into her nightie,i cleaned up the shards of broken lamp. by the time i was done,she was under the covers and looking at me intently with those big brown eyes of hers. the look of concern on her face was heart wrenching.

"Daddy,do you want to talk about...the lamp...and the dolls?"

I kissed her on the forehead and her little perfect nose. her fragrant brown locks tickled my face so sweetly.

"Not tonight honey,im tired. Tomorrow is Saturday,and mom will be shopping with Aunt Debbie. We can talk then if you want to."

"Ok daddy,see you in the morning then."

what can i say about the conversation? it was an exercise in the surreal. as it turns out,i was the first to discover her secret. she hadnt told anyone and was usually more careful in how and where she used it. we agreed that mom would be very upset if she had been the one who had walked in. she promised to be more careful in the future.

i discovered that she could lift a combined weight of about 10 pounds with just a thought,but the item had to be lighter if she was to move it around like the flying doll. she could also change the temperature of air and water to rise or fall about 20 degrees. not enough to boil water or put ice on the walls,but still noticeable and impressive. she could also read my thoughts with about 80% accuracy,which i found a little disturbing.

i didnt know what to tell her other than to be very careful. i had heard about these things before but never really bought into it. i didnt want her to become a government experiment. i couldnt help wondering where all this was coming from. noone else in my family could do these things. or could they? if my thoughts were not confused enough,she added more wood to the fire.

"daddy,we can talk about anything now right,just you and me?"

"you got it.anything. anytime."

(a pause and a nervous look from her)

"what is it?"

"daddy,dont you want to tell me about your secret now?"

(at first,i had no idea what she was getting at. it was unexpected)

"what secret honey? daddy doesnt have any secrets."

(i gave her a reassuring smile)

"you have ONE secret dont you? you can talk to me daddy. just between us."

(again i had no clue. sex was the farthest thing from my mind where my daughter was concerned)

"what are you talking about sweetheart?"

(there was another pause and an intent stare. for a moment,i felt as if i was off balance and i was going to fall off the bed,but it only lasted for a few seconds. my stomach gave a lurch of protest. suddenly,familiar images began to swim before my eyes. it was as if i had dozed off and was in a dream. the images were erotic memories and fantasies from the past. the images were taboo and full of carnal lust. i was fully awake and yet experiencing a wet dream. suddenly,the room snapped back into focus,and i found my heart to be racing and my penis was hard as iron.)

"THAT secret daddy."

I stared at her in fear and disbelief. what had she just done?

"thats private honey!"

"dont be mad daddy. ive known for a long time and it doesnt bother me."

"thats not the point. if anyone ever found out about that,i..."

"i wont tell anyone,i promise. but i think you need to talk to me about it. it worries you and makes you feel like a bad person. i can help."

"really,and how do you propose to do that i wonder?"

(in my mind i said "not my daughter. not with her!")

"not me daddy,but i have an idea. you want to hear it?"

(i thought that we should shut the door first,and no sooner had i thought it than i heard it click shut behind me)

"lets hear it then."

"ok,well you remember Amber right? from the family picnic...."

.....TO BE CONTINUED?

(posted by turtle)