She slid across the table to sit across from me.

“Hey, I’m Sadie!” The girl said. She waits for my response. “And you are…?” She says after a minute. I shake my head and look back to my food.

“Are you like a mute or something?” She asks. I nod. “For your entire life?” I shake my head. “What’s happened?” She asks. Tears are starting to swell but I wipe them away. Memories of my dead brother are not ones I’d like to keep.

“Ok…” Sadie says. “Are you only going to talk to like favorite people? Like your mom?” I nod. I do only talk to my favorite people. Sadie looks off into the distance before turning back to me.

“Well mute or not, I’ll still be your friend.” She says. I smile and wait a few seconds.

“I’m Eileen.