Rhythm

“Jom” is the nickname my mother gave me, with the idea that it would change each year depending on her mood. On good days, I’m “Jom the Mischievous.” On bad days, I’m “Jom the Meddler.” I was born with a special ability—I can hear people’s thoughts and see images when I touch them. My parents often used this skill to their advantage—playing cards or screening tenants in our apartment to nip trouble in the bud. Then one day, a new tenant named Renoo moved in. Mom asked me to screen her, but I couldn’t see anything or read her mind. All I could hear was the pounding of her heart echoing in my head—thump thump… all the time. I, who usually don’t care about other people’s business, suddenly became curious about her to the point of frustration. And the tenant turned out to be the new teacher at our school. From a simple relationship, things became complicated when our heartbeats started syncing in a meaningful way. I recalled an experiment about lovers’ heartbeats syncing when they gaze into each other’s eyes— which is where the phrase “hearts in sync” comes from. But aren’t hearts supposed to sync with the opposite sex? So why does my heart beat in time with someone whose thoughts I can’t read? Who is she? Why do I hear nothing but the sound of her heartbeat?