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Kade continues to stare at our mini me's.
My eyes dart from Kade's look of hope and wonder, to Kelly and Troy's bewildered expressions; and I know that my face is currently matching theirs.
"I don't get you, Kade – what ability is in this room that could get us down to the core?" I ask.
His finger furiously hits his mouth and he hisses an urgent – 'Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' while holding up his cell and tapping into it.
We crowd round his cell screen 'They will listen, communicate via cell, only.'
I tap into mine, 'Remember, Drew's dead, and whatever ability he had, has gone with him?'
Kade tilts his head and lifts a questioning eye while tapping his cell, 'What if someone in this room, shares his ability?' Again, he looks hopefully over at our mini me's.
Troy lights up and thumbs his cell, thrusting it towards us, 'Forgive me being crude, but Drew didn't have a penis.'
When Kade reads this, I see something that I haven't seen in him in a long time – his full beaming smile, which reaches his eyes and lights up his whole face, making him look irresistibly attractive. And although I know it's not the right time, I embrace him and kiss his cheek; it's a quick affirmation that I want to see more of this kind of Kade smile.
Kelly feverishly thumbs her cell, 'Drew was one of many, he was a castrato.'
Kade thrusts his thumb upwards and simultaneously nods his head, whilst speed tapping into his cell, 'And when and why did they castrate Drew and his many peers?'
I have a sudden light bulb moment, or to be precise, a partial light bulb moment, since I'm still partly in the dark as to what Kade is surmising, 'They castrated them at puberty, to maintain their high-pitched soprano voices.'
Kade gives me a thumbs up – and a smile – that lingers – and lingers – prompting me to thumb my cell, 'AND?' I thrust the single word question into his face.
He takes my hand and pulls me toward our mini me's.
Little Kade has his arm protectively around little Thomas, and as we look down on them, I realize that we're mirroring their stance, exactly.
"Are you two feeling ok?" Asks Kade. They both nod a yes, and little Kade says, "But they're feeling us at the moment, we're being examined again," he says, lifting his shirt to reveal the alarming sight of finger compressions moving up and over his tiny torso.
I note they're both standing bolt upright, physically and emotionally supporting one another through this invasive examination. Kade and I exchange glances, and with it there is unspoken communication – we have to save these little innocents from their fate!
