Page 1 of Colour My World (The Bennet Sister Variations #3)

A Note to the Reader

There exist among us individuals of uncommon perception––those who notice what others miss: a glance held too long, a hand pulled back a breath too soon, the way a hush gathers before a reply.

These micro-gestures, minute and involuntary, almost always overlooked, often reveal more than any spoken word.

Some people, by study or natural inclination, grow adept at recognising such signs. They observe, compare, and remember until meaning begins to emerge, whereas others see only habit. Or nothing at all.

Others live with a condition known to modern science as synaesthesia: a neurological phenomenon in which one sense unintentionally triggers another. A person might associate shapes with letters, experience emotion as a physical sensation, or see colours when hearing music.

Synaesthesia exists in two principal forms.

The first is congenital synaesthesia, present from early childhood.

Often undiagnosed, it can go unremarked for years, much like certain forms of colour blindness.

Individuals with this condition may assume their sensory experiences are universal, only to discover the difference when formally tested.

The second is acquired synaesthesia, which typically arises after a significant neurological event such as head trauma, stroke, or damage to the central nervous system.

Though far rarer, this condition has been documented in medical literature and can present suddenly in individuals with no prior history of the phenomenon.

This is not magic; it is not second sight. It is a difference in sensory processing—uncommon but medically recognised. Combined with careful observation, such perception may appear uncanny.

But it is not unexplainable.

A person both observant and synesthetic may seem to see into the minds of others.

They do not .