Not Prominent but Loved

Jamie is barely a necessary part of my book, and he certainly isn't a  prominent character- featured in only three or four scenes. But, I developed and got attached to this guy anyway.

The first thing you should know about Jamie is that he is deaf so he always carries around a pad of paper and pen. He can read lips, so the paper is for him to communicate with others.

In my science-fiction book, he is assumed to not have any super powers which is the norm in the story's universe. However, in reality, he does have a power; it's just subtle.

He can sense vibrations, whether they are strong like a ground-splitting earthquake or as small as the rattling anger in someone's breathing. It helps him to detect when things are coming- cars, earthquakes, people walking, etc., to feel other people's emotions in their voices, or just to feel the door open and close when his parents get home.

Jamie is really just a sweetheart. It takes a lot to get him upset, and he really empathizes with people and animals, so he likes to see everyone happy. Being non-verbal, Jamie is very good with animals or small children. Animals aren't prevalent in the book's world, but he does what he can for the ones he finds- feeding them, taking care of them if they're hurt, etc.

He has a natural instinct for calming people down. Something about the way he moves or looks at a person is calming. It probably has to do with the sensitivities of his power, letting him know things about the person's emotional state. So, this makes him especially good with kids.

He is pretty tall but not exaggeratedly so- just enough for it to be noticeable. He has brown hair that's usually messy, and he wears loose-fitting green clothing. You might look at him and think he looks frail, but he's just always been lanky.

If I had to sum up Jamie, I would probably equate him to that one person everyone knows or has known that just cares about everyone. The kind of person who won't focus on the negative in their life if there's something positive to focus on instead.

So, is this too much detail about character I barely mention in my book? Probably, but Jamie is a part of the character family nonetheless. And I'll love him as much as I do the main characters of the book.