(This is a continuation from yesterday’s post: Day 230 Tornado )
From the backseat of a dented sedan, amongst a cluttering of mismatched suitcases, I drew in my breath through my nostrils and lowered my head in doleful resignation. There, outside my car window atop a plateau, slept a muddy-brown structure—most of its windows draped in faded tangerine sheets.
“There it is,” Ben said, curling his lips into a satisfied grin and tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat of the song Sexual Healing.
The car engine stopped. The music stopped. And Ben started. “Just take a look,” he said with an easy stroke to Mother’s sleeveless shoulder. “It’s just like I told you. Look!”
Glancing forward and to the left a bit, I followed Ben’s rounded back up, and then across and down the length of his burly arm to his stubby finger which pointed through the window to a pathetic dwelling; which alas, to my deep disappointment, appeared to be the worst house on the best street in town. Not only was the house in desperate need of paint and the yard weeping with neglect, but the mailbox itself was a rusted clump of sadness. My soon to be new home, this place I would slumber and eat, shower and dress, and partake in life in general, was ironically misplaced, set out in front of the world in its worst garment and accessories.
Knowing what to do, almost instinctively, I narrowed my eyes into a half-squint and scanned the surface alternating the image of the house from blurry to clear and back again to blurry. I’d looked at my reflection in the mirror in the same way, after discovering by blurring my reverse-self I was momentarily able to erase all visible flaws.
The rest is in the book 🙂
Everyday Asperger's 
Well, things went well for a short while, right? Despite Rosie and her mean note (bitch!)…
How many times have I said how talented you are?! You have brought these years of this young girl so to life for me. I have created images for all these characters in my mind. I know them. And I always feel for the protagonist. 😉
I guess….depending on your definition of well. We had the neighbor next door over from the get go. I did have one happy month of bliss with falling in love (or what I thought was love) and having a best friend…..then….BOOM!
Thank you for saying I’m talented. That means a lot. I respect your intelligence and opinion much. Thank you for sharing in the girl’s journey. You’ve helped to give her a place to be seen and understood, and even loved.
Hugs and lots of light to you and yours 🙂
“I had the gift of shutting my ears as easily as some could shut their mouths. And I could travel too—travel to far away places without moving an inch.”
I just love these words, they speak for me, they are who I am even today. My mind is a place of escape, and I love that I have found this with other Aspies too. I haven’t read all of this post yet but I’ll be back. I won’t just read it, you know that, I’ll absorb it and see it, be part of what I read. I just thought I’d comment on what I have read so far. When I read those lines above I was taken back to my childhood. Little Lisa with closed ears travelling to my faraway lands filled with adventure, love and friendship.
When I was a kid, a teen, the friends I had would talk about the books they were reading. They would talk about these amazing adventures they would lose themselves in. I couldn’t relate at all. Not being able to read made me feel so left out, my dyslexia can still leave me feeling so left out. But I love reading your stories, I know the feeling now of what it is like to lose myself in a good book. You being my friend has helped me to connect this experience in my Aspie wiring. For that I will ALWAYS be forever thankful for who you are and all you share.
Love you my lovely friend. Me. 🙂 Hugsss
I’m so glad you could relate to that line. That’s one that stands out for me, as well. Thank you for reading. You read as much as you are able. I entirely understand. Thank you for your continued insights, intelligence, and support. I’m delighted you enjoy my stories. I try to make them sensory-pleasing. I am also happy to have helped you in anyway, and am honored to have done so. You’re a fantastic friend from Bassets to Basnas…..you make me smile. Hugs and love.