Categories: uncategorized
Date: 05 September 2011 05:53:11
This month I am taking part in a writing challenge. Each week there are six prompts, you role a dice to see which one you are to do. This week my prompt was "There was something decidedly odd about that child..."
Jane tried again to get through to Bill, it was just all so frustrating, she loved him dearly, knew how precious he was, but boy was it hard work sometimes. He lived in a world of his own. He knew who she was, but not in a way that other children did. No running up to her, and hugging her when she collected him from nursery. He usually didn’t mind being collected, but there was no joyful recognition that she saw in the other children when they were collected. As he grew, there was so much that she saw other parents enjoying, and she was missing out on. Bill didn’t really bable, there was no trying to work out words. He learnt one or two, but it was like he didn’t need them, like he was in a world that didn’t ever really coincide with the world of those around him. There was no comforting him if things weren’t how he thought they should be, he would jump up and down, and tantrum until things I hadn’t even noticed were put back. I thought his heart would break the day that we moved house.
Bill watched as he spun the spinning top, he could hear somebody say to the lady who made sure he had what he needed, “isn’t your son a little old to be playing with that, he’s what 9, 10?” I heard her reply “9, I know but he seems to love it.” Love was just another of those words I didn’t understand, I heard people using it, but didn’t understand it. I resumed my counting, the spinning top had now gone round25 times in the last minute. He knew it was a minute he has sat himself where he could see the clock, and time it, now to work out how fast it was going. Bill was happily doing the maths, when the lady who made sure he had what he needed came over and tried to take his hand, saying time for school now. Pulling away he continued working out, could he make it go faster, what was it’s top speed. Pushing the handle harder he set it spinning again. Maybe he should not start from a standing start. The lady who made sure he had what he needed, reached over and picked it up saying “Bill you can have it later, but it’s time for School.” Bill threw himself to the ground, and started hitting it. He knew what that word meant, School was that place where they made him join the dots up, put beads on strings, and other things which he found boring and could see no point to. If he was really good they would let him play with the sand. He loved the sand, the feel of it, the coolness, the sensation, just by running it through his hands he could tell if they had changed it.
Jane breathed a sigh of relief as she got Bill on the school bus, she was exhausted. So often it seemed like an uphill battle, it was an uphill battle. Most of the time it was like trudging uphill against the rain, but occasionally the sun comes out, and there is a marvellous view that makes it all worthwhile. Bills smile when something brought him joy, and often little things that she wouldn’t have noticed otherwise were what brought him joy. Just the other day he had been fascinated by a butterfly in the garden, it had made her stop and appreciate the beauty. Also Bill had made her see that having the “perfect” life with the “perfect” family wasn’t everything. She had learnt to appreciate what she had, live in the moment, not to worry so much what others thought.