Charlie would stand as long as his mother would allow looking at the collection of Christmas village houses in the window of Kramer’s department store. Not much calmed his overwhelming autism induced spells, but this certainly did without fail. Camille Hardy wished she could buy what her son saw so she could take it to their home, but a single mother working two jobs just barely was able to scrape by these days. Instead she pulled him away from his fascination and into a nearby thrift store.
Christmas for Charlie was always hard. She never was able to ask him what he wanted because he could not tell her. She knew the untouchable collection of his desire would be his dream, but the four pieces they brought home would have to suffice.
Camille pulled her robe tighter as she made her way from the kitchen the next morning to start Charlie’s seventh Christmas. She saw him playing happily on a nearby table. Tears began to run down her cheek when she heard him singing his favorite Christmas tune. On the table his four new pieces plus an angel tree topper were arranged just right.
Charlie turned and smiled as Camille approached. Christmas was here!
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For Sunday photo Fiction from Al
Fiction Playground 
Excellent perspective on autism. It’s a fascinating subject. Patrick O’Brian wrote of it:
“Children of this kind are rarer than true idiots – who, I may say, can be told at a glance – but they are not very uncommon. There are two of them in Padeen’s village in the County Kerry – they are called leanaí sídhe in Ireland – and both were I will not say cured but brought into this world rather than another. They were taken at the critical moment.”
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Right into the Xmas feel-good spirit, Joe.
Touching tale, nicely done.
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A fantastic view of the autistic mind Joe. My son and nephew are both on the Autistic Spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, and this pretty much spot on. The perfect recreation by the child would have been millimetre precise. A good and moving story.
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I am so glad you enjoyed it and found it accurate. My experience has been only as an observer of such so was hoping I was close on the depiction.
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You were pretty spot on.
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