Wretched, Offer Reish [novels for teenagers .TXT] 📗

to work hard and be very persistent to get it. So it feels like it's running away from you."

"But it can't really run away from you", Leonardo said, his attention given almost undividedly to the white pieces on the board, as though they were the ones he was speaking to. He'd placed the white queen at the center of the board, the white pieces surrounding her and carrying out her orders. The queen was her- Jessica- and the people had to do what she told them. He was wearing his black mask- the same kind of mask the people standing behind Jessica had on every time. It helped him concentrate.

"Of course it can't run away, honey. But when bad people do immoral things- like the politicians and the Industry who discriminate between the people- then you really have to make a great effort to go after justice."

Leonardo bobbed his head up and down repeatedly, more jerking his head than nodding. "Yes. Justice: conformity to moral rightness; upholding fair treatment", he mumbled, as though reminding himself of the results of his continuing search for the meaning of the concept of justice.

"That's right", Hailey said patiently, her eyes never leaving his even though they hadn't received a single fleeting glance in return. "But do you remember last week, when we said that the best way to test if justice exists is to check-"

"If everyone is treated as equals, especially the weakest ones."

Hailey smiled: Leonardo was improving. She had a lot more patience left in her, and if he kept applying his curiosity and reflecting on what he learned, perhaps the day would come after all when he would be able to answer these questions for himself.

"Mom", he said, and she froze, now back on her feet, and looked at him. That unique transparent quality of his eyes stood out even more distinctly when surrounded by the black fabric of the mask. He looked like a little angel.

He looked at his mom's round face, which now looked to be in a state of surprise (he didn't know why but assumed it had something to do with him calling her), but in spite of it he had the urge to smile just from looking at it. She had a ravishing face, ravishing hair, and smiled almost incessantly. She was the nicest person and the prettiest mom he knew.

"Thanks", he said.

The doting Hailey kissed him on the cheek, through the mask (she knew from experience that trying to take it off would be an ill-advised move), and slowly walked- almost floated with emotion- back to the living room.

"He's improving", she said to Steve excitedly. The large, robust man sitting to her right nodded blankly, trying unsuccessfully to soften the look of dissatisfaction on his somber face. He brushed what was left of his thin black hair sideways in order to cover the large bald patch at the top of his scalp, and said sparingly: "Yes. He's improving."

Hailey knew that Steve was opposed to encouraging Leonardo's behavior. He was opposed to condoning the sudden posing of questions without the slightest consideration of others' privacy or willingness to be disturbed without explaining to him that it was wrong. But he knew as well as she did that this was part of Leonardo's condition, and since she was the expert he didn't interfere with her handling of it.

Leonardo had been diagnosed two years earlier as suffering a type of autism known as Asperger Syndrome. His impaired ability to understand and take into consideration the fact that others had different needs, desires and feelings than his own was one of the most notable manifestations of the syndrome. His difficulty in grasping abstract notions- like justice- despite the fact that his vocabulary was extremely developed for a 9-year-old boy (though he sometimes used complex words very awkwardly where they didn't fit) was another. The same was true for his occasional impolite act or remark; for the fact that he quickly lost interest in a conversation and that his thoughts easily drifted away to their own internal world; for his fixation with certain dull habits like moving the pieces around on the chessboard; for the awkwardness he often felt in the presence of strangers or in social events; and, in a way that was quite unique to him even compared to others diagnosed with the syndrome, was an almost complete inability to tell a lie or to hide the truth. Telling an outright lie was something he'd never done before, and when he thought that something ought to be said, he found it extremely hard to hold it in. And why should he repress it? The truth was a good thing.

As an educational psychologist specializing in helping children with emotional disorders assimilate in the public school system, Hailey had ample experience dealing with children suffering from a wide spectrum of autistic disorders. And yes, it was true that no two patients, no two children, suffered the same exact symptoms to the same exact extent, and no mode of treatment ever had the exact same effect on any two people, but over the years she'd adopted general guidelines that she followed regardless of the identity of her patients or the specifics of each case. Notably, she never compromised on two gold principles: positive feedback and moderation. She never reprimanded Leonardo for his haste in asking important questions for fear of discouraging him from asking them altogether and causing him to be even more introvert. Rather, she answered them patiently, hoping and expecting that as his understanding of abstract concepts rose (which it no doubt was), so would his ability to acknowledge the feelings of others and engage his environment in a more socially acceptable way.

"Don't forget that he's your son", Steve had once said to her. And he was absolutely right: there wasn't a mother in the world whose professional judgment was completely clear when dealing with her own son. But at the moment she felt so lightheaded that she couldn't even read the lines in the book and simply sat there on the couch beside her husband, staring abstract-mindedly at the ink on the paper.

Leonardo had looked her in the eye and thanked her. She couldn't remember when she'd been as happy as in those magical moments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two

2

 

That Sunday, the family attended the service at church as promised.

There were noticeably more congregants than usual present- more strangers- which increased Leonardo's level of discomfort and sent him lost in his own thoughts quicker than usual. He thought about more interesting things than the service like how he should reorganize the white pieces on the chessboard so they could better carry out the queen's orders, and about more exciting things like the next time he would see Jessica. His father tried to pull him back into the service, but every time he patted Leonardo on the right shoulder all it did was break off his deep concentration so he'd have to dive back in.

There was a general liveliness in the church that morning that wasn't very typical of a random Sunday service, and toward the end of the service it became clear why this was the case. When Father Lockworth confirmed the rumors that he was going to talk about The Existents and the dramatic changes that were expected to take effect soon, an excited hubbub rose from the crowd and quickly died down to a silence rare in its stability. This time Hailey rubbed Leonardo's shoulder, and noticing this wouldn't suffice touched his left cheek. Leonardo was awakened from his reverie just in time to notice the Father saying the word justice, and was instantly filled with curiosity, pulling away from his reverie as readily as he had drifted into it.

"This is a time of change, praise the Lord", he said heavily, and the thickness of his words, which Leonardo had never appreciated, gave his momentous words an even greater weight. The high white ceiling added an echo that redoubled the effect. "And a time when change is taking place around us is the perfect opportunity to look inside ourselves and change what we know we must change. What He knows we must change. Soon, praise the Lord, the unfairness and injustice that has been brought about by those who have been blinded by greed and selfishness will be corrected. We must each follow this correction and correct ourselves wherever we have been led astray by greed, selfishness and faithlessness. We must be fair to ourselves and to Him, andrepent our sins, so that this time of change will truly affect us and make us better people than we are today. Praise the Lord."

That's it? Not a word about The Existents? Leonardo was on that volatile point between fury and devastation, and if it weren't for his father's hand squeezing his shoulder he wouldn't have been able to keep silent. None of the other congregants seemed to be bothered by it, though, and the sermon ended with a repressed din of support for the profound significance of Father Lockworth's words.

This is the point where the guys- Steve, Fred and Leonardo, suggested the family return home but were required to count the seconds until this happened by Hailey, who insisted they remain outside the church and mingle with their fellow congregants. This was especially meant for Leonardo, who had a better chance of improving his social skills and connecting with strangers or acquaintances in the relative comfort of his loved ones around him. Leonardo himself was quite indifferent to the whole thing, as he could always travel somewhere else in his mind until it was time to escape and go home. On that particular Sunday, however, things soon looked up when Francis and Sue, the two cousins who were Leonardo's classmates and best friends called out his name from the stairs just outside the church. Leonardo hurried outside, leaving his family's side and waving his hands high in the air with excitement.

"Hey Leonardo, look what I've got!" Francis exclaimed, and he flaunted a black piece of cloth, which he immediately stretched over his head. It was a bit tight and his sharp nose and black curly hair bulged under the black face mask, which everyone knew a real Existent would never allow (the Black Masks gave no clue whatsoever regarding their facial features or appearance). Leonardo noticed this at once, but anyway he never would've expected Francis to become a real Black Mask.

"That's phenomenal!" He blurted out, his little arms flailing in the air again. "I have one too- I wish I'd brought it. " And for a few moments he sank into a beautiful fantasy in which he had his black mask there with him and he put it on and stood alongside Francis. And even though Francis was much taller than him, it wouldn't matter since they'd both have their masks on and they wouldn't be themselves but two Black Masks. And Sue stood in front of them- sure, nobody could replace Jessica, but Sue was also very pretty and had a very nice voice- and talked about fairness and equality and rights and justice. He'd sunk so deep into this image that he missed the question Sue had just finished asking him.

"What did you say?