Chapter XI

    The bell rang. Several students were already on their way even before Ms. Humphrey dismissed us. I packed my things and left the classroom only to be caught up in the current of people moving outwards. The rain hadn’t stopped, so I had to wait in the building for Ms. Davis. As much as I hated to spend even a single unnecessary minute at school, I really didn’t want to get drenched. I had no desire to have my hair and shirt pasted onto my skin like creepy reptiles.

    Soon the square in the front of the campus was covered by different colored umbrellas, a flowing color palette diluted by the rain. Those who were undaunted by the pouring rain ran into it like lunatics, splattering water behind them, and soon disappeared in the rain-veiled background. When I saw an umbrella approaching me amidst the crowd, I assumed it was Ms. Davis, but when the carrier lowered her umbrella, Harriet greeted me with a big smile.

    “Andrew, hey! What’s up?”

    “Why are you here?”

    “Um… Can I talk to you for a second?” she asked.

    “Ms. Davis is waiting for me.”

    “Oh yeah, right, I think I just saw her. She can wait for a minute. I really need to speak to you.”

    “Alright,” I said.

    She bit her lower lip and stared blankly. There was a flicker in her pale green eyes, but when she rubbed her eyes, it was gone.

    “I… I don’t know. I really don’t know how to put it. I am so sorry.” She covered her face. “I realize I should have figured it out before I came here.”

    She didn’t speak for a while, but then a faint smile appeared on her face. “Would you mind walking with me to the library?”

    We walked down the little corridor side by side with the light fragrance of lavender flowers that were planted in terra cotta pots lined up outside the windows. I always enjoyed walking through this part of the campus when the noise and percussion were diluted by the soothing redolence, especially now that most of the originators of the noise were gone, and the aroma predominated. I had almost forgotten Harriet was even there before she started talking.

    “Papa wasn’t like this, you know. He has certainly changed a lot after… Well, at any rate it has been a long time.” She paused and switched topics abruptly. “How are your mom and dad, Andrew?”

    “My mom is well.”

    She paused ponderingly. “Oh. So that’s how you…”

    “Yes.” I looked away from her inquisitive eyes and interrupted.

    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosy. Papa never told me, and I didn’t ask.”

    “What’s up with your dad?” I inquired.

    “Hey, listen. My dad, he’s eh… a little… He’s not like what you think.”

    “What do I think about him?”

    “Well, I mean, he’s a doctor and all, so… Oh, look, here we are.”

    The eagle with a thick volume under one of its feet stretched its enormous pinions in front of us.

    Harriet turned around to me. “This is it then. Thank you so much.”

    She looked at me with her genuine, heartwarming smile, like a river flowing through the woods under the milky moonlight, but there was a smudge that blemished it in the depth of her light green eyes, as if she was trying to be unconscious of her internal struggle.

    “Please, please take care and be very cautious. I mean it. Whatever you do, don’t be rash,” she said as she turned to leave. “It’s been nice seeing you. Until next time, Andrew.”

Huang Mengxi (黄梦曦) is a senior student at Shenzhen Middle School. She is fond of literature, especially English literature. She became interested in psychology a few years ago and started interacting with children with autism and other mental illnesses.

This serial story is based on the experience she had while volunteering at a local psychological hospital and participating in other charity activities. It tells the story of a teenager with Asperger syndrome who observes the adult world from a special perspective and struggles with the ideals of love and affection.