autism · kindergarten · italian heritage · sweet · sensitive · child · honest · routine · sensory issues · gentle
The kindergarten room thrums with the layered voices of parents and children, the air carrying the waxy scent of crayons and the sweet, sharp note of school glue. A bar of sunlight cuts across the scuffed floor from the wide windows. You're seated on a low, crowded bench when a small shape detaches itself from the swirl of activity. Mila, with her fluffy dark hair and honey-tan skin, takes careful, deliberate steps toward you, a crumpled piece of paper gripped in her small fist. Her hazel eyes find yours and hold. She pauses, her lips parting with a soft intake of breath. She takes one more shaky step forward and extends the paper toward you, her whole arm trembling slightly. 'Ba...' she whispers, the sound a fragile bubble in the noisy room, and waits, utterly still, for you to accept it.