19 Reckless Abandon Part 3

The truth of the situation illuminates itself to Noe; the congregation has gathered for a funeral. Sniffles and wails trickle around the room. Burdened by grief, Mr. Henderson befalls his head and places his hand to his heart - as if collecting the tiny pieces it has shattered into.

"Nehruma," Ghost Girl moans whilst she stares at the beaming appearance of a young girl, her own unperturbed face framed right beside it. A deep dimple pricks the bright girl's cheek, as if the Omniscient came down from the Unknown Himself to pin that dimple into her bubbly face.

The brushing of the door, ever so loud in the dejection of the room, spins everyone's heads to gauge the new arrivals.

To the shock of Mr. Henderson and Noe, the five gang members stand in the doorway with one having mounds of bandages creening around his wrist. He jerks and bares his teeth upon making contact with Noe's towering figure.

Carefully, the gang unloads the four huge boxes they brought and begins to hand out their contents: small boxed meals with an envelope stamped to each, possibly containing condolence money. The tattoos on their arms roll with every extension of their tenderness.

Noe carefully follows their movements when Mr. Henderson walks towards one of them - a man he recognizes as having tried to stop the fight between Mr. Henderson and the violent man from escalating.

"Can we talk, Jay?" Mr. Henderson asks him.

The gang member, Jay, nods, "Sure," and walks out of the hall with Mr. Henderson.

Listening in from his position in the hall, Noe hears:

"What happened?" Mr. Henderson inquisits.

"A few years ago, the adults in this town begged the government to build a school and staff it with teachers who would provide good schooling for their children; they wanted their kids to have the bright future they never had the chance to chase. The town promised to give the government anything it wanted in return. So, this massive school was built and things were going well. Every day, hope left to go get educated and came back home in time for dinner," Noe hears Jay pause and suck in a wavering breath.

"Last week, none of the kids came home from school. We received word that they had all died and nothing more. The gang visited the school and it's just a pile of rubble now. Yesterday, a government official came and informed us that, in exchange for funding the school, everyone was to leave this town - all the land in the area is being redeveloped. The thing is, there is nowhere to go. The rest of the dome is already occupied. No children, no jobs, and no homes, what can they do?"

"How can the government do this? Don't these people have rights?" Noe appears and asks the question that had been racking his brain since he entered the shantytown.

Mr. Henderon explains, "Around the time when you were six or seven, Westville was facing an overpopulation crisis. The populace kept growing but there was nowhere in the dome to expand to. The city was packed and resources were waning. There wasn't enough time to construct a new dome and let fall the old one. Thus, the government announced a screening: Every person over the age of eight was to be tested for mental debilitation and whether they are able-bodied.

However, the dome doesn't stop all the nuclear radiation from the outside, only most of it. It was built in 2025 and the year was 2067 - most people had been born with genetic mutations that stole an arm, a leg, or rendered them mentally handicapped. In the blink of an eye, it was announced that thousands of people were 'stripped of privileges', or rather, their human rights. Homes, jobs, possessions, they lost everything - just like what's happening to them now."

As Mr. Henderson completes his narration, he glances up into Noe's eyes and is lost within their depths.

Noe leans over and places a hand on Mr. Henderson's cheek. "It wasn't your fault. You don't have to cry," Noe dabs away a loose tear that dripped of Mr. Henderson's compassion.

Jay gruffly clears his throat. "Look guys, I have to go back in and finish up," he swiftly turns around and leaves them n their fantasy world.

Again, cold, wet dread licked his face, Mr. Henderson adopts a manner of discomfort. Escaping from Noe's tenderness, he rushes away from the hall.

This time, Noe chases after him. They meet within a narrow, off-white street bordering two lines of slanting households. Gently taking Mr. Henderson's hand into his own, Noe stops the man's rapid retreat.

Noe begins, "Why did you run away?"

Turned away from him, Mr. Henderson drags his hand out of Noe's embrace. "I'm the adult here. I can't let this go on any longer."

"I'm not a child. I'm clearly bigger than you, Mr. Henderson."

"Not emotionally."

Noe ponders his words. "What does any of that have to do with anything? I lov-"

"You still view me as someone to respect unconditionally," Mr. Henderson swivels around to look at Noe, eyes laced with anguish. "A person in a position of power over you. Until you stop viewing me as such, I cannot go any further."

"Mr. Henderson, what makes you think I see you as someone of higher position than I?"

"Please prove me wrong, then. What's my name?"

"Mr. Henderson."

"No, Noe. It's Daniel."

"What do names have to do with how I feel?"

"You don't understand, it's okay. I know you're on the autism spectrum," Mr. Henderson smiles ruelly.

"What? You think just because I was diagnosed with Autism, I don't know the meaning of my own emotions? Autism is not a mental illness."

"That's not what I was saying."

"That's exactly what you were saying! Autism. Autism. Autism. That's all I ever hear people say about me. But, you know what, Daniel? My name is not Autism. I am Noe. Just because I don't relate to people as well or behave the way others do, you think I am another species? I mean, I am, but that's a completely different conversation. If you even try to see me as someone and not something that you have labeled with a diagnosis, you might be surprised at the person you find - someone who is loyal to only one, a person who views the world in a unique light, and one who does not waste words on things which are not important."

"I'm the adult here. You're still at a vulnerable age."

"I'm of a legal age; I'm nineteen. I feel like we're going around in circles he-"

"That doesn't make you any less fragile. It's not as if your age automatically matures you. Maybe I did something, or said something in the past to influence the way you see me-"

"That's not the case."

"-or you just look up to me as a person. Maybe that's-" Daniel cuts himself off as he sees people walking near them. He lowers his voice until it is almost indiscernible. "Maybe that's what it is."

A pause rings through them. "I see," Noe casts his eyes to the feet trudging by.

"What do you see, Noe?"

"It's not me that you're worried about. It's the way people will view you, a thirty-six-year-old perfect man, with me, a nineteen-year-old boy who could be rejected by society at any time. You ran away earlier because Rosalind and Feng Mian caught us in the moment. You feel the same way I feel towards you, I am sure of it or you wouldn't look so regretful. For how long are you going to recklessly abandon your own life in order to appease the opinions of others?"

Daniel raises his hand to rest it on Noe's shoulder, "Noe, that's not-"

Someone in the group that walked by casts a glance in their direction causing Daniel to flinch and drop his hand.

Wordlessly, Noe faces Daniel. An atmosphere of helplessness takes them captive until the silence is broken.

"I have to go back and see if I can help the gang with anything," Daniel walks around Noe. Their shoulders brush and send a shockwave up both of their spines.

"You know you're my soulmate, right?" Noe attempts to sway him one more time.

"Is that so?" Daniel continues down the path and vanishes from Noe's vision.

Itching, Noe places his hand against his neck and scratches. The sensation in his heart is not of heartbreak but of loss; as if a handful of cotton wool has clogged his arteries and he can no longer breathe.

He tries to compute what just transpired between them but there seems to be a glitch in his system.

"He's here!" Feng Mian's chiming jingles into Noe's torment.

"Where?" Rosalind asks from a distance away.

"Here!" she shouts louder.

Observing Noe's hunched form, she senses his stormy weather.

"What's wrong?" she caresses his back.

"I told you; he doesn't want to see me," Noe spews before turning around and heading back towards the hall. Daniel's soul energy has snuffed out again. He must go ensure his soulmate is okay.