Years Ago
So I come home from school to find that my parents have decided to have my brother, probably 10 years old at the time, tested for autism. They say that the test is a relatively simple one, not unlike the IQ test they made me take when I was five (which, in real life, I apparently aced). The doctor says that one of the little known side-effects of autism is telepathy, and if my brother truly is autistic, then he must be very careful in choosing his thoughts, because autistic people can get upset at the slightest thing.
He must have really insulted my brother, as he suddenly starts trying to strangle the doctor. While this is going on, my brother's skin starts to break out in big patches of red. The scene gets so frightening that I have to leave the room. I sneak out of the house because this is just too weird for me.
While I'm out, I decide to go down to the water park that now stands where Jungle Rapids used to be. I get there, and I see all these kids standing around the edge of the pool. Nobody's getting in, and no lifeguards are around. So I go and grab an inner-tube, and then all these kids see me doing it, so they decide that if I'm getting in the pool, then they all might as well jump in too. At the sight of this, I realize that I'm the oldest person at this pool, and if one of these kids gets hurt or drowned or worse, I'll be the one responsible. So I slip away unnoticed, and back home.
When I get home that night, I find my brother lying asleep on the floor of his room, just inside the door, which has a big crack running up from the bottom. The red patches on his skin are mostly gone, but a little still remained on his face. Then I hear my mom and dad discussing the fact that according to the bishop at our church, this shouldn't be happening to my brother for another five or six years.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do, in fact, know what autism is. My dreams, however, apparently don't.
He must have really insulted my brother, as he suddenly starts trying to strangle the doctor. While this is going on, my brother's skin starts to break out in big patches of red. The scene gets so frightening that I have to leave the room. I sneak out of the house because this is just too weird for me.
While I'm out, I decide to go down to the water park that now stands where Jungle Rapids used to be. I get there, and I see all these kids standing around the edge of the pool. Nobody's getting in, and no lifeguards are around. So I go and grab an inner-tube, and then all these kids see me doing it, so they decide that if I'm getting in the pool, then they all might as well jump in too. At the sight of this, I realize that I'm the oldest person at this pool, and if one of these kids gets hurt or drowned or worse, I'll be the one responsible. So I slip away unnoticed, and back home.
When I get home that night, I find my brother lying asleep on the floor of his room, just inside the door, which has a big crack running up from the bottom. The red patches on his skin are mostly gone, but a little still remained on his face. Then I hear my mom and dad discussing the fact that according to the bishop at our church, this shouldn't be happening to my brother for another five or six years.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do, in fact, know what autism is. My dreams, however, apparently don't.