THE AUTISTIC

Troublesome

There are many individuals in this world who are lonely, ignored and disregarded by others in the outside world.
However, the lonesome lad doesn't back down so easily because of his family's support. A perfect example of this situation is Mile himself. He used to be an introvert, chubby kid who was bullied and had no friends during his primary school. When he was fat his parents were his only friends and fans, who used to appreciate and encourage him for whatever new things he tried and all of his achievements. But it seemed that this unfortunate soul was deprived of a family support system, just because he was different from the others.

Mile couldn't imagine what his life would be like if his parents were not there for him. While he was in deep thoughts about the possible situations Apo might have gone through, the innocent one kept looking at him innocently without wishing for a penny or a bread in return.

"What can I do for you? Do you want to call someone?" Mile spoke out with a tone of worry.
At the same moment, "You two it's time for lunch." Mile's mother cried out as all the elders walked out of the church.

"Mom can someone join us for lunch"
Anna asked.
"Yeah, sure we have enough food on which we can feed."Jenny spoke.

Upon the approval, Mile held the boy's hand, " Come join us, my mom cooks delicious food." Apo just continued to smile at Mile, he didn't show a sign of misery since they met. He rather seemed happy to meet Mile.
Apo wasn't a person who mingled with people easily, he couldn't hear what the others spoke, nor he could communicate his emotions in words, the only word which he could easily say was 'Apo', it seemed that his emotionless parents had named him Apo so that he could say it out loud and clear easily when they abandon him. Mile who had realised the specialty of Apo, instead of being disgusted or sympathetic to him, he considered Apo as his newly found friend . He was truly trying his best to communicate with Apo and to make him understand what he wanted to say by certain hand gestures.

Apo on the other hand seemed to catch up with Mile's words, he obliged to walk beside Mile in whichever direction he pointed without throwing any tantrums.

As the three of them reached the picnic spot where Mile's parents and Anna's mother were seated, the elders appeared to be quite stunned meeting Apo.

"Mom, dad and aunt, this is my new friend Apo Nattawin. He is the one who is going to be eating with us." Mile spoke sternly pointing at the fact that he won't accept the decline of his request in return.

"He is autistic and has been abandoned by his family." this time Anna spoke.

Apo on the other hand seemed slightly terrified getting acquainted with the grown ups. He tightened his grip on Mile's hand and kept throwing subtle glances at the Romsaithongs. Chan on the other hand who noticed the young lad, walked up to him, "Hello, there I am Chan Mile's dad, don't be scared we will not harm you. Come let's eat food.",He spoke tenderly trying not to terrify Apo.

Following Chan, Nathanee walked up to Apo and extended her hand as a greeting. " Come on, boy you look weak.", this time Jenny invited trying to sound as a friend of his.

The sweet friendly gestures of the Romsaithong family did seem to work. The boy eased down a little and wasn't terrified of the new people around him.

Anna offered barbeques to Apo,which were being grilled by Chan .Apo without any hesitations took the plate and stuffed the grilled meat and veggies into his mouth,although they seemed quite hot. At this moment it was quite clear that the young boy was starving.

"You have beautiful eyes." Mile complemented Apo whether he understood or not out of the blues, while Apo was busy with the food. Apo looked satisfied after finishing his lunch, he walked to all the people and bowed in front of them conveying his gratitude. This sweet gesture of Apo touched the hearts of everyone.