Please Stand By x Silent Voice

The Meeting

It's Saturday. The day of the Autism Rescue meeting. Wendy puts on her purple sweater and takes a deep breath. She doesn't know what to expect. What type of people will be there? Will they be nice? She is having second thoughts about this. But she already told Scottie she was going and she doesn't have anything else to do during the hour the meeting takes place. Wendy thinks about taking her dog Pete with. Then again, she isn't sure if the meeting would allow her to take her dog. She decides to leave Pete behind and goes downstairs to start her daily routine, wondering all the while how this meeting will go.

Some time later

Wendy looks up at the building towering over her and back at the flyer Angel had given her. Yes, this is the place. She takes a nervous gulp. She didn't expect the building to be so fancy. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she should have stayed home. Wendy is just about to turn around and walk back to the bus station when she hears a familiar voice call her name.

"Wendy!"

Wendy looks up. It's Angel. He is still wearing his blue shirt with the puzzle piece on it. He excitedly walks towards her and grabs Wendy's arm, pulling her inside. Wendy flinches at the sudden touch. Angel doesn't seem to notice.

"I am so glad you could make it!" Angel is all smiles as he pushes a button inside the elevator. It's actually kind of creepy, Wendy thinks.

"Um, yeah, me too."

"Everyone else is already here," Angel explains, as the elevator goes up, up, up. "So I can introduce you to everyone when we get inside, okay?" He speaks very slowly, like he is afraid Wendy won't be able to understand him. This confuses her. He spoke to her normally before he found out she was autistic. What changed?

"Okay," she whispers.

"What was that?"

"Okay."

"That's better."

Ding Ding!

Wendy puts her hands over her ears. Angel pulls them off, grabbing her hand, and leading her into a big fancy penthouse. Sitting in a circle, is a group of adults. It doesn't look like there is anyone here Wendy's age. Everyone is staring at her. Wendy looks at the floor.

"Hello, everyone!" Angel says. "We have a new guest. This is Wendy, she has autism." He turns towards Wendy. "Why don't you say hello?"

"Hello."

He motions for her to take a seat next to a dark skinned man with glasses. She sits down, rocking back and forth nervously.

"Stop that," the man whispers. "It's distracting."

"Oh. Sorry," she mutters.

Angel claps his hands, making Wendy jump. "Now that everyone is here, let's get started! First of all, does anyone have anything new to report?" His eyes scan the room looking for a volunteer. The man sitting next to Wendy clears his throat.

"Yes, Mr. Rosenburg?"

"My daughter Aurora said her first words," he says. "Just like a normal person!"

"That's great!" Angel remarks. "She is on her way to functioning like a child without autism."

"Well it was a big step," the man replies. "But she still won't quit running around chasing bugs! She finally talks, but now all she talks about is bugs! She's completely obsessed!" He crosses his arms. "It's unnatural."

Wendy thinks. Wouldn't most people say that she is obsessed with Star Trek? She didn't know this was "unnatural." She thought it was normal. She takes out her notebook and writes:

obsessions are NOT natural. She will have to work on her Star Trek obsession then.

"We can work on it," Angel assures him. "After all, our mission is to help families afflicted by autism. We just need to re-direct Aurora's obsession." He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Diversify her interests."

Diversify her interests... Wendy can do that. How hard could it be? She'll just have to figure out what other people do. Maybe she should ask Nemo what his diverse interests are. So she can know what types of things normal people like. She makes a note to remind herself.

After about half an hour of discussion, consisting mostly of parents complaining about their autistic kids, Angel regains control of the room. He takes a deep breath and says, "I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the current predicament Mr. White is in."

The atmosphere in the room changes. Everyone looks somber, as if they are mourning the loss of someone they loved. Who is Mr. White? Wendy wonders. Something terrible happened to him, didn't it? He must have been a great man, with the way everyone seems upset about it. Wendy feels sorry for him.

Warning: Contains talk of child abuse. If you would like to skip this part, go to the next bolded line.

"Mr. White was suffering greatly (Suffering? Wendy wonders. Does the man have a terrible illness? Is he dead? Wendy can relate to death. Her mother is dead. She feels terrible for his family.) His low functioning daughter Elizabeth would have violent tantrums, and continuously make a mess of his house. He did his best for her. He was a regular here, as you all know," Angel wipes a tear from his eye. "He tried to end both of their suffering.... risking his livelihood in the process."

What did he do? Wendy wonders. This story isn't making much sense.

"Had he succeeded, his daughter would be living in heaven right now, without autism, without suffering, and without pain."

Summary: Angel talks about Mr. White, who had attempted to murder his own autistic daughter. Angel portrays him as a martyr, giving him undeserved sympathy for being in jail.

Suddenly, Wendy understands. Her stomach twists itself into a knot. Had he, tried to kill his own daughter? Wendy shakes her head. No, she must have heard Angel wrong. She must have. Fathers don't kill daughters. Do they? She doesn't know how to process this. Wendy starts quoting Star Trek quietly to herself, but stops when she sees Mr. Rosenburg glaring at her.

"Now Mr. White is unjustly imprisoned for his act of courage. It is a painful reminder of the destruction autism can cause. It sees no gender, sees no race, it does not discriminate against which family to tear apart. This is why our message is ever so important. We will not stop until we have eradicated this world of autism. Let's not have Mr. White's sacrifice be in vain." Angel lowers his head somberly. He looks up at everyone again and says "With that, I thank everyone for coming here today. I hope to see all of you again next week."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Vote/Comment if you enjoyed!