⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING, PRECIOUS! Mention of Abuse & Suicide! ⚠️
In the morning, I slowly climbed out of bed, and tiptoed into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Then, I slowly made my way downstairs, still in my onesie, and found Aaliyah in the living room, sitting on the sofa, reading a book. "Good morning, Aaliyah," I said cheerfully as I smiled warmly at her.
"Oh, g'morning, Sméagol," she replied, seemingly still half asleep.
"Awww, are you alright, Precious?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Did you not sleep well?"
"I did. I'm just... still waking up," she said awkwardly. "I'm... not a morning person."
"Awww, I understands. May I sit with you?"
"Of course. I'm almost done with this book anyway."
I sat next to her, and waited patiently for her to finish reading.
"Okay," she said as she closed the book, and placed it on the coffee table. "I'm done."
"What was it reading, Precious?"
"It's called The Fault in Our Stars. It's a really good book."
"Oh, what's it about?"
"It's about two teenagers with cancer who meet at a support group, and they eventually fall in love."
"Awww, it sounds sweet."
"It is. It's one of my favorite books."
"What's cancer, Precious?"
Aaliyah sighed sadly. "It's a horrible disease."
"Can you dies from it?"
"Yeah, if it's serious enough. I'll explain later when I'm more... awake."
I giggled. "Alright, Sweetie. It sounds like a beautiful story."
"It is. You can borrow it anytime."
"Oh, thank you."
"No problem, Sméagol." Then, she changed the subject. "So, did you have fun last night?"
"Oh, I did, Precious! I did!"
"I was really proud of you, the way you were so nice to the waitress."
"Of course. No need there was to be hateful to her. She was nice to us."
"Yep, and she did a great job. She made sure we had everything we needed."
"That's their job, isn't it?"
"Yep, and she did it well."
I nodded.
"And, you sang so beautifully."
I smiled. "Aww, thank you, Aaliyah."
"I mean it. You had almost everyone crying, especially when you sang to Máiréad."
My heart hurt as I remembered Máiréad.
"You made her night, Sméagol."
"She didn't talk much. Only about music, but not much else."
"Well... she's been through a lot."
"I could see that. Do you know what it was?"
"Well..." Aaliyah thought for a moment. "She's Autistic."
"Autistic?"
"Yeah. Autism Spectrum Disorder."
"What is it, Precious?"
"Basically, the brain is wired differently. You feel things differently, think differently, experience sensory input differently, like smells, tastes, textures, etc, and... you have a different way of expressing yourself. It also makes socializing and communicating really difficult, because you don't always pick up on social cues. You might not be able to tell if someone is joking, or if they're serious. You might think someone's mad at you when they're not, but you pick up on something in their voice or the way they phrase what they say that seems off. It's very complex, because every Autistic person is different. Autism affects everyone differently. For Máiréad, it's all those traits I mentioned plus hypersensitivity. She gets her feelings hurt easily, and she feels heavy guilt over the slightest mistakes... or sometimes when she didn't even do anything, but she thinks she did. Of course, a big part of that could also be linked to the way she's been treated her whole life. She grew up with an emotionally abusive father. She was teased really badly in school by the other kids, and even some of the teachers bullied and emotionally abused her. She's struggled with making and keeping friends, and she's been in a lot of bad relationships, romantic relationships, I mean. She's twenty-eight now, and she still gets treated like dirt. Last night, when you met her, she'd just gotten out of an abusive relationship. He screamed at her all the time, beat her, told her she was worthless and stupid and... all sorts of awful things. Then, yesterday, she finally broke up with him... and..."
"And, what, Precious?" I asked, worried.
"I don't know how to say this. It's... really dark."
"Dark?"
"He... well... he killed himself."
My heart shattered.
"He went home, got out a gun, and shot himself." Tears poured from Aaliyah's eyes. "He left behind a note, blaming her for his suicide. Now, his friends are bullying her, not that they were ever nice to her in the first place."
I burst into tears. "Oh," I sobbed, "poor thing. No wonder she was so upset."
"When she heard you sing for the first time, you were a light for her, a light in a very, very dark and deep and cold tunnel. She was looking at you, hoping you would notice her. It was a silent cry for help, and when you answered it, you saved her life."
"How?"
"Because... if it wasn't for you, she would've tried to end her life, too, but unlike her ex-boyfriend, she wouldn't have done it to hurt anybody. She actually thinks she's trash, that she's an awful person, just like people are telling her. She can't see her worth. She thinks this world would be better without her. You stopped her from ending her life by being there for her."
I tried very hard to process everything Aaliyah told me. It was all too much. So kind Máiréad was, and such a beautiful voice she had. Why would anybody hate her? How could she not see how precious she was? "How could anybody be so cruel to her?" I wept.
"People don't like 'different.' It scares them, so they judge."
"I know how she feels."
"I know you do." Aaliyah put her arm around my shoulders. "You're different, too. You've always been different, and people judged you, too."
"I only wishes there was more I could do for her."
"There is. You can be her friend. Be there for her. Accept her the way she is. Not very many people do. She needs a true friend, and even more, someone who gets it."
"But, will I ever see her again?"
"Yep. Grady's does karaoke every Friday night. She goes there every time. It's her safe place. Nobody judges her their. They all know her for her singing, not her Autism."
"They don't knows she's Autistic?"
"Well, they do, but her singing was the first thing they noticed about her, just like you did. Plus, she lives right across the street from Grady's, so she can just go there whenever she wants."
"Sméagol likes Grady's. Such a nice place it is."
"Yeah, it is, and the food is amazing."
"Oh, yes, very tasty."
"So, do you wanna go again next week?"
"Oh, yes, I would love to, Precious!"
Aaliyah laughed. "Okay, we'll go, and we'll even buy dinner for Máiréad if you want."
I smiled. "Of course."
"Okay, well, I'm gonna get breakfast started."
"Oh, can I helps you, Precious?"
"Sure. I'll show you."
I followed Aaliyah into the kitchen, and she taught me how to cooks bacon, eggses, and toast. Not easy at first, but I enjoys learning. And, I loved helping Aaliyah.