Chapter 2: Now or Never
-Dlawso's House-
Dlawso wakes up at 8am to the sound of the alarm on his iPad. Sitting at the foot of his bed, he stretches his arms and looks out the window to see the sun rising over the horizon. Dlawso then goes to the bathroom and takes a quick shower. Drying off, he puts on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and heads to the kitchen for breakfast, consisting of waffles and dry Cheerios.
Scanning the TV channels really made the time fly by for Dlawso, as it was now 11:30am. Realizing that he wouldn't get there on time by foot or vehicle, he decided to use one thing that he was a master at: magic!
Picking up a quilt that Tails had made for him, Dlawso thinks about the latitude and longitude of Mina's mansion. After some deep breathing, he lifts the quilt over his head and ears, vanishing into thin air and reappearing at the gate of the mansion.
-Mina's Mansion-
Mina wakes up at 7am to her music playing on her iPhone. Getting out of bed, she changes into a blue tank top with brown short-shorts and white tennis shoes. Mina then heads downstairs to the kitchen and prepares herself some scrambled eggs. She too, was also watching TV. By the time it had hit 11:45am, Mina was already out on the porch waiting for Dlawso.
-12:00 PM, Mina's Mansion-
Dlawso presses a button besides the gate, and a voice comes out of a speaker. "Is this Dlawso?" He instantly recognizes that it's Mina's voice, and replies. "It most certainly is!"
The gate opened, and Dlawso slowly walked forward, taking in the beauty of her mansion. Flowers were perfectly lined up on the walkway. Eventually, he makes his way up to the porch. "Hello Mina. How are you feeling?"
Mina smiles. "I'm feeling pretty swell. You ready for the training?"
Dlawso smiles back. "I sure am."
The two make their way through the mansion and into the backyard to begin their workload.
-2 1/2 hours later-
After a lot of physical activity, ID checking, and driving techniques galore, the training was over. Mina was reviewing the training checklist in the living room while Dlawso helped himself to a salad in the kitchen.
Mina is the first to speak. "Dlawso, I'm really surprised. You're the first person I've ever seen to have passed every portion of the training, and in half the time, too."
Dlawso replies. "Well, it's just my amazing memory, that's all."
Mina smiles. "And an amazing memory you have, my friend. You passed the training with flying colors!"
Dlawso finished his salad and joined Mina in the living room. His thoughts were going crazy. 'OK, I'm just going to have to tell her what my disability is. There's nothing to worry about. Just act natural.' "Mina, there's something that I feel like I need to tell you, and I'm hoping you won't get mad about it."
Mina raised an eyebrow. "Well, this isn't the first time I've heard someone say that. Please, go on."
Dlawso blushed, scratching his head. "Well, it's something that I'm not really comfortable with talking about; but it's something that I've been diagnosed with a long time ago, and it's definitely why my social interaction with you has been, well, lackluster."
Dlawso then took a deep breath. "Mina, w-w-what I'm trying to say is that... I, um..."
Mina was giving a motion with her head as she if was saying "Come on! You can do it!".
Dlawso's thoughts were like a wildfire blazing. 'Come on, come on, just spit it out! Spit it out for my sake.' Finally, he had the courage to speak.
"I have autism.", Dlawso declared.
Mina appeared to start having second thoughts. "I'm sorry. Can you say that again?"
Dlawso cleared his throat and spoke clearly so Mina can understand. "I. Have. Autism."
Mina suddenly appeared to have gone hollow. She was just staring at him. Her heart began to sink. Mina then buried her face in her hands and tears began to form in her eyes.
Dlawso took this as a sign that maybe she wasn't the right choice for his future. "Let me guess, you hate me now, don't you?" Mina didn't respond. "Well, seeing as it's getting late, I might as well go home. Thanks for giving me a chance." Dlawso started to walk toward the front door, thinking that his life was truly over.
Mina looked up and saw that he was about to leave, so he ran over, tears running down her face, and gently grabbed his arm.
Dlawso turned around, his eyes looking at Mina's eyes. "What do you wa-"
Mina immediately gave him a tight hug. A genuine one, in fact. So genuine that Dlawso felt he had to hug back, and he did. The two broke the hug after a minute, though it seemed like it lasted for a while.
Mina then explained her actions as the two once again sat down in the living room. "I'm very very sorry for that. My mind was going through a lot of places. You see, I don't really like to mention this to anyone, but I had a fan of mine that was well, like you, but different."
Dlawso himself sat silent and listened.
Mina continued. "At least I would consider her to be a super-fan because she was unlike any other. She had all of my merchandise and knew the lyrics to all of my songs, but one thing that stood out to me was when she had a wish that she wanted to meet me. So I granted that wish and met her backstage after a concert. We chatted for a little bit about how life was going, and what girls just like to think about, as all girls do. It was near the end of her session with me that she told me that she had cancer, and had about 2 months left to live. I literally just hugged her after she said that and tried to fight back tears, but then she said this to me: No matter what happens to me, I know I'll always be by your side."
At this point, Dlawso had tears running down his face.
Mina continued. "I'll always remember what she had said, because I heard on the news a few days later that she had died due to complications from her cancer. It's a shame that I wasn't able to attend her funeral." She couldn't say anymore as she too had tears rolling down her eyes.
Dlawso hugged her. "It's okay, Mina. Let it all out. I'm right here." Mina rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to cry. Mina really didn't want anyone to see her cry, but she was, and she was crying for the right reasons.
Mina then took her head off of his shoulder. "I know, Dlawso, that you aren't the same as she was, but I can understand where your coming from. Just like her, I can understand that your different, and I know that cancer isn't the same as autism, but I do understand what autism is and how it can affect the livelihood of someone who has it, and as far as I know, you are the first person that I've seen to have clearly excelled with it."
Mina then cupped Dlawso's face in her hands. "Dlawso, let me say that from this day forward, I'll always be here to protect you, no matter where you are."
Dlawso felt surprised that Mina would say these things to her, but clarified to be sure. "You really think so?"
Mina smiled with a wink. "I know so."
Without warning, Mina gave Dlawso a soft kiss on the lips. Dlawso felt shocked. Nobody, and I mean, nobody, had shown signs of affection toward him before, let alone kiss him. He blinked twice, thinking that it was a dream, but it certainly wasn't. Mina pulled away soon after, giving off a sly grin; Dlawso was blushing a deep cherry red.
At a loss for words, Mina acted like she was in a hurry. "Sorry, I gotta get going. I'll see you this weekend at Twinkle Park." Mina then left the mansion.
Dlawso, still in the mansion, smiled. He had realized for the first time in his life that someone actually did care for him. "I just can't believe what just happened." Dlawso then went home and fell asleep, knowing that his life was now a happy one.
