Late August- September 1, 1991
Yisrael's point of view
Shlomo's going somewhere. I don't know where, but I'm not going. Mommy, Tatti, Shlomo and Harry keep talking about trunks and suitcases. An elephant has a trunk. So do cars, but people don't. We put suitcases in trunks. We use small suitcases if we're going away for Shabbos or going to the country for a few days. We use big suitcases when we go to Florida for Pesach.
Shlomo keeps putting things into a big suitcase. He is using the brown suitcase that Tatti bought when we went to Florida. He didn't want to use the purple suitcase because he thinks people might make fun of him if he does.
Shlomo worked hard with his packing. Mommy helped him and kept reminding him he will be home every Shabbos so he doesn't need to overpack. He put these funny black costumes in the big part of his suitcase with his underwear and socks. He put in a few old Shabbos shirts, leaving his good ones home. He also packed a few t-shirts and a sweatshirt.
"I guess I don't need my suit," Shlomo said.
"You'll get dressed for Shabbos at home," Mommy told him. "You're not ruining a suit in the fireplace."
I wondered where Shlomo was going and why I can't go with him.
I watched Shlomo put a few pairs of pants in his suitcase.
"I don't know if people wear clothes under their robes," Mommy told him.
"It's better to have and not need then to need and not have," Shlomo answered.
"That's true," agreed Mommy.
Shlomo put lots of books in the suitcase. He also put in a small pot. Maybe he's cooking in Florida. Last time we went, Savti didn't want Shlomo to cook or bake. I'm pretty sure Savti has pots though because she did lots of cooking.
Shlomo put a stick in the front pocket of his suitcase. I don't know why Mommy let him bring a stick inside. She always tells me that sticks are dirty and should stay outside.
On Sunday morning, we all got into the car. I sat in the back with Shlomo and Harry. We stopped at a train station and got out of the car. Tatti took two suitcases out of the trunk. Harry called his suitcase a trunk. He called the car trunk a boot. I wear boots when it snows.
We had to walk through a wall at the train station. There was a red train on the tracks. I tried going on, but Mommy didn't let me.
Shlomo and Harry put their suitcases on the train. They talked to Mommy and Tatti for too long. I wasn't interested in what they were saying. There were lots of people all over. I tried to pull a boy's hair, but Mommy stopped me. I put out my arms to a very tall black boy hoping he will pick me up like he did to his sister, but Mommy moved me away from him and apologized. I tried to pull a girl's hair. When she turned to look at me, I realized her teeth are even more crooked then mine. I smiled with my crooked teeth.
After we stood there for way too long, a family with red hair came through. I threw myself at one of the boys, trying to pull him towards Harry. Mommy stopped me and apologized again.
"What's wrong with him?" the boy I was trying to pull asked. "Is he barmy?"
"I'm sorry," Mommy said again. "Yisrael has autism and has a hard time communicating with words. He is probably trying to tell us something, but I'm not sure what."
"You reckon he's trying to tell us something about Ronnekins?" an older boy with red hair asked with a grin.
"Yeah," said an identical redhead. "Probably that Ron is a git."
"It could be something simple," Mommy said. "Maybe he thinks your brother would make a good friend for Shlomo or Harry. Or it could be something big. We have no way of knowing if Yisrael doesn't talk."
"What kind of something big?" the boy I was trying to get asked suspiciously.
"Once Yisrael kept asking to go to my grandmother's house," Mommy told them. "I kept telling him that it's too early, but he didn't stop. Finally, I went and she was having a dizzy spell. She said she was dizzy all morning. After that, if Yisrael asked to go to her, I called right away. Once she was having a mini heart attack, once her lung just collapsed, and other times, either she forgot to hang up her phone or she burned a cake."
"How does he let you know if he doesn't talk?" the boy asked suspiciously.
"Yisrael has some words," Mommy said. "When he wants to go to my grandparents' house, he says, 'Babbi house'."
That's something I could say. I thought very hard about the boy's pocket and said, "Ouse."
"Is there something you're trying to say about their house?" Mommy asked.
I scratched her hard to let her know that I don't appreciate her playing dumb. While she was looking at her scratches, I tried again. "M ouse," I said this time.
"Is there a mouse in the house?" Mommy asked.
I touched my pocket and pointed to the boy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rat.
"That's why you're bothering me?" he complained. "Yes, I have a rat in my pocket. Big deal."
"No," I said.
"Are you saying that it's not a rat?" Mommy asked.
"No tat," I agreed.
"Is that a mouse?" Mommy tried again.
"No," I said again. I touched Tatti as a hint.
"You see the rat?" Tatti asked me.
"No," I said, touching Tatti again.
Nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Sometimes, it could be difficult to deal with neurotypical people.
"Tatti tat," I said, trying again.
"Tatti's a rat?" Shlomo asked.
"No," I said.
"Tatti's not a rat," Tatti told me. "I'm a person."
"Tat pooduh," I said, pointing at the rat.
"The rat is a person?" Mommy translated.
"Yes!" I said emphatically.
The redhead lady pulled out a stick and did something so fast that the rat turned into a person. All the redheads were yelling and screaming and waving their sticks while different things happened to the man on the floor.
"Keep him alive," Mommy told them. "The aurors will want to question him."
Somehow, the man ended up tied in ropes, maybe from the red lady's stick.
"Also, check for a dark mark," Mommy suggested.
The lady rolled up his sleeve and showed the mark.
"You lot get on the train!" She told her kids. "We're going to need the aurors to deal with this scum!"
The aurors came while the train was leaving. They tried asking me questions, but Mommy explained that I can't answer.