A/N Autumn seems to be one of those on the spectrum who hate snot, as I've read about someone who's autistic not liking when they have moisture on their nose or they can't stand being stuffed up, on reddit. I saw something on reddit about someone whose daughter who's autistic learned to blow her nose at 2ish. I did have times in my life when something was bothering me, even if not exactly her age, but I'm not writing her older than pre-adolescent because I seemingly outgrew Thomas when I was no more than 11, but got nostalgic just before I joined this site. It's a plot convenience thing, to have her going through what she's going through, but it does resemble something that happened to me, except I was older and struggled less.
Autumn had finished fourth grade and was having a hard time. Her gramma was having a heart operation and it upset her, leaving her less happy, more prone to tearful meltdowns than usual. I think I need to see Thomas and his friends, she thought. I'll take my tissue box, so I can use my handkerchief to comfort a crying miniature, narrow-gauge or even a standard-gauge tank engine, if I need to. Engines like Edward or Henry are too big for me to comfort yet. I love the comfort and relief my tissues and hanky can bring from tears in my eyes and a stuffed nose. I hate stuffiness in my nose, so I learned to blow my nose when I was 2.5 and I don't like the feeling of wet eyes. However, when I'm overwhelmed with emotion, I just let it all into my tissues, at least they're mine once I get them, or, if I have no tissue access or if the only tissues I can get aren't soft, my hanky. Cotton beats sandpaper.
Autumn gazed dreamily at her Thomas toy and floated away to Sodor. She sang The Island Song, then found Thomas and, as she hugged her best Sodor friend said, "Thomas, I'm going through a rough time, so I'm prone to meltdowns. Gramma needs heart surgery."
Thomas said, "If you feel sad and need to cry while here, go ahead and cry to me if I'm available at that time. When I lost my siblings, I found out some of my friends had lost theirs as well and, except Toby, they cried with me. Toby cried to Henrietta, but he let me cry to him. If you cry to me, I shall do something to cheer you up after you dry your tears. I know you've got to dry your eyes when you cry and you brought tissues."
Autumn said, "I'm making my rounds now," and set off. She found Percy on a siding, his face wet with tears. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the huge tears in his eyes and his sodden cheeks, due to his dripping and pouring tears. She pulled out her handkerchief, saying " There, there, Percy. Let me wipe your eyeballs.", as her friend's only reply was a big sob. She gently rubbed his cheeks and wiped his teary eyes, being attentive and trying her best to be present as she imagined how he must feel and wished she knew what was wrong, so she could find context and maybe think of some way to inspire him. She held her hanky to his eyes, letting him sob into it.
Percy was very upset. He let out another sob and sniffled hard, coughed as he choked on his tears and hiccupped. He gasped and gulped, shaking with sobs as his tears poured out, not once stopping and let Autumn comfort him.
She said as she continued to wipe his tears away, "I don't know what happened, but it's all valid. It's okay to cry, so let it all out. You got me to dry your eyeballs as long as you've got tears. No platitudes and empty promises, because I don't like to rush your healing.". She wiped all his tears away as best she could.
Percy sobbed and sobbed, until he had no more tears to shed. Autumn dried his last tears away, wiping his cheeks and eyes dry of tears. She put her sodden handkerchief away.
Percy said, his face and sore, swollen eyes red from crying so much, "Diesel 10 happened."
Autumn now had context and gave him some words of inspiration. Then, Gordon whistled in her ear, making her wail. She heard Thomas whistle as he came into the station and went to him, dabbing her streaming tears and then wiping her pouring nose with a tissue.
Thomas asked Autumn, "Why the tears?", as she climbed onto his running board, then sat on his buffer beam. The tank engine tuned into his friend, listening attentively as he tried to pick up on her values and cues of the moment. "There, there, Autumn. I know you're upset.". He smiled sympathetically and his voice was filled with care and compassion for his friend.
"G-Gordon," Autumn wailed. "I-I w-was c-comforting P-Percy a-after D-Diesel 10 u-upset h-him a-and G-Gordon w-whistled i-in m-my e-ear a-after.". She pulled out a fresh tissue from her box, then held it to her face. "I-I g-gotta w-wipe m-my e-eyeballs.". The girl blew her nose loudly. "I-I g-get s-stuffy f-from m-my t-tears w-when I-I w-weep a-and w-wail l-like th-this. B-Blowing m-my n-nose i-is a-a w-way t-to g-get th-the sn-snot ou-out a-and g-gives r-relief a-and c-comfort. T-To dr-dry m-m e-eyeballs r-relieves th-the b-burning fr-from t-tears.". She wiped her weeping eyes and wet face.
"I know his whistle's really loud," Thomas said to his friend. "I realize it upset you, so go ahead and cry. Wipe your eyes, because I'm here for you, not to judge you. Your emotion's valid, so I shan't deny you the comfort of tears. I quite dislike you being unhappy, so cry it out."
Autumn sniffled loudly, crying and wailing more. She said, her words coming out with her wails, "I-I j-just f-feel o-overwhelmed a-and n-need t-to w-wail.". As she cried and wailed, she wiped all her tears away as best she could. Her wails and tears subsided in time, then she wiped her red face and eyes, the latter sore and swollen to dry her last tears away and blew her completely stuffed nose. She smiled for the first time since she did so to cheer up Percy. She hugged Thomas and they said their good-byes.
Autumn went home and on with her day, until her bedtime routine. She fell asleep, cuddling her stuffed Thomas.
A/N After this chapter, I'm doing the requested 2, then my Tales OCs and then may go back to Autumn to finish writing at 10 and having a finale of her going to Sodor when she's 11, because the lyric in The Island Song says "Children, follow the dream" and there are those who think child means pre-adolescent age, combined with not knowing how to write about her older than 11, as I allude to in my beginning note. Not sure how I learned to blow my nose or exactly when I could first do so or the first time I had someone dry my tears or I did so myself. However, I did do that in school. Autumn and Thomas comfort as they do because of my FanFiction buddy's typing of them. Autumn's having a meltdown, which is indicated by her wailing, as an autistic character.