Chapter 1887

Karina nodded to the caretaker to signal she understood. After the caretaker left, she approached Dylan’s desk.
Squatting down to his level, she looked at Dylan, who was fully absorbed in his block puzzle. “I know how to put this together. Would you like me to teach you?”
Dylan paused for a moment.
Karina pretended not to notice. “It’s tricky, isn’t it? And it seems like this block is part of a set. Are there more pieces somewhere?”
Dylan glanced at her, and Karina initially thought he would ignore her entirely.
To her surprise, he responded. “Yes, there are… in the room.”
The sentence was short, but it was enough to make Karina’s heart soar. Communication-even this little bit-meant there was hope.
*
*
She followed him to his room to retrieve the rest of the blocks, and the two of them spent the entire afternoon building together.
Partway through, a caretaker brought in a meal, placing it on the table nearby.
But Dylan barely glanced at the food, even as his stomach growled audibly. He showed no intention of picking up the spoon, seemingly indifferent to his own hunger.
Karina couldn’t let that slide.
Taking one of the blocks he was holding, she said, “This is the method I was teaching you, but I haven’t shown you the rest yet. Do you want to keep learning? If so, how about eating first?”
“I’m not hungry,” Dylan replied almost immediately. But his stomach betrayed him with another growl. Karina chose not to point it out, instead nodding with understanding. “Alright. But I am hungry. How about we eat first, and then we can keep building?”
Dylan hesitated, his face taking on an unexpectedly adult expression, as if he were seriously weighing the decision.
Karina wasn’t surprised. She knew that some autistic children were exceptionally bright-some even showed signs of genius. But their brilliance often came at the cost of emotional barriers that kept them from connecting with the outside world.
She waited patiently, not rushing him, giving him the time he needed to decide.
After a long pause, Dylan finally set down the blocks and quietly started eating.
After the meal, they continued working on the blocks together, and by evening, they had finally completed the puzzle.
Suddenly, clapping came from the doorway. Dylan jumped in surprise and looked up, startled to find a crowd gathered outside.
The director, caretakers, and even some of the other children were standing there.
One of the children gasped in admiration at the completed puzzle. “That’s amazing!”
“I want to play too! Can I, Director?” another girl asked eagerly.
The director smiled gently. “Of course, but you’ll need to ask Dylan for permission first.”
The little girl immediately ran up to him.
Dylan seemed like someone who
had been shut inside a room for years, unaware that he could step out. Now that the door was suddenly flung open, the influx of attention. was overwhelming.
Karina worried he might have an adverse reaction and was about to intervene when she noticed something remarkable.
Though Dylan initially tensed,
gripping his hands tightly, he quickly stopped and seemed to think for a moment. Then, he let the change happen without resistance
*
More children began to gather around him, curious and eager to join in.
Karina took a few steps back, quietly removing herself from the group as the children formed their own little world.
After that, Karina often came to spend time with Dylan, building puzzles together.
As the other children grew more familiar with her, they also began to understand something important: Dylan wasn’t unwilling to interact with others-he simply didn’tknow how.
So, each time they played, one or two children would join in, carefully including him in their games.
Little by little, Dylan began to open up, and before long, he was able to start communicating with the other children.
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