In New York City it was seventy-eight degrees with a small breeze, gently flowing through the Saturday afternoon air. Jonathon enjoyed these days the most. Jonathon is eight years old with blond hair and brown eyes. He keeps to himself regularly, keeping occupied with reading and hours of meditations. Even if he had an entire day to o whatever he wanted, he would spend it reading or watching the clouds blow in the wind. His philosophy is that he doesn’t need anybody to proceed in life and that only his logic will get him anywhere. Jonathon also believes that solutions will come naturally if he thinks about his problems long enough. Jonathon loves his parents, but he is closest to his dog, Stevie.

On this particular day, he took a blissful walk in the park. He relished activities such as this because of the peace and serenity. Jonathon cannot stand loud noises, so he keeps occupied with quiet activities. As he continued walking, he approached a nice park bench that he wanted to sit at and watch the clouds. However, somebody was already sitting there. Jonathon’s logic told him to sitt there regardless, since the middle-aged man would surely get up. The man did not budge. The man was eating lunch and he didn’t even acknowledge Jonathon’s presence. Jonathon was now very confused. His analytical thinking usually always led him to an accurate conclusion, but this time it did not.

The man’s name was Jeffrey Donovan, but his friends call him Jeff. Jeff is thirty-seven years old, and he works as a security guard in Trump Towers. He is over six feet tall and he is very well built. He is a Caucasian male with black hair and dark brown eyes. Jeff is very close to his wife, Angela, and two twin boys. Their names are Andy and Archie, and they are six years old. Jeff believes that family comes first and that hard work and determination are the keys to success. Cohesively, he cannot stand when people are lazy and neglect their duties. Every day Jeff keeps busy with exercise, and he cannot stand those that do not keep occupied in an area of productivity. He also loves football. He watches the Chicago Bears every opportunity e gets and his friends cannot stand it. Not liking the New York Giants is considered a sin among his friends. If Jeff does whatever he wanted for one day, he would spend it with his wife and kids at Disneyland. His goal in life is to have the happiest family possible at all times of his life and their lives.

It was on this Saturday afternoon that Jeff received his fifteen minute lunch break, so he found a nice park bench to sit on. Out of the blue, a small kid with blond hair and pale skin decided to park his ass on the same bench. It wasn’t an extraordinarily large bench either. Jeff was somewhat irritated with the fact that this puny kid was sitting no more than six inches away from him while he was eating lunch. Jeff is too stubborn of a person to move for some kid, so he sat there and finished eating his sandwich. He then took out his phone to inform his boss that he was on his way back to the office. Shortly after he ended his call, he heard, “Was it really that important?” from Jonathon.

“Excuse me?” said Jeff. He heard Jonathon, but he wanted elaboration of some sort.

Frightened, Jonathon said, “I’m sorry, I just can’t stand electronics.”

“Well excuse me for trying to get some work done. What is your name, little man?”

“Uhh. My name is Jonathon.”

“Well, Jonathon, it’s nice to meet you.” Jeff reached out, looking for a hand shake, but did not get one.

Frustrated, Jonathon said, “I don’t like physical contact either.”

“Well what do you like?” Jeff asked curiously.

“I guess I like patterns and quietness. I also love Sherlock Holmes, historical documents, and classical music. Also, if Albert Einstein was still alive, I would kill to meet him.”

Well aren’t you an interesting little guy?” Jeff answered in a slightly sarcastic tone.

There was a noticeable pause. Jonathon replied, “I’m autistic. But thanks for sharing.”

Jeff remained emotionless, but his heart stopped for a second. It was the same feeling when skipping a stair on a staircase. After the comment, his mood shifted significantly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I also didn’t intend to hurt your feelings. You should consider it a compliment that someone your age is so unique.”

Jonathon smiled and said, “Thank you. I appreciate your words. What kind of stuff do you like?”

“Well, Jonathon, I like war movies and sports. I also love rock music, but not anything to heavy. Aren’t your parents wondering where you are?”

:I don’t really like any of those things, but I know that most people do. I find movies predictable and I think that athletes are overpaid. Oh, and I find rock music a bit disheartening and in lack of resolution.”

“As much as I agree with many of your opinions, I find entertainment in all of these things. Back to my question. Your parents, Jonathon?”

“I would assume that they are wondering where I am. They’re probably worried, but I’m fine. I don’t need them to enjoy myself. I get along fine by myself.”

Jeff was going to be late to the office, but he found himself upset that someone of Jonathon’s age has such a mindset of utter independence. Jeff sighed and stated, “You should be grateful that you have parents who love and care about you. When I was your age, my parents weren’t home very much. They worked themselves to the bone to put me and my sister in an upright home. Since they were hardly ever around, I didn’t even realize how much they loved me until I was in college.”

Jonathon was puzzled. He was in deep contemplation. Then he said, “You’re right. Thank you for your words. What was your name again?”

Shocked that someone with autism took his advice, he simply replied, “I’m Jeff.”

Jonathon reached out his hand for a hand shake and said, “Nice to meet you Jeff.”

Jeff smiled. He shook the boy’s hand and said, “It was nice talking to you Jonathon.”

“You as well.”

“Take care of yourself, friend.”

“I will. Thank you for all of your words of wisdom. I will remember them forever.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jonathon walked home, deeply impacted, but although unspoken, Jeff was impacted equally.