Life's been a little Crazy, just getting to this Honorable Mention win!

My little 100-word story about Autism and Halloween got a nice nod from Susanna Leonard Hill's contest.

Thank you, Susanna and team for seeing the beauty in this perspective.

A Spectrum of Costumes

By Laura N. Clement

 

“Just be you.”

Heather heard this every day from her parents.

But every year when chilly weather turned leaves crisp, pumpkins plumped, and goblins peaked out of neighbor’s window, a familiar worry began to tiptoe into her thoughts.

Being herself wasn’t always easy, loud sounds made her shrink, big feelings made her hide, and faces everywhere squinching, twitching, and changing, confused her.

Halloween was the worst.

The masks, makeup, funny clothes made understanding anyone that day harder, so this year… just being herself, Heather put on headphones, sunglasses, her softest clothes, and happily tucked herself into her own quiet world.