The Story of Theodore, Part 1.

This story is about a young man with a child’s mind.

Even in infancy, his mother could tell that he would not experience a ‘normal life’, and she saw her dreams for him die every time she watched him struggle. He would not be the valedictorian, and not go on to get his doctorate. He would never walk on the moon, or win a court case. She loved her son, for certain, but that did not prevent the sometimes-sadness that visited her and made her mourn the futures she’d entertained during her pregnancy.

A happier toddler could not be found, however. Theo had an infinite capacity for love, it seemed, and patience that stretched just as far. The delay to his learning didn’t prevent Theodore – often called ‘Teddy’, as a child – from being wise.

As he grew up, he managed to teach his mother a thing or two, remind her of things she thought she’d long since forgotten. Teddy was optimistic. He tried, and when he didn’t understand, his face would scrunch briefly in confusion, and then he would try again. He was only a little boy, but he knew better than most: to achieve anything beyond expectations, one simply had to keep hope alive.

He didn’t get to associate with other children until kindergarten. For the most part, his experience was no different from any other child’s. There was some mockery, sometimes – other children noted that he lookeddifferent, from them, in a way they couldn’t place. Some gentle reprimanding was enough to put a stop to it, and Teddy made friends. He would insist to his mother that he was the most popular boy in class; he loved every single one of his classmates, and thought of them all as his friends.

His body matured, through the years. His mind followed suit, a few paces slower.

The reprimands stopped working as well, for his peers were picking up on subtleties to social interaction that Teddy couldn’t grasp. The ability to be cruel, nurtured rather than imbued in nature, wasn’t taught to him. Instead, he was often the subject.

There weren’t classes set aside, for Teddy. That was both a good thing, and very bad. Teddy didn’t want to be separated from the children he still regarded as friends. On the other hand, they had so many more opportunities to make jabs at his expense. Sometimes Teddy laughed along with their insulting jokes. Sometimes, Teddy cried.

It was decided by the school board, and Teddy’s mother, that it would be for the best if he was moved to a more specific program, designed to suit his needs. There weren’t enough students to create one, but they still did their best to shield Teddy from the barbs being slung at him.

They protected his feelings from further injury, and the only time Teddy even saw the other children were during recesses.

He couldn’t play with them, much. There were too many things he might hurt himself doing. For the first little while, Teddy was still on the receiving end of cold teasing…but, as time went on, something far worse began to happen.

Being isolated from the others meant Teddy was steadily being ignored.