A CROSS THE CHASM 

By Tessa Harvey

    Jono went upstairs after tea to talk to his little brother. "Hey, buddy, high-five." Mischa smiled, looking happy.
    All through tea he had said nothing and the family were concerned. Mischa was somewhere on the autism scale, but being at school had helped him. He said he liked the songs and prayers, fun and learning.
    "You didn't wait for Luka and Livia," Jono said gently, trying to look less threatening by sitting on the carpeted floor. He had grown so much lately and kept bumping into stuff.
    The brothers exchanged high-fives, grinning. "They spitted at me at out time. They said 'Go away, Jew boy.' What is Jew boy, Jono?" "I need to think," the older boy paused. "Maybe it was rain sprinkles," said Mischa. "No Mischa it was sunny - no rain." The fourteen year old tickled his brother, but felt sad. "It is bad if anyone is different," Jono said carefully. "Shall I tell you how to win?"

    Shayla was trying rather unsuccessfully to corral a toddler who kept grinning and poking his head out from behind chairs, couches, cupboards. "Boo!" was his favourite word, his all-time favourite word. He knew no others yet
    Finally Shayla started giggling and the exasperation fell to the carpet and was soon consumed by the invisible dust mites. Alfie straight away came over to her and plonked himself on her lap.
    "Pooh," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Stinky pooh." Alfie laughed. "Poo-boo!" he shouted, "Poo-boo!"
    "Are you hungry, little man?" Quickly Alfie toddled to the cupboard and pointed at some cereal boxes, looking up at his carer, his mum.
    After changing his nappy and washing their hands, Shayla fed her adopted baby with healthy cereal and beautiful red raspberries and wondered again why Renate Jaeger wanted to see her.

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