YOU ARE SAFE

A Short Story about an Autism Mom Mara liked things in patterns. Every morning in her small home in Laguna, she lined up her son Eli’s shoes by color, packed his lunch the same way, and whispered the same three words before he left: “You are safe.” Mara was an autistic mom. Some people thought that meant she didn’t understand feelings. But Mara felt everything just differently. Loud noises hurt her ears, sudden changes made her chest tight, and people’s words sometimes felt like puzzles with missing pieces. Still, she loved Eli with a steady, quiet kind of strength. One afternoon, Eli came home upset. His teacher had told him he was “too sensitive” for covering his ears during a noisy activity. Eli repeated the words, confused. “Am I too much, Mama?” Mara paused. Her heart beat fast moments like this didn’t come with clear instructions. She knelt beside him, choosing her words carefully, like placing stones across a river. “No,” she said softly. “You feel things strongly. That’s not ‘too much.’ That’s part of who you are.” The next day, Mara did something hard. She went to Eli’s school. Talking to strangers made her anxious, and the bright hallway lights flickered in a way that made her dizzy. But she practiced what she wanted to say, over and over. When she met the teacher, her voice trembled at first. But she kept going. She explained Eli’s sensitivity, how noise affected him, and how being told he was “too much” could hurt him. The teacher listened really listened and nodded. “I didn’t realize,” she admitted. “Thank you for telling me.” That evening, Eli smiled more than usual. “My teacher said I can wear headphones now,” he said. Mara smiled too, even though her day had been exhausting. She lined up his shoes again, just like always. Same routine. Same whisper. “You are safe.” Strength doesn’t always look loud or confident. Sometimes, it looks like understanding yourselfand speaking up, even when it’s hard

• ShortStory