The Blood White Rose

Dainichi

From the shards of tattered dreams he rose. Unwillingly tossed upon tides of pain that seared him awake. It was now half past seven in the morning and it was time to give Crimson his medication. He was to take one pill every six hours until the bottle was finished. Well it has been a harsh twelve hours so far. I was so excited to get his birthday ready and this comes up. I yell and scream a hundred curses at them and I get nothing. It's painful enough to see your child get beaten up for no reason. But to have the adults go as far as torment him and call me a bad mother is just a joke. Not to mention that I am responsible for all of his medical costs when it was their fault that Crimson got hurt. I no longer have any reason to forgive them. They can all burn in Tartarus for all I care. Why my husband thought it was a good idea to send him to that school I will never know. He even made me try to teach there. Saying it was a title one school and my college debt would be forgiven. No I spent all of those bits on books and classes I will pay them off myself.

When I had walked into my son's room there was only a sliver of amber sun shining through the curtains. I decided to keep the window's closed as to not disturb him. The light would be too much for him to bare. But I had to wake him up for his medicine. Besides it was his birthday and I'm not going to ruin that for him. I had tugged him a few times as to wake him. As he woke I greeted him. He looked dreadful like a cat hearing storms strong enough to rip lead off of buildings. But he was tired, the medicine had tuckered him out almost sending him to near death. I myself nearly died of shock from hearing of Crimson's injuries.

"Good morning sweetie. I hope I don't disturb you too much. I made you a protein shake as the doctor's orders to go along with your medicine. Go on and drink it. You need to be a big and strong stallion like your dad." I handed the shake to him and helped him down it as though he was still a foal needing to have his bottle feed to him. He drank half, took his pills and drank another half. And much like a baby he fell asleep soon afterwards. I left to get something for him. It was his birthday gift. I had a box full of old books I read along with some puzzles I bought for him. I suppose there is no point in throwing a party when the pony of the hour would be bedridden for the two months month or so. But there was something off about him.

Any normal foal would cry and ask for comfort until they were satisfied. Instead he just shrugged it off and did as he said. Maybe it was due to the fact that he ran into a lot of trouble with adults and fellow foals. But he knows well enough who is mom is and who isn't. Okay any normal foal wouldn't look the other way at other things. Instead of playing in the park he just looks at rocks, and when he is at home when he plays in the living room he stacks the pillows... Okay perhaps there is something wrong with him. But he seems so fine. Well Mother's intuition would dictate that there is something wrong and I should get it checked out.

Yes that's what I need to do. I had left his box of gifts next to his bed, and left to my student psychology handbook. Perhaps this would give me what I am looking for. No damn it! That's for teen ponies not foals. I teach high school not elementary... Okay I'll just call an expert and have the expert take a look. I go to the yellow page and start looking for a Doctor who could shed some light on this matter. I don't know why I would ever want to invest in a phone book anyways. It's big and bulky and ruins the rustic look I have made in my apartment. It's my apartment since I am the one who pays all the bills and the one who tends to it the most. My husband just ruins everything. Okay getting off track. After a long call with a local parenting center I have made an appointment for Crimson this Sunday.

There is still some undeniable truth that I as a mother should protect my foal. Is that what all mother's strive to do for their foals. There's no point in asking myself this. When it comes to parenting there is no real answer to this. But with the strength of a grizzly bear, me and Crimson will make it through. Should I just keep the results from him a secret? It's the only way I can really keep him safe I suppose. If he never knows about it then he will have nothing to worry about. If he questions why foals call him such names I will tell him that foals are cruel. You've known those kinds of foals before.

A few hours have passed and it seemed Crimson has finally woken up. It was time again. Four hours in my study and I had to tend to him again. I fed him another protein shake. I pulled up an old foals book back when I was a filly. He heard my clearly. I read to him until he slept thinking of the endless amounts of gods watching over him and the endless amounts of dreams he was having.

I was sitting in Dr. AngelSpell's office. Crimson was still in his casts but I laid him on a couch to where he could rest. He was sleeping as I spoke with the Doctor. She gave me the results and talked about him for a while. My suspensions were correct... There was something wrong with him. Nothing I would ever expect. This was only one case out of a hundred thousand. And I had been dealt this impossible hoof. Crimson has autism. High functioning autism to be more specific. There is no need to get into the science of it, but all that matters now is that he is safe. I must hurry, the storm is getting worse by the second, and the clouds are blocking out the sun more and more until it could recreate nightmare moon's eternal night. He was fast asleep as I picked him up and placed him on my back as I flew out the door.

The fly home was quicker then expected. I laid him in bed and I needed think what would be next for him. I could go home schooling for him if things were bad enough. But I can't keep him like this forever. He needs to go outside and see other ponies. Perhaps the best thing is to hide him in plain sight. I know what to do. He will go to school. And I will pretend to not understand his issue. There I can make sure he and I are safe. I must go now I have to apply him for a new school.