“Because I am an autistic person who appears to have achieved some of the arbitrary hallmarks we attribute to successful adulthood — like living semi-independently, working, getting married, and performing basic social tasks without melting down in public—I am often treated like someone who should have a clue as to how others might do those things. I am not. I’m not convinced that I’ve done anything to make it to this point in my life that should be emulated by another human being.”
“Aiden crested a ridge and froze in place, heart pounding. It was right there in its own tracks, not twenty yards away. It was covered in grizzled brown fur and it stood upright, broad-shouldered and a good nine feet tall. It turned to face him, its features were both simian and human and it regarded him with a calm, perceptive curiosity. He could only stare mutely, his fear held loosely—ready to grasp but at arm’s length—because his primary impression was not that the creature was frightening, but that it was magnificent, miraculous. It was impossible, and yet there it stood.”
