Haven

My eyes roamed over the many shelves with second- hand books. The vintage shop was small, you could barely turn around, if you didn't want to hit a pile of books, at least. It was rather dusty, you could even smell it and plants hung at the side of the shelves, two at the door, and one in every corner.

The smell of eucalyptus, that were laying on the old, worn off painted counter, was strong, though, satisfying in a way- to me at least. Taking a book from its spot, I wiped the dust off it with my fingers and scanned the written words on the back of it. I smiled, old, romantic novels were my thing. I couldn't ever get enough of them.

Blowing a loose strand of hair out of my face, I smiled at Thomas when he entered the small shop, leaving the stockroom. "Haven Sparks, there you are again." The around thirty- five years old man smiled at me, showing his teeth.

"Yeah, again.." I chuckled, referring to the fact that I came here at least once a week. Therefore, he knew me, even knew my interests. Thomas ran the small shop with his wife, who I hadn't seen much lately, as they had a newborn recently. "How's the baby doing? Is he drinking properly now?" I wondered.

Thomas placed the box with heavy books on the counter, taking them out while sticking price- stickers to the covers. "Oh, yeah. That little man is doing amazing. He's a fighter. Actually on weight, now, so we're very thankful."

I gave him a genuine smile, my eyes searching for new books. "That is amazing, Thomas. I'm very happy for you." The baby had nearly died, as it was born too early. Though, with the right help of the nurses, doctors, God and his strong will to fight, he had made it.

"So am I, thank you, Haven." He scratched his short, dark, brown beard as he started to grin, glancing at me. "I've got something for you,"

He handed me a book and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for my reaction. Brushing my finger over the title, I smiled when my eyes fell onto the word Amsterdam that was written on it. "Ah! This is great. What is it, though? Oh! It's history about the city, ugh. This is amazing, thank you, Thomas." I rambled, flipping through the pages.

"No worries. Take it home for free. Thought you'd like it. Hey, I've got to sort more books. I'll see you around, yeah?" Once I had nodded and waved him goodbye, I couldn't help the smile that kept being present on my face as I flipped through the pages once again.

Amsterdam. When will I ever visit you?

I hadn't ever known why I was so fascinated with it, but I guess I wasn't the only one that was fascinated by something without a proper explanation. It was just something about that city, the language, that intrigued me.

Continuing to stroll through the shelves, my eyes fell onto literature and I stood still for a while, searching for a Philosophy book- until something else caught my attention. The small, red, pocket book read the title; You Don't Look Autistic, taking my interest right away.

Flipping through the pages for a while, I stopped when I read something about communication and eye- contact. When we, autistic people, don't make eye contact, it is not out of disrespect nor disinterest, nor purposefully. It can be that once you look into somebody else's eyes- you experience fear or find it stressful. It can also be that people don't understand the importance of it.

People need time to process the given information. Stammering can be the cause of not fully understanding the given information, or being in the process of processing the given information.

I frowned, it somewhat seemed familiar, it made me think of Zephaniah, who barely held eye contact, stammered at times and didn't follow the lectures, or my rambling, which was kinda understandable, but still..

Thoughts ran through my mind, Hannah and Tara's words about him struggling with certain things passing by as well. I couldn't confirm it, as I simply didn't know it, but if it was true- I wanted to educate myself more on that topic so I could understand him better as it had always been something I was interested in. Just like Amsterdam, the fascinations without a proper explanation.

Checking the price, I fished a few pounds out of my pocket and laid it down onto the counter, grabbing the paper bag, which I had paid for as well. Smiling, I placed the books into the bag and left the small shop, yelling a quick bye in case he'd hear.

Stepping outside, heavy drops were falling onto the empty streets, my smile widening even more. "Rain," I whispered as I looked up at the sky, that was covered in thick, heavy and dark clouds.

Clutching the bag closer to my coat, I fastened my steps and avoided the puddles as much as I could, looking up when a car drove by too close, successfully soaking my jeans and shoes. I stood still for a while, looked down, sighed, then laughed quietly as I softly slapped my forehead. Staying dry was impossible, anyway.

Swinging the bag back and forth, I smiled at the people that were walking by in hurry, not bothering to greet me back. "Hello!" I said to a soaked, jogging man.

"Oh, don't be so cheerful! Don't you see the rain falling?" He snapped, his expression growing irritated.

I simply shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile, continuing to walk. My car was nearing now, and as a huge puddle blocked my way, I simply started jogging and jumped over it, landing right behind it.

I gave myself an impressed nod, greeted a few other people until- the bag ripped and the books landed onto the cold, wet tiles near the parking place my car had been parked. Gulping, I quickly grabbed the books and tried to dry them with the sweater I was wearing underneath my coat.

"I told you!" The jogger scoffed as he ran past me again, making me look up.

"I blame gravity!" I answered politely, sheepishly smiling at my own, lame, joke. Unlocking my car, I placed the books onto the passengers seat and turned on the heater, hoping to dry the books and keep the damage limited.

Turning on the old radio, I couldn't hear more than creaking and stuttering of the device, seeing that my car wasn't exactly new, probably built in nineteen- Noah, and therefore the radio wouldn't work if the weather was slightly off.

Shrugging, I slowly drove back home, shielded the books underneath my coat and entered our house, taking off my shoes as my eldest brother gave me a look. "Hi, Jonah!" I smiled, placing the books onto the table and throwing my coat onto the stairs- it needed to be washed later.

"Hi, Haven." He answered calmly, observing the books I had placed near him. "Bought books again?" Jonah gave me a soft smile, though, shook his head.

"Couldn't help myself, and, besides, I got the Amsterdam one for free!" I exclaimed happily, placing the red tea kettle we had onto the stove to make some tea.

Jonah chuckled, brushing his thumb over the autism one, which I knew interested him also. "Why did you get this? It's soaked, by the way."

I sighed as I took a seat at the table, reaching for the book. "Damaged too bad? Seriously, I was just walking and the bag ripped! They fell onto the streets, which were, obviously wet, puddles everywhere."

Jude entered the room and grinned, clearly having picked up on our conversation. "That's what you get for buying books every single week. Do you even read all of them?"

"Of course I do, Jude. Why else would I buy them?" I gave him a- not- understanding- look.

"Oh, yeah? What was the one about that you bought last time? Sin Eater? What was it called again?" Jude opened the fridge, took out a box of strawberries and stuffed his mouth full, making me chuckle.

"The Last Sin Eater, Jude." I poured some tea into the Sloth mug my mum had gotten me for my birthday years ago, adding a camomile teabag with honey. "Oh, it was about a ten years old girl, who's blamed for the tragedy that happened a while ago and then her grandmother- which she cares about a lot- passes away and she-"

"Shut up, Haven." Jude mumbled, flipping through the Amsterdam book. "I was only kidding. I don't need to hear your summaries."

"You asked for it," Jonah raised his eyebrows at his younger brother, hitting his shoulder lightly. "Haven, are you sure you were just walking and the bag ripped?"

Thinking back about the incident, I shrugged, a sheepish smile appearing on my face. "I may or may not have been swinging the bag the whole time, but still! It isn't supposed to rip that fast. The books aren't even that heavy."

"Autism? Why?" Jude wondered randomly, a bewildered look on his face. "Don't tell me this is another weird fascination of yours."

"It's interesting. You should read it," I suggested, shoving the book towards him, which he shoved back into the same speed.

He shook his head, pouring some hot water into a mug as well, "No, thank you. Give me one proper reason as why to,"

Jonah opened one of the kitchen drawers and fished a few chocolate chip cookies out of its packaging, passing us one. "Because, autism is a complexed 'disorder', which makes you want to know more of it once you have gotten in touch with the topic. It's nice to figure things out about it." He shrugged, I nodded hysterically in agreement.

"Nerds," Jude groaned, snatching one of the chocolate chip cookies, Jonah wanted to hand to me, out of his hand. "Awful,"

"Oh, don't complain. You're a plant nerd, do not disagree on that." I chuckled, referring to the fact that he was a gardener, almost in the same position as the manager, though, which required a lot of paperwork too.

Jude pulled a face, running a few fingers through his chestnut, brown, hair. "Whatever, they're easier to figure out. I don't feel the need to let my brain cells run all day long."

Jonah and I laughed at that, looking up when our parents came back into the living room, small smiles plastering on their faces.

"Oh, hello. Look at you three being cosy and drinking tea." Mum chuckled, placing the grocery bags down onto the table.

Jude frowned deeply, giving Jonah and I looks. "Interpreted the completely wrong way," he mumbled, pointing at the books. "Mama, Haven bought books again. About autism, can you believe it?! Sometimes I wonder if she's really my little sister, fascinated with the most random things in the world."

"Stop exaggerating, Jude." I laughed, glancing at my mother. "And I can't believe you're my brother sometimes." Jude huffed at that comment.

Dad picked up the book and flipped through the pages, smiling a little. "This is nice, Haven. I recognize some things with the children I teach. Where did you find this?"

"Thanks! I bet. I got it from Thomas' store, along with this book. Got the Amsterdam one for free." I beamed, frowning when Jude started playing with my hair, pulling at the wavy strands.

"What a nice guy," Jude cooed, pulling at my cheeks as he removed his hands from my hair.

Giving him a look, I couldn't help but sigh, though stifled a chuckle. "You're annoying,"

"So are you, but I still love you," He briefly hugged me, then finally left me alone, jogging upstairs. "See you all at dinner time,"

Mum raised her eyebrow, glancing at the stairs and back at me. "I really wonder where the both of you get that energy from, sometimes. If my sleep could only do the same,"

"We got it from you!" I laughed, fixing my hair. Thanks, Jude. "It's the age," I whispered, then.

Mum shook her head, soft laughter leaving her mouth.

"Haven Sparks, you're something else,"

~~~

Finally back and an update :)

Just a bit of Haven's life. Did you like it?

No info today, as it was added in the chapter.

Jude? Jonah?