In a small town where stars could only be seen between the gaps of city lights, lived a boy named Ethan. He was 14, quiet, and often found solace in the predictable routines of his life. Diagnosed with autism at a young age, Ethan had always been different, perceiving the world in ways that were unseen by most. For him, sounds were colors, words were patterns, and emotions were often a cacophony of confusion. What others took for granted, Ethan experienced in the richest, most profound ways—sometimes overwhelming, but always vivid.
One evening, after a particularly frustrating day at school, Ethan did something he rarely did. He walked outside and let himself get lost in the night sky. His mind, usually drawn to puzzles and math, began to focus on the stars, on their distant yet constant flickering. He had read about space and time in books—concepts he grasped with ease, yet they felt so distant from his reality.
But that night was different. As Ethan stared into the vastness, something inside him shifted. He closed his eyes, and in the quiet of his mind, the universe opened up to him—not as an abstract idea but as a living, breathing entity. It whispered to him in frequencies no one else could hear, unlocking doors within his mind that had always been closed. For the first time in his life, Ethan felt connected to something bigger than himself. He could sense the energy around him, the pulse of life in everything.
The next day, Ethan noticed changes. His senses, already acute, had sharpened further. He could hear the faintest whisper of wind and the subtle vibrations of footsteps from across the room. More than that, Ethan realized he could manipulate the very particles of matter around him. At first, it was small things—a piece of chalk moving across a desk without being touched, or a leaf floating towards him when he simply thought about it.
But as the days passed, Ethan grew stronger, and so did his abilities. He discovered he could control gravitational forces, bend light, and even manipulate time, slowing it down in moments of intense anxiety. The world around him became a place of endless possibilities, and he began to understand the universe in ways no one else could.
Yet with this power came a new set of challenges. His mind, already a maze of patterns and logic, now had to process the limitless potential of the cosmos. And with every step forward, Ethan grappled with the weight of this responsibility. How could he use these powers without becoming overwhelmed by them?
He found his answer not in the vastness of the universe, but in the simple rhythms of his daily life—the predictable schedules, the quiet moments of solitude. It was these routines that grounded him, allowing him to balance the infinite with the familiar.
As Ethan grew into his abilities, he realized that his autism was not something to be fixed, but rather, the very thing that allowed him to connect with the universe in such a profound way. What others saw as limitations, Ethan had turned into his greatest strengths.
And so, with the universe at his fingertips, Ethan embraced his newfound powers, not as a burden, but as a gift—a gift that only he could truly understand.
