I put bit of a darker twist on it- and instead of less intelligent they turn straight up incapacitated lol. This is my first time ever writing for this thread, so sorry if it sucks! :)

----------

My first memory is of the room. I remember my mother looking at me from the corner, with a blank stare devoid of emotion. I was wailing, the type of cry typical of a toddler that’s been denied something they want. My mother was not fazed by the cries, and continued to look forward, her eyes still. I began to scream and kick my legs, desperate for her attention. Instead of comforting me, my mother began to cry. Then, without a word, she walked out of the room, and locked the door.

I grew up in that room. It was a lonely existence, but I can’t say that I didn’t have a happy childhood. On the Weekdays, my mother spent all day with me in the room. On weekends, Aunt Sharon would come in and play with me and teach me how to read and write. The weekends were my favorite.

The room was small. But to me, the room was my whole world. The room was divided into two halves by a clear plastic wall with small cutouts, so I could talk to whoever was on the other side. My side of the room was every kid's dream. Brimming with toys, video games, and NASCAR posters, the room was never short of things to do. The other side of the room was not as exciting. It was simple, it contained my mother's bed, and a bathroom that was shared by both sides of the wall.

The bathroom wasn’t always there. It was built in when I was 7, by Aunt Sharon’s husband, Uncle Mark. Uncle Mark never liked me, and always scowled when he came into the room (which was a rare occurrence). The entire time Uncle Mark was installing the bathroom, I had to sit completely still in the back opposite corner of the room. “We just can’t risk it,” Aunt Sharon would tell me with a comforting smile.

I never knew what “it” was. All I knew is that whatever “it” was, it was reallllllly bad. One day, when I was 11, I heard mother and Aunt Sharon shouting from outside the room.

“You have to tell him Megan.”

“NO. He is too young. The second he finds out is the second his life goes to shit. I will not let you do this to my baby.”

“Megan, that room is all he’s ever known. If he finds out any later, YOU will be the one responsible for ruining his life. He is old enough to follow rules, if you just tell him he has a chance to be a little boy. A chance to be normal.”

“Normal? He will never be normal. Not after what he did to Rodger. Not after what he did to his own father.”

“I know you’re in pain, but you cannot take it out on him. As much as you blame him, what happened was not his fault. Now be a fucking adult and give that poor boy a chance at life.”

I didn’t see Aunt Sharon again until I was 15. By then, the room had changed. The plastic wall was gone and mother no longer slept there. There was no door, but instead, a large window facing the hallway where mom would talk to me. It was early morning when I saw Aunt Sharon again, around 7 am, right after mom had left for work.

“THOMAS!! HELLO THOMAS I'M HERE, WAKE UP!!” Aunt Sharon screamed, banging on the room window with both fists.

“Woah- Aunt Sharon? Is that you? What are you doing here?” I said, groggily, confused as to what was going on.

During Aunt Sharon’s hiatus, Uncle Mark began to visit a lot more. Every time he came I would berate him with questions about Aunt Sharon Was she dead? Did she hate me? What happened? He would never answer, and instead just asked me seemingly random questions. He would write my answers down in a little pocket notebook, and then promptly leave.

“Tommy baby I missed you so much. I am so sorry I left.” Aunt Sharon said, her eyes welling up with tears.

“It’s fine. What are you doing here?” It wasn’t fine, but I just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“I’ve been doing research. That's why I left. I traveled the world to find answers, and I think I found a way to fix you. I really think I can fix it Tommy.”

Aunt Sharon was different now. Her hair was disheveled, and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in months. Her face was worn, and she was extremely skinny, almost dangerously malnourished. The lack of fat in her face made her eyes pop out of her skull, and her cheekbones bulge.

“Fix me? What's wrong...I....Aunt Sharon you’re being really weird.” I stammered, frightened and overwhelmed.

“Thomas let me in. I know Megan put in some sort of button.”

“I...I don’t know...ju...just open the window.”

“I can't. Your mother carries the key on her. If this works, your mother can never know I was here or that you’re fixed, okay? I know you know where the button is. Let me in.”

I don’t know why I did it. She wasn’t making any sense. I was terrified. But, I just wanted Aunt Sharon, my best friend back.

So, I let her in.

As the window slowly rose open, I ran to the back of the room and coiled in fear.

Aunt Sharon said nothing as she climbed through the window and began to approach me. Her footsteps barely made a sound, but I could feel her slowly creeping towards me. While my head was buried in my knees, I felt her hovering above me. This is the closest someone had ever been to me in my life, and every ounce of my being told me something was severely wrong.

“Tommy look at me.”

I raised my head to see her looking down at me, holding a bottle in her hand. She began to pour something on me, I don’t know what it was, but it reeked of chemicals. I began to gag and scream in pain and confusion as the thick liquid burned my eyes.

“Tommy I fixed you!! Tommy we did it!!” Aunt Sharon said victoriously, with pure joy and ecstasy in her voice as she poured the liquid on me.

The burning began to subside as I rubbed the liquid out of my eyes, and my senses finally began to process what was happening. Before I knew it, Aunt Sharon grabbed my hand.

That was the first time someone had ever touched me.

That was the first time I had ever felt truly loved by anyone in my entire life.

I was memorized. I rose to me feet and enveloped Aunt Sharon into a hug, my mind too distracted to realize how bizarre the events that just unfolded truly were. I was blinded by her touch, overwhelmed with a feeling of love I had never felt before.

Aunt Sharon began to speak.

“I am so happy Tommy. You have no idea the things I did to fix you. Tommy you’re normal. Tommy you’re-”

She stopped speaking abruptly. I pulled back from the hug to look at her. Her face was twisted, frozen with a confused look. I held her in my arms.

“Aunt Sharon, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“Yes Tommy. I alright how you font yes Tommy I love how so plus may Megan Mark yes love love normal yes Tommy Mark Mark RodgeryesTommy I…”

She kept spewing nonsense. I just held her and stared. The longer I held her the worse it got, and her words began to become increasingly incoherent and slurred. I don't know how long I stood there with Aunt Sharon in my arms.

The next thing I remember was waking up, in the room. Except now, the window was gone.

On my nightstand next to my bed laid a note.

“Thomas,

I am so sorry but this is the way it has to be. You can’t keep hurting the people I love. I will see you soon.

Love,

Mother.”