The Leaves
Flash fiction

A leaf falls to the ground. Walter stares at it intently while seated on a park bench.
Walter is 23. He is wearing noise-cancelling headphones. He was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old. He likes routine. His therapist, Dr Steedman, told him to go to the park every week to learn to identify people’s emotions. But he’s not interested in people. He’s interested in patterns and…