A JOURNEY TO AUTISM ii
(Autistic author)
His eye took a moment to focus
on her, and when it did, she saw a
flicker of confusion, followed by
a glimmer of recognition. "Karen?"
he repeated, his voice still faint.
"Yes, it's me,
Plankton. You're ok."
But his gaze remained distant,
his focus unsteady. "Where...where
are we?"
"We're at the hospital, sweetheart,"
Karen said softly, stroking his antenna.
"You had an accident."
The confusion in Plankton's eye grew,
and he tried to sit up, but a wave of
dizziness forced him back down. "What
kind of accident?" His voice was
still weak, but there was an urgency
to his words that hadn't been there
before.
Karen took a deep breath, her
grip on his hand tightening. "Mr.
Krabs...he hit you with a fry pan."
The words tasted bitter
but she had to tell him the
truth. Plankton's eye widened
slightly, and she watched as the
puzzle pieces of the situation
slowly clicked into place in his
mind.
"Krabby Patty," he murmured,
his voice distant.
"Yes, Plankton, you were trying to
get the recipe again," Karen
whispered, aching at
the memory. "But it's over now.
You need to rest."
His eye searched hers, and
for a moment, she thought she saw a
flicker of his old self, the cunning
and ambitious man she had married.
But it was gone as quickly as it
appeared, replaced by a vacant
stare.
"Don't... don't remember,"
he mumbled, his antennas drooping.
This wasn't the
Plankton she knew, the one who
schemed with a glint in his eye
and a plan in his pocket.
"It's ok, Plankton," she
soothed, her voice trembling.
She took a deep breath,
trying to compose herself. "Do you
remember me?"
Plankton's gaze remained
steady for a moment, and then he
nodded slowly. "Karen," he said,
his voice a hoarse whisper. But
the spark of recognition
was tinged with confusion, as if
he wasn't quite sure how he knew her.
Karen's felt like
breaking into a million tiny pieces.
But she knew she had to stay
strong. For Plankton. For them.
"You don't remember what happened,
do you?" she asked gently. "What else
do you remember?"
Plankton's antennas twitched
slightly, his eye searching hers.
"Don't know," he admitted,
his voice barely above a whisper.
Karen's chest tightened as she
held back a sob. "It's ok,"
she reassured him, her voice
shaky.
"Do you remember your name?"
she asked, her voice hopeful.
He blinked slowly, his gaze
fading in and out of focus, his brow
furrowing as he concentrated.
"Sheldon... Plankton?"
The sound of his voice saying
his own name brought a small
smile to Karen's face. "Yes, that's
right," she said, her voice filled
with relief.
"Do you remember where we live?"
she continued, her tone gentle.
Plankton's eye searched the
ceiling of the hospital room, as if
the answer was written there.
"The Chum Bucket," he murmured,
his voice unsure. Karen nodded,
encouraged by his response.
"Good, good," she said, smiling
weakly. "What about our friends?"
Again, the confusion clouded his
gaze. "Friends?" he repeated,
his voice tentative. "SpongeBob,
Sandy...?"
"Yes," Karen said, her voice
soft. "Do you remember them?"
Plankton's expression grew more
distressed, his antennas drooping.
"Square...SpongeBob. And a
squirrel, yes?" He paused, trying
to piece together the fragmented
memories.
Karen nodded, brimming
with unshed tears. "Yes, SpongeBob
SquarePants and Sandy Cheeks. They're
friends."
Plankton's antennas twitched as he
processed the information, his brow
furrowing with the effort. "Friends,"
he repeated, the word sounding
foreign. Karen could see
the gears turning in his tiny head,
his brain desperately trying to
make connections to his past.
"Do you remember anything about
your life before the accident?" Karen
asked, her voice trembling with
anticipation.
Plankton's eye searched hers,
uncertain. "Life...before?"
Her heart sank. "You know, our
adventures, our home, our love?"
He stared at her, his expression
unreadable. "Love?" The word was
barely a whisper.
"Yes, Plankton," she said, her
voice cracking. "We love each other.
We've been married for a long time,
and we've had so many adventures
together." She paused, willing
the words to resonate with him, to
ignite a spark of memory. "Do you
remember any of that?"
Plankton's gaze remained
vacant for a moment before he
nodded slightly. "Married," he murmured,
as if tasting the word for the first
time. "To Karen." His antennas lifted
slightly, a glimmer of something
familiar flickering in his eye.
"Karen Plankton computer wife."
"Yes, Plankton," Karen said, her
voice thick with emotion.
"Does that mean something to you?"
she asked, her heart in her throat.
He nodded slowly, his antennas
waving slightly. "Computer wife,"
he murmured again, his voice
gaining a hint of warmth. "Karen."
Karen felt a flicker of hope.
"Yes, Plankton, I'm your
wife." She leaned closer, her voice
gentle. "Do you remember anything
about us?"
Plankton's antennas twitched as he
thought. "Wife," he said slowly,
his voice a faint echo of the man
she knew. "Wife...Karen. Married
July 31, 1999."
That was their
wedding day, a date they had
celebrated every year since. "Yes," she
whispered, her voice choking. "We
got married on July 31, 1999."
The hospital room felt thick with
silence as she waited for his next
words. Plankton's eye searched
the room, his antennas twitching
as he tried to piece together the
shards of his past.
"Plankton, can you tell me about
yourself?" Karen asked, her voice
gentle. "What do you like to do?"
Plankton's antennas twitched as he
thought. "Invent," he said, his voice
still weak but with a hint of pride.
"Science?"
The words came out as a question,
as if he wasn't quite sure of his
own identity.
"Yes," Karen said, her voice
brightening slightly. "You're a
genius inventor. You've made so
many wonderful things." She
paused, hoping to see some spark of
recognition in his eye. "Do you
remember any of your inventions?"
Plankton's antennas waved in
the air, as if searching for the
memories that remained elusive.
"Inventions," he murmured, his
single eye searching the ceiling.
"Gadgets...machines."
"That's right," Karen encouraged,
squeezing his hand. "You've created
so many amazing machines. Can you
describe one of them?"
He blinked, his antennas
stilling for a moment. "Chum...Chum
Dispenser 3000," he said, his voice
picking up a bit. "It makes...makes
food for fishies."
Karen's smile grew despite the
pain. The Chum
Dispenser 3000 was one of
his earlier inventions, a
failed attempt to lure customers
to their restaurant, but it was a
testament to his ingenuity.
"That's wonderful, Plankton," she
said, her voice thick with emotion.
"How about something more
recent?" she prompted, eager to
see how much of their shared
history remained with him.
Plankton's antennas twitched as
his brain worked overtime. "Um... the
Incredibubble," he said, his voice
picking up speed as he talked. "It's a
bubble that can shrink things down to
microscopic size."
Karen felt a jolt of excitement.
"That's right!" she exclaimed,
squeezing his hand. "You used it to
get to find a secret plan."
Plankton's gaze remained
distant, but there was a hint of
curiosity in his eye. "Computer...
plan?"
"Yes," Karen said, her voice
shaking. "We've had so many
adventures together, Plankton. We've
faced so much together."
He nodded, his antennas
twitching slightly. "Together," he
repeated, as if testing the word
on his tongue.
"Do you remember any of
those adventures?" Karen
asked, her voice trembling.
"Adventures?" Plankton's eye
flickered, and she could almost see
the wheels turning in his mind.
"With Karen... wife?"
"Yes, with me. We've
traveled the ocean, faced so
many challenges together."
The doctor came in. "You can go
home now," he said.
Karen nodded, never
leaving Plankton's face. She had
spoken to the doctor about his
condition, about the autism, but
she still wasn't sure how to
process it all. How would their
life change now?
"Come on, Plankton," she said,
helping him sit up gently. "Let's
get you home."
She buckles him into his side of the car,
his newfound passivity making the
usual struggle unnecessary. The
engine of the tiny vehicle roars to
life, and Karen guides them out of the
hospital parking lot.
The ride back to the Chum
Bucket is quiet, the only sound
being the hum of the car's engine
and the occasional splash from
the waves outside. Karen keeps
glancing at Plankton, his antennas
listless as he stares out the
window. His mind seems to be
somewhere else, lost in a world of
his own making.
When they arrive, she helps
Plankton out of the car and
supports him as they make their
way to the door. The neon sign
flickers in the gloom, casting
erratic shadows across the
sand. The once bustling
environment now feels eerie and
desolate. Karen's mind is racing
with thoughts of how to make
this place feel like home again for
Plankton.