🥲🥲🥲

I go to a massage therapist every couple of months. The massage takes place in a apartment complex. There’s residential parking and visitor parking. I parked in a spot, had my massage and came out to see a car blocking my car in the spot. I figured out pretty quickly that I must have accidentally parked in a residents spot instead of a visitors spot. They’re not very clearly marked, it was dark, but I was still in the wrong.

I rang the door bells of the apartment complex trying to find the car owner. I eventually found him, apologised sincerely for parking in his spot and explained that it was a genuine mistake and that I had incorrectly assumed that the left hand parking spaces were for visitors and the right hand ones were for residents. The man immediately became very apologetic, almost sheepish and kept refusing to make eye contact with me. I thought this was a little strange, but put it down to him feeling the come down from “this idiot’s purposefully stolen my spot” to “oh, it’s a genuine mistake”. I went on to explain that I totally got why he blocked me in, he’s probably come home from a long day and was annoyed to see someone in his spot. The man kept very quiet, but occasionally muttered ”no, no, I-I’m sorry”. I said it was absolutely fine and I’d just like to leave and go home. He nodded, followed me out to my car, moved his vehicle, all the while saying “I’m really sorry. I didn’t realise you didn’t do it on purpose”. I didn’t understand why he felt so apologetic about it, but again put it down to him feeling caught off guard be me being sincere and apologetic. I got home to find the longest, deepest car key scratch down the side of my door. I now understand his sheepishness.

Ahh, this is why I don’t go outside. I’m an autistic and I would like to live completely insular, please. I am quite physically, literally, neurologically… not built for this world.