Sand S.

1104

Jasper

The leaves start falling. Their colors are all red or orange or yellow. The wind

blowing mildly makes the leaves dance. The entire road is filled with the colors of red,

orange, and yellow. It is the first day of school. A school bus arrives at the bus stop on time

as always. A tiny girl with her blonde hair and a violet bag jumps out of the school bus and

hums a song while walking along the way home. It is her first day for being first-grader.

“Mommy! I’m home,” she calls to her mother while entering the living room. Only

her mother is at home at this time since his father is working. “Jasper here too,” said Mila

while her tiny foot walking up the stair speedily.

Her mother immediately says, “Slow down! You will stumble!” as Mila steps loudly.

“Okay! Mommy,” shouted Mila. “Alright, what are we gonna play today?” she

glances at her only friend, Jasper, after replying to her mother. “Shall we continue the game?”

They walk into Mila’s bedroom and sit on the floor. Nothing special but a lavender wall, a

canopy bed, toys, the drawings on the wall, a fluffy bunny as a doll, and much more that the

ordinary girly bedroom should have.

“Sure,” said smiley Jasper.

They are playing, as always. Mila never felt lonely again after she met Jasper. It all

began last year since she was a kindergarten kid. Mila was only a girl who had no friend. She

was kind of shy and quiet, but she was a good girl though. She rarely talked or played with

other kids. She spent the whole day alone, always. And on her birthday, Jasper appeared. He

was the only one who approached her. On that day, she came home cheerfully and

immediately told her parents about Jasper whom she already counted as her best friend

forever.
 “Mommy, Daddy, I already got a best friend! His name is Jasper! My first best friend!

He has blonde hair like me. His height is totally same as mine. Today he was also wearing a

pink tee like me too. Even though he is a boy but that is not important. He is still my best

friend though. But others pranked him on his first day at school. They acted like he was not

there like they only said hi to me even Jasper was next to me and even teachers, all of them

were not call Jasper name while checking the attendance, so mean,” said rapidly by Mila with

a happy face at first and followed by a sad face then as she felt sorry for Jasper that he faced

this kind of the situation. She had no idea about these things. Why is everybody so mean?

And why him? All of the thoughts in her mind were about Jasper stuffs. She kept thinking

that how she could help him from those mean people.

Back to the present, Mila is just entering second grade. Seems like Mila and Jasper

are separated this year. She is lots different from what she used to be last year. She is still

kind though. Her shyness is then replaced by the hilarity. She turns into a talkative little girl

although her only friend is Jasper still. Since Mila has been here, this school, she rarely talks

to others. The only sentence she talked with her classmate is “What time is it?” Mila thinks

that there is no necessary to be involved with them as long as she has Jasper. Actually, they

are very nice to Mila in spite of Mila always only give them her smiles.

As school is over for today, Mila and Jasper are playing after arriving home. Mila

assumes that playing with Jasper is the best. She will never get bored here, always new stuff

and amusing things to play.

“Jasper,” Mila calls her only friend, softly. She stares at him and smiles.

“Hm?” replied Jasper. He could tell that Mila has something fun to play or to tell by

those eyes and smile.

 “One day,” she says while getting up, walking around to find stuff. She sits down in

the same position as before, beside Jasper. She begins to draw something. “We will build a

castle. We will live in the castle happily together,” said penciling Mila without looking up

from her paper. “You will be the great king and I will be the gorgeous queen ever, live there

forever,” said her while drawing and coloring. She shows her pleasing work to Jasper,

grinning. Jasper’s face turns cheery afterward.

“But if we cannot afford the castle, we will build a mansion instead, magnificent

one,” Mila continues talking and drawing on another side of the same. Jasper stares at her

endearingly, replies nothing. She seems real happy when she fantasizes. The color pencils are

picked and used elaborately by the blonde hair girl.

“Will we still be together?” asked listlessly also lightly by Mila. She then glances at

Jasper without any sign of merriment, unlike previously.

“...” Jasper suddenly regains consciousness right after catching Mila’s question.

“Sure,” he says gently plus gives her a smile, a little one. She replies nothing but the smile, a

lovely one. “Let’s put it up, maybe here, ” said Jasper, walks toward the wall, across from the

headboard, “So this might be the first thing of day you see after wake up,” he says while

sticking it with a sticky tape.

“Genius Jasper!” shouted Mila with a broad smile. Once in a springtime, while Mila

was kindergarten kid. Mila and her classmates were asked about a

what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up thing. Every kid was thinking seriously, Mila as

well. Then for a while, the teacher asked for everyone to tell, in front of the entire class, about

that. There were various jobs as those kids mentioned, including an air hostess, a police, a

doctor, a nurse, a cook, a singer, an astronaut and even more. Until Mila’s turn
 “I want to be a beautiful princess,” said Mila. The entire class laugh. She cried and

waited for the school to be ended. What was so funny about being a princess. Immediately

she reached home, she cried and told her parents about that. They soothed her nicely. Jasper

as well, she told him. He went silent for a couple minutes and walked away. And that made

Mila thought that he did not even care her. She cried harder and decided to quit being friend

with Jasper. Suddenly, she felt something on her head. She grabbed it ​– it was a crown. Not a

gorgeous one but a paper one. She suddenly stopped crying and stared at it consciously.

“I made you a crown,” said Jasper beaming. “Even others refuse you. You are my

princess though,” he said and sat down, beside Mila, and rubbed her gently on the head. She

gave him the biggest smile in the whole day as a return.

“Thank you,” she said it softly. They then began to giggle.

Back to normal, ‘Monday should be optional,’ Mila thinks. She does not exactly ready

for school, she has to go anyway though. She takes the yellow school bus like usually. A lot

of students sit on the bus plus various colours of backpack. There it is, the bus arrives at the

front of the school, as always. The students step out of the big bus swiftly. While Mila

stepping at the front door, she accidently stumbles with something, maybe the air. She falls

down on the floor. This really upset and embarrass her so bad. But, there is someone offer

one’s hand and help her get up. When Mila looks up, she is a bit surprising because the one

who holds her hand right now is Luna, her classmate. She gives her a little smile and lightly

says, “thank you.”

A teacher provides Mila a boring group work. Actually, every work that needs to

involve with classmate seems to be a little dull for her, only a little. The teacher then makes
Mila get stuck in the same group with Luna and Sophia. Mila decided to work alone instead

of work together with Luna and Sophia, but then Luna and Sophia come and sit with Mila.

“Why are you guys sitting here? There a lot of spaces,” said Mila.

“We don’t want you to sit alone while everyone sits together in a group. I think that is

kind of lonely,” said Sophia. She answers Mila with sweet voice and a large smile.

“I’m not lonely,” Mila reject.

“Are you sure?” Luna asks.

“...” Mila does not say a word and deeply feels surprise what they are doing. The day

is ended as quickly as a flash. Mila takes the school bus then walks a bit until home,

repeatedly. She says hello to the middle-aged woman, her mother, and grabs a bag of gummy

bear then walks upstair.

“You better start making new friends though,” said Jasper suddenly with

well-intentioned while sitting on the girl’s bed. Mila hangs her bag on the chair. Bring out the

stuff from the bag and neatly lies them on the table. She slowly steps to the bed, lays down on

it then.

“No, I have you,” said the little girl while chewing gummy bear. “Do you want

some?” she asks and hands him a bag of gummy.

“No. Listen. You should have other friends,” said seriously by Jasper.

“Why? So you should have others then,” she says and glances at him while chewing.

“No, I’m different,” he says.

“So am I,” said Mila with careless face.

“You are not. Anyway, you should begins talking to others. I think,” Jasper says

earnestly, staring at her. “You cannot have only me as a friend.”

 “...” Mila replies nothing. She turns into motionless, no chewing jelly bear anymore,

like she is thinking.

“Are you isolated?” asked Jasper.

“Not really,” said Mila.

“Be more explicit,” he says so.

“I prefer being alone to being with others I do not trust. But lately, Luna and Sophia

were approaching me,” she tells the truth.

“You cannot feel trust if you do not talk. So all you need to do is talking to them. Get

closer,” said Jasper. He only wants to help Mila.

“I am way too lazy,” said lightly by Mila.

“Mila, just talking, everything will be fine,” he says. This is the most serious version

of Jasper that Mila ever seen.

“Really?” said Mila while glancing at him.

“Yea!” he says.

Later on, Mila began to get closer to Luna and Sophia as Jasper told her to. Actually,

Mila is a friendly one who can get along with anybody well. She just not did it before though.

All three of them started to play around after school. Mila arrives home tardier than she used

to. But Jasper is at home, waiting for her, still. It has already been like this for a week now.

“I’m home!” said cheerily by Mila.

“Hi, sweetie,” said her mother. As it is time, all of them are sitting together and

having dinner. Mila tells them about the school and about her friends, Luna and Sophia. Day

by day, she dawns to get more closely to Luna and Sophia; she now sometimes plays with
Jasper while, formerly, they used to play, always. After finishing dinner, Mila goes upstairs

with Jasper. They approach the door of her bedroom.

“I think we almost become best friend now, me, Luna, and Sophia,” she says while

walking toward bed. Her face can express the happiness.

“Sounds cool,” said Jasper without facing Mila. Lately, he is the one who is

abandoned as Mila begins to grow up plus meets new friends.

“What day is tomorrow?” asked Mila with hopefully. She smiles and moves her body

closer to Jasper.

“Let me think. Tuesday, maybe,” said him, glancing Mila.

“...” She does not say a word yet she frowns and motions away.

“What?” he asks as Mila’s sign displeased.

“It is my birthday,” said her, slightly.

“Aw,” he exclaims guiltily. He does not mean to forget her birthday. But his day is

forthcoming as well.

“Never mind. I forgive you. So, tomorrow, I will have a party!!!” said Mila. Her face

shifts from frowning to smiling. “The guests will be you, Jasper, Luna, and Sophia. I will

invite them,” the owner of blonde hair with smiley face says. “You will be the special one!”

“...” Jasper replies nothing but a silently smiles. Time goes by so fast. Mila is going to

be seven. It is her turn to grow up. As people mature, they losing things. Somes losing

clothes. Somes losing books. Somes losing toys. Even some are losing their friends.

It’s a birthday of the tiny girl, Mila. She wakes up lively. Dresses up, packs things,

and goes downstairs.

 “Happy birthday sweetie,” her father says with a gentle smile. She hugs him, tightly,

also hugs her mother. She goes to school and waits for it to be ended for the day. She

hurriedly goes home as her birthday party is waiting. Everything seems to be so happy at this

time. She senses that everything is celebrating her birthday! Even trees are dancing. She did

not invite Luna and Sophia yet. The door of Mila’s house is opened by the birthday girl. She

quickly runs upstair, straight to her bedroom, assumed that Jasper is there. But it is not what

she expected. Her bedroom is empty. It has no-one but her bunny.

“Jasper! Where are you?” shouted the birthday girl. Her face is replaced with nothing

instead the smile. She sits down, on her bed, and tries to think of Jasper. But he does not

appear. She begins to agitate as a result of her best friend is missing. Her eyes start to fill with

tears. She walks around the house and the location nearby but still no sign of Jasper.

“Mommy, I cannot find Jasper. Today is my birthday. Why he is not here?,” said

sobbing Mila.

“He is coming. I guess,” said her mother.

“No, he is not. He always there when I come back. But today he is not. He does not

come when I call,” she says and cries harder.

“Maybe, he is busy,” her mother says.

“No, mommy, you do not understand. I do not know,” said Mila. She hugs her mother

tightly.

“He will be back,” said her mother. The party is not what Mila expected. Jasper does

not appear. Luna and Sophia are not invited as Mila is not in the mood to party her birthday.

Only her mother and her father are with her this night. She only blows the candle and wishes

for Jasper to be back, as soon as possible.

 Two week passes, Jasper still missing. The days of Mila go without her best friend,

Jasper. She misses him, misses his blonde hair, the way he talks, the way he laughs, his smile

– everything about him. It is Saturday morning. Mila’s mother knocks on the girl’s door. No

one replies. She takes the liberty and enters the room though.

“Good morning, honey. Time to wake up,” said her mother with a gentle voice. She

walks toward the bed and sits on it, without noticing that Mila already awakes.

“He is gone,” said listlessly by the girl without confronting her mother.

“He will be back,” said her mother.

“No, mommy, you don’t understand. He is not even real, ” said Mila. She sounds

heartbroken.

“How did you know that?” asked her mother surprisingly.

“I know. Always. I invented him and I left him alone. He is gone now. I should not

leave him alone. He has only me,” said Mila. She blames herself for the missing of Jasper and

weeps. Her mother moves closer to her and tenderly hugs her. She always knows that Jasper

is not real. He was only an imaginary friend of her. She always pretended he was real. She

wishes him to be real, like her, like others, so that they could be together forever. But

sometimes, things in life don’t happen the way we want.

There’s not a single day goes by that she doesn’t think of him, Jasper. As the time

goes by so fast, Mila is a fifth-grader now. She can live the happy life without him though.

But her life with him in it would be definitely better. She wants to meet Jasper once again

still. However, she knows that it won’t happen. But, you know, things are inconstant.

“Let’s meet your new friend by the way,” a teacher says to the entire class. “Nash,

introduce yourself,” said the teacher to a new kid who suddenly joins the class.
 “Hello, My name is Nash. Please be nice to me,” said Nash. Mila suddenly regains

her consciousness. The familiar voice reminds her of someone. Immediately she looks up to

see the owner of that voice. What she found is an intimate blonde haired boy. She then

murmurs to herself,

“Jasper.”