Jasper Kingsley…Thirty-four

“I’m so confused,” said Aie.  “Rita is such a nice person.  She’s sincere, fun and happy.  She’s not like…”

“I told you that all the humans aren’t the same, anymore than all fairies are.”

“I know.  It’s just that having first hand experience with one, well, it makes a difference.”

“You have to stop talking about them as if they were something strange and different.  You call them they all the time, as if they aren’t related to us in anyway at all.”

“They ARE other.  They are NOT like us,” said Aie, loudly.  “You’re the one who needs to wake up.”

Jasper stared at Aie.  “I…I…it’s not like that.”

“It’s exactly like that.  As much as I refuse to see our similarities with humans, you refuse to see our differences.”

Jasper stared straight ahead.  “You’re absolutely right.  I think that’s been a huge problem for me all along.”

“I’m right?” asked Aie, in astonishment.

“You are definitely right.  I never would have seen that by myself.  Thank you.”

“Would you put that in writing, so that I can frame what you said?  Please?  Do that for me, will you?  The part about the fact that I’m right?

“I haven’t really understood our differences.  I have admitted and recognized them  but I haven’t truly understood what they mean.  I’m like everyone else in Fairy.  I look at humans as other and as something to study.  How did I not see that?”

“You didn’t see it because you think like a Fairy.  You ARE a Fairy.  You were raised to BE a Fairy, in Fairy.  You learned to think the way we all did,” said Aie.  “It’s not your fault. Everything we learned as children was put into our heads by others.”

“It’s so difficult to see passed what was put into us.  It’s a struggle and there’s truly no way to get it right because we are blinded by our own experiences.”

“What?”

“We have to over come what we are, in order to become something new.  But we can’t even see what we are because…we simply are…what we are.  If we are able to change, we just change into something else.  Something with different ideas that come from…out there.”

“You’re not making any sense,” sighed Aie.  “Drink this,” she added, handing Jasper a tall glass of orange juice with ice.”

“Thank you.  You have no idea what you’ve done for me today,” said Jasper.

“My pleasure, even though I don’t have a single clue, as to what you are talking about.”

“We know a lot about them.  They don’t know we exist.  Not for real, anyway.”

“And?”

“I’m not sure.”

“About?”

“Anything, anymore.”

“That’s good, it will give you more room to think,” said Aie, smartly.

“Do you think so?”

“Absolutely.  You were as locked into your way of thinking as I was locked into mine.”

“I was,” smiled Jasper.  “Thank you for helping me to finally see that.”

“Want a donut?”

“Do pigs fly?” laughed Jasper.

“They do when they’re in Fairy,” said Aie, throwing a donut across the table.

Jasper Kingsley–Thirty-three

“I can’t believe you both came back,” said Rita, excitedly.  “I’m so happy you called, Jasper.  “I loved talking with both of you and I was hoping to see you again.”

“It’s nice seeing you again as well,” said Aie, smiling.  “How’s your book coming along?”

“Great.  Jasper really inspired me and I’ve been staying up too late every night, so that I can write.”

Annie brought three warm brownies to their table and Rita introduced her.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, brightly.  “Rita told me about the journal.  What a wonderful thing to do.  It’s never far from her hand, believe me.  I haven’t seen her work so much for a long time.  She just writes and writes.  Well, enjoy your brownies and let me know if you need anything else,” she said, turning away.

“Thank you Annie,” said Rita.  “I owe you one.  Well, I owe you more than one but you know what I mean.”

They could hear Annie laughing as she got behind the counter.

“I think I’m going to add some magic to the story.”

“What?” asked Jasper.  “What kind of magic?”

“I’m not sure.  I’m hooked on Harry Potter and a little magic never hurt a good story, did it?”

“But the story you were writing was wonderful and…”

“I just feel that it needs magic.  I’ve been getting all kinds of twinges and thoughts about it. Maybe a talking crow, a sprite or pixie.  Something like that.  Maybe even a fairy.  I haven’t decided.  No unicorns or mermaids, though,” she laughed.  “Way overdone.  You two are magical.  I feel so energized when I’m around you.  You make me happy and excited to be alive and writing.  It’s because you’re so inspiring and encouraging, I’m sure.  My life is much better since we met.  You’re like summer sunshine.”

Jasper got up and went to the counter.  She ordered three coffees and slid a $50 tip toward Annie.

“Oh, I can’t take,” she said, her eyes wide, as she pushed the tray toward Jasper.

“Please.  As a favor to me, for all of your kindness.  I insist.”

“I haven’t done anything,” pressed Annie.

“You did more than you know.  Thank you.”  Jasper turned and carried the tray to the small table, leaving the money on the counter.

“I’ve been trying to talk Rita out of adding a magical element to her book,” said Aie.  “I think it would ruin the storyline, don’t you, Jazz?”

“But you don’t know what the story is about,” said Rita.

“Hey,” said Raif, grinning madly.  “I thought I might find you here,” he said, pulling up a chair, taking Aie’s coffee.

Rita just stared at him.  No sound came from her…at all.

“See,” said Raif, putting his arm around Aie, “I’ve still got it.”

“Stop it now,” growled Jasper, “or I will kill you where you sit.”

Time started moving again.

Rita inhaled and looked at all three of them.

“This is my idiot brother Raif,” said Jasper.  “He was just leaving.”

“So nice to meet you.  I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about you,” he said, taking Rita’s hand and kissing it.

Rita looked at him,  shook her head, and said, “Not much of a line.”

Jasper and Aie stiffened.

“Excuse me?” said Raif.

“No offense but I’ve heard way better,” sighed Rita, dismissively.  “Way better.”

“My life is falling apart,” said Raif, standing up.  “Absolutely falling apart. First fluff, now a human.  What’s going to happen next?”

“Sorry,” said Rita, softly.  “I know he’s your brother but still.  I’ve met guys like him before, if you know what I mean.”

“You did the right thing,” snickered Jasper quickly.  “He’s been having a rough go of it lately.  Aie is his girlfriend.”

Aie groaned.  “I am.  I don’t know why I am, but I am.”

All three of them stared at each other and then started snickering.

 

 

 

 

Jasper Kingsley…Thirty-two

“I’ve been thinking,” said Aie.  “Do you think we’re that mean to humans?”

“You have to be kidding,” said Jasper, startled.  “We play with them, use them, torture them and kill them, so a big yes, to that question.”

“But it’s not like they actually matter, do they?”

“They matter as much we do.”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.  They live for fifteen minutes.   We live forever, or almost.”

“Life span doesn’t enter into it, Aie.  They have their own lives.  It’s the same thing they do to  animals.  They look down on them, kill, and eat them.  They don’t see that animals have the right to live either.  Exactly the same.  They use them and kill them.  They’re just like we are.  They don’t care what they do to animals anymore than we care what we do to them.”

“So, it’s okay to keep taking them?  I mean they live longer with us.”

“Live longer, without choices.”

“So?”

“You’ve met Rita.  Would you want to chain her to your tree?  Beat her, make her dance for hours so you could watch?  Would you want to do any of the things we do to them, to her?”

“Well, she’s different.”

“That’s what humans say about their pets too.  They kill other animals but try not to kill their own pets.  Humans are our pets, animals are theirs.”

“Why do you always have to make things so difficult.  I was fine with the way humans were treated and then you introduced me to Rita and I actually like her.  She fed us warm brownies.”

“And the brownies didn’t have a glamour on them so that we would fall under her spell.  She was straight up and friendly.  She was nice.”

“So maybe we should just take the bad ones.”

“I’m okay with that,” said Jasper, smiling.  “But Fairy will get awfully crowded, awfully fast.  You can count on that.”

Aie laughed.  “You’re probably right.  I’m sure we can find a way to use them.”

“I’m sure that we can.”

“Thank you Jazz.”

“For?”

“Showing me a different way to look at things.  I guess I got so used to seeing the same things all the time that I forgot there were other ways of seeing something.  All humans aren’t horrible.  I like Rita.”

“Good because we are having lunch with her again in twenty minutes.”

“I don’t even mind that she’s thick and heavy.”

“She’s not at all thick and heavy.  At least not for a human.  She’s thin.”

“She’s heavy on her feet.  Humans can’t fly, or move with grace and you know it.”

“They are graceful for what they are.”

“Yes.  I guess that’s true.  For what they are but I don’t know how they can stand being that thick.  Their footsteps sound like mountains falling, every time they take a walk.”

“We are wispy?  Is that what you’re trying to say, Aie?”

“No.  We are light and ethereal.”

“That too,” snickered Jasper.

“If a bad man approaches us can I take him?”

“Be my guest and if you send him to Fairy, put him into the pit.”

“See, now you’re making sense.”

“Let’s meet Rita, come on.”

Jasper Kingsley…Thirty-one

” He took it pretty hard,” said Raif, wiping the last dish.  “You were kind of mean.”

“I am mean.”

“You’re not.  You were just trying to protect him from us.”

“That too.”

“It’s too bad.  He’s a nice guy and he’s crazy about you.”

“We barely know each other.”

“Trust me, little sister.  He is.  Too bad you can’t just have him when you’re here.  That would be the perfect setup, if only the others wouldn’t hunt him down.”

“They will and you know it, so it’s better to set him free.”

“I guess.  Sorry you have to give up so much on each side, in order to have each side.”

“What do you mean?” she asked,  setting a cup of coffee in front of him.

“Well you can’t have Tommy because we’ll get him and you can’t fall in love in Fairy because the person you love won’t want to come here.  Kind of like you’re between a rock and a hard place, don’t you agree?”

Fluff jumped onto Raif’s lap and curled up.  He ran his hands down her side and she purred but stayed completely conscious.  “She’s really over me,” he signed.  “I miss the old Fluff, kind of fed my need for being worshiped.”

Jasper spewed coffee across the table and practically fell off her chair, shaking with laughter.  “That’s…so…fun…ny,” she gasped.  You’re…need for being…worshiped.”

“Hey,” he said, wiping the coffee off the table.  “It’s not THAT funny.”

“It is,” she said, swiping at the tears on her face.  “It really is.”

 

 

Jasper Kingsley…Thirty

“Wow, little sister, what did you do to Aie?”

“Nothing, why?  We went out to lunch.”

“Well, something happened to her, that’s for sure.  She’s a bit off and I kind of like it.  She seems…confused, but in a good way.  Do you know what I mean?”

“You mean she’s thinking?”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” he said, flapping his hands at her.  “She’s thinking… about things.”

“You can be such a jerk sometimes.”

“Why?  What did I do now?”

“She THINKS all the time, she’s just introspective right now because she’s fitting new ideas and experiences into her idea of what life is all about.”

“I thought you just went to lunch,” he said, staring at her.

“We went to lunch with a human.”

Raif started laughing.  “No way.  Aie would never do that.”

“Well she did and she liked it.  That’s what she’s thinking about.”

“She liked it?”

Jasper nodded.  “She wants to go again.”

“Now you’re just making things up.”

“Ask her yourself.”

“I will,” he said softly.  “What’s going on, Jazz?”

“Nothing.  I had a luncheon date, she popped in and I asked her to go with me, so that we could spend time together.”

Fluff walked into the room and kept going.

“She didn’t fall over or faint,” said Raif, shocked, staring at the cat.

“She has a new man in her life.  Al is in love with her.”

“Tommy’s cat?”

“That’s the one.”

“She loves his CAT, more than she loves me?”

“Looks that way.”

“What’s happening to my world?” sighed Raif.  “Everything is going in different directions.  The women in my life are acting so…I don’t know.”

“Oh, poor baby,” said Jasper, patting him on the shoulder.  “Kitty doesn’t go unconscious the second she sees you and Aie is reassessing her point of view on humans.  You are having a very bad day, brother of mine.  Let me make you a sundae.”

“Okay,” he said.  “Lots of chocolate syrup and some cookies, please. The thin ones with the chocolate stripes.”

There was a knock on the front door.  Raif opened it and waved Tommy inside.

“TOMMY’S HERE MAKE HIM A SUNDAE TOO, PLEASE,” he yelled toward the kitchen.

“Hey man,” said Tommy.  “Why is your sister all up tight about me getting killed if I hang with her?  Who is going to kill me and why?  I don’t get it.”

“Well, she’s right,” said Raif, dropping onto a soft, comfy blue chair.  “The more fairies who know about you, and your relationship with Jazz, the higher the risk.  They might fairynap you and keep you in Fairy until they use you up, or just kill you.  There’s no escape.  Once you’re there, you’re there.  Time moves differently in Fairy and you could never come back to this world because it wouldn’t be here.”

“But why would they do that?”

“Because they can.  Because it’s fun.  Because everyone is bored.”

“Seriously?” asked Tommy, rubbing his face with his hands.  “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Not from your perspective, I guess.  But we live a very long time and we like toys.  Humans are toys.”

“Toys?”

“Pretty much,” said Jasper, handing them each a huge sundae.  “Toys.  That’s what you are to us.  Playthings.”

 

 

Jasper Kingsley…Twenty-eight

Jasper met Tommy in the hall.  He looked down and sighed.  She spent a few minutes explaining what was going on and they went their separate ways.  She liked him.  She was attracted to him but she could get him killed and besides, Raif was right, he would be old and dead before she even had her second glass of morning pear juice.  It was never a good idea for the two different species to mix, at least not long term.

“I could take him to Fairy and extend his life but I hardly know the guy and he’d never be able to leave, so that’s just out of the question.  He could bring Al for Fluff but Al would have to stay there forever as well.  And Fairies hate cats, since they’re the only things that can catch them,” she said, to no one in particular.  “Knock it off,” she continued, still mumbling to herself.  “Go buy some steno pads and a couple of journals and play with those for a few days.  Write it all down.”

“Plan on writing a book by hand?” asked the young girl behind the counter.  “Lots of journals, that’s for sure.”

“No, not really.  I just like paper,” said Jasper.

“Me too,” she said excitedly.  “My mom thinks I’m insane but show me deckled edges and I have to have it.  I love how it looks and feels,” she said, closing her eyes to better enjoy the moment.  “And there’s so much you can do with paper.  Tear it, rip it, color it, dye it, paint on it, and write on it, of course,” she laughed.  “Ah, see, now you’ve got me going and I think I’m going to have to buy a journal just like this,” she said, holding up an environmentally safe, plain, unlined, thick creamy paged journal with deckle edges.  “I just fell in love.”

“My name’s Jasper.  What’s yours?”

“Rita.”

“I like the way you think, Rita.”

“Thank you.  Always nice to talk to a kindred spirit.”

“What did you say?”

“I said, it’s always nice to talk to someone with the same interests.”

“Yes, you’re right.  Kindred spirits.”

“That will be one hundred and forty-five dollars and seventy-two cents.”

Jasper put two one hundred dollar bills on the counter and waited for Rita to put the journals into a bag.  Then she handed the girl twenty dollars and said, “Please, get one of these books for yourself, on me.”

“Oh, no.  Thank you but I could get fired for that,” said Rita, smiling.  “Very generous and kind but I’m afraid that’s against the rules.”

“Then take this one,” said Jasper.  “It’s bought and paid for,” she said, pulling out a pen and writing, TO RITA…FROM JAZZ.  “Now it’s just a gift.”

“I don’t know what to say,” said Rita, her eyes getting glassy.  “What a nice thing to do.  Thank you.”

“Kindred Spirits,” said Jasper, smiling.  “Have a nice day.”

“I get my lunch break at noon tomorrow, if you want to stop by and join me,” said Rita, shyly.  “We can eat right over there,” she added, pointing to the small cafe in the back of the bookstore.

“I just might do that,” said Jasper.  “Thank you.”

Jasper Kingsley…Twenty-six

“Why do you say things like?  To confuse me?”

“What are you confused about?  You’re half and half.  You can’t BE one or the other.  And people love you, so what’s the problem?”

“It’s impossible for you to understand.  You don’t know what Fairy is like, so your opinion doesn’t actually count.”

“You’re right.  I don’t know anything about Fairy.  But life is life, right?”

“No.  It’s not.”

“Explain it to me.”

“Impossible.”

“Who do you have here?  Except me, I mean.  You have friends and family in Fairy.

“I do have friends here and it’s not about that.  I don’t want to give up my family and friends but I don’t want to be a prisoner either.  I don’t want to play their never-ending games, watch their cruelty and viciousness.”

That stuff is everywhere.”

“Not like it is in Fairy.”

“I thought you were going to change that.”

“I thought so too but I didn’t realize I’d have to give up half of myself to do it.”

“Do you actually like anyone?”

Jasper thought about it.  “Sometimes, I guess.  Not often.  Too much hatred and meanness.”

“I’m not like that.”

“I said, sometimes.”

“Why do people love you?”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.  Seriously.”

“I have absolutely no idea.  I never understood why.  Surely, it’s not my sparkling personality, or my ability to rip into people.  Unless they consider those traits desirable and believe me, I don’t think they do.”

“You’re very defensive.”

“You don’t know me.  I mean, you’ve been here for what…three seconds so…”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“You’re in danger just because I pay attention to you.”

“And you’re just telling me now?” he chuckled.

“The fact that you can laugh at that shows exactly how much you don’t understand.  In Fairy you’re considered my pet.  I can do as I please with you.  Kill you, if you annoy me.  You have no rights, not a single one.  You’re nothing but a disgusting human, pathetic, unfinished, still climbing out of the ooze.  Your lives are short and unimportant.  You mean nothing.  You are worthless, except as toys, slaves and amusement.”

“Not too friendly then.”

“Go home.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.  Get out now.”

 

 

 

Jasper Kingsley…Twenty-six

“You have to come back,” said Byron.  “Oh, hello Tommy.”

“Byron,” said Tommy, nodding at him.

“I’m not coming back and you know that.  I’m sorry Bryon.  I can’t live there full time and give up my human side.  I won’t do it.  I’ll stay here and if things don’t work out…”

“You’ll what?  Come home?”

“THIS is just as much my home as Fairy.”

“It’s not.  You know it’s not.  Their magick is dead.  Yours is alive.  You won’t be able to contain it.”

“I will try.”

“You’ll suffocate.”

“Thanks for stopping by Bryon.  I love you and I’ll miss you but I’m staying here.”

“I won’t let you go.”

“It’s not up to you.”

“I’ll be back.”

“From the movie?”

“No, from my heart.” And he was gone.

“Are those diamonds real?” asked Tommy.

“Yes.”

“Wow.  Don’t wear them around here or you’ll be mugged or killed.”

“I don’t think so but thanks for the warning.”

“I’m assuming you’re…well, rich, so why do you live in a place like this?” he asked looking around.  “I’m here because I can’t afford anything better but you…”

“Me, what?”

“Can live in a mansion.”

“And why would I want to live in a mansion?”

“I guess because you could.”

“Okay, you made your point!,” said Raif.  “Now knock it off and come back.”

“Hi Raif.”

“Tommy,” he said.  “Nice to see you again.”

“Same here.”

“Jazz.  Enough.”

“Go away, brother of mine or…”

“Or what?  You’ll leave?  Go hide somewhere else?”

“I’m not hiding.”

“Sure you are.  You’re afraid of your power, so you hide in a place where you don’t have to deal with it.  You’re my sister,  I’m asking you to come home.”

“I can’t.  Not right now.  I need time to think.  It happened so fast.”

“Fast?  You’ve known you’re entire life that you would have to choose.”

“I know.  It just seemed to happen fast.”

Raif put his arms around her.  “I know.  You didn’t expect it to happen at the Ball.  No one did, but when Byron was announcing your position, well, everyone wanted to know if you were choosing Fairy.”

“It’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair.  One day everything is fine and the next day…”

“It isn’t.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.”

“Just give me a few days, Raif.  Come back then and we can talk.”

“Three days.”

Jasper nodded and he disappeared.

“They seem to love you a lot,” said Tommy.  “A lot of people would kill to be loved like that.”

“You don’t understand.  You don’t know Fairy.”

“I might not know Fairy but I do know love when I see it,” he said, pouring her another cup of coffee. “No one’s stopping in to ask me to come home.”

 

Jasper Kingsley…Twenty-five (I think I have the numbers mixed up but this is the next chapter, so we’ll just go with it.)

“You’re right,” said Jasper.  The cookie is stale but I can’t tell if I dunk it.”

“I know,” said Tommy,  “I dunk them all the time. And what’s with the plain sheets?”

“My mood has been less than festive the last two days.”

“Politics?”

“Always.”

“Well, as the feminists say, ‘Everything is political.”

“That’s the truth.”

“It is,” he said, passing her the box of stale cookies.

“Why do you hang around my apartment?  You know what I am and how I am, so what do you want?”

“I came over looking for my cat and found you instead.  Your gorgeous, intelligent, interesting, fun, you have a strange family and even stranger friends and you have great sheets.  No one can ask for more than that.  What do you see in me?”

“You’re gorgeous, you’re not shocked by my life, family, friends, or my strange cat.  You make my sheets happy and you make coffee and know about cookies.  I haven’t met any of your friends or family, so I can’t speak to that particular issue.”

“My cat likes your cat.”

“There is that.”

“So, you’re staying on the human side?  What will happen to you if you never go back?”

“What do you mean?”

“Will you become more human?  Will your fairy half atrophy? Or, will nothing change at all?”

“Nothing will change, although, the more I live on the human side, the more traits I’ll pick up and, if I stay here, I won’t have any need for my fairy self.”

“I don’t think that’s true.  You can’t deny half of yourself forever,” said Tommy, taking her hand.

“Well, I guess I’ll find out, since I’m here with no intention of going back.”

Fluff walked in, followed by Al.

“Hey, Fluff, we’re staying here for a long time.”

“I know,” said the cat.  “Everyone is talking about your disappearance.  Byron is stunned and trying to calm things down.  Raif is trying to laugh it off and Aie isn’t saying anything.  You caused quite a stir.”

“I’m sorry Byron has to…”

“Clean up after you?” said Fluff.

“He shouldn’t have made me choose.”

“You knew you would have to do it someday.  You’ve put it off far too long.  That’s why no one takes you seriously.”

“Who doesn’t take me serious?”

“Everyone.  Well, not Byron, of course, since he’s blinded by love.”

“He doesn’t love me that way, Fluff.  We straightened that out.”

“Yeah, no.  He lied.  Anyway, I’m still going back and forth.  Al can’t go to Fairy, so I’ll probably be staying with you most of the time but I’m not giving up Fairy altogether.”

Tommy was grinning, he ran his hands through his thick blond hair, and said, “Talking cats, who would have ever thought…talking cats.  Man, life is full of surprises.”

Jasper Kingsley…Twenty-two

“WOW!  you clean up nice,” said Tommy, staring at Jasper, who just appeared in front of him.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?  What are you, five years old?”

“Party was a bust then?”

“It was a BALL, not a party, there’s a difference.  And yes, it was a bust.  Is here any coffee?”

“I’ll make some,” he said.  “You look, I don’t know, amazing, I guess.  That dress is way better than the net thing you were going to wear.”

“Have you EVER wondered what it would like to be a frog?  WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT WHAT I WEAR?”

“I’m just telling you that you look beautiful and no, I have never once been turned into a frog,” he said, smiling.

“If you don’t stop annoying me, you’ll find out exactly what it’s like to turn green and hop around.”

“How will I know if I what I’m going to say will annoy you?” he asked frowning, a mug hanging off of his finger.

She kicked off her shoes and threw herself onto a kitchen chair.  “How much longer?”

“It should start dripping in a second,” he said.   “You can put your tongue under there but I think you might be sorry later, third degree burns, or at least second.”

“She threw a spoon at him.”

“You guys are really into throwing things at people, aren’t you,” he snickered.

She threw a fork.

“What’s up?  I can see that you’re upset, just tell me,” he said, putting a cup of coffee in front of her.  “I’m really good at listening.  Kind of, anyway.”

“I’m not going back to Fairy.”

“Ever?”

She nodded.

“That’s big.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I had to decide which side I was on.  Human or fairy.”

“I didn’t know there were sides.  I’m sorry,” he said, handing her a cookie.  “I think it’s stale but if you dunk it, you won’t notice.”

“Maybe later,” she said, taking his hand.  “Wanna see my new sheets?”