[ partly dialogue ]
[ stand alone ]
// previously known as "Hey Neighbor | A Dialogue Story\\
When a mute foster kid moves in next door to a deeply insecure homeschooled girl that lives in the middle of nowhere, them meeting is slim even when the cl...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
He fingers the petals to an orange hydrangea from the patch in front of his feet as the wind blows a melodic tune through the forest.
Jasper leans back against his hands, staring at the water. It ripples every once and a while but is relatively calm. His eyes try to find the same monster that he'd envisioned below the depths on a very stormy night months prior, yet can only find the outline of rocks and the imperfect walls of the lakes interior.
He finds himself letting it engulf his legs despite the flashbacks bringing an onslaught of anxiety rushing over his head. Goosebumps travel the length of Jaspers arms and he begins feeling the compression of panic against his chest once more.
Nothings wrong. I'm fine. I'm still on the shore.
He repeats these three phrases over and over again, allowing his lungs to fill with oxygen until they can't take anymore, pausing, then easing out every exhale on counts of five.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Jasper breaths in again.
The sun shines warmly against his face, against the surface of the water, and reflects into the foliage around him. Everything sparkles. Birds chirp and the trees sway.
Eventually he finds himself in a calmer state of mind, calm enough to allow his back to fall against the luscious green grass. It envelops him. It encases the sides of his arms, tickling his skin.
That night had given him unfathomable nightmares of drowning. Many times Jasper would wake quickly in a fright, unable to tell where he was or how he had gotten there. Many times the nightmares would follow him to consciousness. He would feel the sensation of floating, of being on the verge of a heart attack, and the panic.
He'd cough and cough and cough but the phantom water sitting in his lungs would never come up.
This would concern many of the doctors that'd come in randomly for blood work but he always passed off their offer of a mental health screening. There was no point in it. It wasn't his mind making up these images because it all happened. The dreams were real. The water encasing their bodies wasn't something they could just take away.
Eventually, the nightmares stopped.
Things did get better. Things changed. The doctors were wrong.
Now Jasper lies awake with Mother Nature enjoying as she breathes.
He smiles.
He smiles at the shadow that approaches, now blocking out every part of the sun. It doesn't bother him, because they had been wrong. Everyone had been wrong. Jasper opens his eyes. "Hey Firefly."
🥀
⚠️ (stick around for the next chapter of what's to come after this, and what my plans are) ⚠️
I can't believe I'm saying this guys.
The books over.
This is the last official chapter.
What did you think?
What's going through your mind?
I apologize for the long awaited updates. I find myself without motivation a lot of the time when it comes to writing because I work a lot and don't get off until 11pm but I didn't give up. I pushed on every time I saw one of your guys' comments saying how much you love my characters, how much you wanted more.
So here it is.
I hope the ending was everything you wanted it to be and more. I had been debating the last couple of weeks how I would end it, if I should leave it open ended for peoples minds to interpret what it means or if I should blatantly explain in words.
I kind of struck somewhere in between where it makes it obvious yet still up to interpretation in a way.
I feel like I have a difficult time killing off characters because I just grow so attached and I know the followers I gain get attached to these characters as well. I didn't want to be one of those people that left people sobbing in hurt because those kind of books leave me feeling a little empty and I feel the world needs a little more happiness in it.
I know I'm a smaller author that's just getting started really, despite being apart of this app for years now, since I was in middle school.
I've grown so much and gained knowledge on how to write, how to entice people, and how to make them fall in love with your work. Sometimes for that you need the occasional cliff hangers and I know I've been a fiend for them, especially in this book, but many of you have stuck with me from beginning whether it was from the beginning of this one, of "Save Me, Stranger" or even "Audrey's Secret"—which is so close to getting 500k views. (Thank you so much btw).
I couldn't get where I am today without you guys.
I would also like to point out I don't earn money from this stuff, from wattpad, and I'm okay with that. I want there to be good stories out there that people don't have to pay for because I know a lot of us struggle with money, with poor housing, and things like that.
My page is a safe place for everyone to enjoy and I can't wait for what the future book holds.
Again, I appreciate every single one of you.
I love you guys.
Don't forget to
vote comment share follow me add to your reading list
