Magic

Books are magic. Did you know that? Books are full of magic. They can take you to different places, meet new people, and even eat and smell new food. But of course, dear reader. All of those are just imaginary, right? There is no way that these stories can come alive. Dear reader, I am here to tell you a story, a story that is much alive and real. The story of Jasper Hechinks.

Jasper Hechinks was a jolly fellow. He was born in a wealthy family. He had the access to all of the books in the world. And he was a reader. He would read books after books. But each time, the books wouldn't satisfy him. He learned new languages such as Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Arabic, Greek, and even Hebrew to read foreign books. But none of them would make him happy. Oh, of course, each book would give him a temporary satisfaction. But it did not last long. After he read each book, he would shake his fist in anger and shout, "Is this all?" I'm sure you can understand his frustration.

Finally, Jasper stomped his foot, and declared that he would not read a single book ever. This was when he was in his 20s. Years have passed, and Jasper had stick to his promise. Instead of using textbooks to help him at school, he would listen to long boring lectures. Instead of using research papers, he would go find the topic himself to research. You could imagine all of the hardships he went through. Dear reader, would you go long lengths for a stupid promise? Of course not. This is how you waste time and get expelled. And that is exactly what happened to Jasper. The school had expelled him for bad grades. Poor Jasper, but he still did not give up on his promise. He was still wealthy, so he took his gold coins and went to a nearby pub. While he was drinking his favorite rum, he overheard two gentlemen. "Ya, I heard there was a bookie that could do anything ya want!" "What? Impossible. There aint no book like that!" Jasper came over to the table where the gentlemen were talking. "Say, is there really a book like what ye said?" Jasper asked with curious eyes. The two gentlemen looked at him funny. "Har, of course there is! Ye just gotta go to Verlim Island! That's where da book is! But caution! Nobody has returned from that island!" The first man said.

Jasper thanked the man and ran towards the harbor. When he reached there, he asked a man who was a captain of a ship called 'Lady Hog' if he could go to Verlim Island. "Verlim Island?! No way! I aint gonna be responsible for your death!" The captain shouted. Jasper kept pleading and pleading. Finally, the captain shook his head and agreed. Now dear reader, would you let a crazy man who just asked if you could take him to an island famously known for people disappearance? I hope not, I hope you rejected anybody who has asked for you something this mad and stupid. Jasper got in the ship and eagerly waited to reach Verlim Island.

The trip to the island was boring and smelly. Jasper could smell vomit, urine, and waste. It was so smelly, that Jasper wanted to vomit, urinate, and discharge himself. But sooner or later, the ship came to a halt. The captain woke Jasper up and said, "Ye, your treasure is waiting for you. Get up. I will come for ye in 3 weeks. If ye aren't here by then, I will leave." Jasper got up, exicted, and ran towards the shore. He thanked the captain and walked towards the island. Now dear reader, we must first understand how this island looks like. Imagine an island. Did you imagine it with sandy shores, coconut trees everywhere, maybe a monkey somewhere, and native tribes? You did? Well, Verlim Island is nothing like that. The shores are full of rocks, the trees aren't even trees, actually, there are no trees. And the island stretches very far. There is no native tribes. There is no cute monkey eating a banana. In the middle, there is a large mountain. And if you have good eye sight, you could see a little cave on top of that mountain. And if you guessed it, that is where this book is. Jasper had good eye sight. So he saw the cave right away. He took his walking stick and started his journey. He walked towards the mountain when his foot got pierced by a sharp thorn. He picked it up. The thorn was white, very white. In fact, it wasn't a thorn. "MOTHER MARY, TIS A HUMAN BONE!" Jasper cried. Indeed it was a human bone, for this human had too died while looking for the book. Jasper looked ahead and saw thousands of other white thorn shaped objects (which obviously are human bones, uh duh).

It was night time by the time Jasper reached the mountain. "I mustn't waste time" Jasper said to himself while climbing the mountain. 3 days has passed, and Jasper was half way there. His stomach growled for he had not packed anything. He ate the snow that was lying on the mountain floor (yes, there is snow in this island) and melted it to drink water. By the 10th day, he had reached the top. He saw a pile of flint and a sign that said, "USE THIS TINT TO CREATE FIRE. BUT BEWARE, WHOEVER ENTERS THIS CAVE WILL NOT COME OUT UNLESS THEY PASS THE TEST". Now dear reader, I hope you are sensible and smart enough to stop in your tracks, turn around, and leave the island. But unfortunately for our fellow Jasper, he took the flint, a knife, and a stick of wood. He made a fire in no time and walked straight into the cave of doom.

It was dark in the cave, but fortunately, the walk was short, for the cave was short. And there, a book that had a gold cover, covered in jewels, sitting in the middle. Its glory outshined the fire of Jaspers torch. Jasper grabbed the book and opened it. He flinched, expecting something bad to happen, such as the cave collapsing. But nothing happened. He looked at the book and read the first sentence. At first, there was nothing written, but slowly, alphabets were engraved. "Tis the rules of the book." Jasper read. "You must only use this book for others, never for yourselves. Whether it is bad or good, if you use it for yourself, you shall perish!" Jasper then read the second sentence. "If you touched or seen this book, you must follow all of the rules until your death. Throwing the book away will not erase anything!" Jasper kept reading. "The rules of this book is fairly easy. Keep it with you at all times, and any wish you request will be granted. But remember, those wishes must only benefit others, not you." Jasper smiled. "Tis is like Aladdin! Oh what joy!" It took only a couple weeks for Jasper to climb down the mountain.

Another week passed when he went back to the shore. The captain, awed and shocked to see him alive, welcomed him back. Jasper climbed in the ship, where a feast was waiting for him. During his trip back, a violent storm had picked the ship up. All of the crews were shouting and yelling. Jasper quickly picked the book up and said, "I wish the storm could die so that these men and the captain could be saved." Surely enough, the storm died out. That is when Jasper knew, the book he was holding was the real deal. Now dear reader, since Jasper had already made a grave mistake, the rest of the story will be gruesome and violent. I advice you not to read any further. Still here? Oh well, I warned you. Jasper went back to the same pub where he saw the same two men drinking. He approached them, holding the book. "Look! Look! I have achieved the book!" The men looked at Jasper in awe and wonder. "Lemme see!" one of the men shouted. But Jasper shook his head. "Never old man, for once you see the inside of this book, you shall have to play by its game. I do not want you to---" But it was too late, the old man grabbed the book, read the rules, and smiled. "Tis too easy! All I gotta do is make a wish for somebody else, not me!" Jasper smiled uneasily. The old man got up and walked out of the door. Jasper followed to see what will happen. The old man was walking when another man bumped into him. "Ye! You bumped into me!!! I wish you die in a hole!" The old man shouted. All of a sudden, the ground shook, and it spilt in half. The old man fell in the hole, never to see again. Nobody else had fell in. The ground shook again, and came back together. Jasper then knew, the book was dangerous.

For 4 years, Jasper had not said any wishes, nor shown the book to anybody else. He was afraid of the book. The book haunted him day and night. Jasper admitted, he regretted looking for this book. But what could he do? This book had his satisfied him. He had found the book that he had longed for. He had wished occasionally for people to prosper, but he could not do to himself. This made him go insane and depressed. He picked up the book and threw it in the fire. Jasper, now 47, had gray hair, wrinkles, and a depressed face. Dear reader, do you know what a depressed face looks like? It is a face full of sadness, despair, and suffering. Jasper took a piece of paper out and wrote a letter. " Books are magic". Jasper smiled. He could not wish for himself, but he could save others through other means. After he had finished writing, the letter shook in anger. And Jasper was sucked in the letter. Dear reader, this story is the story of Jasper Hechinks.

Dear reader, the reason why Mr. Hechinks story is so sad, is because so many of us are like him. We have all of the things in this world, but we chase after things that can only bring us sadness instead of joy. It might look new, attractive, but in the end, it will destroy us. So dear reader, I hope you know the difference between your wants and needs. I hope you understand that the fantasy you dream of is dangerous and a painful road. I only hope, I only hope.

THE END