Jasper

Flora woke up exhausted, as usual. She dragged herself out of her bed, and to the bathroom. She turned on the tap, splashing some water on her face. She felt the cool liquid drip down her neck, and sighed. Drying her face with a towel, she glanced up into the mirror, and quickly looked back down. Her hazel eyes were dull, blonde hair hanging in dirty clumps. She hadn't brushed her hair or changed her clothes in days, still wearing the same old sweatpants and t-shirt as she had been for the last week. She stumbled to the kitchen, and opened her fridge to grab the milk. Holding it carefully, she flipped it over and looked at the expiration date. June 15, 2020. June 15th? It's June? Last I remember it was March. She thought, forgetting that she had ripped down every calendar in her formerly beautiful apartment. The shades had been drawn shut, the only lights on were her nightlight and the fridge light. Even her phone was on the lowest brightness, and had barely been looked at or unplugged in the last couple of months. Ever since she had lost her boyfriend in a car crash a month ago, she hadn't done much except for eat and sleep, occasionally looking at her phone or the TV. Anything she used to enjoy was now dull and boring to her, even watching her favorite YouTubers, or movies, or TV shows. Anything she saw just went right through her brain anyways. She put the milk back, and stumbled back to bed. Too numb to cry, she picked up a small blade on her nightstand.

"I'm sorry, Mother. I know you wanted me to hang on but I just can't. I miss him. I miss my Jasper. I'm so sorry. I... I can't..."

Hours later, Flora woke up. She once again stumbled out of her room, but collapsed on the floor outside her bathroom. She heard her phone buzz once, twice, three times. Again it buzzed, once, twice, three times. Flora looked up. I can't...

Flora woke up to the ground shaking, and a thick blanket over her. She groaned, and opened her eyes a bit. Where am I? Who are these strange men? What's my mom doing here? She watched her mother's lips moving as she talked to the men, tears rolling down her mother's cheeks. She tried to lift one of her hands, but found herself too weak to even try. Her mother suddenly looked down at her, and gasped, not that Flora could hear her. She sobbed in relief, hanging onto Flora's hand like it was the only thing keeping the both of them alive. Flora attempted a weak smile, and then the world went black.

Jasper? Flora gasped as her boyfriend strode confidently towards her, wearing a white suit, his hair combed to the side as it had been on their first date. He held a red rose, twirling it between his fingers like he used to do with his pens, the way Flora could never learn. She was always jealous of him for that, and often distracted him so the pen flew across the room. But now, the only emotion she felt was bittersweet joy. She ran at him, noticing that she felt lighter, like she was made of clouds. Jasper opened his arms wide, and Flora jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. Jasper lifted her up and kissed her, then put her back down.

"Jasper! I've missed you!" She cried. Jasper only smiled, and held her face in his hands. "Why did you have to leave me?" Jasper took her hand in his, and led her to a pure white staircase. He led her down the stairs, and through a wall of fog. They stepped out into a hospital room, a ragged girl laying on a bed. Flora peered at her from across the room, wondering who this was. Jasper led her closer, until they stood at the foot of the bed. He pointed towards a clipboard stuck to the footboard. Flora leaned down to look at it, and jumped back up with a gasp. "That's me?"

With a closer look, it was in fact Flora, seemingly dead. A look at the heart monitor though, showed that her heart was at least beating. She looked up at Jasper. "If I'm not dead, how am I here? And how can I see you?" None of these questions were answered, as he led her back through the wall of fog and up the staircase. Flora began to feel sleepy, and stumbled a bit as they walked. "Jasper please. Talk to me." He stopped, and looked down at her. He picked her up and carried her to a bench, and set her down. "Jasper... please..." Jasper smiled, and kissed her forehead.

"Love her like you loved me."

"Ma'am? Ma'am? Can you hear me?" A nurse leaned over Flora as she blinked open her eyes.

"Yes... How long was I asleep?"

The nurse bit her lip. "Oh... I'd say a week? Maybe 5 or 6 days." She looked at the clipboard. "Yep. 6 days since you came. Your mom found you passed out on your floor. The paramedics said you'd been there a while before she found you. The doctors were surprised you were still alive, let alone the baby."

"Baby?" Flora looked at the nurse, very confused.

"Oh!" The nurse looked slightly guilty, as if she had told Flora something she shouldn't have. "You didn't know?"

"Didn't know what? What baby?"

"You're pregnant! Isn't that wonderful?"

Flora gasped, and remembered Jasper's words. Love her like you loved me. Her. The baby. "I'm... I'm gonna be a mom."

"Yes! It's so wonderful! Just think, if you had been there for another day, another few hours even, your baby might not have made it. Strange how the world works."

"Yes. Very strange."

"So, any ideas what you're going to name it?"

Flora thought for a minute, then smiled. "I'm going to name her Jasper."