Who I'm Today?
1
The small house at the end of the narrow street was always quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet.
It was the kind that made people hold their breath.
Eighteen-year-old Jasper Mariano stood in front of the cracked mirror hanging on her bedroom wall. Her dark eyes stared at the reflection looking back at her.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
"You look fine," she whispered to herself before forcing a smile.
It looked convincing enough
That was all that mattered
Growing up, Jasper had learned an important lesson very early in life
No one cared if she was hurting
Her family wasn't wealthy. They struggled every day just to make ends meet. Bills piled up on the kitchen table, arguments echoed through the thin walls of their home, and exhaustion consumed everyone around her
Love was never openly spoken about.
Hugs were rare.
Praise was nonexistent.
Mistakes, however, were always noticed.
Mother
"Why can't you do anything right?" her mother would snap.
Father
"Stop being so sensitive," her father would say whenever tears threatened to spill from Jasper's eyes.
Over time, she stopped crying in front of people.
At school, things weren't much better.
Her classmates laughed at her old shoes and worn-out uniform. Some whispered insults when they thought she couldn't hear.
Others made sure she did.
Jasper endured it all silently.
She buried her feelings so deeply that even she couldn't recognize them anymore.
Every morning, she put on her school uniform, wore her practiced smile, and pretended she was okay.
But she wasn't.
For months, strange things had been happening.
She found notes written in her notebook that she didn't remember writing.
Sometimes, she would lose hours of time without explanation.
There were moments when she looked into the mirror and felt like she was staring at a stranger.
At night, sleep never came easily.
Memories she couldn't understand haunted her dreams.
Voices filled with anger.
Loneliness so deep it felt suffocating.
Jasper sat on the edge of her bed and pressed her hands against her temples.
A pounding headache settled behind her eyes.
Then came the familiar feeling.
Like the world around her wasn't real.
Like she wasn't real.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Her breathing became uneven.
"Not again," she muttered.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.
"𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦"
The voice wasn't loud.
It wasn't frightening.
But it wasn't hers.
Jasper froze.
The room became silent once again.
Her heart pounded violently against her chest.
Had she imagined it?
Before she could think further, her mother's voice echoed from downstairs.
Mother
"Jasper! You're going to be late for school!"
She quickly grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.
Breakfast was the same as always.
Silence.
Her father read the newspaper without looking at her.
Her mother focused on preparing for work.
No one noticed how pale Jasper looked.
No one asked why dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
No one asked if she was okay.
Jasper wasn't surprised.
After all, they never had.
Walking toward school alone, she watched groups of friends laughing together.
Something twisted painfully inside her chest.
What would it feel like to have someone who genuinely cared?
Someone who noticed when she was struggling?
Someone who stayed?
The thought disappeared as quickly as it came.
People always left.
People always disappointed.
That was simply how life worked.
As she entered her classroom, whispers immediately followed.
"Here comes the weird girl."
"Did you see what she wore today?"
Jasper lowered her head and walked to her desk.
She had become an expert at pretending not to hear.
The school day passed painfully slowly until the final bell rang.
Exhausted, Jasper walked home under the darkening sky.
Halfway there, dizziness suddenly overwhelmed her.
The world spun.
Her vision blurred.
The last thing she remembered was collapsing onto her knees.
Then—
Darkness.
Far away, she heard a voice.
Calm.
Protective.
"𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗬. 𝗜'𝗟𝗟 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦."
Jasper's eyes widened.
Who was that?
And why did it sound like a part of her had answered?
Jasper slowly opened her eyes.
The sky above her had darkened, painted in shades of deep blue and black. Streetlights illuminated the nearly empty road.
Confusion immediately settled in.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
"What happened...?" she whispered.
She pushed herself up from the bench she was sitting on.
A bench?
The last thing she remembered was collapsing on the sidewalk while walking home.
Her heart raced.
She checked the time on her phone.
8:47 PM.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Her breath caught in her throat "No... no, this can't be right."
School had ended at four in the afternoon.
Where had the last four hours gone?
Panic rose inside her chest.
She quickly looked through her phone. There were several missed calls from her mother and a few text messages.
Mom: Where are you?
Mom: Don't make us worry.
Mom: Come home immediately.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Jasper stood up with trembling legs.
"I don't remember..." she whispered.
Her hands shook as she made her way home.
The moment she stepped through the front door, her mother's angry voice echoed through the small house.
Mother
"Where have you been?"
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Jasper froze.
"I-I don't know."
Father
Her father looked up from his chair.
"What do you mean you don't know?" he snapped
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
"I was walking home and then..." Jasper paused, trying desperately to remember. "I can't remember anything after that."
Mother
Her mother's expression hardened.
"Stop making excuses."
Mother
"Then tell us where you were!"
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
"I don't know!" Jasper shouted, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
Father
Her father sighed heavily.
"You're becoming more difficult every day."
The disappointment in his voice hurt more than anger ever could.
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Jasper lowered her head.
"Sorry."
Without another word, she walked to her room and closed the door behind her.
The tears she had been holding back finally escaped.
Why couldn't she remember?
Why was this happening?
She sat on the floor beside her bed, pulling her knees close to her chest.
The room felt too quiet.
Then she noticed something unusual.
Her school bag was open.
She frowned.
She was sure she had zipped it before leaving school.
Slowly, she reached inside.
There, between her textbooks, was a small notebook.
She didn't recognize it.
With shaky hands, she opened it.
The first page contained neat handwriting.
"𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦, 𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡"
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Jasper stared at the words.
"What?"
She turned the page.
Her heartbeat quickened Page after page contained notes.
Some described places she had apparently visited.
Others contained reminders.
You need to eat properly.
You haven't slept well in days.
I won't let anyone hurt you.
Jasper's breathing became uneven.
Who wrote this?
At the bottom of the last page, there was a signature.
— Riya
Jasper's eyes widened.
Riya?
She didn't know anyone named Riya.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her head.
Images flashed before her eyes.
Fear.
Loneliness.
A voice saying, "You have to be strong."
Then another voice.
Confident.
Protective.
"I told you not to worry"
ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ
Jasper clutched her head.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
Silence.
Then—
"Someone who has always been here"
Jasper froze.
The voice sounded clear.
Not from outside.
But from within.
Tears filled her eyes.
Was she losing her mind?
Or had a part of herself been trying to protect her all along?
That night, sleep refused to come.
She lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Questions filled her mind.
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