This is my first story from Jasper's POV and I hope I did him justice. Enjoy ;)
Why?
I can tell how who was feeling when. It was simple; I knew their emotions; I'm an empath. I knew that Sally was feeling sad at three o'clock in the afternoon. I knew I could easily make her happy with a dose of tranquility. But it wasn't the same with that slippery why that'd escape me time after time. Why?
Why did Sally feel sad? I would never know. She's sad, so I give her happiness. That's like a doctor giving his patient painkillers if she walks in with leg pains. Temporary relief from her pain. But what if it's a broken bone? What if it's a snake bite? What if it was only a muscle cramp and that's all the patient really needed? What if Sally was simply feeling down after watching a sad movie? What if her boyfriend broke up with her? What if her parents divorced? I could help with the first one, but with the other two, I'm perfectly useless. Sure, there's temporary relief, but how does that really help? It doesn't. I can only help if I know the why; the diagnosis.
I knew Alice was feeling unhappy for a while now. I fed her every bit of contentment I had. It didn't work. She shut me off for days, sometimes going as far as not talking to me for a week or more. She wouldn't talk to me; explain what was going on. I had never felt more helpless… useless.
My empathy doesn't allow me to delve behind the reasons for people's emotions. Who, when, where, how, yes, but why? No. And that's the most important part; I can't help people without it. And even now, as I sit alone in my room, I can't help wondering if Alice wouldn't have left if I knew why.
Why?
Reviews = love. Simple and fair.