Late April 1964:

It was a typical chilly night in the depths of Detroit, where nothing could be heard besides the pounding of raindrops against the solid asphalt road.  Young Michael Jackson, sporting a heavy coat and a rather large hat, walked along the road, enjoying the silence of the night. Being the most famous youngster in the nation took a toll on the young child, so silence was one of the things he appreciated the most when he would sneak out of the house in the middle of the night.

Sleep was something that didn’t come easy to him. He spent most of his night tossing and turning, nightmares haunting him. Although he never remembered half of them by the time he woke up, they gave him deep troubles that even haunted him throughout the day.

Michael sighed and dug his hands deeper into his slack’s pockets, wanting nothing more than a good nights rest.

Starting off so young in the music business, Michael missed out of many things that many children took for granted throughout the world. But Michael wasn’t complaining, mainly due to the fact that his father forced it upon him. His father, who is called Joseph, is a rather harsh man who is a perfectionist. Although Joseph is a critical and demanding man, Michael gets his loving and caring personality from his mother, Katherine. Katherine has always been more loving towards Michael, knowing that fame and Joseph take a heavy toll on him. Along with his mother, his nine other siblings also play a big part in his support system.

Since the earliest of memories, Michael has always been practicing to perfection his dancing and singing routines, in hope that one day he and his brothers would make it big time. Eventually over time, his father’s dream came true and he and his brothers were signed to Motown. Motown was an up-and-coming recording label for African American talents, who gladly took the Jackson family after witnessing their magnificent talent.

Although it was a happy moment for them, it soon to a down hill turn for Michael. Not having any freedom or time to hang out killed him and he craved for nothing other then to hang out with friends, besides his brothers, who he had a close relationship with. 

He continued traveling down the road in hope of clearing his busy mind from his recent nightmare. As he strolled along, he came across one of the neighborhood’s playgrounds. A bright smile illuminated Michael’s face as he sprinted towards the playground, running straight through lifeless puddles, instantly springing them to life.

After minutes of sliding on the slippery slide and climbing the monkey bars, Michael approached one of the many tubes that wrapped around the structure of the playground. With a smile clearly present on his face, he dove into the tube headfirst, only to come in contact with an unseen figure.

“Ow!” screamed a feminine voice, causing Michael to jump back in surprise.

Michael sat in the tube motionless as his eyes took in the sight before him. It was a young girl, probably around his age of seven. She had flawless dark skin that was covered mostly with a worn down blanket. Her long dark hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail and her straight across bangs stuck to her forehead, still damp from the rain that was still slightly pouring through the cracks of the tube. Her lips were full and a vibrant shade of natural pink, which could be seen through the darkness of the night.

The young girl winced in pain as she rubbed the top of her head, where Michael’s head collided with hers. Most kids would have been hurt by the force of contact that they both inquired, but being one of the youngest siblings of nine helped Michael with his physical and emotional toughness.

“I-I’m sorry,” sputtered Michael as his cheek turned a bright shade of red. “I-I guess I wasn’t really paying attention and didn’t see you here.”

The young girl tried to hide the wince that was forming on her face, due to the pain that was bubbling into the back of her head. She felt light headed and tried her best to remain calm, but couldn’t help but feel very nervous about how awful she felt.

“Are you okay?” asked Michael as he reached towards her.

The girl saw his arms reach out for her, making her instantly recoil from him, leaning all her weight against the side of the tube. She watch with wonder as the mysterious boy recoiled as well, obviously not trying to harm her.

Finally finding her voice, she spoke as calmly as she could muster, “I am fine.”

Michael ducked his head and looked at the ground; embarrassed by the way this conversation was turning. After a while of the silence, Michael was debating whether to leave or not, but immediately stopped at the sound of her voice.

“You aren’t from around here, are you?” questioned the girl.

Michael’s head flew up at the sound of the girl’s voice. There was something about it that was so peaceful and calming, almost like it was a melody that was eating at his soul.

Michael chuckled and nodded his head. “No, I’m actually from Gary, Indiana.”

The girl scrunched her eyebrows together, forming a straight line. “Indiana? Wow, so you must travel a lot, huh?” she asked as she watched his every move with curiosity.

“You have no idea,” Michael muttered under his breath.

“Well, welcome to Detroit!” said the girl with a bright smile, showing off her beautiful white teeth. Although they were crocked, Michael thought they were it most magnificent smile he had ever seen.

“Well thank you,” he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’m Jasmine by the way,” said the girl as she extended her arm towards his.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” cooed Michael as he shook her hand. “My name is Michael.”

“Cocky name for a cocky guy,” joked Jasmine with her smile widening.

Michael chuckled at the girl’s humor, mesmerized by how she was treating him like a normal person. All Michael’s life, he just wanted to be normal and to be treated like a normal person. Sadly that all changed recently, but Jasmine was different; something that was intriguing him to stay with her.

“Touché,” chuckled Michael as he leaned against the tube.

Silence filled the air besides the quiet patter of raindrops against the top of the tube. Occasionally a clap of thunder would sound out, but it was calming for Michael. Finally, Michael couldn’t take it any longer and started another conversation with this mysterious girl.

“So Jasmine,” Michael started off, instantly grabbing the attention of her. “Are you from around here?”

Jasmine nodded her head no. “No, I’m actually from New York City. My family and I just traveled her recently for some local concerts, hoping to catch the attention of others.”

Michael felt himself tense up for some odd reason. “Oh, so you perform?”

Jasmine chuckled under her breath. “Yeah, my siblings and I do.”

Michael smiled. “I knew that your voice was beautiful. I should have added it up and known that you were a singer.” He said making her smile herself. “Are you any good?”

She scrunched her nose up and shrugged. “No, but my siblings are good.”

Michael nodded his head, but mentally knew that she was being modest. He could tell just from the past few minutes that she was lying about it, but decided not to bug her about it.

“How many siblings do you have?” Michael questioned her, intrigued to get to know more about her.

“Two older brothers and two younger brothers.” She said with an overwhelmed face.

Michael laughed out loud already knowing her pain. “I know how you feel,” he stated with a smile.

Jasmine smiled at him, her eyes glowing as she said, “Five brothers and three sisters sounds worse if you ask me.”

Michael’s eyes turned to the size of saucers at her last comment. How does she know who I am? Michael wondered to himself.

As if hearing his thoughts, Jasmine leaned closer to him and spoke in a whisper, “You know I haven’t been living under a rock. I happen to be in the music business myself, but even if I wasn’t… You and your family are everywhere!”

Michael looked into her eyes deeply, trying to figure out why she didn’t scream when she saw him or at least bring it up sooner. He didn’t know why, but he did know that she was different, but not in a bad way… A special way.

“Why didn’t you freak out when you saw me?” asked Michael, completely dumbfounded by the situation. Not once in all of his fame has he had someone know who he is, yet walk by him or not ask for a hug and autograph.

Jasmine shrugged. “I knew from the second I met you that you were Michael Jackson.” She stated as if it was the most obvious thing. “But, I mean you are still a human being. I guess you were just Michael to me.”

Michael’s eyes shone onto the girl, feeling an unbelievable moment soar through his heart. There is hope, hope that there are more people like Jasmine. People who will treat him like a normal person, which he was truly deep down. He couldn’t believe his ears, but he knew in his heart that this girl was truly a good friend.

“Thank you,” Michael said with a beaming smile. “My whole life, I have never been treated as Michael in public. I’m always Michael Jackson… It really means a lot to me to finally have someone, that isn’t family, treat me like the true person I am.”

Jasmine smiled. “No problem.”

Michael sighed and rested his head on the tube. “So Jasmine,” he said with a smile creeping on his face. “What are your dreams in life?”

Jasmine chuckled. “That’s rather random,” she stated with her hazel eyes meeting his.

Michael wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You will learn over time that I am indeed very random.”

“Over time?” Jasmine repeated with a smile, making Michael slightly blush. He prayed to God that the darkness would cover his face in the shadows of the tube, so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment.

“What? You realize I’m famous and now you want nothing to do with me?” asked Michael in a teasing tone. “You are indeed a strange one, Jasmine.”

Jasmine chuckled and fiddled with her hair, a nervous habit that she has had for quite some time now.

“So, are you going to tell me about your dreams for the future?” asked Michael with a sly look plastered on his face.

Jasmine sighed and looked him in the eye. “I’m not sure if I can trust you with that information.” She said in a serious tone.

Michael picked up on the tone, instantly softening his joking manor. “I will make a deal with you,” Michael proposed.

Jasmine raised an eyebrow and peeked over at him. “Oh this should be good,” she teased.

Michael ignored her comment and continued on. “We will play a game. You ask a question, and I have to answer it honestly. Then you have to answer the same question you asked honestly.”

Jasmine shifted uncomfortably, something that Michael noticed right away.

“-And nothing that we say in the tube, must leave the tube.” Michael added on, softening her tense look instantly.

“Okay,” she agreed in a grumble.

Michael smiled despite his efforts not too. He finally got her to trust him, and he was not going to take this for granted. There was something different about her and he wanted to figure out everything about her, and why. He didn’t know why, but there was some sort of connection between them that he couldn’t identify, nor did he want to.

“Okay,” stated Michael as he straightened his posture. “Why are you a tube in the middle of the night?”

Jasmine looked everywhere but Michael’s eyes as she thought of an answer. She didn’t want to tell Michael the truth because she was scared that it would scare him off. She couldn’t describe it but she loved being around Michael even though they barely knew each other.

“Don’t even think about lying to me, I can read you like a book.” Stated Michael with a cocky smirk on his face.

Jasmine couldn’t help but smile. “Okay fine… I was hiding.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “You are going to have to elaborate on that.”

Jasmine sighed and fiddled with her hair. “I was hiding from my father.” She admitted with a frown. “He used to be in a band when he was a teenager, hoping like an performer would that he would make it big time. That never happened for him though and he felt like his whole childhood and teenage years were wasted, especially since his parents never helped him achieve his dreams. So when my brothers and I were all born, he started our career from the second we all could speak. Day after day, month after month, year after year, we practiced song after song after song until it was down to perfection. Never once did he ask me or my brothers what we actually wanted.”

Michael felt his heart ache for her. He somewhat knew what she was going through and knew how hard it was to actually tell your father what you actually wanted.

“And what is it that you want to do?” asked Michael with curiosity dancing in his eyes.

Jasmine couldn’t help but smile at her goal in life—her dream. “I have always wanted to be a teacher. I might not be the smartest person in the world, but I love to work with kids.”

Michael smiled. “I can see you being a teacher.” He agreed. “What grade would you teach? And what subject?”

Jasmine wrinkled her eyebrows together in thought. “I don’t care what grade, but elementary school. And I want to be a English or music teacher.”

Michael opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off by Jasmine’s voice.

“That’s three questions!” she complained. “I answered them honestly and now it is your turn to answer the same ones.” She demanded with a smile creeping on her drying face.

Michael looked out at the sky while thinking how he was going to answer the questions. It wasn’t raining anymore but the sky was still very cloudy and grey, threatening to spill its contents at any second. He couldn’t help but enjoy the April breeze that blew against his bare face, cleansing it and making his refreshed.

“I was hiding from my father, as well. My siblings and I all call him Joseph though. If I were to tell you who Joseph was to me, I would tell you he is our family’s manager—nothing special to any of us.” Michael sighed and closed his eyes before continuing. “He is harsh on us and is a perfectionist as well, but he beats us if we don’t do it right or his way. I know he means the best, but he just honestly doesn’t know how to love.”

“M-Michael, I’m so sorry.” Stated Jasmine as she placed a reassuring hand on top of his. What they both didn’t know at that second was that they both felt the same think: a spark. Not just sparks like what you hear about in Nicholas Spark’s novels, but fireworks that were sparking through each other and sending a tingling feeling into each other’s system.

Michael blushed and pulled his hand away at the same time Jasmine did. He couldn’t help but replay that feeling over and over again in his head. Embarrassed, Michael tried to change the topic to something that would get his mind off what just happened.

“And my dream is to be a performer, but not just any performer. I want to make a difference for music, for people around the world who could listen to my music and instantly feel better. I want to be legendary, changing the way people think and change the way that music feels to others.” Michael said each word so sincerely that it made Jasmine feel his lust for this improvement.

“Well if anyone in the world is going to make that change, it is you, Michael.” Jasmine said with a smile.

Michael couldn’t explain how much Jasmine’s words meant to him. He was at lost of words, but felt the need to say something to her for her kindness. Before Michael could say anything, a crack of thunder sounded off, startling both of them. 

Jasmine chuckled and reached behind her, grabbing an extra blanket and throwing it at Michael. “I knew I would need an extra blanket tonight,” Jasmine said with a smirk.

Michael giggled and wrapped the blanket around himself. “Thanks,” he said with a blush. He couldn’t believe himself for how many times he has blushed in the past hour. Michael was a shy one in front of girls, but he hated to show it so often.

“No problem,” she said as she curled into her blanket, with lightning flashing across the sky.

Comfortable conversations filled the air as they told each other practically everything they could think of about themselves. They felt no need to hide anything from the other, for they felt a friendship blossom on this stormy April night. They enjoyed the other’s company for they both felt that they were deprived from their childhood for both of their singing careers. They also talked about fantasies they had imagined in their futures, which included things that both knew weren’t humanly possible. But they enjoyed just making their own unique imaginary world, which they could both escape to magically too.

Suddenly something caught Michael’s eyes. “Jazz, what is that around your neck?” Michael asked as he gazed at the beautiful necklace that lay perfectly around her neck.

Jasmine smiled and touched the dear piece of jewelry that was always around her neck. It was a silver locket, which belonged to her grandmother. It was a tradition to pass it down from generation to generation, each adding their own unique touch to the jewelry. Her grandmother made the locket with her own hands, before passing it down to her mother who added her favorite quote. Jasmine didn’t know what to add to it, so she just put a saxophone in the locket, a typical instrument and sign of Jazz, which was her nickname.

After explaining it to Michael, he figured out how dear it was to her and felt saddened once he learned of Jasmine’s mother’s death two years ago. He could tell that she was very close to her and missed her dearly, but she tried her best to cover it up.

Jasmine handed it to him and he examined it with detail. He opened it up and looked at the beautiful saxophone, which looked like a ‘J’ standing for Jasmine. He then read what her mother added on to it. “Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from Heaven to the soul.”

Michael didn’t know why, but that quote really struck a cord in him. Jasmine explained how her mother was a saxophone Jazz performer in New Orleans when she met Jasmine’s father. They fell deeply in love and married, but never had a solid home. She gave birth to all her children while following him around the nation as he tried to get signed to a recording company. Both of them shared a love for music and that is why they nicknamed Jasmine to Jazzy or Jazz.

“Michael!” screamed out multiple masculine voices from what sounded like down the street. Although it was raining still, they could hear the voices perfectly, causing their current conversation to halt.

“Who is calling you?” asked Jasmine in a hushed whisper as she peered outside.

Michael also peeked around the corner to see his brothers running around frantically looking for him. Obviously his bed filled with pillows didn’t fool them.

“I-It’s my brothers.” Michael said under his breath as he watched them continue on down the street. Once out of earshot, Michael said, “I better get going…”

He looked over and saw the painful look on Jasmine’s face at the words that just let his mouth. As much as she tried to cover it up, he knew that she didn’t want him to leave, nor did he want to.

“Your right,” she said as she looked away from him. “You better hurry before your brothers go to the police and report that Michael Jackson is missing.” She said in a joking manor, obviously trying to get Michael to think she was all right.

“Jazz--”

“Please Michael,” she said in a desperate tone. “Don’t make this harder then it has to be.”

He looked in her eyes and knew that she was hurting and desperately wanted to help heal her broken heart, but he could also still hear his brothers booming voices down the street. He felt awful after hearing how many people she loved had left her, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was the next one on the list.

“Jasmine, I had a great time—I really did.” Michael said as his eyes melted into hers.

“I did too, Mike. But, it is time to face reality. You have a career to work on and I have to travel and find a willing label to sign my family. It just doesn’t work like our fantasy land, I’m sorry.” She said as she continued to look at the ground.

Michael sighed. “Your right,” he agreed in a defeated tone. “But know that I will never forget you, okay? You taught me many things today and I shall remain grateful to you forever.”

Jasmine felt tears start to form in her eyes. She desperately tried to wipe them away, but they persistently continued to fall. “Goodbye Michael.”

Michael sighed and climbed out of the tube, heading towards where his brothers took off looking for him. He couldn’t help but have a gut awful feeling erupt as he walked further and further away from her. He was nearly across the street from the playground when he heard her amazing voice calling his name.

He turned around with a smile to see her chasing after him. She continued to have tears fall down her cheeks, which he desperately wanted to wipe away. It hurt to know that he caused her those tears, but sadly there was nothing he could do about it.

“Yes?”

She stared at him for a while, at lost at words as she opened her mouth with nothing coming out. Finally her hands went to the back of her neck where she took off her necklace and held it out to him. “Take it,” she commanded.

Michael hesitated and just stared at it.

“Take it,” she repeated. “I know you hate receiving presents, but take it as a promise that you will never tell of my secrets I told to you. Take it as a remembrance of me.” She said as tears flooded down her cheeks.

He reached forward and hugged her, wanting to never let her go. He was going to miss her more than words could describe, and even without the locket he would always remember her.

He took the locket into his hand, where he held it protectively yet delicately. “I will never forget you.” He promised her.

“And I will never forget you,” she said as she broke apart from his hug. She turned to leave but returned into his hug one last time, quietly whispering in his ear, “If any one can make a difference in this world, it is you Michael.”

And then with that, she sprinted away into the foggy and mysterious setting that was surrounding them.

Michael felt like he stood there for hours, just looking at the spot where she left him. His brothers eventually found him standing there and took him home immediately before Joseph figured out.

On his walk home with his brothers, all he could think about was Jasmine. He couldn’t believe his one friend was gone before he even really got to spend time with her. He would do anything, anything to see her again. Just to see her smile and know that she is feeling better than he last saw her would be enough to make him happy. He couldn’t believe that his one chance at normalness was over, and now it was back to the famous way of life for Michael Jackson.