AN: Okay so I recently watched the 2003 Peter Pan again and oh man I forgot how much I love that movie. It's one of my absolute favs! But inspiration has struck me and I'm back to my first love - the one and only Peter Pan. I have probably watched and read everything and anything I could Peter Pan related, so this is probably going to be a combination of a few medias, not just the 2003 movie. Actually it's more so going to be connected to the SyFy series Neverland more than anything as I wanted to take a new and modern approach to the classic tale and I liked the element of the orb and the origin story (even though it completely strayed from the book). So I hope you enjoy, I just want to forewarn everyone that it might take few chapters before we get to see the boy who won't grow up and Neverland but be patient because we will get there! Happy reading xx
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or rights to Peter Pan. The only thing that's all me are my OC's. Btw the very first poem mentioned is written by Reshma Ramesh, her poetry is absolutely beautiful definitely take a look at her work. Alright now onto the story...
I couldn't quite pinpoint what I was feeling as I was staring out the window watching the clouds drift on by. For so long I had wanted to go to London, yearned it actually. It seemed like such a dream come true, a place where there's a story behind every face, every picture and every building. An abundance of raw history just waiting to be discovered. I could just get lost in the adventures of rulers and peasants, Earls and aristocrats, knights and their shining armour. There really was just too much to look forward to. But what was once a dream was now nothing but a tarnished reality. For so long I had yearned to take the journey I was embarking on, but now all I wanted was the chance to trade it all for a way to erase the last two weeks of my life. If only time travel were possible...
"To Yesterday I bade goodbye
We departed with tears in our eyes
But she with a sorrowful face
Loved me dearly for all my grace
Followed me everywhere relentlessly
Reminding me of our love graciously."
I whispered numbly, still staring at those illusive clouds.
"That's beautiful. Where's it from?"
I startled slightly, not realising that the lady next to me had heard. I turned my head away from the window to have a look at her properly. I didn't so much glance at her originally when she sat down next to me. My head was too preoccupied with a million thoughts running through it. She looked like a friendly woman, someone you could easily talk to. But I was in no mood for talking, however that didn't deem that I could be rude either.
"Um. I don't know. I just heard it from someone." My mother actually, but I definitely was in no way going to mention that.
She gave a soft smile and tilted her head at me inquisitively.
"Oh. You've never been curious enough to find out?" She asked conversationally. I shook my head in response and turned back to the view out the window, hoping that it would end the small talk, but I was in no such luck.
"I've always loved the sound of poetry. Could never really understand half of it most of the time, but all the same it's beautiful. Even when you don't understand it you can still feel it. You can feel what they're saying. That's what I love about it." She remarked dreamily. I glanced briefly back at her, noticing the content smile on her face but then looked away immediately as soon as I caught her staring directly at me. She let out an intrigued hum and leaned forward almost mischievously, a certain twinkle in her eye.
"You know it's so rare to find kids your age memorising poetry. They're all so sucked into their phones these days. For which I cannot judge, our lives are practically all in our phones. It's no wonder most of us can't live without them. But I must say it is refreshing to find someone looking out of a window daydreaming, reciting poetry. It reminds me of myself in my younger days. My head was always so in the clouds...still is sometimes - or at least my friends frequently like to tell me so." She confessed light-heartedly.
Despite the numbness I felt, I couldn't help but find myself drawn to the voice of this stranger. She had such a way with words. The warmth of her voice brought a certain comfort that felt as if it could melt away any sorrows or heartache entrenched within the soul. I was never able to meet either of my grandmothers, but I could easily imagine one of them to look and sound exactly like this woman in front of me. She had quite a magnificent charm about her.
"I wasn't really daydreaming. More just like thinking...about things." I clarified, still looking out the window.
"I see. And how much are these thoughts of yours?" She asked. I frowned in confusion at the way of her wording.
"Sorry what?" I questioned bemusedly, turning to face her for an answer.
"A penny or two? Perhaps even more?" She continued with a quirk on her lips. It took me a few seconds to understand but I finally got it.
"Oh. Um. Just a few things that's happened recently that's on my mind. I'd rather not talk about it, or really think about it honestly but that's something I can't really help at the moment." I said vaguely, not really wanting to talk about anything personal to a complete stranger. She may seem like a nice old lady but I hardly knew her. There was no reason to talk about something that I wasn't ready to talk about anyway.
Her eyes softened in understanding and she gave a nod of her head to signify that she wouldn't talk of it further.
"Oh of course! I'm sorry, I can be a bit nosy sometimes. Don't mind me. Oh I don't even think I told you my name! I'm always doing that. Such a forgetful thing. I'm Jane." She introduced, pausing at the end in hopes to get my name as well.
"I'm Amelia. But most call me Lia." I replied in kind.
"What a lovely name! Pleasure to meet you Amelia." Jane expressed warmly, holding out her hand. I took it and shook it gently but found it a bit awkward as I didn't really shake hands often with people.
"Likewise. So I'm guessing this isn't your first time coming to London?" I asked, taking note of her accent. I decided to be polite since it seemed impossible to stop Jane from talking my ear off. I might as well go with the flow, plus it helped that she was a welcomed distraction from everything.
"What gave it away?" She said with a cheeky wink. "I have family in London and haven't seen them for over a year. I just got a call from my grandson a few weeks ago and he said that he is getting married! Oh you should've seen me! I was up on my toes dancing up and down in excitement. He's the first of the grandchildren to get engaged you know. It's marvellous!"
I smiled, her excitement too contagious.
"That's wonderful! When's the wedding?"
"Oh not for another six months, but I'd like to spend as much time as I can with everyone before the wedding. It's hard moving away from family. As much as I love Australia, I'm not sure that I'm going to return until a little while. What about you? What brings you to London? Looking to do some sightseeing? A little bit of holidaying?"
The smile slowly fell off my face at the question, a reminder of my situation. I fidgeted in my seat slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"I wish. Uh. No. A-actually I'm moving in with my uncle...who I never actually met before until just recently at- at the- um never mind. Anyway he has this house in London somewhere, I think it's near Kensington gardens actually. So yeah, new house, new school, new country, new everything. It's kinda a bit..." I trailed off, closing my eyes and taking a breath in.
"Daunting?" Jane filled in for me.
"Yeah." I breathed out, reopening my eyes again. "It's funny, I've always dreamed to go to London. It's always fascinated me because of all the history and everything. There's just something so romantic about it. I would dream as a little girl that I would be looking out a window to the night sky, with the stars shimmering like diamonds. The cityscape would be illuminated in gold and the buildings silhouetted in dark blue as the Big Ben chimed at midnight. I was completely and utterly obsessed with fairytales but Peter Pan was always the one that stood out most of all. I wanted to be kidnapped by this mischievous, adventure-hungry boy who would take me to a place where I never would have to grow up or have responsibilities. I could fly, fight pirates, swim with mermaids - the possibilities were endless! And perhaps I thought going to London would take me on this marvellous adventure I've always wanted." I reminisced, taken over by my dreams as a child.
"Maybe it will. Who's to say that it won't?" Jane inspired with her comforting grin.
"Well. Reality for one." I deadpanned, sobering up from my dreaming. "As much as I would like to be taken away to Neverland, I'm old enough to know that'll never happen. I've been dreaming for long enough and it's time for me to wake up now." I answered seriously, crawling back into myself and turning back towards the window.
Jane looked on in sympathy, remorseful that such a beautiful girl has had to grow up so quickly already. She paused thoughtfully to find something appropriate to say, when finally it came to her.
"Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow." She finished off softly. Jane waited patiently as I slowly turned back around to take in what she had just said. I swallowed steadily before opening my mouth.
"W-who was that?" I asked timidly.
"Langston Hughes. He couldn't be more true, you know. Always remember that dreams are the basis of life- without them, there is no true happiness. Hold fast to your dreams Amelia, no matter how hard they may seem to hold on to because in the end every single one of them counts. Don't let yourself forget that." Jane advised with absolute sincerity.
A feeling I hadn't felt in a long while grew within my chest. It sparked with a warmth that eased the ache that wearied deep within my heart. The corners of my mouth tipped up slightly. My sorrow was still weighed down in my bones, but the numbness encased around my heart had dissipated into the air.
"I won't. I promise."
AN: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you can. They make a very happy author and very happy authors love to write! :)