So I saw the 2003 movie again, and since I'm older, I've been thinking about it for a long time. Someone once wrote about how this pairing is the ultimate angst pairing. And they're right. This pairing makes me so sad. I love their story, but Peter Pan and Wendy will never end up together.
She was not good enough to get him to stay with her.
But, I then got this idea while watching the ending that maybe Peter didn't forget about Wendy, maybe she simply just grew up, and since he was a childhood story, she was no longer able to see him. Just a thought.
Please, read and enjoy. But, I almost cried while writing this. Fair warning.
R&r!
"Don't forget me!" The retreating figure grew dimmer and dimmer into the sky. The presence of the stars outlined his form, showing he was still there. Barely.
Had Wendy known it was the last time she would ever see Peter Pan...she would've changed everything. She would have done it all differently.
You see, there was a problem.
As Wendy sat there, all those years later, writing her book and finishing the final pages, she realized she had something that no one could ever fill.
A hole.
Right in her heart.
It wasn't always there. It started out small, so small she didn't even realize it. Then, it gradually grew larger. It wasn't consistent, it was there one day, gone the next.
It would be so present at certain times, usually night, that it was unbearable. The ache in her chest, the realization that there was something missing in her life. She would sit in my chair, hand clutched to her heart.
Right now, it was bad. Wendy lay there in bed, nineteen years of age, single, living on her own, tears streaming down her face. Each breath brought the dull ache to the surface. Gasp. Another stab of pain.
Wendy shook her head and got up, heading towards her kitchen. It was small, nothing fancy. Just a little place to do her own cooking. It was an apartment, right across the street from her childhood home.
The Darling girl knew how to cook and clean. She knew how to iron, sew, wash, sweep, and anything else a lady of her age should know. The only difference was, the other ladies had someone to support them.
Wendy just wasn't ready for that. She couldn't find anyone else. Anyone else that would ever fill that hole.
Wendy worked as a secretary for a publishing company, but secretly, she had spent her time there picking up on hints and tips for writing. She had then gone and written her own novel.
The problem was, the thought of a girl writing a novel at this time was laughable. So, Wendy had been exchanging letters with the publisher, under the name of Wendell Erring.
'He' explained that he had a disease that made him very sensitive to light. An albino, but 'he' was very interested in getting a novel published. 'He' and the publisher reached a deal. The publisher, Wendy's boss, would read the finished novel, then write Wendell and tell him if he likes the story or not.
That way, they would never have to meet face to face, and Wendy would have a chance.
Anyway, it was that stupid hole that kept her awake. It was the stupid hole that drove her to write her novel in the first place. The problem was, the last few sentences. Wendy read and reread it. It still just didn't make sense to her.
But Peter Pan forgot about Wendy.
That was the problem. He didn't forget. He would never forget about her. She knew that. He would have never forgotten her. Ever.
He wouldn't have forgotten her.
But maybe, maybe she forgot about him.
Of course, not really forgot. She still remembered everything about him. She could still taste him on her lips. Like, the wild. He had smelled like fresh air and leaves. It was odd, but it was him. He had her hidden kiss.
He would always have it. He would never realize he was her first and last love. No one would ever mean as much to her as he did.
But, the problem still was there.
She had let go of him.
That moment in the window, when she was hovering there, half inside her house, half holding onto his hand, was when she had chosen.
His hand, so steady and supporting, was the last trace of him she had. She had chosen between him and growing up.
It hadn't been easy, but she couldn't live with a hand in both worlds. She had to pick. She picked her family.
When she had let go of his hand and stepped into her room, it was like saying goodbye.
Peter had known. That's what had killed her the most. Peter Pan had known that she would never see him again. He had known, but he had loved her enough to let her go. He knew what she had needed was her family.
Sometimes, Wendy hated him for that. Maybe she would have done some things differently. Maybe she would have stayed with him, if she had known she would never see him again.
That's why the hole was there. It was the constant reminder that by giving up Peter, she had given up a part of her life.
What Peter had gone through. He probably did visit her. She knew he would. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl that changed everything...who gave him feelings. Jealousy. Hate. Envy.
Love.
He would fly from Neverland, probably accompanied by Tink, to her old house. Wendy could just imagine him, how he couldn't resist peeking in.
Maybe she was up. It didn't matter. Since Wendy had agreed she was ready to grow up, she was no longer able to see him. He could scream his head off, but his cries would be silent to her. Did he hover over her, brush her hair from her eyes?
It didn't matter. He was invisible to her.
A childish thing of the past.
Gone.
Maybe he was outside right now, watching her. Filled with regret for letting her go. Filled with sadness that Wendy couldn't see him anymore. Crying, big tears. What if he could no longer fly?
It was all her fault. Stupid hole.
Wendy curled on the floor, tears rolling down her face. "Peter." She whispered, then repeated it, over and over, like a prayer. She continued mumbling it until she was too exhausted to even speak. She just mouthed his name, chanted it silently until she finally collapsed.
When she woke up that morning, the hole was almost gone. It would probably come back in a few weeks, but at least she had managed to push most of it away.
Wendy made her way back to her typewriter, ready to just leave her writing and mail the finished transcript. It could be altered later anyway. Just as long as she got it out.
The papers were already stacked neatly next to the typewriter, all ready to be mailed. There was a final page in her machine. It was so normal, that Wendy was about to just rip it out and throw it away, when a single line of black ink caught her eyes.
Directly centered on the paper, carefully typed by someone not her, was a few simple words.
I could never forget you.
There was a small acorn lying on it's side on top of her manuscript.
Wendy picked up the simple thing and pressed it to her lips. She stared out her window for a second, wishing she could see the figure that hovered inches from the glass. She still remembered every detail about him, but she wondered if he changed at all.
"I'll never forget you either." She whispered to the invisible boy she prayed was nearby.
Sigh, I hate sad stories. I always get so frustrated. That's why Peter Pan bothers me so much. Argh.
Well, I really wanted to write this, and it only took me like an hour. So, please give me some feedback. Seriously love this pairing. Probably my favorite Disney couple. Maybe I'll write an entire story about them someday.
R&r!