A Peter Pan Story
Hannah Osgood
Chapter One
"Jez!" I heard my mom cry out in pain. I was in the kitchen, one late Saturday morning, reading the comics from the newspaper. I dropped the black and white print that was in my hand and raced to her room.
"Mom!" I shouted back, running into her room. She was in her bed, clutching her stomach, sweat rolling down her face. "What is it Mom?" I said, rushing to her side.
"Water. Broke. Call. Dad." She managed to squeeze out in between all her gasping. I held onto her hand as I reached for the phone beside her. I punched in the numbers and placed the phone at my ear. Another cry of pain came from my mother.
"Do you need water Mom?" I asked softly, the phone against my ear.
"No honey." She whispered, her hand reaching up to touch my face, then falling back down again.
"Fred's repair shop, how may I help you?" My dad's cheerful voice rang in my ear.
"Dad!" I almost shouted, shaking out of impatience and worry. "Mom's water broke and she needs to get to the hospital immediately!"
"Oh my!" He cried out in joy and shock. "I'm coming right now!" I turned off the phone and threw it on the table.
"Dad's coming." I spoke quickly to Mom, helping her up out of bed. "We need to get you ready!" I glanced down quickly at her fuzzy blue nightgown. "Good enough." I muttered under my breath. I heard her chuckle.
"I'm just fine." She tried to reassure me. I didn't believe her one bit.
"I'll go wake up Matt, that is if he isn't already awake." I babbled quickly, leading my mom into the living room and laying her down on the couch.
"You go do that." She gasped, still clutching onto her stomach. I looked at her for two seconds, then my feet were slapping down on the wood floor to my older brother's room. I burst through his door and jumped onto his bed, onto him, and shook his arm.
"Five more minutes." I heard him mutter to his pillow, using his hand to swat me away carelessly like a fly.
"No Matt! Wake up! Mom's water broke! She is in pain!" That's all I needed to say. Suddenly I was on the floor, my brother throwing on pants and a wrinkled T-shirt.
"Where is Mom?" He asked, his face tied up in worry.
"On the couch." I said softly, my chest moving up and down from the sobs that were rumbling in my throat. Matt leaned down and picked me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my tears staining his shirt.
"Mom will be just fine." He whispered into my ear. He carried me in his arms to the living room where my Mom lay, tears running down her face. Matt lowered me to the ground and knelt by her side.
"Matt." I heard my Mom mutter, but it didn't sound like her. Matt grabbed her hand and held it close to his heart. He and I both stared into our Mom's face in worry. Mom smiled. "I'm gonna be OK." She whispered, her hand shaking underneath Matt's.
Dad burst through the front door of the house and ran by my side.
"Oh Susan." He gasped, looking at her sad body and big stomach. Mom turned her head and looked at him.
"Hello Fred," she said with the slightest of ease, "how was work?" All of us broke into smiles.
"It was just fine honey." Dad said, helping mom off of the couch. "Now its baby time." He sang, helping Mom out the door into the car. As soon as Mom was safely in the passenger seat of our dark blue truck, Dad turned to look at Matt and I.
"Jez and I will take my car." Matt pronounced before Dad could even open his mouth. I smiled.
"OK then," Dad said, hopping into the trucks drivers' seat, "I'll see you at the hospital then." I waved at the truck and blew kisses as it rolled out our driveway and sailed down the street. Matt turned to me and grinned.
"Shot gun!" I yelled kiddingly as I ran to his car.
"Oh no you didn't!" I heard him shout behind me as he easily ran behind me and grabbed me around the waist.
"Let me down you big dummy!" I laughed and giggled as he carried me into the house.
"I need to get my keys, you silly child!" Matt shot back as he plopped me down onto the couch then walked into the kitchen. I rolled off the couch and walked into the kitchen behind him.
"Let's head out!" I cried out excitingly, running to the car. "We are gonna have a little baby sister or brother!" Matt and I dashed out of the house into the car, rambling off names that would suite the add-on to our family.
"If it's a girl, how about Paris or Brittany?" Matt joked, opening his car door.
"Nice." I shot back kiddingly, rolling my eyes. I sat in the passenger's seat of my brother's old Chevy.
"Let's go!" Matt cheered as he pulled out the driveway. Time passes by so quickly, almost too quickly, when I'm in the car with my brother. He and I always know how to keep each other entertained. I no time, we were walking into the hospital, joking around as always. We walked up to the front desk, Matt leading the way, and gave the nurse our names.
"Wait here." The nurse smiled and pointed to some chairs next to her. Matt and I nodded and sat down nervously as the nurse picked up the phone and started speaking in a voice that was to quiet for us to hear. I turned my body to face Matt who was staring off into nowhere.
"What about Charlie or William for a boy?" I whispered softly, picking up his fingers and playing with them. Matt smiled.
"What about-"Matt began.
"OH NO!!!" Matt and I both jumped and turned to the nurse who was still holding the phone, her face twisted with sorrow and disbelief.
"Are you OK ma'am?" I asked softly, trying to be as kind as possible. The nurse nodded her head and turned her back to me.
"Yes, I'll tell them. Goodbye." I heard the nurse mutter, then put the phone back in its cradle. After staring at the phone for a couple seconds, she turned and faced my brother and I again, her eyes filled with sad tears. "Follow me please." Matt and I exchanged confused looks as we stood up and followed the nurse down the cold, lonely hallway.
I wanted to comfort the nurse, for she kept sniffling and wiping tears away from her face the whole time we walked down the hall. Finally, we turned into a brightly-lit room. In there, I saw my Dad, and I immediately ran to him. He was crying to. I didn't know if they were tears of sadness or joy, but I knew something was going on.
"Where's Mom, Dad?" He spun me around to look at the hospital bed where my mom lay. She looked so fragile, so frail, for a second I doubted it was even Mom.
"The baby is gonna make it just fine," Dad said softly, "but Mom…well…isn't. She's…gonna…um…pass" That hit me pretty hard. Mom wasn't going to make it?
"You're kidding, right?" I said softly so my tears wouldn't start to come out. I got silence in response. I spun around and stared into my Dad's dark-brown eyes. "Am I right?" I said a little louder, the tears beginning to flows out.
"No, I'm not honey." Dad cried, hugging me into his chest. The tears were immensely pouring out of my eyes, no uncontrollable. I could hear Matt crying too, on the other side of the room. I couldn't see anything, for the tears were blocking my view. I kept telling myself to get a grip and stop crying and shaking, but my body did not respond.
"No no no!" I heard someone crying out, then I realized that it was me. There was a pain in my heart, like it was tearing itself apart, and I couldn't stop it. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare, this fear, this agony that was controlling me. I felt someone sit me down into a chair, then wrap their arms around to comfort me. I heard people mutter 'poor child' and 'such a sad little girl.' I wanted to yell at those people to leave me alone. Who care's if I'm 12? I like being young! But I couldn't.
Finally, my bawling and shaking decreased to slow tears, taking their time as they rolled down my face. I brushed them away and snuggled close to my brother who sat in the seat next to me. Tears were rolling down his sad face too, so I took the liberty of rubbing them away.
"Oh Matt." I whispered softly, curling up as close as I could get to him. It had gotten very cold in the hospital, and Matt was always very warm. I felt Matt put his arm around me, and I smiled. He always knew how to take care of me.
"Don't you two look cozy?" I heard the doctor laugh kiddingly at my brother and I. I frowned and looked away. I didn't want any adult to bother me at the moment.
"Did you see where our Dad went?" Matt asked calmly, ignoring the doctor's comment. I looked around the room. Where did Dad go?
"Your father had a business call and had to drive to his warehouse. He said as soon as you two are ready, you could go back home and he would come home as soon as possible." I looked at Matt, then at the ticking clock on the wall. It was 10pm. We had been at the hospital almost all day.
"Let's go home." I said softly, my voice cracking. I didn't realize how dry my throat was from all that crying. Matt nodded in agreement, the faced the doctor.
"See you soon!" The doctor cried cheerfully.
"Don't bet on it." I muttered under my breath. Matt chuckled, then picked me up.
"Farewell gentlemen." Matt exclaimed as he marched out the hospital doors to his car, carrying me in his arms the whole way.
I couldn't feel the ride home, and I felt myself doze off into a dream once or twice. Matt was silent, probably concentrating on the rode so he too wouldn't fall asleep. When we pulled up into the driveway, I was about to pass out from exhaustion.
"Goodnight Matt." I mumbled to my brother as I slid out of the car and walked slowly to the house. I heard Matt chuckle.
"You look drunk, you silly 12 year old." I heard him mutter under his breath.
"Be…quiet you goofy…17…year…old." I shot back, my words all slurred together. Somehow, I made it inside to my room, where I threw on a tank top and pajama pants, then crawled into bed. My heavy eyelids shut into a dreamless sleep as I hugged my warm bed spread around me.
"Goodnight…" I sighed, reality fading away from me.
Chapter Two
I woke to fingers brushing against my chin. I thought it was Matt waking me up to go to the hospital in the morning, or maybe Dad to help him make breakfast. I hoped it was Mom, gently waking me up so I could leap into her arms and know that the whole hospital affair was just a nightmare.
My eyes fluttered open to stare into the face of a boy my age. He had sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes that seemed to go on forever. The boy looked back, a curious look spread on his face, and a tiny little smile perked up the edge of his light pink lips.
I thought I was still dreaming. I reached out my hand to touch the boy's beautiful face, and he shot up into the air, laying flat up against my ceiling. I gasped out loud, my mind twisted in confusion. The boy could fly! I shot up straight in my bed and stared at the flying boy. A bright orb of light spun around me, then shot toward the ceiling where the boy was.
"Jez? Are you alright?" Matt's voice echoed down the hall. I looked at the boy, then at my closed door. I could hear Matt's feet pat-pat-pat on the wood floor to my room. When I turned my head back to the boy, he was flying out my bedroom window. I hid under my blanket and tried to pinch myself as hard as I could.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I whispered to myself. I heard a ripping sound from my window. I peeked under my covers, but nothing was there. Just my normal window, opening and closing from the breeze outside.
"Jez?" My brother opened my door softly. I turned to look at him. Behind him I saw a black figure slip into the drawer in the hall. I gasped again. Matt was instantly by my side holding my hand. "Are you OK Jez? What happened?" I looked into my brother's worried face.
"No, I'm OK Matt. I just had a weird dream." I said softly, patting his hand with my other, trying to reassure him that I was just fine.
"OK then, goodnight." He said back softly, giving my hand one more pat, then walking out my door to his own room. I exhaled deeply and fell back into the pillows on my bed. It couldn't have been a dream. It seemed so real. The boy. He flew. That was impossible, yet so vivid. I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep. The only thing that was stuck in my head was that boy.
I couldn't go to bed for a long time. I stared up at my white ceiling where the flying boy had been. My mind kept telling me that the boy was never there, that it was just a dream or illusion.
But my heart couldn't believe that. I knew that I wasn't dreaming. I had seen him. He had stroked my face. I had felt the fiery burn of his warm hand against my soft cheek. I longed to see his face again. I wanted to see his sparkling green eyes and sandy blonde hair. I wanted to see his unusual clothes that looked like they were sewn from the bottom of the jungle floor.
I moved my gaze to the door that led to the hall. The drawer in the hall trembled softly, like something was trying to escape from inside of it. My memory flashed back to the unusual black shape that I saw what seemed like hours ago.
I shivered and looked back at my blank ceiling. I closed my eyes tightly and waited for sleep to overcome me. Seconds, to minutes, to hours passed before I faded away into a dream.
I was on a pirate ship in the middle of a beautiful dark blue ocean that shined with the beating sun. I had no memory of getting there, which was odd, yet I felt like I belonged there, like it was my destiny or something. But even if destiny had brought me here, I felt an on controlling pain in my heart. I had no idea why I felt that way, but it seemed the right way to feel. I looked at the scenery in front of me. I saw sad-looking boys tied together in the center of the mighty ship, with powerful looking men surrounding them, evil smiles spread across their quite horrifying faces. All the little boys' faces were stricken with fear. I tried to run and help them with whatever was going on, but my feet wouldn't move. I tried to call out to them to reassure them that everything was fine, but my mouth couldn't move. I just stood there, small and helpless, while little boys were being scared to death by mean pirates. I heard a soft slap against the floor, and everyone, including me, turned their heads to the front of the ship. There, was the meanest looking pirate of them all. He had greasy black hair and a curved, silver hook for his left hand. Across his grimy face was a long, tangled mustache that half-covered his wicked smile. The powerful pirate leaned over a figure that was laying, face down, on the ground in front of him. The pirate laughed cruelly, and kicked the figure in front of him. The figure groaned and flipped over, his face towards me. I gasped. It was the boy in my room. The boy stared at me sadly with his brilliantly green eyes, then turned away. The hooked pirate smirked and grabbed the boy's neck and yanked him up to his feet. I heard a couple of cries and gasps from the boys tied up that was quickly hidden by the other pirates' laughs. I tried to move from my spot again, but my feet were still planted to the floor. I couldn't stand watching this torture anymore, but my stiff head would not turn away. The black haired pirate leaned in close to the flying boy, my flying boy, so that his long, greasy mustache touched the boys chin.
"And now." He said wickedly, raising his hook. "You. Shall. Die."
I woke up screaming, my body shaking on my little bed. I heard my bother run in and pin my shoulders down, trying to calm me with words that were meaningless to me. I couldn't stop. The boy was dying. I couldn't stop it. No. No. No.
"Jez!" I heard my brother cry out over my sobs. I tried to calm down, to forget the dream that I just had. The dream, correction, the nightmare, that was all it was, nothing else.
My sobbing ceased to a tiny sniffle in a matter of minutes. I wiped away my loose tears with the back of my hand. I turned to look at my brother who was staring at me, his face tied with worry and concern. I tried to make a little smile as I grabbed him and gave him the best bear hug I could. Matt hugged me back stiffly, but seemed to relax a little to the sight of me being OK.
"I'm fine Matt, trust me." I tried to say as calm as I could, but my voice still cracked from all the crying I had just done. Matt pulled up out of my hug and stared at me with his deep brown eyes.
"You aren't fine Jez. I woke to you screaming and crying your head off. Was someone in you room or something? If there was anyone just tell me who they are and I'll beat the crud outta them and-" Matt cut off his sentence, his hands covering his face. I patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"No Matt. I promise. No one was here. I just had a nightmare." I shivered as the image of the evil pirate filled my head. Matt's lip curled up into a small smile as he stood up and stretched.
"Well, as long as you're OK, I had better start breakfast. You want bacon?"
Chapter Three