The Fall
"Every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead."
J.M Barrie
The children no longer believe like they use to.
Neverland is cold and silent. The wind no longer whispers, the birds no longer sing and the animals no longer scamper around.
The mermaids vanished quite a while ago. They vanished together as a clan, disappearing under the crystal water. No one has seen them since. Marooners' Rock is now deserted.
Pixie Hollow is just as vacant. Fairies have been dropping like flies.
I am scared…so scared. I know my time is coming just like the trees know when to say goodbye to their leaves in the fall. My time is nearly here. I lift my face and close my eyes.
A voice of a youngster implodes in my mind. It roars in my ears and it echoes throughout the forest.
"What is this? You still believe in fairies? How old are you? Five? Get a grip of yourself…fairies don't exist!"
My heart leaps forcefully in my chest. Is it beating with anger or fear? I do not know.
"You have no idea," I whisper to nothing. I know the children on earth would never hear my pleas. "We are so real. Oh god we are so real. And you are killing us! You are killing Neverland."
I want to cry out in anger and frustration but I don't. Instead I sit down on a tree branch and wait. I wait to die. I pick off some petals from a nearby flower and spread it around me. If I am to die, I want to die gracefully. I just don't want to be another insect that gets trodden on by the symptoms of growing up.
"No!" Another voice implodes in my mind, roars in my ears and echoes throughout the forest. "I don't believe in fairies. I don't!"
…
I fall.
A face blooms above mine. It is Peter. My Peter.
"TInk….oh Tink…"
His voice sounds like a song.