Light shines through the window, warming up my face. My eyes flutter open to see Tris staring at her bikini clad body. "what are you doing?" I question groggily
"I'm getting fat" she huffs grabbing the tiny amount of fat that sits on her flat stomach.
"you're insane, you weight like 90 pounds" I roll over pulling the blanket over my head.
"well if I am going to look good in this bikini, I need to be thin and I'm brinking on obese" she states
I throw the blanket off my body "you are no where near obese, you are skin and bones!" I half shout
"well I better look good there is no way I am letting that waiter see me in a disheveled state" she says
"the waiter? From last night? He's like 22!"
"you're point?"
"my point is you're thirteen!"
"what because you're sixteen you think you have a better shot?"
"I don't want a shot" I lie back down
"why not he's hot and it's not like we're in the middle of London there isn't a lot of choice." she turns around examining her butt
"I fear for the next generation" I state getting out of bed. Tris's tan skin looks a little orange in the light of the room, she ties her thick brown hair up in a messy bun.
"I'm heading to the pool" she says walking out of the room.
I begin to get ready showering then throwing on black skinny jeans and a plain purple v-neck tee shirt. I walk over to the book shelf picking out 'Peter Pan' as a child my mother never let us read it or watch any of the movies, she said that they were ridiculous and we didn't need our minds filled with such poppycock. What does that even mean? Poppycock.
I sit on my bed and begin to read. I'm not two pages in when my mother walks in.
"what on earth are you reading?!" she shrieks
"a book" I say quietly
"what have I told you, this story is forbidden! It is nothing but lies and poppycock!" she yells snatching the book from my hand and walking over to the book shelves and taking all the other copies.
"but why?" I ask her
"because I said so!" she informs me angry
"that is not a legitimate reason!" I shout
"I don't have to have a legitimate reason! I am your mother and my word is final!"
"what are you hiding?" I ask calmly
"nothing, you just don't need this filling your head" she says quickly standing in the door way she turns to look at me "your sister is at the pool, you should join her." with that she was off.
What she had said sounded more like a demand than suggestion. But I don't want to go to the pool. I walk down the many hallways towards the passage way, I walk up the stone steps and enter the dusty room once again.
I glance around the room noticing a lamp on the wall, I turn It on and the room is illuminated. In the far corner of the room there's a coat hook with a top hat on it and a blazer.
I walk over placing the top hat on my head. I look around the room and see a dust covered mirror against one of the walls. I wipe the dust off and gaze at my refection my blue eyes look dull in this light and my long caramel hair is in my face but the top hat looks dashing. I smirk, before turning my attention back the the chest.
I open it pulling out the dress and placing it down on the floor. I pull out the Cardigan I had discarded the night before, it was small meant for a young girl. I put it along with the dress, under the cardigan was a picture in a frame. I lifted it up it was a family mother, father, two sons and a daughter.
I looked at the picture the youngest of the children was holding the teddy bear, I dug through the chest and found the bear, it is the same one.
"hmm" I say aloud to myself I turn the frame over and pop the picture out. Written on the back in black ink is 'Mary and George Darling with children Wendy, John and Michael, 1920'
"Darling? That's Daniels last name" I say to myself
"indeed it is" says Daniel from behind me I freeze and turn around.
"I'm sorry, I-I just found this place I didn't mean to intrude" I spit out quickly, standing up
"don't worry, I don't mind, in fact I was hoping you'd find this" he smiles glancing at the hat on my head. I quickly pull it off, looking down at my feet.
"I'm sorry" I say again he uses his pointer finger to lift my chin.
"like I said don't be, I was hoping you'd find this just like your grandmother you are, full of wonder and a sense of exploration and adventure." he smiles widely
"you got all that from me finding a room?" I question
"well look at where you are compared to your sister." he says
"oh." I say
"follow me" he states leading me back out of the room and down the spiraling stairs back into the small room. He sits down in the chair and gestured for me to sit on the arm of it, I do as told.
"I believe it is time you are told a story" he picks up the book from the ground "but before I do you must swear never tell your mother I told you" he looks me right in the eye
"of course" I say
"indeed" he states "where to start, did your mother ever tell you her maiden name?"
I shake my head, I had never really thought about it before.
"well her maiden name is Darling, that makes her Helen Darling, your grandmother Jane Darling and great grandmother Wendy Darling"
"the girl from the picture" I say
"precisely, now my father was Jane's younger brother, they were very close." I nod not quite sure where this is going.
"well my grandmother used to tell me these fantastic stories of a boy by the name of Peter Pan and a magical land called Neverland with pirates and mermaids and the indians" he paused for a second "now as a child I thought these nothing more than stories that I wished to be real with all my heart.
As I grew older I began to think that these things were just stories, but I longed for them to be true. My father for most of my childhood wrote this book recalling the adventures he claimed to have. Everyone deemed him a lunatic with a great idea, his book sold marvelously, producing the house you see here. But he was deemed crazy and everyone believed these just stories."
"but that's what they are" I interrupt "just stories"
"wouldn't your mother love for you to think that, you see the original writer of these stories was not of our family but a close family friend, Wendy, John and Michael told him of the great adventure they had with Peter and the Lost boys, his crew so to say, and and he wrote it all down." he looked down at the book in his hand running his fingers across the cover.
"Peter came back years after taking Jane to Neverland, in order to take my father, he stayed there much longer than any girl Peter had ever taken, upon realizing this he came back years later to see my father, only to see he'd decided to grow up too.
You see Peter ran away from home when he was young because he heard his parents speaking of him growing up this frightens him, so he found his way to Neverland and can never grow old. Now in saying that neither does anyone else on the island.
Peter seeing my father grown, upset him but my father loved Peter too much to allow him to feel like that so he gave him me. And that was the start of my adventure."
I can't believe what I am hearing "so you're saying that this is all true and that my mother doesn't want me to know out of fear that I will be taken to a magical land by a child."
He smiles at me "sounds odd I am aware"
"do I even get a choice? Or am I going to just be kidnapped by a child?" I exclaim
"child? No not anymore" he says
"but you said he can't age"
"not while in Neverland, but from his many journeys out here he has aged, when Wendy was a girl he was maybe thirteen, Jane fourteen, my father he was fourteen or fifteen and me around the same if I had to guess I'd say he has visited us once or twice without our knowledge he is probably sixteen or seventeen now"
"so over a course of one hundred years he aged three maybe four years, I'd say that's not bad." I laugh
"you still don't believe me?" he questions
"no, why is it that this just happened to skip my mother?"
"I am not sure maybe Peter was tired of having feelings then getting hurt"
For the next few hours he tells me the stories of Peter Pan and Neverland, giving me the book when he is done.
"I do hope you are not like your mother" he says as I am about to leave.
"what do you mean?"
"she believed with all her heart and waited for Peter until she ran out of hope, he never came, I believe that it broke her heart."
I nod "don't get my hopes up, got it" I walk out of the room hiding the book under my shirt and rushing back to my room.
"what are you hiding?" Tris questions as I close the door clutching my stomach. I pull the book out from under my shirt,
"the family secret" I say smirking.
I tell my sister of all the fantastic adventures and the stories of Peter Pan, Daniel had just told me. When I am done she laughs, "that is what mom is concerned about? That such BS" she laughs harder
I reach in my pocket and pull out the coins. "look at these though, remember the treasure!" I say
"they probably made those to make the family believe" she rolls her eyes "I see why mom didn't what us to know"
"and why is that?" I question placing my hands on my hips
"because you believe!" she laughs again "faith, trust and pixie dust they're just words from stupid stories, they mean nothing"
"whatever, think what you want, I chose to believe" I say sitting down on my bed
"it's pathetic you know" she says from across the room
"what's pathetic?" I question
"your need to be somewhere other than reality, you buy into our cousin, second cousin what ever he is, crazy stories" she scoffs pulling clothes from her closet
I put the book down on the bed beside me "did you ever think that there may be a reason why I don't want to be in reality" I spit
She scowls at me "oh yeah? And what's that?" she smirks
"you!" I say my voice slightly raised, her smirk leaves her face "ever since you were born my life has gone to hell! It has been nothing but a Tris show, the world has to revolve around you! You're nothing but a spoiled brat, I have to be pushed to the side so mom can keep up with your needs. And you know what's worse when dad died, you got even worse even more demanding and needy. We were all hurt Tris all of us, but no I had to stiffen my lip and keep quiet while mom tended to your bratty ass!" I shout
Her eyes begin to fill with tears and I realize what I have just said a single tear rolls down her cheek as mother comes in.
"girls what's going on I can hear your shouting from the other side of the house." she states as Tris rushes by her.
I rush out the door and watch as she runs down the hall "Tris I'm sorry I didn't mean it!" I shout after her. But she doesn't stop. "I'm so stupid" I whisper to myself.
"what happened?" questions mother
"nothing we're just fighting" I say
"about what?" she questions again
"things" I respond
She looks at me and gasps "Daniel told you didn't he?" I shake my head "he did! That lying-lying ugh!" she yells clearly avoiding swearing she turns around but looks over her shoulder "stay in your room." she commands before closing the door behind her.