Peter Pan knew he would never return to Neverland as a child. The thought never came to his mind, but his heart knew it. Peter had never in his life felt so alone. He had always had somebody with him, usually the Lost Boys or Tinker Bell. He shook his head. He would find the Lost Boys here, and most importantly, Wendy would be his mother. The thought of Wendy kept Peter going.
After his narrow escape from Hook and Smee, Peter knew it was crucial to find Wendy. Hook and Smee may follow him, although he was confident the pirates were having troubles of their own. The crew deserted, after all. Hook would never capture Peter again, Peter swore it. He had to find Wendy's home.
Peter suddenly was afraid to fly. Anybody could see him in this city, if he lived here now he couldn't reveal to them that he could fly. Flying would be his secret, he decided. So, Peter began to walk the streets, trying to find something that he knew.
Unfortunately, after what seemed like hours Peter had to admit he was lost. As people began to bustle about they looked oddly at Peter. Peter's clothing was very out of place with these city people. The men mostly wore work suits, a few wore denim or trousers, and the women mostly dresses, although many young women wore pants and feminine blouses.
Peter Pan was unsure of what to do. He finally walked into a little clothing shop to ask the sales clerk for directions. For some reason Peter felt like he was being unmanly asking for directions, but he shook off the feeling.
"Do you know where Big Ben is?" asked Peter.
"Why it's just up over that way, boy," replied the clerk, indicating the opposite direction from which Peter came, "What on earth are you wearing? This is bad business, you walking out of my shop wearing that."
Peter frowned. He liked his clothing, but he was smart enough to realize it did not fit in around here at all.
"Well what else would I wear?" asked Peter.
"I'll just get an old shirt and trousers for you, boy, I've got some used clothing. I just can't possibly have you be seen walking out of this shop," said the man.
Although the man would never show it, he felt sorry for Peter. The boy seemed to have no idea what was going on, and was not acting like every other boy the man knew that was Peter's age.
Soon enough, Peter was dressed, and the man had his clothes.
"Can I at least take the hat with me?" asked Peter, suddenly unwilling to part with it.
"As long as you don't wear it," replied the shop owner. He smiled, "Have a good day, boy."
Peter just nodded and ran out of the store, onto the street. To his shock, he almost got run over by a car. He jumped out of the way in the nick of time, although the car horn blew loudly and attracted much attention. Peter felt way out of place, even wearing this clothing.
Peter did in fact see the Big Ben from where he was standing, and began to make his way into that general direction. From there, he supposed, he could find Wendy's home. If he had to, he would wait until it got dark and fly over there.
Walking the London Streets, Peter zoned out what was going on around him and remembered Neverland. His heart almost burst at the thought, all those memories poured into his thoughts. Tinker Bell entered his mind and tears rushed to his eyes, but he quickly controlled his feelings. He had to grow up, be a man, and not cry over silly memories. Peter's heart ached nonetheless.
Finally, Peter arrived at Big Ben. Looking up at the giant clock, Peter realized it was about noon. He looked down at his hat, now squished in his hand. A part of him wanted to drop it then and there, but now it was the only physical proof of his old self and his time within Neverland.
"You waited too long, Peter Pan," the Indian chief's words echoed in Peter's mind. Peter shook his head, forgetting them, and continued on.
He sort of knew the direction of Wendy's home from the clock tower, but the streets were confusing. Seeing a cemetery, Peter decided to take a short-cut through it.
To Peter's shock, he saw Wendy's figure crouching down by a tombstone. Peter ran over, and smiled widely, feeling genuine happiness.
"Wendy!" exclaimed Peter.
The figure turned around, shocked. Peter stared back, realizing this woman, about middle-aged, was not Wendy, but Jane. Jane stared at Peter, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.
"P-Peter," she whispered.
"How long has it been?" demanded Peter suddenly.
"I thought I would never see you again, none of us did," explained Jane quietly. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes remained sad. Peter could see tears forming.
"How long has it been?" Peter asked again.
Tears started streaming down Jane's face. She looked at Peter's hat in his hand and shook her head.
"Take me to Wendy," said Peter quietly.
Jane's eyes widened, but she said nothing. She couldn't find words to speak to the boy. Peter shook his head, slightly angered at Jane. Peter just wanted to go to Wendy. He began to walk away from Jane, angered that she had grown up so much, and began to worry about seeing Wendy so old.
"Peter, wait," begged Jane, "Wendy missed you so much; she always believed you would come back, she had never given up hopeā¦"
Peter stared at her, but for the first time paid attention to the gravestone behind her. His eyes widened and he felt he couldn't breathe.
Wendy's name was engraved on the stone, followed by "loving wife and mother." Peter took a step back and shook his head, not believing what had happened.
"I'm so sorry," whispered Jane, not knowing what else to say.
Peter Pan dropped his green hat, stared Jane in the eyes, and began to fly away. Jane did nothing to stop him, but stared after him. Tears freely streamed down her face and Peter disappeared from her vision. Jane picked up Peter's hat.
"She taught me never to lose hope, Peter," whispered Jane.
