I couldn't stop tossing and turning in my bed. Getting to sleep that first night was hard, despite my wanting to go to bed earlier. Something just felt…. off. Ever since I started brushing my hair, I couldn't shake this morbid feeling. Or at least not until I woke up the next morning. But until then, my mind drifted off into this faraway place. Somewhere familiar and yet which I've forgotten….. Somewhere which only exists in my subconscious now. And it's remnants still affect me to this day…..
Mal's Dream (which is really a childhood memory she doesn't remember)-
Pain…. Pain and fear; a fear I'd never experienced before. I was three years old at the time; too young to comprehend what was happening to me. All I knew was that I wasn't with my father, and he was looking for me.
The man with the long, black beard dragged me along behind him by my arm. Despite being born on an island full of villains, I'd never seen anyone like him before. He was loud; he was boorish; he wore this massive, toothy, greedy smile. It hurt how tightly he held onto me with his fat hand. He scared me- there's no other way to say it. I'd never met anyone like him before, and I was too terrified to make a sound. I simply let him take me without struggle. After all, what could a tiny toddler do against a colossal giant like him?
We went inside an abandoned warehouse after my abductor quickly checked around. I almost fell down the metal staircase, he was going that fast. At the bottom of the staircase was another big man; this one wearing a tacky suit and glasses. The sight of his two pure-bred dogs made me shrink inside. My kidnapped greeted the new man with gusto, waving his free, thick hand in the air.
"Hey, Sykes! Lookie here! Got another one for ya!" My abductor yanked me in front of him to show me off. The man, named Sykes I assumed, merely glared down at me with distain. He shifted the cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. "Stromboli, you idiot. He said he wanted boys. What good is she to us? We can't sell her," Sykes hissed viciously. "What do you mean "what good"? You said to bring bad children; not just boys," my kidnapper retorted in puzzled tone. "I said bad boys; not girls. We can't ship her off to Pleasure Island. Take her out back and throw her off the harbour," Sykes rubbed his eyes with his fingers. I was too young to realize that he was essentially ordering my murder. Stromboli however, frowned; his hand rolled into an annoyed fist.
"Now you listen to me, Sykes. I say we can sell her!" His finger pointed to the sky… for some reason. "And I'm telling you that he specifically ordered little boys. That's what he's paying us for. He's got a new quota to fill for the salt mines, and she won't do it. Take her out back and bring me a bloody boy." "No! She's young! We sell her!" Sykes huffed, rolling his eyes. "Look, if you don't want to do the job, then throw her to Roscoe and DeSoto. They haven't eaten yet today." I didn't understand why the dogs started to growl at me hungrily.
Before either man could utter another word, another presence appeared out of nowhere. And I do mean nowhere- it's like he came out of thin air. We all spun to see this tall, slender, old man at the side of room. He was interesting yet intimidating sort of person; I wasn't as afraid of him as my abductor, but he still overawed me a little. He was old, and I do mean old. Like really old. He had very long grey hair, and a grey beard which parted a little over halfway down. His nose was predominant, and his hands were bony. He wore a blue garment; almost like a cross between an overcoat and a dress. On top of his head was a pointy hat with golden stars and a crescent moon sewn all over it. I didn't know at the time that this was the most powerful sorcerer in the world- even more than Merlin. The only magic stronger than his was of the Greek gods.
The old wizard just stood there, eyeing the men. His face wasn't one of anger. Don't get me wrong; it was clear that he wasn't happy with them, but he didn't look mad- if that makes any sense. No, his expression was much more…. powerful. As for Sykes and Stromboli, they acted more irritated by his unforeseen arrival than anything. "Who's the geezer?" Stromboli asked Sykes, sticking his thumb the magician's way. Sykes glowered at the old man through his glasses. "Who cares? Take care of 'em, boys," he was about to snap his big fingers. But he was halted by the old man raising up both arms. Only then did the two kidnappers appeared afraid.
The wizard moved his hands in such a way, and without another word, both Sykes and Stromboli vanished on the spot. Judging by their terrified screams, it sounded painful- whatever happened to them. I don't know to this day if he actually killed them for good, but I never saw or heard anything about either of them again. Even the dogs disappeared. Standing there now in this empty room with the man who just made two monsters evaporate without a trace…. That itself was terrifying.
Still not saying anything, the old man approached me; his eyes narrowing down onto me severely. I didn't know what to do, so I did nothing. After a minute of silently watching me, he reached down to pick me up. He awkwardly- awkward for me, that is- cradled me in his skinny arms. While three-year-old me was all flustered by the situation, the wizard never stopped acting with pose. He proceeded to carry me out of the warehouse and down several roads; neither of us making a sound.
The sorcerer only stopped when we reached a location; I didn't recognize it. He stopped, looked upwards, back at me, then up to the sky once more. Without warning, he set me down onto my feet and straightened back up. I scanned around, not seeing anything I knew, and when I turned back to the old man, he was gone. He left me there, in the middle of nowhere, all by myself. The horror and gravity of the scenario hit me pretty hard just then; or as hard as a toddler can interpret these kinds of things. Unsurprisingly, I broke down, curling into a little ball and starting to cry my eyes out. I had no idea where I was or why that scary man had taken me…. And I had no clue as to how I would get home. All I knew is that I wanted my daddy. I wanted to see my daddy; to be safe in his arms once again.
The sound of a boy's laughter made my head lift up a tad. I looked to find a skinny boy in green flying through the air. He was actually flying; something I didn't know kids could do. The boy didn't see me for a while, too wrapped up in his own fun and amusement. But eventually he did spot me. He paused mid-air, waiting a second before flying over to me. He looked confused but still smiled widely.
"Hey, whatcha crying for? You lost?" I didn't say anything; merely ogled him wordlessly. "You live around here or something? Where's your mom or dad?" The boy thought to himself for a moment when I didn't reply. He suddenly snapped his fingers in realization. "I bet you are lost! Hey, why don't you come to Neverland with me? Yeah! You'll be the very first lost girl!" His voice was over-seasoned with enthusiasm. I don't know why, but the thought of being away from my father any longer made me burst into tears a second time. Both of my hands lifted to cover my eyes as I sobbed uncontrollably. The boy flinched alarmed.
"What's wrong? Don't you wanna come with me?" He sounded more than a little concerned. "Daddy….. I want my Daddy," I managed to hiccup out in between sobs. "Your dad?" The boy repeated. He rubbed his both lip with his fingers, rolling his eyes to the side in a considerate manner. Nothing happened immediately, but soon enough I felt a hand land overtop my tiny hair. I peeked up, lowering my hands a tad to see him beaming back at me. His hand felt so secure and nice on my head. "Don't worry, I'll take you back to your dad." Him saying this must have made me happy, since I don't remember crying anymore after that. Upon seeing my elated and relieved reaction, his eyes lowered onto me. His grin widened in the corners organically, as if to be thinking of something pleasant. "Huh, you remind me of Wendy."
I woke up with a jolt, like when you wake up from a nightmare. After bouncing in bed, I made my body relax as I ran my hand over my face. Funny enough, Evie was still awake reading in her bed. She looked over at me, who was laying down across from her bed.
"Mal, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. "N-Nothing; just had a bad dream, I guess," I sighed, still running my hand over my face. "A bad dream? What about?" What about? Huh, you know, I actually couldn't remember. It's as if it was entirely erased from my mind once I woke up. "I don't know…. Must be nerves about the trip or something," I sighed. Evie nodded. "That makes sense." With that, she turned back to her book and I rolled onto my back. Not giving it another thought, I shut my eyes and let myself drift back off into a dark, endless abyss.
"Did you hear about what happened to Lampwick?" "No. Why? What's happened to him?" Silence. "Peter, what's happened to him? He's still alive, right?" More silence. "Peter, tell me what's happened. He's alive; he's gotta be alive!" Peter Pan didn't say anything more, simply frowning and resting his hand over top of mine.