SCENE IV
(Wendy is sitting in her rocking chair next to the fire. She has been crying. Stanley appears at the top of the nursery stairs looking through some papers. He is standing in the doorway.)
STANLEY (without looking up from his papers.) Wendy Mother, have you seen Peter anywhere?
WENDY: No, Slightly, dear, I have not seen him.
STANLEY: (ignoring the mispronunciation of his name, and dismissing Wendy's answer.) Well, never mind....(as he starts to close the door, what Wendy just said hits him. He walks back into the nursery. He places his papers down on a footstool. He stares at the rocking chair blankly.) You just called me.....Slightly.
WENDY: (not turning around.) It is your name, is it not, little one?
STANLEY: A childhood nick-name, yes. But why do you refer to me by the name now? Nobody has called me Slightly since.....since.....
WENDY: (she rises from her rocking chair and turns to face him.) Since your first encounter with your adoptive brother.
STANLEY: (crossing to Wendy) Why, you've been crying. (he takes hold of her shoulders) What is wrong?
WENDY: Peter first introduced me to you and the rest of the Lost Boys as Wendy Lady. When I agreed to play Mother to you boys, my name was changed to Wendy Mother.
STANLEY: What do you mean, when Peter introduced you to us?
WENDY: In Neverland, Slightly, your first real home. (pause)
STANLEY: I do not know why, or how, but I believe you. (he goes and sits on the couch. Wendy joins him) I have always known. In my dreams I still remember the old days of chasing indians and fighting pirates, yet until now, they have seemed to be just that. Dreams. Now it is like a bizarre case of de zha vous.
WENDY: That's always the way it has been for all of us I suppose. Fading memories of the past, of Peter Pan.
STANLEY: (smiling) I remember him. (pause. then his smile turns to a look of horror.) Bloody hell! Do you suppose if all these other dreams I had were true, do you think that my nightmares have been real, too? (Wendy nods)
WENDY: Most likely foretelling what is to come to pass. (sighs) I have been having these dreams as well. Nightmares, and so has Peter.
STANLEY: Does he feel the same danger as you and I, have you told him? (pause, with a look of remembrance on his face.) Peter is Peter Pan! That explains his nightmares! (pause) But it's obvious Peter doesn't know who he is. He can't know. If he did, I do not fancy my younger brother would let all this suffering and pain happen if there was anything he could do to stop it. We must find some way for him to believe again. (pause.) What have your dreams been about, sister?
WENDY: Oh, terrible, horrible things, Slightly. Things I do not wish to bear reliving again by telling you.
STANLEY: In one of my dreams, there was a huge clock inside of a crocodile, and there was a pirate standing underneath it. A mean, nasty looking pirate he was. Black hair with a red coat and a hook! (pause. then he speaks dryly.) Yes. I remember him now, Captain Hook. He was standing there, gleaming as he watched the clock strike midnight. When it did, there were thousands of earth shattering screams. There were swirling black colors spinning around and around Hook while he laughed menacingly. (Stanley shakes off his chills.) It was terrifying. When I awoke, I somehow felt very uneasy, like it was more than just a dream. What do you think it could mean?
WENDY: I wonder why the clock struck twelve. What could be the symbolism in that? Your dream seemed to be one of prediction. All my dreams were as if they were happening at that moment; in the present. In both dreams, time was the center of essence. (partially mumbling) 'Before time runs out......midnight.....(gasps)
STANLEY: What is it, Wendy? What is it?
WENDY: Peter's birthday! His birthday is tomorrow. He will turn eighteen years of age, and grow up. he will be too old to ever return to Neverland again. This is what our last few dreams have meant. They were a warning. Without Peter in Neverland, Hook will over run the island, and destroy thousands of children's dreams.
STANLEY: Without dreams to aspire to, what hope is there in finding out there is something to pursue. If Peter doesn't go home......
WENDY: Not only will Neverland disappear, but our world as we know it will vanish along with it! (Stanley and Wendy sit there in shock) Somehow, we HAVE to make him remember.
Blackout
(Wendy is sitting in her rocking chair next to the fire. She has been crying. Stanley appears at the top of the nursery stairs looking through some papers. He is standing in the doorway.)
STANLEY (without looking up from his papers.) Wendy Mother, have you seen Peter anywhere?
WENDY: No, Slightly, dear, I have not seen him.
STANLEY: (ignoring the mispronunciation of his name, and dismissing Wendy's answer.) Well, never mind....(as he starts to close the door, what Wendy just said hits him. He walks back into the nursery. He places his papers down on a footstool. He stares at the rocking chair blankly.) You just called me.....Slightly.
WENDY: (not turning around.) It is your name, is it not, little one?
STANLEY: A childhood nick-name, yes. But why do you refer to me by the name now? Nobody has called me Slightly since.....since.....
WENDY: (she rises from her rocking chair and turns to face him.) Since your first encounter with your adoptive brother.
STANLEY: (crossing to Wendy) Why, you've been crying. (he takes hold of her shoulders) What is wrong?
WENDY: Peter first introduced me to you and the rest of the Lost Boys as Wendy Lady. When I agreed to play Mother to you boys, my name was changed to Wendy Mother.
STANLEY: What do you mean, when Peter introduced you to us?
WENDY: In Neverland, Slightly, your first real home. (pause)
STANLEY: I do not know why, or how, but I believe you. (he goes and sits on the couch. Wendy joins him) I have always known. In my dreams I still remember the old days of chasing indians and fighting pirates, yet until now, they have seemed to be just that. Dreams. Now it is like a bizarre case of de zha vous.
WENDY: That's always the way it has been for all of us I suppose. Fading memories of the past, of Peter Pan.
STANLEY: (smiling) I remember him. (pause. then his smile turns to a look of horror.) Bloody hell! Do you suppose if all these other dreams I had were true, do you think that my nightmares have been real, too? (Wendy nods)
WENDY: Most likely foretelling what is to come to pass. (sighs) I have been having these dreams as well. Nightmares, and so has Peter.
STANLEY: Does he feel the same danger as you and I, have you told him? (pause, with a look of remembrance on his face.) Peter is Peter Pan! That explains his nightmares! (pause) But it's obvious Peter doesn't know who he is. He can't know. If he did, I do not fancy my younger brother would let all this suffering and pain happen if there was anything he could do to stop it. We must find some way for him to believe again. (pause.) What have your dreams been about, sister?
WENDY: Oh, terrible, horrible things, Slightly. Things I do not wish to bear reliving again by telling you.
STANLEY: In one of my dreams, there was a huge clock inside of a crocodile, and there was a pirate standing underneath it. A mean, nasty looking pirate he was. Black hair with a red coat and a hook! (pause. then he speaks dryly.) Yes. I remember him now, Captain Hook. He was standing there, gleaming as he watched the clock strike midnight. When it did, there were thousands of earth shattering screams. There were swirling black colors spinning around and around Hook while he laughed menacingly. (Stanley shakes off his chills.) It was terrifying. When I awoke, I somehow felt very uneasy, like it was more than just a dream. What do you think it could mean?
WENDY: I wonder why the clock struck twelve. What could be the symbolism in that? Your dream seemed to be one of prediction. All my dreams were as if they were happening at that moment; in the present. In both dreams, time was the center of essence. (partially mumbling) 'Before time runs out......midnight.....(gasps)
STANLEY: What is it, Wendy? What is it?
WENDY: Peter's birthday! His birthday is tomorrow. He will turn eighteen years of age, and grow up. he will be too old to ever return to Neverland again. This is what our last few dreams have meant. They were a warning. Without Peter in Neverland, Hook will over run the island, and destroy thousands of children's dreams.
STANLEY: Without dreams to aspire to, what hope is there in finding out there is something to pursue. If Peter doesn't go home......
WENDY: Not only will Neverland disappear, but our world as we know it will vanish along with it! (Stanley and Wendy sit there in shock) Somehow, we HAVE to make him remember.
Blackout
