Things from the "real world" had a way of showing up in Neverland, mainly due to the rare, but powerfull storms that sometimes bombarded the magical island. On occasion, the children have found movie posters, newspapers, magazines, even bits of paper houses from Japan. Of course, it was up to Amy to pre-read any materal that appeared on the beaches of Neverland, as a precaution against "inappropreate" stories or pictures. Anything she found like that, she flew over the [i]Jolly Roger[/i] and dropped it for the pirates. In a odd way, that endeared her to most of the crew.
Which is how Amy got some very disturbing news about her father.
"What's that?" Nibs asked, pointing to the newspaper that laid on the beach. Prehaps it was the magic of the island that prevented the ink from running, but the newspaper --as well as all other paper items found on the island-- was completely clean. It was just wet and soggy from being in the water.
"Looks like a newspaper," Peter said. He picked it up. Of all the Lost Boys, Peter was the best reader. He could recognize and read more words than they could. He looked through the wet paper, wondering what was going on in the world outside of Neverland.
He read about the Middle East, and how hostilities was getting worse in that area of the world. He just shook his head saddly. He read about what teams was winning --he gave a little wry smile when he read about the Cleveland Indians winning against the Pittsberg Pirates in one baseball game-- and about who was Player of the Year for that year. He read the funnies out loud to the Lost Boys, and the children laughed aloud at the jokes.
It was when he got to the obituaries that Peter furrowed his brow in concern. He had asked Amy once what "obituaries" meant, and she had told the boys that it was the section of the paper that told who had died every day. He read the names, but they were no one that he knew. That is, until he came up to the name, "Rhines".
That's Amy's last name! he thought. But she's alive! Maybe they just think she's dead. He read on, and breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that the entry was not for Amy. But still, the last name of "Rhines" startled Peter. He flew to find her.
He found her talking with Petra and Tiger Lily, about what, he could not tell. At the moment, he was not concerned about whatever it was they were discussing. He was too concerned about the entry in the newspaper.
"What's wrong, Peter?" Amy asked. The girls stopped talking to give him their attention.
"Amy," he began, "your father's name...does it happen to be 'Doug'?" He looked at her a little nervously.
"Yes," she answered. "But how did you know..." He handed her the paper.
"Look in the 'obits'," he told her quietly, biting his lip. Taking the paper, Amy did so.
"'Douglas F. Rhines, Age fourty-five, died this past Monday at his home. An autopsy revealed that Rhines had suffered a heart attack, caused, in part, by his heavy drinking. He was preceeded in death by his wife, Gina Sadler Rhines. He is survived by one child, a daughter, Amy Rhines, who has been missing for three and a half years. Funeral...' Amy's voice quivered as she read, finally getting to the point where she could not read any more. The paper dropped from her hands as she used them to cover her eyes. She felt Peter's arms encircle her, and she bowed her head on his shoulder and cried.
Peter held her like that for a long time, allowing her to cry herself out. The paper had said that Amy had been missing for three and a half years. And the date on the paper was one and half years ago. The paper was old, and Mr. Rhines was already buried.
"I'm sorry, Amy," Peter whispered in her ear. He was a gentle boy, and felt bad when others was sad. For a long time, the two of them were quiet, except for Amy's sobs.
Presently, Amy stopped crying. She sniffed and look up into Peter's face. Gently, he brushed away the last of her tears, giving her a kind smile. Thankful for his presence, she smiled back.
"If you want, we'll go and see his grave tonight," he offered. "You can at least say 'good-bye', late as it may be."
"Thank you, Peter," she sniffed. She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him to her.
Three figures flew through the sky that night --a boy, a girl, and a pixie-- on their way toward the California coast. Soon, they were in Amy's old home town, flying toward the cemetary.
In her hands, Amy carried fresh, Neverland flowers. Peter had a handful, as well, and even Tinker Bell had a blossom. The flowers were bright and very colorful, even more so than any that could be found in the world outside of Peter's magical island. They would last longer, too, although they would also eventually wilt and die. Only if they were still in Neverland would the flowers still live, even if plucked.
They found the two graves, a double-tombstone with the couples names and birth- and death-dates set up before them. On each side of the large stone were places to put flowers for the deceased.
"Mom; Dad," Amy began, then her voice broke. Peter put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She glanced back at him and smiled her thanks, then continued. "It's been awhile, I know. You're probibly wondering about why I left. I wanted Dad to snap out of his alcoholic stupor he was drinking himself into. I thought that if he didn't have me to depend on, he'd start depending on himself. Apparently, that didn't work."
"You've probibly been wondering where I've been these past five years, too. Believe it or not, I've been in Neverland with Peter Pan and his friends. No jive, guys! That's where I've been. Brought you a present from there, too." Amy stepped up and placed her bouquet of Neverflowers in the two stone vases. She then stepped back and let Peter and Tink come forward.
"By-the-way, Mom and Dad; this is Peter Pan and Tinker Bell." Peter smiled as he placed his own flowers on the graves. Tink followed with her one flower, and placed it on top of the gravestone, itself, right in the middle.
"Don't worry about me," Amy continued talking to her dead parents. "I'll be staying with Peter and the guys. They really need a mother. Trust me on this one. I wish you could've really met them. I think you would have loved them as much as I do. They're all great kids --every one of them. And Peter and Petra are the best! And little Marzi Pan is the sweetest little girl you've ever seen. The only real problem we have in Neverland is old Captain Hook and his pirates. I bet we could have gotten Hook and Dad in a discussion on politics, though. That would keep the pirates out of trouble for days. I guess that's all I needed to say. I'll be okay. Peter and the others won't let anything happen to me. I don't know if I'll get to come and visit again. Time is strange in Neverland. But I'll try to come at least every once in a while. I gotta go, now. Got seven boys and two girls to look after. And you two thought one was a handful! Good-bye, Mom; Dad. Thanks for everything."
Before the three left, Peter turned back to the two graves. Death was something he had either never dealt with, or dealt with so very rarely, that he forgot when or how it happened. Long ago, before the current band of Lost Boys, Peter had other boys in his group. Some had left and grew up, while others had died while in Neverland. He had morned the losses then, when the deaths had happened and the memories were fresh in his mind. But with time, he forgot the deaths and the dead ones, for Neverland makes you forget all but the most necessary of memories. And the death of a grown-up rarely moved him. He had morned the loss of Wendy, John, and Michael when they had grown-up and eventually died. Even Edward, Wendy's husband and the man who took the girl away from Peter, had earned the boy's respect, something few adults could do. Peter had morned his loss as he did the Darlings.
Now, he stood with Amy, honoring her parents with flowers that no other grave could boast. He stared at the tombstone before finally speaking.
"Don't worry," he said quietly. "I'll take care of her. I promice."
"Thank you, Peter," Amy whispered, her tears threatening to return. She hugged him, glad of his closeness.
"Ready to go?" he asked. She pulled a little away to look into his chocolate eyes.
"Yes, I'm ready," she answered. Together, boy, girl, and pixie once again lifted into the air and soared into the night, returning to Neverland.
The three returned to the underground house, where Amy began to fix dinner. She seemed calmer now, far calmer than when she left. The boys did not dare to ask her what happened. So they asked Peter. With rare patience, the eternal boy explained about Amy's parents. He cautioned them about talking about it to Amy. She had to say a final good-bye to her parents. Talking about it might make her sad.
So the children said nothing as they were served their food that night, although Nibs and Cubby got into an arguement about who was going to get the last piece of pie.
"Ya already had two pieces!" Nibs shouted at the chubby Lost Boy.
"So did you!" Cubby countered.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!" At this, the two started to fight. Soon, the other Lost Boys joined in.
"Attent-SHUN!" Peter yelled above the din of the fighting. All the boys stopped in their tracks. They lined up automatically in front of him.
"That's better," Peter said. "Why don't we let Amy have the last piece?" he smiled. He gave her a wink.
"Uh...sure," Cubby replied. The boy looked over at the Lost Boy mother, who looked tired from her trip to the "real world".
"Thank you," she smiled back. She was tired, for the journey to her parents' gravesite had exhausted her physically and emotionally.
Later, that night, after the boys and Petra were vut to bed, Peter, Amy, and Marzi retired to their own room. Amy laid the sleepy little girl down on the bed, and prepared to slip in beside her. Peter was about to climb into his hammock, when he looked back at the two girls. He turned and approached the other side of the bed and got in. Amy gave him a surprised look.
"You need this tonight," he said simply. He smiled gently at her.
"Thank you," she replied. Before laying down to sleep, herself, she brushed a kiss to his cheek. Then, she snuggled down next to Marzi and closed her eyes.
Peter smiled to himself. He was begining to like the kisses Amy gave him. He shared so much with her, from the little family of Lost Children, to Neverland, itself. Being here with him --them-- made her happy, and making his friends happy made Peter happy, as well.
He knew something was going on between them; something special. For some reason, though, he did not want to admit it to himself. Maybe he was not ready. Maybe it scared him. There was no way to know for sure. Peter would never admit to being afraid of anything --not to anyone around him and not to himself. He reacted rashly when called a coward. He had accepted a challenge from Hook once for that reason, agreeing not to fly. Hook had managed to get Peter in a seemingly helpless position, only to have the boy turn the tables on the old pirate. Peter had only promiced not to fly; he had said absolutely nothing about jumping up and grabbing the pirate flag to wrap the other up in.
And just what was it that Peter may, or may not, be afraid of?
Three little words that he longed to say to Amy.
"I love you."
Next: Chapter 12: A Valley Girl in Neverland. Peter brings a girl named Barbi Dell, from the San Fernando Valley. And she turns out to be Amy's cousin!
Note: Okay. So I have this book called, Fer Shurr! How to be a Valley Girl --Totally! (Yes, such a book DOES exist...) and I wanted an excuse to use it. How would Peter handle such a girl?
