Neverland Away
Chapter 4: Call Out Her Name
ÒWanna play catch, Tink?Ó Peter asked, idly throwing a ball in the air. Tink flew over to his face and gave him a sardonic look. ÒHey, itÕs not my fault the ball is twice as big as you, itÕs yours. Why donÕt you work on growing.Ó
Tink raised an eyebrow at him. ÒI donÕt mean up!Ó he quickly corrected himself ÒI just mean larger, so we can play more games!Ó
Tink gave him a distant look and floated away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cheery laughter, some of it was even genuine. Her father had really changed since back before she and her brothers had vanished. It was like he remembered something he had forgotten, or learned something new. Now, he was the one you wanted to talk to at parties and social gatherings. All the genuine laughter was coming from his side of the room.
The social gathering in question was taking place at the Darling home. A work party, built for schmoozing and networking. Still, Wendy found them enjoyable enough. She loved people, she always wanted to know what they felt or thought about things. She loved how there were thousands of answers for one question.
ÒWould you like to dance?Ó that was a question. A fair one, asked by a nice boy. But there was only one answer.
Clean, was what she thought when the young man first walked in to the room. That was the word she thought of to describe him. Not a bad word, by any means, just not enough. The answer, of course, was no.
Since that day over a month ago when she realized that Neverland was only a dream, and that she could never go back... in all honesty, not a lot had changed. Every once in a while her stomach would drop at the thought of never seeing a pirate ship, or a teepee, never once again in her life. And she imagined Peter coming to her window to take her back. How could she say no? She felt sure her soul would go with him, and she would be left on earth a hollow shell. It was the better choice, though. Because when she thought of waking up from Neverland years from now, only to find her parents dead, brothers old, her whole life missed, passed on by. That really was too much to bear. An eternity without them.
SheÕd been trying to socialize more. It wasnÕt hard to find friends, people found her charming. Boys started to call on her. They asked her to dinner and to shows with box seats. She always had plans though, ones sheÕd make right after the invitation was made.
It was bad, she knew that. She should be moving on. And still, she didnÕt want to lie to herself. She couldnÕt give her heart away, not when another boy already had it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ÒPeter.Ó
It was a cold foreboding voice.
Peter sailed down to the floor of the pirate ship, and stood, hands on hips, grin breaking out on his face. ÒMiss me?Ó He sarcastically questioned.
ÒActually, no. IÕm glad you could make it on such short notice, though.Ó Smee said matter of factly.
Peter looked at him, wondering what this whole thing was about.
ÒCome, sit down, take a seat, we need to talk.Ó
ÒTalk?Ó Peter asked, puzzled.
Smee smiled ÒThat thing where noises with meaning are exchanged between two or more individuals... or less if theyÕre really lonely or just odd.Ó
Peter walked over to a chair, spun it around backwards and sat down, so he straddled the back of it. He leaned in towards Smee, looked him in the eye and asked ÒHave you lost your mind?Ó
Smee chuckled, seemingly confirming PeterÕs suspicions. ÒAh, who has one nowadays?Ó he questioned Peter.
Peter was about to respond when Smee cut him off. ÒNow, boy, I see it as my duty to help you out.Ó
ÒYup, no minds.Ó Peter sighed exasperatedly.
ÒAre you proving a point?Ó Smee asked.
ÒYour pretty much making it for me.Ó
ÒWhat? No, listen to me, kid. This is an entirely different subject. WeÕre talking about you. Now, your friend is worried about you...Ó Smee told Peter in a very fatherly manner.
Peter cocked his head at Smee. ÒMy friend? What are you talking about.Ó
ÒTink,Ó Smee said leaning towards Peter Òshe came to see me today. She says thereÕs something wrong with you. And I see what it is.Ó
Peter was confused, so he opted for smug arrogance. ÒSo whatÕs the prognosis, doc? Is it deadly?Ó
ÒCould very well be.Ó
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Follow your dreams' is what that teach when your younger. Maybe that was the moral of life; If you find a Neverland, go hide in it forever. Wendy sighed, angry with herself. She didnÕt have room for a single thought in her head, only second ones.
She hated it, the second guessing and the living in the past. It was simply fear and it had to end.
She had to end it... and Wendy knew what she had to do.
She ran upstairs, and for the first time in years, closed the lock on her window.
Mrs. Darling watched as her daughter reemerged from her room upstairs to the party in the parlor. Wendy looked around the room as if searching for something, and then she saw what. Wendy was heading for a young man from a respectable family. He was a little older than her. She asked him to dance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ÒNo IÕm not. I havenÕt grown an inch for as long as I can remember.Ó Peter said, faking a calm.
ÒItÕs not that kind of growing.Ó Smee, who had just told Peter he was no longer a child, informed him.
ÒThat doesnÕt make any sense. Obviously youÕve gone and lost your mind in your old age, IÕll just leave you alone with yourself. Hope youÕll be happy together. Although, if I were you IÕd warn me IÕm not the best conversationalist.Ó
ÒDo you know what that is?Ó Smee asked, vaguely pointing in PeterÕs direction ÒItÕs a defense mechanism. You donÕt want me to know IÕve hit a button. And This is where I think youÕre confused: Growing up doesnÕt mean you start using defense mechanisms, it just means you start to understand that you do. See?Ó
Peter looked at him. ÒI canÕt grow old here.Ó
ÒAnd how do you know that?Ó Smee asked.
ÒNo children in Neverland ever have before.Ó
ÒNo WendyÕs had ever been in Neverland before.Ó
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Street lights began to whiz by. He was getting closer, he could tell. The clock. He was almost there. And then suddenly he was. Peter was staring straight at the Darling home. He flew around back, there was WendyÕs room. The light was off. He flew up to the window. He pulled. He tried again. It must be stuck, the window wouldnÕt open. And then he suddenly became aware of it. Voices were drifting up from the parlor.
It was twilight. Golden light was spilling from the downstairs windows. Peter floated over. He sneaked his head around the side off the window to steal a look. And there she was, his Wendy, with another boy. A clean shaven one, he was old enough to shave.
All those things he told Hook... He would call out to her, he would break the window. But his voice was gone. His strength had left him. He was incapable of movement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was no fairy music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were grown ups.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her feet were on the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suddenly, all the happy thoughts were gone, and Peter fell.
TBC
Chapter 4: Call Out Her Name
ÒWanna play catch, Tink?Ó Peter asked, idly throwing a ball in the air. Tink flew over to his face and gave him a sardonic look. ÒHey, itÕs not my fault the ball is twice as big as you, itÕs yours. Why donÕt you work on growing.Ó
Tink raised an eyebrow at him. ÒI donÕt mean up!Ó he quickly corrected himself ÒI just mean larger, so we can play more games!Ó
Tink gave him a distant look and floated away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cheery laughter, some of it was even genuine. Her father had really changed since back before she and her brothers had vanished. It was like he remembered something he had forgotten, or learned something new. Now, he was the one you wanted to talk to at parties and social gatherings. All the genuine laughter was coming from his side of the room.
The social gathering in question was taking place at the Darling home. A work party, built for schmoozing and networking. Still, Wendy found them enjoyable enough. She loved people, she always wanted to know what they felt or thought about things. She loved how there were thousands of answers for one question.
ÒWould you like to dance?Ó that was a question. A fair one, asked by a nice boy. But there was only one answer.
Clean, was what she thought when the young man first walked in to the room. That was the word she thought of to describe him. Not a bad word, by any means, just not enough. The answer, of course, was no.
Since that day over a month ago when she realized that Neverland was only a dream, and that she could never go back... in all honesty, not a lot had changed. Every once in a while her stomach would drop at the thought of never seeing a pirate ship, or a teepee, never once again in her life. And she imagined Peter coming to her window to take her back. How could she say no? She felt sure her soul would go with him, and she would be left on earth a hollow shell. It was the better choice, though. Because when she thought of waking up from Neverland years from now, only to find her parents dead, brothers old, her whole life missed, passed on by. That really was too much to bear. An eternity without them.
SheÕd been trying to socialize more. It wasnÕt hard to find friends, people found her charming. Boys started to call on her. They asked her to dinner and to shows with box seats. She always had plans though, ones sheÕd make right after the invitation was made.
It was bad, she knew that. She should be moving on. And still, she didnÕt want to lie to herself. She couldnÕt give her heart away, not when another boy already had it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ÒPeter.Ó
It was a cold foreboding voice.
Peter sailed down to the floor of the pirate ship, and stood, hands on hips, grin breaking out on his face. ÒMiss me?Ó He sarcastically questioned.
ÒActually, no. IÕm glad you could make it on such short notice, though.Ó Smee said matter of factly.
Peter looked at him, wondering what this whole thing was about.
ÒCome, sit down, take a seat, we need to talk.Ó
ÒTalk?Ó Peter asked, puzzled.
Smee smiled ÒThat thing where noises with meaning are exchanged between two or more individuals... or less if theyÕre really lonely or just odd.Ó
Peter walked over to a chair, spun it around backwards and sat down, so he straddled the back of it. He leaned in towards Smee, looked him in the eye and asked ÒHave you lost your mind?Ó
Smee chuckled, seemingly confirming PeterÕs suspicions. ÒAh, who has one nowadays?Ó he questioned Peter.
Peter was about to respond when Smee cut him off. ÒNow, boy, I see it as my duty to help you out.Ó
ÒYup, no minds.Ó Peter sighed exasperatedly.
ÒAre you proving a point?Ó Smee asked.
ÒYour pretty much making it for me.Ó
ÒWhat? No, listen to me, kid. This is an entirely different subject. WeÕre talking about you. Now, your friend is worried about you...Ó Smee told Peter in a very fatherly manner.
Peter cocked his head at Smee. ÒMy friend? What are you talking about.Ó
ÒTink,Ó Smee said leaning towards Peter Òshe came to see me today. She says thereÕs something wrong with you. And I see what it is.Ó
Peter was confused, so he opted for smug arrogance. ÒSo whatÕs the prognosis, doc? Is it deadly?Ó
ÒCould very well be.Ó
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Follow your dreams' is what that teach when your younger. Maybe that was the moral of life; If you find a Neverland, go hide in it forever. Wendy sighed, angry with herself. She didnÕt have room for a single thought in her head, only second ones.
She hated it, the second guessing and the living in the past. It was simply fear and it had to end.
She had to end it... and Wendy knew what she had to do.
She ran upstairs, and for the first time in years, closed the lock on her window.
Mrs. Darling watched as her daughter reemerged from her room upstairs to the party in the parlor. Wendy looked around the room as if searching for something, and then she saw what. Wendy was heading for a young man from a respectable family. He was a little older than her. She asked him to dance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ÒNo IÕm not. I havenÕt grown an inch for as long as I can remember.Ó Peter said, faking a calm.
ÒItÕs not that kind of growing.Ó Smee, who had just told Peter he was no longer a child, informed him.
ÒThat doesnÕt make any sense. Obviously youÕve gone and lost your mind in your old age, IÕll just leave you alone with yourself. Hope youÕll be happy together. Although, if I were you IÕd warn me IÕm not the best conversationalist.Ó
ÒDo you know what that is?Ó Smee asked, vaguely pointing in PeterÕs direction ÒItÕs a defense mechanism. You donÕt want me to know IÕve hit a button. And This is where I think youÕre confused: Growing up doesnÕt mean you start using defense mechanisms, it just means you start to understand that you do. See?Ó
Peter looked at him. ÒI canÕt grow old here.Ó
ÒAnd how do you know that?Ó Smee asked.
ÒNo children in Neverland ever have before.Ó
ÒNo WendyÕs had ever been in Neverland before.Ó
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Street lights began to whiz by. He was getting closer, he could tell. The clock. He was almost there. And then suddenly he was. Peter was staring straight at the Darling home. He flew around back, there was WendyÕs room. The light was off. He flew up to the window. He pulled. He tried again. It must be stuck, the window wouldnÕt open. And then he suddenly became aware of it. Voices were drifting up from the parlor.
It was twilight. Golden light was spilling from the downstairs windows. Peter floated over. He sneaked his head around the side off the window to steal a look. And there she was, his Wendy, with another boy. A clean shaven one, he was old enough to shave.
All those things he told Hook... He would call out to her, he would break the window. But his voice was gone. His strength had left him. He was incapable of movement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was no fairy music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were grown ups.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her feet were on the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suddenly, all the happy thoughts were gone, and Peter fell.
TBC