Chapter 2: Letting Go
And so it continues. I'm not so sure how this turned out, because I have a tendency not to read over things (otherwise I'd trash it and you'd never read it). Well, anyways, here goes!
"Wendy," Mrs. Darling queried softly. "Wendy!"
Startled out of her reverie, Wendy glanced quickly up. "Yes, mother?"
"Aren't you going to finish your meal, dear?"
Wendy glanced back at her nearly untouched dinner plate. "I'm afraid that I'm not very hungry, mother."
"Wendy, are you feeling all right?" Mrs. Darling asked, concern etched all over her beautiful face. Wendy's seven brothers, father, and cousin all looked up at this. The girl had always been healthy and happy, but recently she had been running fevers, feeling faint, and was depressed.
"I'll ring the doctor," Mr. Darling announce, getting up.
"No, father," Wendy said quietly. "I'm alright. I...I just would like to go for a walk. Alone." This last word stilled the eight boys, who were jumping up from the table to get their coats. They wanted to protect her, and she loved them all for it, but she wanted to be by herself for a while.
"Oh. All right." Mr. Darling sat back don.
"If you wish it, dear, then go on ahead." At this statement, whispered by her mother, something tugged at Wendy's fragile heart. Puzzled, the girl ignored it.
All the boys threw advice and pleas as she got up to leave.
"Don't forget your coat!"
"Here, use my scarf."
"You should wear a hat."
"Don't stay out too late!
"Don't talk to any strangers!"
"Don't trust anyone you don't know!"
"Maybe you should take someone with you."
"Are you sure you want to go?"
"Yes, I'm sure, thank you," Wendy said, walking out the door. She took a deep breath of the late winter air and let out a sigh. Starting off, Wendy thought about what was bothering her, and had been for weeks.
It was Richard. He was the sweetest guy she had met. He was also sweet on her. He had taken her on dates, met her parents, let her meet his parents, left her sweet little surprises. She had even heard recently that he had been looking at diamond rings. That was when the depression had set in.
It wasn't that she didn't love him. She really didn't know what was wrong. Something just kept tugging at her heart. Something was wrong with all of this. Something was missing, or out of place, or...
Wendy realized she had been walking for quite a while without knowing where she had been going. She looked around, trying to find a familiar landmark. She was- this place was- The girl's breath caught in her throat for a reason unbeknown to her. She was in Kensington Gardens. (A/n: I'm not British. I will never pretend to be. They are just way to proper for me to be counted among them. Therefore, my knowledge of all things British is severely limited. I apologize if I get anything wrong.) There was a huge significance behind all the beauty and expanse of the place, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...
A small light flitted by in front of Wendy's face. "Tinkerbell?" she queried. It was only a firefly. Tinkerbell. Where had that come from?
Another thing was tugging at her memory. "If you wish it." She had the oddest sense that her mother was not the first one to say that to her. With this realization came the memory of pain at hearing such sorrow in a voice that had always been cheerful and carefree.
Kensington Gardens. Tinkerbell. "If you wish it." Cheerful and carefree.
"Peter," Wendy whispered, her eyes wide and filling with tears. Peter Pan. The boy she loved more than life itself. That was the problem, though. He was still a boy, and always will be. She, on the other hand, was a young woman with eighteen years behind her. She had tried to convince herself that the whole thing was a dream, and it had worked for a couple of years, but just then that charade came crashing down.
Wendy couldn't see where she was going, so she felt around for a bench. She finally found one, and she sat down hard.
Peter. He was her first love. Her one true love, she now realized. The one with whom she wanted to live her whole life, sharing, caring, loving. She wanted to be a part of his joy, and him to be a part of hers. She wanted to raise children with him, grow old with him, and, someday, even die with him by her side.
All of this was impossible, however. No matter how much she loved Peter, no matter how much he loved her, it could never be. He had probably already forgotten about her. It had, after all, been about six years. Peter never remembered things for long. If it was not right there in front of him, a situation immediately concerning him, he would forget it in a second. And, as if all of this was not bad enough, Peter would not be nearly old enough for her. He was still a boy, mind, body, and soul.
This thought brought a fresh wave of tears. Wendy sat there in the dark garden and cried for half an hour. Then, with one final, dignified sniff, she resolved to forever lock Peter and Neverland in the Happy Childhood Memories box in the back of her imagination. There was nothing she could ever do to return to him, or even to bring him back to her. Ever. She would marry her new sweetheart and become Mrs. Richard Cunningway and never look back for the adventurous boy who had, in his own naive way, taught her how to love.
Good? Bad? Otherwise? Let me know! Please review!
Jofie
