Chapter 14.
"Wendy Moira Angela Darling!" I called to the empty fields, wishing them to be filled with her stories and laughter.
"Might you holler a bit louder?" Michael remarked, joining me in overalls and sweat dripping off his forehead.
"Enjoy working with the men now?" I inquired with a smile.
"Tis not so bad as I thought," Michael grinned proudly. "Nicholas said I am a born worker. And I'm getting mighty tall, Annie. Just yesterday I found that I was as tall as mother, and father says it shall not be long until I am taller than he. Better watch out. I'm going to be taller than you soon too."
"Not quite yet though," I patted his head. "I rather enjoy you the way you are."
"But if you enjoy me now, imagine how much more you shall once I am bigger!" Michael beamed with anticipation.
"Yes, me and half a dozen other girls." I teased. "You will be picking flowers daily soon enough."
"Already found mine," Michael boasted. "There is this girl, Lorraine McCormick, and she is really nice. She has brown hair that is curly and a pretty smile. Her eyes are awful wide though, but I like them. They remind me of a baby, all wide and curious like a cat."
"Growing up a tad bit now, are you?" I laughed. "You'll be married before me, Michael, my boy."
"Ah, I don't think so." Michael shook his head. "There has to be someone out there."
"No one that would have me…"
"I can't think of a fellow who might not want to be with you. The boy has to be silly like a boy and dumb as a sheep."
"Perhaps he is…"
"I still can't think of any fellow who would not want you," Michael scratched his head. "You sure the boy just isn't being a tease, and making you think he doesn't like you?"
"I am positive that he does not want me," my eyes drifted to the woods, casting as dark a shadow in the day as it does during the night. "He was not as willing as I to risk everything. There were more imperative aspects of his life, that being with me could not simply satisfy."
"He must be plain stupid."
"He just wasn't ready to grow up," I smiled at the thought. "But I am sure someday he shall. In time, even the greatest walls tumble and weaken into dust."
"Do you suppose so?"
"I do not need to. Time claims everything in due time. I already know that."
"Dead?" I rested my face in my hands, the silence seeming to engulf us both. "She's gone…I…I cannot believe it. I don't want to believe it. I cannot admit she is dead… I won't."
Only silence responded, leaving my words handing in the air. I looked up to find Peter with his back to me… his head bent and his shoulders shaking from his sobs. Advancing towards him, she was so caught up in his boyish tears that he did not sense my presence.
"Wendy is no longer in pain, Peter." I told him, surprised I could so easily throw aside my own anguish to comfort his. "It is better this way. No more hurt. She can finally be in peace."
His cries softened at my intruding words, and he immediately became tense. Unsure if he had heard, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, I was about to coo my words of reassurance when Peter stirred.
"Wendy was like a mother…" Peter struggled to talk, obvious he was fighting tears. "She was the mother of my Lost Boys and told me stories not even my Neverland compared to. I didn't deserve her."
"Whyever would you not?"
"I let her die," Peter proceeded to his trembling once more. "She called for me so many times, wishing to see me and Neverland. She'd plead to me in the darkness, knowing I was there. She could feel me just as much as I could feel her. But I never came for her. I never answered her back. I, who had promised her an eternity before, could now not even spare her a moment of time."
"Wendy got sick," I stated. "She did not die simply because you did not come for her."
"I could have taken her to Neverland!" Peter snapped. "Then she would never have to worry of growing up and getting sick and dying. She would not feel any pain. And she'd be with me… and Tink… and the Lost Boys… and we would… we would be a family."
"Oh Peter," I wrapped my arms around him, realizing this was no longer about Wendy and Peter, but rather of Peter and the fact he had no family since his parents had died. "You cannot replace a family. Nothing can compensate for a parents' love. Sure, you can attempt to create a sense of family and security, but nothing is the same as coming home to a family that would give anything for you, no matter how much you change or get sick or grow up."
"I cannot find Neverland," Peter wept on my shoulder. "There is no Neverland for me any more, Annie. There will be no flying for me, or swims with the mermaids, or nights dancing with the Indians or playing with my Lost Boys. No more battles with Hook. I have lost everything."
"You have me, Peter." I looked down at his tear-stained face, and wiped away his tears.
"Why would you want me? There is nothing I have to offer."
"All I need is in my arms right now," I replied. "I could spend forever like this perfectly content, thank you."
"Forever is such a long time…"
Peter's weak answer brought tears to my eyes. That statement which I had heard and said numerous times hit me right in the gut and brought such an overwhelming melancholy to the atmosphere it seemed like if ever I let go of Peter, it would consume me whole.
"I have nothing to offer you either, but I love you Peter. Truly I do. I would not say so if I didn't, for to love someone is to finally grow up and give yourself completely to that one person. And such a sacrifice I would not do for any ordinary person." I leaned forward, allowing my lips to brush his ears in a whisper as his had done to me once before. "Promise me forever, Peter Pan."
"I have already promised you forever, Margaret Anita Maurice." Peter looked at me, his eyes finally shining with the same rapture I had first known, now gleaming only with a new promise. "And never once did I intend to break it."
AN: Not over yet, but very close to it. The story is drawing to its end. Hope you all enjoyed it while it lasted and that it was not that horrendous of a first fanfiction. Thank you again to all of the reviewers and readers. I love you guys moooochos. :
