Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Peter Pan, Captain Hook, or any of Mr. Barry's other wonderful characters. I write about them solely for my own amusement, and make no profit from it except that which I receive from knowing my writing has been enjoyed by others.

Chapter 9

The Curse of Not Remembering

When Sophia did not return by the evening of the first day, James kept watch throughout the night. He ordered that every lantern on the ship be lit to show her the way back. When the sun rose and the oil in the lanterns burned down to nothing, the horizon was still bare and empty. For many days following her departure, James doubled the night watch, and the Jolly Roger blazed like a beacon when the sun set. Still, she did not return.

The Captain spent many hours with his spyglass pressed against his eye, hoping to be the first to catch sight of her. He slept little, ate less, and became increasingly irritable. His crew learned quickly not to speak to him about the one he had lost, especially after he shot the first man to suggest they go through her room and see if she'd left anything useful behind. James allowed no one in Sophia's quarters. Even he never entered them. Being in her room without her would only have made her absence more concrete. He locked her door and put the key in a secret drawer in his desk.

She was gone one week, then two, then a month, and after that, James stopped recording the time that had passed since he had seen her. For many days, Hawk Dancer flew listlessly about the ship, as if searching for his lost friend. Hook let the pixie be, and even let Hawk Dancer stand beside him while he kept watch. But, one morning, James found himself staring out at the ocean alone. In the night, the fairy had returned to his own kind.

Eventually, the emptiness that Sophia had left behind began to be filled. The time James would have spent with her was taken up with other concerns. The ship was mended, repaired, and cleaned. The search for Peter Pan was renewed with increased fervor. Because it pained him to think of Sophia, he shied away from remembering he had ever known her. It was bad enough that he was now alone. To remember that he had once had one who loved him was more than he could bear. Each day, he recalled her face less and less clearly. Neverland's strange forgetfulness stole over him, until at last, the only thing left to Hook of her was an occasional, sharp sense of loss.

The crew forgot her even more quickly than the Captain, and when the last memory of her had been lost to him, life on the ship went on much as it had before she had come.

However, something of her remained, buried deep in the recesses of Hook's mind. Whenever he passed the door to the room that had been hers, he felt a curious impulse to knock on it and see if it was occupied, even though he knew it to be empty. One day, without knowing why, he tried to open it. Finding the door locked, he was about to use his pistol to shoot it open when it occurred to him that since he was indeed captain of the ship, the key to every lock on board must be in his possession. The key turned up after a thorough search of his quarters.

By the time he stood outside of her door again, Hook was very disturbed. He could not remember what was in this room, or why it was locked, or why he felt so reluctant to open the door. Never one to admit fear, James turned the key in the lock, threw open the door, and stepped inside. He stood in the middle of the room for some time, trying to identify the smell. He knew the smell of an old, musty, long-unused space. Half the ship smelled that way. No, this was something more. Something light, almost unnoticeable. Something… feminine. He opened the closet and saw the dresses hanging neatly, collecting dust. That was it, then. This was a woman's room.

"When was there ever a woman on this ship?" James asked himself aloud. The very idea seemed preposterous to him, and yet the evidence before him was irrefutable. And what's more, why don't I remember her? Whoever this mysterious lady had been, she had obviously been well read. The room was filled with books that looked to have been shelved quickly and without any thought of order. A thick sheaf of papers tied together with a piece of string sat on the table, as well as a bottle of ink and two quills. The bed was made, and a pair of pale green slippers were situated by the bedside. On the bed, propped up against the pillow, was a single envelope with the name 'Captain James Hook' written across the front in a fine, flowing script.

Surprised to find a letter addressed to him in the lady's room, James ripped the letter open with his hook. He drew out a single sheet of paper with a few lines written on it. They read,

My Dear James,

Tomorrow, I will attempt something in the hopes that we may be able to leave this island and secure our future happiness. I must admit, I am frightened. I do not know if what I am going to do will work, or what will happen if it does not. I write this letter to ask you to remember, James, as Neverland has a way of stealing memories. Even if I am gone, remember that there is one who loves you, and know that no matter what happens, I love you still.

I remain,

Your Sophia.

Hook read the letter again, then let it drop from his hand onto the bed. He studied the room once more, hoping that having a name for its mysterious lady occupant would bring some memory of her to the surface. She had spoken to him so familiarly! And of love, of all things! And yet, try as he might, he could not put a face with her name, nor could he recall a single memory of her.

Soon after making this discovery, Hook collared each and every one of his crew and asked them if they had ever seen a woman on the ship, and if the name 'Sophia' meant anything to them. Every pirate told Hook 'no,' and cowered in fear that his failure to tell the Captain what he wanted to hear would arouse his anger. Hook, however, could not fault his crew for not being able to remember what he himself had apparently forgotten.

For a while, James tried to imagine what kind of woman this Sophia person who had said she loved him had been. He pictured her with light hair, dark hair, red hair; with green eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes; as short, tall, slender and elegant, voluptuous and sensual. None of them seemed right, and every image was discarded as soon as it was created. It seemed that the real Sophia was fated to remain lost to him. Though it was some small comfort to him that there had been, at one time, a woman who cared deeply for him, other nagging questions begged to be answered. For instance, if she loved him so much, where was she now? There were only two possibilities that Hook could see. Either the attempt she had spoken of in her letter had failed, and she had been killed, or she had chosen to leave him. Whatever had happened, she was no longer with him. He was alone.

Finally, he locked Sophia's room, put the key in the envelope with her letter, and put them both into the secret drawer. He thought of the letter only when he forgot how much pain came with remembering it.

Upon the Darling children's arrival in Neverland, all thoughts of the letter and the mystery surrounding its writer vanished from James' thoughts. Peter Pan finally had a weakness—the girl-child, Wendy. A weakness he meant to exploit to the best of his abilities.

When Hook followed Peter and Wendy to the fairy grove, he did not remember the night long past when he and Sophia had watched with wonder as the fairies danced. He only felt a stab of jealousy as he saw the children imitate the dance, awkwardly at first, then with more grace as they rose into the sky. Hook saw Wendy's bright eyes and wide smile, saw the innocent happiness that they shared, and hated Peter Pan more fiercely than ever before.

On the day the Wendy's secret kiss helped Peter to defeat his most hated enemy once and for all, Hook almost welcomed the crocodile as it leapt from the water and snapped its jaws closed around him. When the children shouted at him that he was 'old, alone, done for,' he believed them. He could remember no reason why he should not.