I have no idea what to write on this spot…..
"Go ahead," Pan says. "Ask."
I take a deep breath and ask, "Who is my father,"?
Pan smirks, knowing he finally got me to do what he wants.
"Your father," Pan tells me. "Didn't care about you."
"Your lying," I tell Pan. "My father did care."
"You have never met the man," Pan says. "He did abandon you after all."
He had no choice.
"What was his name,"? I ask Pan.
"He didn't care for you," Pan tells me. "And why would his name matter to you anyway,"?
"That is my business," I tell Pan. "The agreement was that you tell me who my father is."
"I just did," Pan points out. "I told you he was a man who would disown his own child."
Did he just say that?
"Are you mad, Anna,"? Pan teases. "Mad that I found a loophole in the deal? But why would you be? You do that all the time."
"You have no idea how much I want to punch your face," I say clenching my fist.
"That wouldn't be wise," Pan taunts.
I don't bother to ask another question. He would just find a way to answer them without giving the answer I want. If I want answers, I need to get them myself.
I need to talk to someone.
I go to Baelfire's hut. He isn't there.
I walk around the camp, and I see Baelfire talking to one of the lost boys, Stephan.
I walk towards him. Without him noticing, I sit down and listen to the conversation going on between him and Stephan.
"-she didn't tell me much," Baelfire says. "But that is her business."
"Did she mention anything about her parents or any other family members,"? Stephan asks Baelfire.
Are they talking about me? If so, why is Stephan interested in my past life? I have only met him once. Chances are, Pan put him up to this.
"Why don't you ask her yourself,"? Baelfire asks Stephan.
"Because I haven't seen her around," Stephan says.
Yep, they are definitely talking about me.
"By the way, why aren't you looking for her,"? Stephan asks Baelfire. "She didn't return last night or in the morning; shouldn't you be worried about her,"?
"Anna can take care of herself," Baelfire admits. "And I think she wants to be alone."
"Wait," Stephan says like is realizing something. "How long have you been listening,"?
Stephan and Baelfire's faces turn to look at me.
"Long enough to figure that you have been talking about me. Why the sudden interest in me,"? I ask Stephan.
"I am just trying to get to know the people here," Stephan says in defense.
"But why specifically me,"?
"Were you in the rain last night,"? Baelfire jumping to changing the subject. "Or did you jump in the sea,"?
I just glare at him.
"You are extremely damp," Baelfire explains. "What were you doing,"?
"Don't act like I expected this to happen," I tell Baelfire.
"Why don't you sit by the fire and get some new clothes on,"? Baelfire suggests ignoring the fact that Stephan is sitting next to him listening to every word.
"Where would I get a change of clothes from,"? I ask Baelfire.
"I have a pair," Baelfire offers. "And I know you don't mind wearing boy clothes."
Of course he has a pair of extra clothes with him.
Baelfire went to his hut and quickly came with a folded change of clothes. I then left the camp, and I found a private area with a bunch of trees.
I unfold the clothes to see a rough, light brown shirt and pants. I quickly put the clothes on. The pants goes down to a little above my ankles. And the shirt sleeves go down to me elbows. The clothes are not exactly comfortable, but they are dry. My boots are soaked, but I can deal with that.
After a couple of minutes, I head back a different way.
I walk a different path to the camp. I didn't walk that far when I saw on the ground a bow and arrows.
Probably belongs to one of the lost boys.
I pick up the bow and an arrow. It wouldn't hurt to learn how to shoot.
I put my damp clothes, and I place an arrow the same way I have watch others done it. I look around for a target. I my right eye, and I aim for middle of a tree truck. Two seconds later, I shoot. The arrow didn't hit even the tree. It hit the ground, about a few feet from the trunk.
I didn't expect to get a perfect shot, but I didn't expect to do this bad.
I shoot another arrow, and again, I missed. Soon, I have used up all of the arrows. Not a single arrow hit the tree.
I knew that I don't have a good aim. But honestly, I didn't think that I was this bad.
Wait.
Devin offered to teach me….
But he is probably mad at me.
I will never know unless I ask.
The next thing I do is wonder whether I should bring the bow with me or not. One voice says taking the bow wouldn't be a big deal. Another is saying if I do take the bow, and it belongs to one of the lost boys, a fight will stir up.
I end up taking the bow and the arrows.
Then I walk back to camp. And this time, I didn't become lost.
Baelfire was not hard to find. He is fighting Stephan with wooden sticks. There is a big smile on his face. He seems to be having fun.
He doesn't notice that I am watching.
I place my damp clothes in his hut, and I head back to the main part of camp. I see Devin throwing his spear on a painted-on target on a large tree.
Like Baelfire, he doesn't notice that I am standing there. I walk toward him until I am right behind him.
"Hey," I say trying to get Devin's attention. He either doesn't hear that or pretends not to.
"Hey,"! I say louder. Devin turns around to face me.
"Decided to finally talk to me? What do you what,"? Devin asks.
"I want to learn how to shoot," I tell him.
Devin looks at me, "where did you get those from,"? he says gesturing to my bow and arrows.
"Found them on the ground," I admit.
"There is so much you need to learn," Devin says in an annoyed tone.
"I know," I admit. "And I am hoping that you help me with that."
"This is what's going to happen," Devin tells me. "I will teach you what it takes to be one of us. Among that, you will learn how to aim."
I know what he getting at. He will teach me not to be a nuisance to Pan, in exchange, he will teach me how to aim.
I am already working on not causing trouble. And I am failing miserably.
But with Devin's help…
It's a win-win situation for me.
"I can work with that," I tell Devin.
Devin nodded, "Follow me," he says.
I follow him out of the camp, and into the woods.
"I want to see how you hold a bow and arrow," Devin says.
I take the bow off my shoulder, and I place an arrow in it like I am going to shoot.
"Are you always this tense,"? Devin asks me.
"I have never noticed myself being tense," I tell admit.
"You need to relax a bit," Devin tells me.
"You expect me to relax if I am trying to shoot for food or defense,"? I ask Devin.
"Your can excite your mind or the rest of your body as much as you want to," Devin says. "But you need to relax your shoulders."
Then he takes a look at the rest of my body.
"You shouldn't slouch so much," Devin critics me.
Its been years since I have cared if I slouched or not. But nonetheless, I do straighten up my back.
I put the bow and arrow down.
"What now,"? I ask Devin. "Do I need to fix my stance too,"?
"No," Devin replies. "Use whatever stance you are comfortable with."
I lift up the bow and arrow, I aim for a large tree.
Seconds later, I let go of the arrow.
The arrow hit the tree right next to it.
"Have you ever tried to shoot an arrow before,"? Devin asks me.
I nod, "Less than an hour ago."
"Was it this bad,"? Devin asks me with no sympathy in his voice.
"Worse," I admit.
"You certainly not a natural. But if put time into this, you will be able to hit the right tree in maybe year from now."
A year? That is too long.
"Any shortcuts,"? I ask Devin.
"You really don't have the patience for anything, do you? And the answer is no; there is no short cuts to achieving this skill," Devin replies.
Many years ago, in the realm without magic.
Eleanor is my name. Except my father, he calls me Ella every now and then.
My father doesn't approve many things, including:
Make-up.
Sweets (Exclusions were made for special occasions.
Dirty jokes.
Being around people of bad influences.
Dating.
I must mind my manners and everything I do must have effort. Among those are many other rules. My father promised to explain to me why he had all these rules when I got older.
I never understand why I have to follow all of his rules. He is hardly at home. He will leave for work and not come back from a day up to a month. He would leave my step-mother to take care of me. I neither liked or disliked her. She wasn't cruel and unfair; she is just too obedient.
My father doesn't trust the school system to teach his daughter. Because of that, he hired a tutor to come to my house six days a week to teach me. That person is a lady named Beverly Rivard. She would teach me math, reading, and writing. I am ok at math, but my other subjects… are not going so well.
I am surprised that I have the luxury of having a private tutor. All of this money my father has should be going to help the war that is going on. Rumors are that this war is the worst in the history of wars. Everyone in the state of South Carolina are saving everyone penny and scrap of metal to help America win the war. And here I am, living with good food and private lessons.
Whenever he is home, we go for runs, do a bit of hand to hand contact fighting. On top of that, he teaches me how to use a hand gun. Another luxury that I shouldn't have. The only others who are allowed to use and have guns are soldiers. I have no idea of what my father's work is. All I know is that it is important, and it pays the bills.
"Eleanor," Mrs. Rivard says. It is a Wednesday morning, in the month of March, South Carolina, in the year 1943. My father was away in a business trip, as usual.
"I got a new student roughly your age," she announces.
Make that two families who are not saving every scrap for the war effort.
"She and you have your strengths and weaknesses. She is great at reading, writing. You are excelling in mathematics; I would like to see you two tutor each other." Mrs. Rivard tells me.
"I would love to do that," I respond.
Yes, I am interested. But more because I want company more then I want to get better at school subjects.
"I must first talk to your father when he returns from his trip. Did he mention when he will return,"? Mrs. Beverly asked me.
"He told me he will try to be home tomorrow, around eleven or twelve at night," I respond.
After my teacher left, I took a walk outside. Many buds are out, not ready to bloom to flowers yet. But I don't really care for them. The plants have been there as long as I can remember. They bloom, they die, repeat. For many people, the flowers are the reason for walks. I walk to get out the house. Spending most of my day under one roof gets me nuisance.
"Good afternoon isn't it Eleanor,"? my neighbor Ms. Sharron asks.
"Yes, it is," I respond.
After a half and hour of talking with Ms. Sharron I head back to the house.
My neighbors are nice to me, but I can tell that they judge my family.
Right before I unlock the front door, I do something I haven't done in a while. I look at my house. It is a one story with three bedrooms, a small kitchen and dining room, a living room, laundry room, and two wash rooms. The outside itself has a modest size cut green yard. My father was always strict about me keeping my toys off the lawn. Right in front of the front door, there is a small porch with a rocking chair and a mat.
I go into the door, which goes into the kitchen. My stepmother is here, making roast beef and mash potatoes.
When she sees me, she says "your father came home early, he wants to talk to you."
Early from a work trip? That has never happened before.
I head to my father's room. I stand in front of the closed door. I take a breath, and I knock.
"Enter," my father says.
I opened the door, and I walked into the bedroom. The father is sitting on his bed.
"You wanted to see me,"? I ask.
"Yes," my father responds. "We are going to practice shooting as soon as I change my shirt."
"Already,"? I ask my father. "You just got home."
Odd thing about my father. Usually when parents come home from a day of work, they will want nothing to do but to rest. But not my father.
My father is always on my feet; and he expects everyone else to be able to do the same.
I head to the basement. There are targets all shapes and sizes. The reason for using the basement is the fact that nobody, even my stepmother, doesn't know my father is teaching me how to use a gun. Hearing shots isn't an issue either; the basement is sound proof. Keeping my mouth shut isn't that hard, because there is no one I talk to about my troubles.
I never understood why he makes me use a gun. All jobs women In America do not involve guns. But my father tells me I will understand soon. He says that about everything. Why he is so strict, what is his job, and why he leaves great lengths of time.
"You are not focusing,"! my father yells at me.
I aim the gun at the target again. The noise is like poison to my ears. When I first started shooting, I shot my ears feel like an explosion of noise. Over time, it became bearable.
I aim at the staying still target. I pull the trigger, and I miss only by a couple of inches.
"Why are you not hitting the target,"? my father asks me in a disappointing voice.
"I am doing my best," I say. "But shooting a gun isn't one of my strong suits."
"We have been working on this for two years now," my father says. "You shoot be able to shoot mosquito yards away by now."
Then he moves closer so I his mouth is close to were my ear is.
"Ella, hit the target," he says.
And I did. I always did what he told me to. Even if I don't want to. Every time I try to disobey, my chest would hurt like hell.
Back to Neverland….
The next half an hour was spent trying to hit even the outskirts of tree. And with every miss, Devin got more impatient.
"I can tell you are tired of watching me," I say. "Same time, tomorrow."
"You really need to work on this," Devin tells me.
"I have notice," I groan.
Me and Devin head back to the camp. He goes fight Felix, and I go to find Baelfire. He is drawling something on the ground while sitting on a log.
"Hey," I say having a seat next to him.
"You are a confusing person, Anna," Baelfire says.
"How so,"? I ask Baelfire.
He doesn't reply.
"Baelfire, why were you and Stephan talking about me earlier,"? I ask him cutting to the chase.
"Stephan was curious why a girl was on the island," Baelfire replies.
"But why did he ask about my family,"? I ask.
"Why don't you ask him yourself,"? Baelfire asks me.
"I am going to be truthful, I think everyone is more honest to you then me," I tell Baelfire.
"Why do you always see the worst in people,"? Baelfire asks me.
"It is just one of my traits," I respond.
"It isn't a good one," Baelfire points out.
"I will be the judge of that."
Then there is silence between us.
Back to the past…
My father gave permission to have some of my lessons with the girl. But in one condition, my skills must improve.
Two months later….
The girl's name is Molly. She is extremely nice. For the first time in my life, I have a girl to talk to. She would arrive early and stay late so we can talk.
Molly is thirteen years old, a year older than me. The most noticeable feature is her straight, blond hair. My father is away on a work trip. But I note to myself to ask him if I can invite Morgan over for tea.
Two and a half months later…...
My father has been gone for four months now. I can't remember the last time he has been gone this long. Atop of that, Molly moved.
"Eleanor," my stepmother says getting my mind into focus. "Your father has arrived, and he wants to see you."
The same speech whenever my father comes home.
I head to my father's room, and like normal routine, I knock. He tells me to enter.
I wait for him to him to tell me that we are shooting. But he doesn't.
"We are leaving," my father says calmly.
"Where are we going to,"? I ask my father.
"We are leaving this realm," he responds.
"Father, I have not learned the meaning "realm" yet," I tell him.
"You have a lot to learn," my father says. "Your questions will be answered, but we must leave first."
"Why are we leaving,"? I ask my father.
"Ella," my father says. "Shut up until we reach our destination."
And I did.
Neverland…
The next few days were spent trying to hit the target. I have made some progress…. hardly. About everyone other day I would hit an inch or two closer to the target. And as for me and Baelfire, we have small talks here and there. But we have been a bit distant. He has told me that he goes back to the cave every morning to scratch a mark on the cave wall per a day he has been here. I have been trying to figure out why Stephan is interested in me. He has been trying to talk with me. I also have been careful of what I answer.
I actually made friends with one of the lost boys. Mathew, who has been pleasant company. But there are also the lost boys who act like I am a nuisance. John still hasn't forgiven me for that incident a while back. And whenever I make eye contact like Felix, he looks as if he wants to murder me. The weird part is that I hardly have seen Pan. He shows his face only at night. He plays his flute and then everything goes black. The next morning, everyone would find themselves laying on the ground.
But besides that, things have been good. Well, at least better than my first few weeks in Neverland. I have discovered more about the island every day.
"Wake up Anna," someone said shaking me awake. I groggily slowly open my eyes. I look at my surroundings. I am on the ground, and on my side, Devin is shaking me awake.
"What do you want,"? I ask groaning.
"It's not what I want, it is what you want," he responds. "I believe you are the one who told me that you want to learn how to aim."
I get off the ground, and I pull out a flask hanging from my belt. I quickly drink the rest of my water as I walk with Devin.
After a while of walking and running, we make it to our usual practice area. Like usual, I make hardly any progress. And that annoys the heck out of Devin.
"Are you trying to miss the target,"? Devin asks me.
"Are you trying to even help me,"? I ask him.
"What do you think I am doing,"? he asks.
"Acting like a critic that thinks I should be able to accomplish this on first try," I reply.
"Aren't you like that with Baelfire,"? Devin asks firing back.
He is right. I do treat Baelfire like this.
"Whatever," I say. "I am done for the day."
"Giving up,"? Devin asks.
"No," I respond. "I am just done for the day."
Before he can say anything else, I walk away.
I know I keep discussing this with myself. Why do I keep treating Baelfire unfairly? Many things don't make since anymore…. I cannot remember pieces of my life, and the memories I do have are not making sense.
With those thoughts, I head back to the camp.
The first thing I do is look for Baelfire's crazy curly hair. In this island, it is difficult sometimes to distinct boy from boy. To make things harder, all of them wear similar clothes.
After a few minutes of scanning my ears, I see Baelfire fighting with a wooden sword with Mathew.
Its funny how when I first met Baelfire, he seemed to be against anything violent. But here he is, fighting with a wooden sword.
I have plenty of time doing nothing. I can spend the rest of the day looking for clues on getting out of the island.
Right before I leave, I hear a loud whistle. For the first time in a week, I hear Pan's voice shout, "Gather around! We are going to play a game,"!
Quicker then a wink, all of the lost boys drop what they are doing and gather around Pan.
"We are going to have a climbing race…," Pan announces.
I quickly make my way out of the camp. Even if I was interested, my arm strength isn't that good.
"Going somewhere,"? I hear Pan's voice say.
I turn around, "Don't you have orders to give out? That's what you call fun anyway."
"Your right," Pan says. "It will be fun, which makes me wonder why you would miss it."
"Climbing ropes is not my idea of having fun," I say.
Right when I say that, I remember one of Devin's lessons. Always include yourself in Pan's activities.
But I have no intention of including myself in this competition.
"You have never done it before, it will be fun, I promise. And I always keep my promises," Pan says.
"And what if I don't,"? I ask him.
"You are breaking the deal then. Being a lost one includes being involved in the activities," Pan says.
I mentally scream. I hate when he is right.
"Fine then," I say. "I will watch."
Nothing else was said, he teleports, and I walk back to the part in the camp where the competition is going to be at.
There are five ropes. I look up; there are five lost boys nearly touching the top. All the lost boys on the ground are cheering loudly.
The lost boy who won the first round is Felix. No surprise there.
Then five more lost boys started climbing. After them, five more. I watch as the number of boys surrounding me withers.
"Next five up," Pan calls up.
The last four lost boys take their positions and wait for Pan's order for them to start climbing
"We are waiting on you Anna," Pan finally says after some time passed.
"I didn't say I was going to climb," I tell him.
"The race won't start unless you get on your spot," Pan says.
I now really wish I didn't listen to Devin.
All eyes are on me as I get on my climbing spot.
I am going to humiliate myself.
"Its all about the strength of your legs," I hear someone murmur behind me.
I turn my eyes to see Stephan quickly moving away from me.
It takes me a few seconds to realize what he is pointing out. Watching the other boys, they would move their feet up, and their arms would make the rest of their body straight.
"Go,"! I hear Pan shout before I am mentally ready. I quickly jump and tangle my legs with the rope. I push my hands up, grab rope, secure myself, push up with my feet, repeat. When I reach the top, I hesitate, but I do not look down.
Right there, I realize that I do not know how to slide down. And I wasn't focused enough watching the lost boys climb down to figure it out.
"Anna,"! Hear someone shout. "Look at what I am doing,"!
I look to my left to see Mathew sliding down. I copy his position, and I quickly slide down.
I am the last one down, but I at least I made out of it.
Next, the lost boys who won their match, competed with each other for the final winner. Soon enough, the contest lost me in any interest.
A loud noise interrupts my thinking. I bring my focus back to see Felix won. There were a mix of boos and cheers. I look at Felix's face to see a huge smirk.
Time for me to leave.
I turn around, but before I take another step, I head "Time for the foot race,"!
Is he fricken kidding me?
"No rules," announces. "Everyone against everyone! Whoever makes to Dark Hollow first wins,"!
What is Dark Hollow?
"On my count,"! he shouts. "One, tw- go,"!
Everybody, excluding Pan, starts running. Surprising, I am faster than all of the lost boys, making me in the lead.
Probably because of my experience of running.
There is just one issue, I have no idea where I am going. I purposely slow down enough for a few of the boys to pass me up. I will just follow them.
After what it feels like miles of running, I notice that a little more then half a dozen of us left. To be honest, I feel exhausted. But I know I have enough energy to go a little more.
"Almost there," One the boys say to himself.
I directly ahead. I see a dim, red glow from a small distance. That must be it. My legs start to give out.
Keep going! I can make it!
What am I thinking?
I know that I rather stay alive then to die from exhaustion.
I try to stop my legs, but they won't correspond. Its like my feet have a mind of its own. Instead of stopping them, I try to slow them down. But instead, they go up to full speed.
What in the world?
Then my feet suddenly collapse. And for the first time, I am glad that they do.
I get on my hands and knees.
My legs are wobbly, but I am able to stand up and walk.
As I walk, I see a figure come toward me. I continue to walk forward to see its Baelfire.
"How are you not knocked out,"? he asks me.
"Reasons," I reply.
"Pan was using his flute to control you," Baelfire tells me.
That explains things.
"Why would he do that,"? I ask him.
"It seems like he wanted you to win the race," Baelfire replies.
Then things clicked.
"He wants me to feel like I won," I announce. "Its part of his plan of making me want to stay. But that didn't work, my feet gave out."
Baelfire gives me a looking telling me he is confused.
"I have told before that he probably realized he cannot force me to stay in Neverland; that or I just make things difficult for him," I reminded him.
"I understand now," Baelfire says.
Then he drops the subject, "I am heading back to camp, care to join,"?
"Sure," I respond. "Before we go, I need to apologize."
"What did you do,"? he asks me.
"I don't know how to put this in words. I have been unpleasant to be around," I say.
"You can be nice sometimes, you know," Baelfire tells me. "But you never notice when you are."
"Friends,"? he asks.
"Friends," I say.
Ok, so Anna (finally!) made peace with some of the lost boys and Baelfire. The flashbacks will be getting more intense…
Please comment!