We walked out of Felix's room, my heart still aching from the exchange that had just occurred. Peter was talking. "I took Wendy to the fountain. I thought maybe that would make her happy. It was one of her favorite places in Neverland. I didn't think she'd drink it…" "Wait, hold on, what fountain? And is it bad that she drank it? Is my mother okay?" I questioned him. Peter grinned. "See for yourself!" And with that we arrived at the common room. Standing in it was a young girl, about our age, with curly brown hair, wearing a nightgown with blue ribbon. "Mom?" I asked the girl, astonished.
"Hello dear. Yes it's me," the girl – Mom – said. "But, I don't understand… how…? What…?" I trailed off. I looked over at Felix and he nodded in understanding. He explained, "On the far east side of the island, there is a naturally supplied spring that runs under the ground. It is what keeps the island so youthful. No one except us knows about it. If Hook found it, he might use it against us… anyway, correct me if I'm wrong Peter, but Wendy was too curious for her own good and she drank from it. Some of that youth in the spring transferred to her physically. The spring only gives you what your heart desires, nothing more. I guess Wendy wanted to be young again, so that's what the fountain gave her." "It's true. I don't regret having you, Cara, know that, but there are some parts I would do over in my youth. Following my heart, for example," my mom said, quickly glancing at Peter. Peter didn't seem to notice, though I thought I saw his ears turn a bit red. "Well," he said, "now that we've got our Wendy back, I think it's about time we showed Cara around the island."
Still reeling from the fact that my mother was now my age, I blindly said yes. "Great!" Felix and Peter said in unison. "Here we go!" and we all linked hands and ran up the tunnel into the clearing. Once there, we flew up through the trees. Every time, the sight made my breath catch in my throat. I noticed that we were headed to the shore, more specifically, a cove. "Mermaid Lagoon," I whispered. Felix grinned, nodding at me. And it was indeed where we were headed. I was excited, but also a bit nervous. I didn't know why, I just had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, like this wasn't going to go well. I pushed my doubts aside and let myself be excited. We got to the quiet lagoon and all was calm. You could see the mermaids moving under the water, circling the rocks on which we stood. It was quite terrifying actually, like sharks circling a wounded seal.
I saw a head break through the surface with barely a ripple. She was stunning; she had long golden hair and blue eyes that perfectly reflected the sea. Her tail was a mixture of teal and sparkling silver. I couldn't stop staring and she noticed. With a laugh like water cascading down a waterfall, she swam over to us, gesturing to her sisters to join. One by one, I saw fiery reds, chocolaty browns, vibrant blues and greens and purples pop up from under the water. They were each as gorgeous as the first. Treading water in place with their powerful-looking tails, they began to giggle. Unsure of what the joke was, I chuckled as well, which made them laugh harder. "That's enough Nereida," Felix said sternly. "What?" the blond asked. "We're only laughing. And you look so cute when you're angry, I must say." The others joined in with shouts of, "Yeah, he is!" "Go get him Ner!" "Ooooh, I think he's blushing," and "Just kiss already!" That one killed me. I don't know why, but I was already insanely overprotective of Felix. I certainly did not want him kissing some fish. But before I could say anything, the mermaid – Nereida - shot me a very mischievous look and grabbed Felix by the collar and kissed him full on the mouth. To his credit, he looked completely shocked, and he pushed her away immediately. I had to look away, however, because my furiously red cheeks would give away my jealousy. Ignoring the beautiful creature, he hopped from rock to rock straight over to me. "Cara," he said in a low voice. "That didn't mean anything. I- I didn't know she was going to do that. I'm sorry." He said, looking down. I glanced at his face and saw the sincerity there. "It's really none of my business. You can kiss whoever you please. She's beautiful, so are you, so it doesn't matter. We haven't known each other very long after all. It's not like you have feelings for me." I shot back cruelly. I don't know what came over me. It was always just my defense mechanism that when I got hurt, I pretended not to care, and I denied that anyone else cared. I wished with all my heart that I could take those words back when I saw the hurt on his face. It was only there for a second, he covered it with a mask of stoic non-emotion. But I could see it lingering in his eyes. He turned and flew off without a word.
Mom and Peter came up to me, disappointment clear on their faces. "What?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "You didn't have to be that nasty to him," said Peter. "He's like my brother… I know what he's thinking. He cares a lot about you, Cara. And you just shut him down." "I- I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking, I just, I was jealous and, oh God, what have I done? I have to fix this." I rambled. "I think I know where he'll be," Mom said.