Forever Neverland(4)

“Wendy, go home and get some rest. I will follow up with your parents.”

Whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality? Wendy thought, bitterly, as she made her way to the office door. But she knew it didn’t count in her case. She was special.

It had been five years since Wendy and her brothers had gone to Neverland. The night that they’d returned, suddenly home and covered in dirt and sea salt from head to toe, everything had begun to go wrong.

Her parents didn’t believe a word they had said. They were convinced that their children had been abducted. And worse – abused.

Since then, things for Wendy and her brothers had only gotten worse. Much worse.

Wendy stepped out into the parking lot of the doctor’s office and ran a hand through her long caramel-brown hair. “Oh Peter,” she whispered. “Where are you?”

Five years was such a long time. Why had Peter Pan never come back?

*****

If Wendy Darling felt that five years was a long time, to a very young man not very far way, it was an eternity.

“I can’t do it, Tink.” Peter Pan gazed out the window for the ten thousandth time and still saw nothing he really liked.

Tinkerbell looked up from the book she was reading and cocked her head to one side. “You can’t do what?”

Peter sighed. “I can’t live in this world any more. It’s so boring. Nothing ever happens here.” He shook his head forlornly. “Nothing good, anyway.”

Tinkerbell, who was no longer in the form of a tiny, flittering fairy, bookmarked her place and put her book down. Then she stood up and walked across the room to stand by Peter’s side. To anyone who laid eyes on her in this world, she would appear to be nothing more than a pretty, blonde human girl, the same age as Peter. But looks could be deceiving.

Tinkerbell thought about what Peter had just said. It was patently false, as far as she was concerned. Peter had done tons of stuff. He had traveled around the entire world, in fact.

Though it was a rather adult kind of thing to do, Peter had even worked various jobs. Tinkerbell had stood beside him as his “assistant” when he’d taught children to ski in the Alps. She had hovered, nervously and invisibly, over his shoulder and protected him from being burned as he’d fought fires in a city called San Francisco. Tinkerbell had even watched him zap a shark on the nose with a strange electric stick once – when he’d been diving off the coast of another place called Australia.

That place, with its endless beaches, native villages, and thick forests, had reminded her a lot of home.

But anyway – this world was honestly far from boring.

Still, it was no use arguing with Peter when he was in one of his moods. And his mood was growing darker by the second.

“I agree,” Tinkerbell said, her bottom lip turning out in her patented pout. “It’s awful here. Let’s go back.”

Peter was silent for a long while. And then he sighed again and turned to face her. “I can’t. I keep trying, I swear. I tried again last night. But I’m stuck here.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “I can feel that my promise still binds me.”

“But the Lost Boys are all fine, Pete,” Tink said, shaking her head. “They all have homes now.” Her brow was furrowed and her hands found her hips. “So, why are you still bound by this promise of yours?”

Peter blinked. And then he shrugged. “To tell the truth, I don’t know, Tink. I don’t know what’s holding me here. I vowed to make certain that Neverland’s children were okay before I went back. And they seem to be okay…” His expression became one of stark frustration. “So, why can’t I leave?” His hand was balled in a fist and in a sudden fit of fury that was very like Peter Pan, he turned and swung his fist toward the window in front of him.

Luckily for him – and for the window – Tink had grown used to Peter’s temper tantrums, and she easily caught his arm before his hand was able to connect with the glass. She was inhumanly strong, being a pixie. Otherwise, she would not have been able to stop him. He was now nineteen, after all, and no longer as small as he once was. He’d grown quite strong, himself.

“Calm down. We need to figure this out.” Tinkerbell released his arm and turned to pace across the room. She chewed on her lip. “We just need to think…” She was quiet for a minute and then she stopped in her tracks and looked up. “Are you absolutely sure all of the Lost Boys are okay?”

Peter nodded. “Loving parents, warm beds, school rooms and healthy food and all that nonsense.” He made a face as if disgusted by the thought. “Yes,” he finished. “They’re all fine. Happy, anyway.”