Impossible Peter Part One - Kim Wilson (13)

      (This is very long and I'm sorry to bore you with it but it's the beginning of a story that I may or may not continue.)    


           Chapter One
     "You never listen to anything I say! You don't value my opinion! We moved halfway across the country and you never asked me if I wanted to leave. What did I ever do to you to make you hate me this much?" I screamed at my father. We were having, yet again, another argument. Trying to count how many we have in a day would be like counting the stars: it could go on forever.
     "You were born! You survived when Layla and Mary didn't," he snapped, "Just go to your room and stay there. I don't want to see your hideous face for the rest of the night. In fact, just stay there until you're old enough to move out." Each word he spoke pierced my soul more.
     I ran down the long, dark hallway and slammed the door to my room behind me. With tears running down my face, blurring my vision, I fell onto my window seat.
     "You're so ugly." "I wish you weren't born." "Who would want to be friends with you?" These thought swarmed my mind. Sitting on my window sill, I was feeling sorry for my pitiful life. My mother and twin sister died two short years ago, so my father decided to move from my childhood home. The memories tortured him, but they were all I had left. That home used to contain a happy family; this house just contains pieces of a broken, misshapen "family."
    The move wouldn't have been so bad, if my dad actually cared about me; instead he blames me for my mother and sisters death. I wasn't even present when she died, I was with my grandmother. They were driving and hit by a drunk driver. If anyone were to be blamed, it wouldn't be me. What makes him blame me, I'll never know. To top it all off, I was in a new city, I had no friends, my dad hated me, and everyone at school bullied me. I had no one. I was alone. Gazing at the stars, I wished nothing more than to be on one of them. I wished so desperately to be transported somewhere occupied by the kindest people. Somewhere with people who would love me, despite my flaws. I wanted to travel somewhere I could be loved, but that wasn't life. There was no hero swooping in to save me from my despair. It was only me crying among the twinkling stars.
     I tugged on the pillow lying next to me and drew it close to my face. I screamed until my muffled cries were nothing more than a dull throb in my ears. When I raised my head, I saw the face of a boy looking at me curiously. He looked about my age, maybe younger. His hair was tangled in curls and was the brightest shade of blonde I've ever seen. His face showed great concern as he studied me. How he managed to get in my window, I did not know.
     "Don't think your pity party has gone unnoticed. My name is Peter Pan," he held out his hand. I slowly reached up and shook it, "Why are you crying?"
     "My name is Terra and I'm crying because my life is a mess," I said laughing at how pathetic I probably looked. My whole situation was not something someone my age should have to endure. Typical teenagers don't have to go through their day wishing they weren't alive. It was too much for someone like me to bear.
     "Then come with me! You don't have to worry about anything! I live in Neverland and I never grow up. I have no responsibility, no heart ache, no annoying parents bossing me around. I just go on adventures all day," said the boy called Peter. He was a curious fellow, dressed in a forest green shirt that seemed to be made of leaves, and black pants. He looked like a normal teenager, but he dressed oddly and spoke of magical things that couldn't possibly be true.
     "What are you talking about? Everyone grows up; it's a part of life," I responded.
     "Not me! I have a whole gang of Lost Boys in Neverland and we never grow old," he stated matter-of-factly, "I can fly you there. Wait here."
      So, there I was standing on my window seat waiting on an impossible boy. I turned and l took one last look at my room. If I was to really go away that night, I wanted to remember the room of my last home.
      "Oh, no!" I ran to my desk and pulled out my mothers locket. I could leave everything behind, but the last piece of my mother was not one of them.
     "All you need is some pixie dust. And a little faith you won't fall," he laughed. Floating next to him was a tiny girl with skin that seemed to glow.
     "Pixie?" I asked. This could not be real. Flying? Pixie dust? Fairy-like creatures?
     "This is Tinker Bell; she's a fairy. Don't worry about her too much, you won't notice she's there a lot," he whispered. Tinker Bell's face turned bright red. She crossed her arms and stomped her foot. With her high pitched voice, she began to yell at Peter. All I could hear was bell like sounds, maybe that's why she was called Tinker Bell. "I'm just kidding Tink!"
     Peter pulled out a brown leather sack and sprinkled glittering dust over my head. Slowly, my feet lifted off of my seat as if some force was pulling me up. Peter grabbed my arm and guided me out of the window. We flew past the beautiful stone buildings and soared into the dark, twinkling sky. We soared past constellation after constellation; Peter would point out each one as we passed. He was well educated for a boy who wouldn't grow up. I felt so free to have the cool breeze hitting my face and knowing that I was finally leaving my devastating life behind.
     "Do you do this everyday?" I asked astonished. This was magnificent! Peter laughed at my excitement, clearly amused by my amateur flying ability. Suddenly, we burst through clouds and entered the land Peter called Neverland and at first sight I fell in love.
     There were beautiful fields full of flowers. The flowers were beautiful eye popping shades of pink, yellow, and red, that appeared to stretch on for miles. We passed elegant mountains that seemed to reach Heaven. The sun was shining and reflecting off of the crystal blue waters. The water was so clear you could see fish and mermaids swimming in it below. The leaves of the trees were beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. The sky was clear and the sun shined bright. I'm that moment I decided I never wanted to leave Neverland.
     "Ahoy! It's Peter Pan," a voice shouted below, "Get him before he strikes again!"
     "We have to hurry," said Peter, "I can't let the Pirates get you before you meet my crew."
     Dogging the cannonballs aimed at us, we quickly flew to his tree home. The tree was like the others. It  had large red leaves and in the center, a red door. The door was elegantly carved and opened without a sound. Inside there were five boys in a line and waiting. I looked around the room, taking in each detail. There was a small red sofa in the corner with a green rug underneath it. In the back hung a small painting of the mountains and flower fields we saw when we first entered Neverland.
     "Hey, I didn't even have to call for a line up," Peter laughed, breaking my concentration. He hung the bag of pixie dust on a hook near the door.
     "We heard the Pirates!" Exclaimed the boy at the front of the line. He was dressed in a rabbit suit. I quickly realized most of them were dressed in assorted animal suits. Each suit looked life-like and from a distance would look real. They must have used the suits as a camouflage to hide from the Pirates. Each boy looked older than four but younger than Peter. Peter didn't seem to have any friends his age either.
     "They tried to get us. I wasn't even able to show Terra the meadow yet," he laughed. He turned and grabbed a hand-drawn map off of the desk in the center of the room.
      "Who are they?" I asked.
      "They're people like us. I brought some of them to Neverland, but they weren't right. They were jealous that I don't grow up, so they tried to trap the Lost Boys and use spells to keep them from growing up. I saved them all myself. Now they attack us, always trying to find a source of eternal youth," he explained. The atmosphere in the room shifted. I could sense that they didn't get along with the pirates. An awkward silence fell over us.
     "What is the meadow?" I asked curiously changing the subject. Peters mouth formed into a smirk and his eyes twinkled mischievously.
     "I'll show you," he grabbed my hand and we ran through the beautiful trees with the Lost Boys and Tinker Bell trailing behind. He came to a sudden stop and pointed up. My gaze followed, and I saw that the trees grew together at the top and formed a dome which seemed to protect the tiny houses surrounding us. There were many houses made of mushrooms and flowers, with  fairies like Tinker Bell dwelling in them. Tinker Bell flew to small, yellow flower house and visited with her fairy friends. Peter marched on and showed me a big bowl full of pixie dust.
     "This is all the pixie dust Tink and her friends made me. I'm only supposed to use this but Tink will bring me more when I run out. You can share it with me if you stay. The Lost Boys and I can make you a tree house too," he said.
     "You can be our mother!" Exclaimed the boy in the rabbit suit from behind us.
      "Yeah, and she can read us bedtime stories!" Shouted another.
     "And tuck us in at night! Will you please?" Pleaded the youngest dressed in a squirrel suit. The other Lost Boys pleaded as well.
     "Oh, alright. First we need to start by getting you guys actual clothes. I can't have you all dressing like animals can I?" I laughed.
     "I knew you were special!" said Peter. He chased the younger boys and played with them as I sat and sewed together cloth made by the fairies. For such tiny creatures, they were really good at making things, especially Tink.
     I must have fallen asleep while sewing, because I was woke by Peter shaking me, announcing my tree house was finished.
     "When did you make it?" I asked brushing dirt off of my skirt. Peter just smiled and lead me to the house. From look of the house, it appeared they worked hours.
     "We made this while you slept. The clothes you made fit everyone really well, thanks. It's hard to keep the boys in line because they won't listen to another guy, except Mason. Mason is a really good kid," he explained.
     "Is it the small one?" I asked pointing at the youngest. It seemed ironic that the youngest boy listened the most. "He helped me find a needle on the beach shore. Apparently 'stuffs like that always comes in from the mainland.'"
     "Yeah. He's really good at finding that stuff-"
     "Terra! Terra! We made you a house, now you can stay!" Mason yelled as he ran up to me. He gave me a hug and whispered to me. He told me that he was glad he could finally have a mom. It broke my heart to hear that, since I didn't have one myself. When I was wishing to find people who would love me while fighting tears, I didn't expect it to come true. Standing there with a small child looking at me with such affection, I realized that I could never leave this place. I could never leave them.
     "Boys get to your houses, there's a big day ahead tomorrow. We're supposed to have tea with the mermaids," Peter instructed, going into his own house.
     I slowly walked into my new home and settled into the wooden bed. For a house made of a tree, it wasn't that bad.