How long had it really been? The days spent in Neverland seemed like a distant dream for the once young and imaginative little girl. Gone were the cascading waterfalls over mermaid lagoon. Gone were the young orphan boys lost to their parents. There were no more pirates. Worst of all there was no more flying with her beloved Peter Pan. No, Wendy didn’t have any of these things anymore. What she had now was a mortgage, a job, an unfaithful husband and a little girl whose strawberry curls and innocent smile only fueled her mother’s jealousy.  Peter never wanted her to grow up, and now she wished that she had listened to the original Lost Boy.

For a while her daughter would listen to the tales her mother would weave. The little girl would be trapped for days in a world where pirates were the enemy, and loud squeals would echo through their England home when Captain Hook would find the girl. Her mother would smile and rescue her, becoming the little girls hero, Wendy would become Peter Pan for a few moments. When she was done and her little girl was in bed Wendy would imagine that Peter would be there knocking on the window and trying to steal her away again, but those times stopped long ago. Peter didn’t try to take Wendy back to Neverland, for she had grown up and forgotten how to fly.

Eventually her daughter grew up as well. Her forts made up of sheets and dining room chairs were replaced with textbooks. Wendy had stopped telling her daughter about Neverland and Peter Pan. After a while Wendy just stopped talking. She didn’t fight with her husband anymore, and eventually he left, something younger had caught his eye. Her daughter didn’t scream when Captain Hook attacked, and Wendy was no longer the hero. Now the stories of Neverland stayed only in her memories as her mind faded fast. Eventually Wendy just stayed in her room, next to the bay window looking out into the sky and waiting for Peter to come take her away. She didn’t want to grow up anymore. She wanted her fairytale again. She wanted to read to the Lost Boys and protect them from pirates. She wanted to fly over Mermaid lagoon holding Peter’s hand.

Eventually her memories faded into the real world, transforming her curtains into soft Spanish moss. Her stairs became part of the jagged cliffs of Blind Man’s Bluff, and her room became “Home Underground” where she read stories to her boys, calming them into a lull before bed.  She was the twelve year old Wendy.  Peter had come back to take her away. She smiled and took the boys hand, stepping onto her balcony and pulling her shawl around her tighter. “Come on Wendy. Fly.” The elfish boy whispered to her with a smile, lightly tugging her hand for encouragement.

“Think happy thoughts.” She took a deep breath as she stepped off the railing and into the sky. “I can fly.” She breathed a sigh of relief when she floated into the air and away into Neverland. She would never grow up, she would never get old, and she would never die.

“Wake up Wendy.” A voice would plead to her, but Wendy was awake, and flying far past the North Star and straight on until morning.