Peter flew in the sky as he watched the Sea Devil take flight. He had hoped to never see Hook ever again. But he knew that was a fever dream. Hook would always be there, fighting each other until the end of both of them. Peter grinned thinking of when their next adventure would take place.
The Lost Boys had all left their ships docked in space and had flown out in a gathering, waiting to talk to Peter. He looked over to Winter and gestured for her to follow him down to meet them. When he got there, Nibs was standing in front of all of them, which Peter was perplexed by. “Where’s Slightly?” he questioned him.
Nibs looked back to the Lost Boys, unsure of how to handle the explanation. “He’s one of Hook’s men now. He betrayed you,” he uttered. Peter remained quiet and nodded.
“Don’t worry,” Winter chimed in. “I made him regret that decision.” Peter threw her a confused look. “I’ll explain later.” Peter looked to Nibs and the Lost Boys, knowing they needed his help right now. But as he looked at Nibs, he knew they had all the help they needed.
“In times when the Lost Boys need a new leader, it’s I, who decides who should be best to be the leader of them.” Nibs nodded and placed his head down. “But you clearly already chose your leader.”
“Peter, I didn’t mean to undermine your authority or anything,” Nibs explained.
“It’s the same person I would pick. But the Lost Boys have already decided that, and that, has much more weight than anything I could ever do. Let’s hear it for Nibs!” Peter called out causing the Losty Boys and Winter to cheers. Nibs smiled looking at them all. Some gave him pats on the back while others cheered his name. “Your brother would be proud.”
“I know,” Nibs responded and then turned toward Winter. “Winter? Thanks for your tip.” Winter was unsure of what he was talking about. “I drew a picture and it helped. I don’t understand it one bit and can’t even understand how logically I feel better, but I do. Thanks.”
Winter smiled at this. “Make sure you share it with everyone. That’s the point of it, to help others through tough times with the simplest of gestures.”
“Maybe I’ll wait till I’m a bit better,” he smirked and then turned to the Lost Boys. “Lost Boys! Quit being lazy, standing around like this! We’ve got work to do!” The whole crowd groaned and there were some playful taunts such as ‘Shut up Nibs!’ and ‘Letting this whole captain thing go to your head!’
“Don’t forget to celebrate!” Peter called out as they left. He flew over to June and the Grottowians. “June, always a pleasure to be working with you again.”
“Yes, it’s always a pleasure to share how great the Grottowians handle battle. Our reputation exceeds all expectations, but it’s always great to showcase our skills. Lest someone forgets,” she snarled. Peter chuckled at this which caused June to grow stiff and produce an angry look.
“Sorry, I just thought of a joke that I just remembered. Right Winter?”
“Hmm?” Winter looked to Peter’s ‘help me’ expression. “Oh yes, it’s hilarious.” June released all of her tension.
“I want us to be on the record that we do not agree with your sparing of Hook. In retaliation, we will hunt him down and kill him. Just wanted you to be aware.”
“Good luck finding him.”
“We don’t need any luck at all. We are Grottowians,” June turned and motioned for her crew to return to their ships. “And Peter?” she stated. “Don’t ever trespass on Grottowia again,” she remarked as she continued back to her ship.
“See you soon darling,” Peter said with a wink. June stopped abruptly and they could see steam coming out from her head. But she quickly calmed herself down and continued on. Peter turned to Winter, now that they had a moment alone together.
“So, did you remember who you are?” she asked him. Peter thought long and hard about his response.
“I remembered who I was. And, I’m never going to get him back. But I’m going to try, every day, to carry a piece of him with me.”
“So will I,” she said in a hushed voice shedding a tear. There was a dead silence between them as they both reflected on who they will be going forward.
“So…are you going to join the Lost Boys?” Peter asked. “I hear they have an opening.”
“Oh, they definitely do. I made sure of that. I mean, I do love the space chases, the gun fights, the sword battles, the crazy alien life I’ve met,” Winter bragged. Peter looked down and gave a soft smirk. He knew this place wasn’t meant for Winter, but he wasn’t going to force anything on her. Not like last time.
“But I’ve been here like two days and I’ve nearly died 5 times! It’s so goddamn exhausting!” Peter looked up with a sigh of relief. “I don’t know how you do it!” They both laughed heartily. “No, I don’t think the Lost Boys is the place for me. Plus, you know after beating their leader to a pulp I’ve kind of already peaked with them. Like where do I go from there, you know?”
“You still have yet to explain that to me,” Peter commented.
“How about I tell you on the way back to Earth?” Peter furred his eyebrows.
“So, you’re going back to Earth? I don’t have to chain you up and fly you there or anything?”
Winter laughed. “No, no. I think I’ll go back and continue my life. And work on my art. It’s what mum would want.”
“You’re going to give up becoming a wretched space hero to become…. a starving artist?”
“Doesn’t sound too good on paper, but Earth is one of the few places that I can be a starving artist. Time I start utilizing it.” Peter nodded and he flew back towards the Jolly Roger.
“What about you?” Winter asked as she caught up to him. “What are you going to do now?”
“Same as I was doing. Save some beings, make some cash, all while being a beacon of hope to Neverland.”
“But, because you want to right? Not because you think you have to?” Winter asked for clarification.
“I think so. They do need this, but so do I. Now more than ever,” he said as he continued to the Jolly Roger. Winter wasn’t sure if he actually meant what he said, but something in her gut told her that he might not be all the way happy again, but he’s getting there. And that’s all that mattered.
Later aboard the ship, Winter buckled in for her last ride throughout the galaxy. “You’re sure I can’t take the sword with me? What if I get mugged on my way back to my house?” Winter asked as they blasted off.
“Not unless you want Earth to turn into a warzone when they inevitably find it and create laser weapons,” Peter responded as he throttled the ship through the Second Star to the Right.
“Ugh, you’re no fun.” Winter looked out to the stars, trying to remember every little piece possible about this place. “Do you think I’ll see you again?”
“You’re not even back home and you’re already trying to go back to Neverland?”
“No, not like that, but I’ll miss ya Pete. This has been fun and I know I’m not supposed to go back, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang out every now and then.”
“Well yeah of course. I’ll check in every now and then.” Peter took a pause knowing that wasn’t the exact response she wanted. He turned toward her and said, “You may be annoying but I’m going to miss you too. This isn’t goodbye. You can trust me on that.”
Winter smiled knowing their friendship was just beginning. Her mind wandered into the future. It was rather uncertain. She would follow her dreams and survive as much as she could and live for her mother. Even if her father disagreed. Her eyes went wide when she thought of him.
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“Hey Pete, how am I supposed to explain I’ve been gone for like two months?”
“Oh boy,” Peter began. “Usually I have more time and am able to plant a news story or something, but this was so fast I don’t have a plan. Let’s see, what story can I plant?” Peter pondered. Winter joined in, but soon felt an strange feeling of excessive blissfulness creep throughout her.
“You know what? Never mind. I’ll tell him the truth.” Peter opened his mouth to object, but Winter cut him off. “Not tell him about Neverland, but tell him I ran away. Unable to cope with mother and my future. But now I figured it out.”
“What happens when you get pressed for details? Or if the press asks you?”
“I’ll deal with it like I dealt with this whole trip,” Winter shrugged. “I’ll improvise. Figure it out as I go.”
“If you wanna play on hard mode, go right ahead,” he said as he refocused on steering the ship. “It’s what I would do too,” he winked.
Time seemed to pass much quicker than Winter expected and in no time at all they were already flying back to London. They were heading right back to the graveyard, where their entire journey started.
Peter let down the ramp to the cargo hold and leaned against the opening. Winter came to the beginning of the ramp and breathed in Earth’s air for what felt like the first time in a decade. She was in a state of pure euphoria as the scent hit her nostrils. Peter smiled at this. “Yeah, I’ve tried finding that pure scent everywhere on Neverland, it doesn’t exist anywhere else but here.” Tink flew between them.
“That’s because of the mass pollution on the planet sir,” she inputted, making them both laugh.
“Tink,” Winter said.
“Yes, Winter?”
“You keep an eye on Pete alright? I don’t want to see him making anymore stupid decisions.”
“No one can keep Peter from making stupid decisions. It’s in his nature.”
“She’s right,” Peter said.
“Thank you so much Tink. For bringing me in and teaching me all about how great Neverland is.”
“Of course.”
Winter turned to Peter unsure of how to start this conversation. She felt as if she was with her father, dropping her off to university on the first day. “So, I guess this is…”
“It’s a see ya later, because we’re not saying goodbye,” Peter smiled at her. He handed her a small metallic circle. “This is the one piece of Neverland I’ll allow you to have. It’s a messaging token. Press the middle and you can send a voice message to me. That simple.”
“I can use this whenever?”
“If you’d like.”
“Great! I can’t wait to tell you all about my studies and what I had for breakfast every morning!”
“Yeah, maybe I should take that back,” Peter said with an extended hand. Winter quickly pulled it away.
“Just kidding.” She put the device in the pocket of her jean jacket and felt something else small and metal. It had a peculiar touch to it and she took it out. She opened her palm and discovered the thimble Peter left at Wendy’s grave. She completely forgot she had it. She could not believe something so small started something so grand. She looked at Peter who had a vague expression on his face. She handed it to him, “Sorry, I forgot I had this. This is what you dropped at her…” Winter didn’t want to finish her sentence. She thought he would be angry and would be serious about taking back the device. But instead, he took it cautiously with a tearful eye.
“Thanks,” he said. Winter could tell he was being genuine. Peter felt stronger emotions coming up in his body. “You should probably get home now.” Winter nodded, thinking she had just angered him and turned away.
“Winter stop!” he yelled. As she turned, she found herself grabbed and thrown into a tight hug with Peter. “Thank you, Winter,” he whispered in her ear. “Thank you.” They embraced each other thinking of how they affected one another. Peter released and said, “I’ll see you soon,” he smirked.
“Real soon,” she said as she left. As she walked through the field, she almost felt herself walking out of the cloaking device. She turned around, and everything had disappeared. The Jolly Roger, Tink, and Peter, all now gone, as if it was a dream. She turned and continued to through the graveyard.
Winter turned back to Peter right before she hit the cloaking device field. They both shared a wave goodbye as Winter stepped out and the Jolly Roger vanished from her view.
Peter and Tink watched Winter head into the graveyard. He looked down at the thimble and let a tear fall. “Should we get going, sir?” Tink asked as she flew to him.
“Not yet,” he said still looking at the thimble. “I want to make sure Winter gets home alright. And then I have one more thing to do.”
“Should I follow you or remain on the ship?”
“Can you stay on the ship? This is something I have to do on my own.”
“Of course,” Tink said as she flew off.
Winter marched through the graveyard as the sun began setting on her. The last time she was here, she was drawing with her mother. It dawned on her that she had left all of her stuff at there. She wondered if it was still there. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw at her mother’s grave.
Her father stood at her mother’s grave wearing a now loose-fitting suit. It had only been two months, but he had lost an immense amount of weight. His hair and beard were now disheveled as if it hadn’t been tamed since Winter had been gone. She stopped in her tracks, not fully believing he was there. She was about to call out his name, when he began speaking to her mother.
“Hey honey,” he said in a weary voice. “So it’s been two months since our baby girl has gone missing. And it’s all my fault. I pushed her away, made her give up on her dreams, and lied to her.” Winter was baffled by these statements. There may have been a few truths he uttered, but to her knowledge, he never lied to her.
“I didn’t want her to know that I visit you every day on my way back home. You know I hated it when she saw me weak. You were always the best at hiding my emotions. I just wanted her to know that we would push on without you and that we would be strong enough without you. And that drove her away. She stopped drawing and I let her. Told her some fib that it was smarter for her.” Her father stopped and swallowed. “Every time she would pick up a brush it would just remind me of you. You were so great with her, and I can never be that. God, I just wish you were here.” He sobbed and buckled to the ground, placing his head against her grave.
Winter couldn’t believe what her father was saying. She wanted to hug him and tell him it was all going to be okay. Her want turned into a need and she walked over to him.
He heard a crunch of a leaf and looked over to her. She stopped in her tracks, unsure of what to say to him. Surprisingly, he just smiled and then turned back to the grave. “I’m still seeing her wherever I go. Same thing that happened when you left us. But just like you, she’s not coming back.”
“Dad…” Winter said behind him. His expression of sorrow changed to confusion. He turned slowly, still believing his mind was playing tricks on him. He saw her face, crying as well.
“Winter?” he asked, still not convinced she was in front of him.
“Dad!” she yelled as she jumped into him for a hug. He hugged her, tighter than he ever had in his life.
“Dad, I’m so sorry. I went to-” Winter tried to throw in an explanation for where she was until her dad cut her off.
“I don’t care. I don’t care,” he said in a frenzy. He placed both of his hands on her face. “You’re back, that’s all that matters.” He hugged her again and then quickly stopped. “Listen, you’re going to art school okay? You have to do it. You’re going to become an amazing painter, sculptor or whatever you want.”
“I will,” she laughed in between her tears. “It’s what mum would have wanted.” Her father shook his head.
“It’s not just what she would have wanted. It’s what I want you to do as well.” They turned to her mother’s grave. Her father placed his arm around Winter and drew her in close.
“Hear that mum? Dad loves art now,” she said between happy sobs.
“Let’s not get carried away now,” he joked. They walked away arm over each other.
“Mum would be really proud of you, Dad,” Winter said as they walked.
“She was always proud of you,” he said. As Winter walked with her dad, her uncertain future remained the same. She was still afraid to take the step. But that step was much less frightening with her father by her side.
Peter waited until Winter and her father had left before he made his own trek into the graveyard. The sun had nearly set now and nightfall was coming soon. Peter came to the place that he had been avoiding for so many years. He was able to brace his fears two days ago, but even then, he knew it was unresolved.
He bent down and read her grave, ‘Wendy Darling’. “Hey Wendy. I’m sure you weren’t expecting me back so soon,” he said as he twirled the thimble in his hand. “I’m sorry that I let you live two lives for so long. I allowed it, because I myself was living two lives. My whole life would stop when I couldn’t spend it with you. I kept wanting to end our friendship because it was hurting me, but I didn’t take enough consideration into how much it was hurting you.” Peter’s mind was filled with sorrow and sadness as he remembered the end of their relationship. But eventually, it turned around, filled with memories of the good times together. “I miss you every day and I always wish I read your message sooner. But I can’t change that, and that’s okay. We both did a lot of things wrong towards the end. But…I’m not going to make those same mistakes anymore. For you.” Peter took a deep sigh and placed the thimble on her gravestone. “I love you.” He took out pen shaped device and activating it, revealing a small welding torch. Using the torch, he melted the bottom of the thimble to the top of Wendy’s grave, sticking it there forever. “Till our next adventure, Wendy,” he said placing his hand on her gravestone.
As he walked back, he noticed 3 small children playing in the trees nearby. They were all playing with sticks and using them as swords as they fought one another. In those children, he saw Michael, John, and Wendy. He looked down and noticed a stick right next to him. He thought it would be grand to join them, but decided not to. They had their own story to play after all.
It was always difficult to grow up, Peter knew this better than anyone. But there was still a deep want to live in that space forever. As much as Peter wanted this, he knew it would set him back further, rather than helping him grow. Remembering the past is a great memory to keep, but living there will only pause your future. Peter understood that now. Peter had to keep moving forward with his life, but not forget about who he was.
Peter picked up the stick by his foot and fought imaginary pirates all the way to the Jolly Roger. He called out for aides when the pirates came close to winning. He stabbed several of them and even saved a damsel in distress. He fought until he was out of breath, leaning against the Jolly Roger on the ground. He twirled the stick in his hands eyeing it. Oh, the joy that came from believing a stick is something far greater than it really is. He placed the stick down, knowing that it was time to head home. He thought about bringing it with him, but thought it better to leave it here, for the next young pirate who needs a battle. It would always be there for him if he ever wanted to come back, but for now, he had to press on, and live out his dreams. Always growing, for the ones that could not.