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My mother used to tell me tales of a magical place where time could not reach. A place called Neverland, where adventure was around every corner and children had no responsibilities to worry about. A leader of mischievous youngsters held his head high, playing game after game and fighting off his enemies. My head was filled with these stories of joy and wonder and I did believe them. I believed that I would be whisked away, leaving behind the ugly lies that I was forced to see every day. Oh how naive I was.
Like all the living creatures do in the world, I grew up. Those dreams of playing pirate and finding buried treasure were replaced with hard, cold truth. Not everything is fun and games. One cannot stay a child forever. Otherwise, how would one function in society? I laid in my rigid bed one night , reminiscing on earlier years and contemplating on things only twenty-one year old knew. As my eyelids grew heavy, I heard a faint sound of a bell. It was such a familiar sound that triggered . Then suddenly, I found myself in a dense forest. At first, I thought I drank too much the previous night. But I didn’t touch a cup of alcohol in weeks.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” I called out. No response. Maybe this is just a dream.
“Hello!” A high-pitched voice exclaimed. I turned around to see a boy with light brown hair, covered by a green cap. He wore clothing equivalent to an elf and ears that pointed up to the sky. He brought his face close to mine, a hint of curiosity in his blue eyes.
“Um, personal space please,” I said, causing him to back up a little. But only a little. His eyes glowed a bright blue.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” He began flying around me, eyeing me from my head to my feet.
“I don’t even know where here is.” I stated. “But I know this isn’t home. So could you please help me?”
“Help you what?” He settled down in a tree, looking down. The moon was full and graced us with its light of pure white. But all I saw was red.
“I would like to go home,” I said.
“Why? Weren't you miserable back there?” I took a few steps back. Who is this guy?
“How would you know something like that?” Silence. “Did you hear me?”
“Oh, I heard you loud and clear buzzkill. I just know these things. Or maybe a little birdie told me.” What on earth is he talking about? None of this makes any sense, I thought and began to walk away, leaving the boy alone in the trees.
It felt as if the forest stretched for miles. I thought I would be stuck in there for all eternity until I came upon a lagoon. The water looked as if it was glowing, offering an invitation for me to take a dip inside. I was entranced by the water; it was impossible for me to look away.
“The water looks really nice tonight, doesn’t it?” A gentle voice stated. I looked over to my right and saw- a mermaid? Siren? She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. Her eyes glowed a magnificent pink with hints of gold and skin as smooth as silk. Voluptuous hair graced her head to neck, red as blood. Scales ran up and down her back leading to a tail.
“Where am I?” I asked, though doubtful of an answer.
“Mermaid Lagoon. Though it doesn’t live up to its name.”
“Are you the only one that lives here?”
“Sadly, yes. I’m the only one who is still alive.”
“Did something happen?” I asked. This place was strange to begin with, it wouldn’t hurt to know what’s going on.
“You see-.” She stopped and looked down at her hands.
“What happened?” I pressed on.
“Oh, Lucy is just riling you up.” The same boy flew down from above, settling in between me and Lucy. “The others just decided that Neverland wasn’t for them.”
“Wait, you mean this is Neverland? The island where time cannot reach?” I was absolutely shocked. I’ve always wanted to go when I was a child. But I don’t feel happy here. If anything, I feel rather uncomfortable, especially around this boy. “So you’re Peter Pan?”
“Duh, who else would I be?” Those eyes, that were once bright blue, gleamed a dark blue. Curiosity replaced with mystery.
“Please. You need to help me.” I stated again, hoping he would consider.
“And why would I? That’s no fun at all.”
“Not everything is a game. Seriously, I need your help.” I felt a tug on my shirt and looked down. Lucy was staring at me, eyes cold as ice. Did I do something wrong?
“I may be able to help.” She began. “But you need to--”
“Hey, I just remembered.” Peter Pan covered Lucy’s mouth. “I may be able to help. Come, let’s go back to my place.” Hope filled my heart. The faster I get out of here the better. Peter Pan took off into the sky and I was about to run after him when Lucy grabbed my ankle.
“Be very careful around him.” She warned. “There’s a reason why no one questions a mad man.” What in God’s name is going on?
“Hey! Are you coming or what?” Peter Pan called out. I took one last look at Lucy before following.
We arrived at a peculiar looking tree, sitting upon a small hill. Peter Pan pulled a lever situated on the side and a flap opened up. “Guests first.” He said. His eyes were inexpressive, as if he cut off all his emotions to try and hide some darker motive. But I had no choice. I entered the hole and was greeted with darkness and cold metal.
The lights were switched on and I was in a metal cage. But that wasn’t what I was paying attention to. My eyes were glued on the countless of corpses that littered the floor. Some were dressed as animals with big cuts where their stomachs were. Others had cuts the size of an axe in their skulls, a feather taped to each one. Three or four bodies were cut from the waist down, a trail of blood leading to fish tails that sat in the corner of the room. Lastly, a throne-like seat was placed above them a with a corpse sitting in it. A big, red tricorn hat laid on top its head and a hook replaced his left hand. A sword was sticking out of its chest.
“You’re more stupid than you look.” I saw Peter Pan floating above the cage, eyes now pure red. “You really thought you were going home? Why would I let an adult like you have a chance at something I can’t have?
“And what’s that?” I asked, accepting my fate.
“At first, I wanted to make adults feel the kind of pain they’ve inflicted upon me. And as you can see, I’ve done quite well if I do say so myself.” He motioned to the bodies. “But now,
I
want to go home”
“Well, what’s stopping you? You can literally fly anywhere.”
“Flying won’t get me to where I want to go…” He bent down to the cage door and unlocked it. Absolutely perplexed, I looked at Peter Pan. He went over to the corpse of the pirate and pulled out the sword. He examined the sword in his hand before turning towards me. The next thing I knew, the sword was in my hand and plunged into Peter Pan’s chest. Peter coughed up blood as I let go of the sword, too shocked to formulate words or thoughts.
“Now you’ll feel my pain…” He said before he joined the rest of the bodies.
Pain engulfed my entire being. My body and mind were slowly slipping away from reality. I laid on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest, wishing to wake up from this horrible nightmare. This was not the Neverland my mother told me about. This was not paradise. But alas, what was I expecting? Such a place does not exist, or I just haven’t seen it yet.
Now here I am, slowly losing what I have left of myself as another body lies before me. I feel his essence enter my bloodstream, sending a jolt of adrenaline throughout my body. Then slowly die down. It’s quite a vicious cycle but it keeps me alive and sane. Until the next fool arrives, I am to stay here to suffer the pain of the others before me.