Neverland: Forsaken Dreamscape

Epilogue

Three small boulders placed on the hillside served as grave markers, and while they were not perfectly hewn, they served their purpose. Wendy was able to look down at them now without tears in her eyes, even though the pain had been so very slow to dull. What had happened was unfortunate, and they had all been so dear to her, but what was done was done, and there was no going back on that.

It had been nearly a month since the war. The uproars had died down, and now that the demon was gone from their midst, the people of Neverland seemed to be able to think much more clearly. Their reason and logic had returned, no longer stunted by the darkness. Granted, there were still wicked ones among their number, but the land had calmed the differed peoples considerably. She had watched it. She wished that they could have seen it. It would have meant so much to them.

“Are you alright?”

The blonde woman dressed in brown animal hide turned to the smooth voice and the light touch on her shoulder. She found herself looking back into Tikilin eyes of glowing amber, set in the handsome face of a man whose brown hair was growing out, beginning to curl. He was supportive of her. He was level-headed and brave. If the circumstances had been different, she might have been able to have feelings for him, but, as it was, after all that had happened…

I could never love anyone else.

Curly looked at her with concern for her feelings and thoughts, and she managed to give him a smile.

“I’m alright,” she promised, though he looked as though he didn’t believe her. After a moment though, he relented and stepped up beside her to look out over the land from the hill.

It was not yet noon on this day, but the sun was gleaming down on them brightly. Great white clouds spared them from the glaring intensity. The sun had done much for them, and now it had promised to keep the land clean. The powerful orb gave plentifully, but it most certainly took away.

For several moments on the hill, there was silence, and then a dog’s bark pulled their attention.

Wendy and Curly turned to catch the blue eyes of a timber wolf that panted happily up at them. The pet was accompanied by its owner: a large boy with a kind twinkle in his dark eyes. He stood taller and wider than all of them, and inside his heart was just as gigantic.

“There’s a nice breeze today,” Tootles commented, no doubt enjoying the way it coursed through his thick hair. A surprisingly boyish smile shined out of his round face.

“Thanks, Wendy.”

She smiled at him and his little joke, but it was not so far from the truth. Slightly had passed his power on to her when he’d resurrected her, and though she did not even remember what death was like, her bond with the land was proof of it. It was an amazing thing, and she was proud to wield it in his stead. Granted, she hadn’t learned all there was to learn, but practice would make for perfection.

Tootles seated himself in the soft grass, and the wolf, named Bruno, sat obediently beside him. Wendy observed them, feeling grateful that he’d taken on this pet. Tootles had seemed like such a lonely boy, always feeling awkward when he had nothing to say and the others were lost in their own business. Bruno could give him sincere companionship.

“So, we start here today, then?” Curly asked, putting his hands behind his head. “Looks like a lot of work.”

He gave her a roguish smile, flashing his mouthful of teeth that was accented by the one fang. He always said that when they started on a new area, teasing her to make sure she didn’t forget how much she would have to do and how little he would have to. But there were still monsters to deal with on some days. Nothing had been changed because the demon was gone, as far as what the land had become. Destroying the corrupted creatures was just another responsibility in restoring it. This hill though, that looked down over a barren stretch of land, seemed devoid of tainted life. Perhaps it would be an easy day after all.

“It’ll look so nice once it’s finished,” Tootles said. “I’m glad we picked this spot for them.”

He was speaking of the headstones, somehow able to make the situation seem positive despite the sadness of it. But he was right. Wendy did like this spot. That was why she had chosen it.

“Well, best get started then, yeah? Whew! Looks taxing!”

Mach hardly looked up from what he was doing when he spoke, but he wore a little smirk on his face when Wendy looked his way. The pale boy with the fiery hair rarely kept his head up anymore, always busy with some object he was inventing. He and Curly had taken a renewed shine to each other over their knowledge of Tikilin, and together they worked diligently to create meaningful instruments that would make life easier for all of them. Whatever the contraption was that Mach had in his hands at this moment, Wendy couldn’t tell, but still she hoped for success.

It had been Wendy’s intention to also have a stone erected for Mach’s brother Mech, but the living twin had shaken his head at the idea. Mach had insisted that his brother would not have wanted them to be so sentimental over him. Wendy had interpreted that differently, grasping how the boy thought. Mach simply did not need the reminder. He had his memories, and that was all he needed. Since he was his own person with his own right to decision, Wendy had given him his way.

“Yes. I suppose I should begin.”

Wendy knelt upon the ground. She always felt nervous when it came down to this. Perhaps it was all the eyes watching her, and she always felt terrible when she could not make anything happen. Well, something always happened, even when she didn’t try. Even now, grass was rising around her because she had been standing in the spot for so long. But it was different than before. When the demon still existed in this place, the grass would have died when she’d walked away. Now, she had started it, but it would continue to grow and spread on its own. Trees and flowers were a bit more difficult.

She put her hands onto the ground before the stones, closing her eyes to concentrate. She urged the earth to bring forth life, but felt nothing happening beneath her fingers. When Wendy opened her eyes again, she saw that she had failed at this first attempt. Shame came over her, even though she knew that none of them judged her lack of progress. This did tend to happen at times.

Letting out a soft sigh, Wendy turned her head.

“I could use a bit of coaching,” she said pointedly to someone behind her, but she wore a smile – which did little good because he could not see it. Still, she was sure he felt it.

The fragile-looking young man knew she was addressing him, even though she had not spoken his name. His ears rose to the sound of her voice, his three stripped tails twitching involuntarily. It had been a long road from near death, but Slightly had done it, though not without the help of the Indian girl who stood there beside him now, watching him walk toward Wendy. She smiled with as much pride as if he was still healing the island himself.

For nearly a week after the demon’s demise, Slightly and Tiger Lily had been believed to be dead, crushed beneath the weight of the demon and lost among the immense pile of pirate bodies. They had been mourned by the others, and then out of the blue they had come back, very much alive. Slightly had still been extremely weak, but with a bit of help he could hold himself upright. There hadn’t seemed to be much to say about their situation. The demon had not crushed them, and Slightly had not died. Fate had allowed these things, Tiger Lily had said, and the rest of their survival was reliant on her word that she had promised not to let him die.

Now, after a period of healing and a bit of help from Wendy, as well as the Indian people that had grown to love him, Slightly was walking and moving all on his own without difficulty. The only thing that had changed about him was that he no longer could communicate with the land. With the sun’s gift however, he still saw and knew a great many things. He had been teaching Wendy to use the power that was formerly his, for it was her duty to carry on now.

There was always something in the way he looked at her – faced her, rather. The corners of his small mouth were always soft and smiling fondly. His manner never ceased to astound her, and she would never, never forget what he had done. He knelt down beside her, and she felt as though he was looking right into her eyes from behind his bandages.

“I know you feel like there’s a lot of pressure on you, but you can’t force yourself,” he told her in that gentle, endearing way of his.

He took her smooth hands in his clawed ones, pressing them to the ground.

“Think of the roots,” he instructed. “Ease the earth. Make it feel comfortable and safe, so that it won’t be afraid to be fruitful.”

Wendy tried once again to focus. She thought of roots and blooming petals, touching the ground very gently to soothe it, but it was still difficult, even having Slightly with her. Perhaps she was wanting it too much?

“I’m not relaxed,” she confessed, shaking her head and blaming herself for it.

“Hmm,” Slightly considered, leaning back. “Perhaps we should wait a moment. It won’t be long.”

He smiled at her, and Wendy brightened at the thought. She knew what he was speaking of.

“Well it’s about damn time,” Mach announced, though only in a mildly annoyed fashion. “How long does the old boy expect us to wait?”

“He’s there.”

Tiger Lily pointed a finger to the sky as she spoke, and the rest of them followed her gaze. The soaring one, however, was on the ground before any of them managed to look up. The speed of his flight forced him to dig his feet into the ground when he touched in order to stop, but he’d made it back to them easily enough.

The tall young man that had come from the sky was dressed in fibers of green and brown. His hair was shorter, lighter, and it had that constantly windblown look that Wendy remembered. One perfect eye of deep blue settled on her, rather than the others. Beneath his arm, he carried a sack. He looked so alive since he’d rediscovered flight – not that her presence didn’t help.

Wendy rose to approach him without even considering it.

Peter… He’d returned safely. Not that there had been doubt this time.

Wendy still remembered the day that she thought she’d lost him forever. She’d watched him as he flew away from her, his body ablaze, up through the air and toward the sun with the demon in tow. None of her efforts to call him had worked, and he’d just kept going. Slightly had not been around to assure her that he was alive, and the others had all believed that he’d sacrificed himself. She had no trouble understanding how dangerous the sun was. He had taken the demon there to destroy it, and thus…

It wasn’t pleasant to think about now. It had been nearly two days that she’d had to believe he was dead – two days of crying and vomiting and horrible depression. But then, just as Slightly and Tiger Lily had done days later, Peter had simply appeared. There hadn’t been a burn on him. Only a few new scars.

The wonderful thing about it, however, was that he was as surprised to find her alive as she was him.

The days she’d spent grieving him had been equal to the days they’d held each other afterward. He’d told her the truth about himself; that he could scarcely be harmed. He told her that he’d destroyed the demon, and that the fire had not touched him. But he was back with her, and since that day, he had seldom left her side.

They looked at each other now as if they were the only two people in existence. Peter held out the sack to her.

“Will this get you started?”

She took the sack, though she already knew what was inside. Still, she opened it, finding herself looking over a plethora of different seeds.

“I had wanted to get this started without them,” she said, giving him a teasing smile.

“I won’t look, if you prefer.”

She shook her head and turned away from him, reached her hand into the sack and scattering just a few seeds across the ground in front of the stones. She paused to look at the names etched into the boulders. John. Michael, Nibs. They were gone from her, and they would never be forgotten, but there was no doubt in her mind that they all would have been proud of what she had done.

Nodding briefly to herself, Wendy lowered her hands to the ground once again, and this time it did not take much.

The ground accepted the seeds. Before, the soil had possessed no imagination for bringing things up on its own, but with these tiny maps, it was ready to construct. Roots buried themselves into the ground. Green stems sprung up before their eyes, branching out with leaves and blooms. Colors blossomed in their vision, and while Wendy concentrated, the others were in awe as the land began to understand what she wanted. The seeds themselves were precious and few, but a small number seemed to get the process started in a large area, as if, when presented with a seed, the ground said: Ahhh yes I remember.

The plant growth spread down the slope, filling the barren spaces with lush, flowing grass and sweet-smelling flowers. It spread to the bottom of the hill, and that was as far as it went before Wendy sank back, feeling tired.

She let herself rest, looking around at the others in her midst. Tootles took a deep breath of the scented air, stroking Bruno. Curly instructed Mach concerning the Tikilin mechanism. Tiger Lily kissed Slightly, holding his hands. They talked softly. It did Wendy’s heart good to see all this. It was as if none of them had a care in the world. It was wonderful; that was the essence of this place.

A pair of hands fell on her shoulders, urging her to stand. She felt the drain of having run several miles, even though she hadn’t moved. Still, she stood for him.

Peter did not let her fall, as she’d trusted him with every moment since she’d met him. He had always done everything in his power to keep her safe, and whatever was beyond that did not matter. She watched him look out over the land that he loved so much. Deep in his heart, he belonged to this place no matter what, even though he’d ignored this responsibility for years. Thinking this made Wendy happy, but he was too busy looking over the ground to notice how she was gazing at him.

“You do good work, Wendy,” he said, finally looking down at her.

He caught her loving gaze, and the sight of it hinted at the kiss on her mouth. He took it, because it was his. In that kiss, Wendy thought of everything that had happened, and of things that might be still to come. Terrible things had passed – but if they hadn’t, she never would have been standing here with him like this. She was thankful for what she had come away with.

“There’s still a long way to go,” she said when the kiss was used up.

He smiled at her, and she felt that she could have flown off into the sky without trouble.

“This place is ours,” he reminded her. “We have forever.”

Thanks very much to everyone that stuck with this story for so long! I'll be around again shortly.