When she was a little girl, she used to believe. Her heart used to be filled with magic, and she used to share that magic with others. Her parents often took her to Disneyland, and she loved every second she spent there. She used to run around the park and dance with all the characters she met. Her particular favorite was Peter Pan, so every time she came to Disneyland, she would look at every corner to find the young Redheaded Boy In Green. She would run to him, screaming, "Peter! Peter! I have new stories to tell!" She would tell him everything about her battles with the Pirates in Neverland, her adventures with the lost boys, and she would tell Peter how she flew across the stars deep in the night with the help of Tinker Bell's pixie dust. She believed.
But she, like any other human being, was unable to escape the inevitability that time brings.
She grew up.
Slowly, as time passed, her heart ran out of the magic it once held so dear. She used to wait by her bedroom window every night, hoping Peter would knock on the thin sheet of glass that kept her from flying to Neverland. Unfortunately, the painful truth eventually sunk in. The little girl stopped being a little girl because she was forced to face reality. The windows where she used to press her face against as she was full of anticipation for Peter Pan's arrival were soon specked with dust. The moonlight couldn't shine on her anymore because she spent the nights lying on her bed, waiting to wake up to another day closer to being a grown-up.
"Wake up, honey," her father said endearingly as he opened the curtains and let sunlight into her dull, dusty room. "We're going to Disneyland!" He tried to say it as loud and enthusiastically as he could.
"I don't want to go," she groaned, the fatigue getting the best of her so early in the morning. She had slept late that night because she was busy with all of her schoolwork. She needed some more sleep before going back to university the following day.
"Come on, you used to love going there," her father replied. "Do it for your sister. She has spent the whole week looking forward to this trip. It's not going to be as fun without you."
As soon as she heard her dad tell her about her little sister's excitement, she got up. No matter how exhausted she was, she knew that she couldn't risk letting her sister miss the opportunity to meet Peter and Wendy, and she certainly couldn't risk allowing her sister to grow up faster than she should be.
The drive to Anaheim was long, but it felt so familiar to her. Having her five-year-old sister jump up and down the backseat beside her, waiting to do the things she herself once poured her heart out to as a child. It was comforting to her.
After a few naps on the road, she woke up to the same Disneyland sign that was much bigger than her before, and was still bigger than her just the same. Her sister was already telling her parents about all the adventures she was going to have that day, and that made her smile. It made her smile that her sister was also sharing the magic in her heart just like she used to do.
They spent the whole morning running around, trying to catch up to her little sister whenever she saw another Disney character. It wasn't surprising to her that she would soon hear her sister scream out the same name she used to scream across the whole amusement park.
She saw her sister beside Peter Pan, who was crouching down to talk. She saw the gleam in her little sister's eyes as she held up the little plush toy of Peter Pan up to the real one. It felt so nostalgic and so fulfilling to her. It was as if the magic in her heart exploded in an instant, and it was in that moment she knew that she never stopped believing.
As she went to Peter Pan, he said almost exactly after seeing her hold the thick environmental science book beside her, "how have the pirate battles been doing? I hope you haven't given up yet."
"I haven't, but I missed you though," she said through her smile. She may have been lost, and it may have taken so long, but she eventually realized that she will always be found. She realized that it was okay to be lost.
"Good. I hope you haven't been too busy growing up. Visit Neverland sometime, okay?" Peter replied, smiling back at her the way he always did, making her know that she will never stop believing.
"Yes, of course I will. I will see you soon, Peter."
