Again In Neverland

Chapter 26: Mentality

"What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult."
-Sigmund Freud

LIL'S POV:

Immediately following our outburst of happiness, Alina forced Wendi and I out of the room. She insisted that us standing by Jonathan's side wasn't going to make the potion work any faster, and we both needed some time to relax.

Wendi had been up all night trying to help Jonathan, and I had just gotten back from obtaining the Neverleaf. Truthfully, we were both exhausted, and thankful when Alina said she would watch over him.

Wendi and I left the little room, and made our way through the house. It was empty - quiet. The only sound came from the creaking of our feet on the wooden floor. In the distance, we could hear the boyish calls of the Lost Boys from the forest floor. We opened the door and stepped out onto the terrace, over looking the ground below us.

Lost Boys scurried to and fro, playing one game or another. We would see their heads poke out of the bushes and then disappear again, out of sight.

I leaned on the railing and grinned as I watched them.

"Where's Mike?" I inquired, remembering his absence in the house.
Wendi tilted her chin down to the boys below us, "I sent him off with them. Figured it'd be better for him than sitting in there and watching his brother die."
I put my hand over her arm, "Wendi, he's not dying any more. He's healing."
She nodded, smiling as she looked at me, "That's thanks to you."
I crossed one leg over the other and leaned backwards on the railing, with my arms propped against it,
"I guess so. But he wouldn't have been in the mess at all if it weren't for me. And besides, I didn't get the Neverleaf on my own."

Wendi's eyes lit up, as she remembered, "You had that boy with you. Peter... right?"
"He's not just a boy." I quickly defended. Maybe a little too quickly.
She held her hands up in defense,
"I meant no offense. I just, don't really know who he is. Alina didn't tell me much about him. Only what I needed to know, which apparently wasn't him."

I felt that jealously sparking inside me again.

Yes she didn't know him, and she's not going to know him.

I caught myself clenching my hands into fists, trying not to release the words that were almost bursting out of my mouth. Instead, I took a deep breath. I reminded myself that Wendi was my friend. I shouldn't worry about her going after Peter or anything because this isn't the her tale. Wendi and Peter aren't going to end up together. Or, even remotely close.

But... wait. Why do I care? It's not like there's anything going on between Peter and I. He practically abandoned me earlier. Why should I care who he ends up with, if anyone?

"He's basically the ruler of this island, Neverland. Not the dictatorish-cruel kind, but the more beloved and worshipped king kind. His name is Peter Pan."
"How old is he?" Wendi asked.
I shurgged, "I'm not sure, actually. You see, on Neverland, you stop aging. Peter could be almost three hundred years old and we would never know. As of a few days ago, you stopped aging as well."

She looked shocked. Pure confusion taking over her face as she asked, "How can that be?"
I repositioned my elbows on the rail, "I have no idea. I don't know the details about it, and no one's actually mentioned anything about it. All I know is that you never get any older, and that's also why adults can't come here."
"They can't?"
"No." I replied, "As far as I know, only kids can come here. It's a place of dreams and imagination. A place where there are no rules and everyone has fun." I gave a small shrug, "When you're older, you forget all that stuff. All the wonderful things you could do as a child are gone. You stop believing. You're life becomes utterly plain and at that point, not even Neverland can fix it."