The Land of Dreams

10: Two Moons

Its hours later when I finally get the chance to talk to Peter in private. After the encounter with Logan, the boys seemed less energetic than before and while they still played games and teased each other endlessly for the rest of the afternoon and late into the night, it all seemed halfhearted and forced.

After a lengthy fight with Peter about sending the boys to bed,-**"Little boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older."** was his rebut when I first suggested getting the boys, who were all now huddled closely around a large bonfire, the flames leaping and dancing brilliantly in the night, orange twining itself around tendrils of red and wisps of yellow, to sleep.

"And little boys can go for long periods of time without rest or they'll collapse." I'd retorted and crossed my arms like I'd seen mother do when arguing with their young. Surprisingly, it worked: Pete backed down.

"Alright, boys, bedtime." He yelled and in a flash the boys were up and running to their huts in record time. I watched, dumb struck, as each and every boy blew out the small oil lamp that hangs from their roof (something I didn't notice until when they started lighting them after yet another large dinner of turkey, potatoes and chocolate fudge cake). Once inside their hut, as if they rehearsed this on the daily, each boy yelled out their goodnight:

"Night, night, Neverland."

"G'night Mama Cara."

"Good night everyone!"

"Sleep tight and don't let the-"

"HERSHEY! YOU KNOW SMEE HATES BUGS!"

"Sorry, Smee."

Peter chuckled at the last exchange. "The boys are adorable," I tell him softly and he motions for me to follow him silently, a finger pressed against his mouth. I nod to show that I understand.

He leads me a little ways to the right, away from the main cluster of huts. He points at a thick ladder hanging from one of the trees and then starts to climb it. I watch as he disappears from view after a few moments of climbing, his head then body disappearing into the thick branches of the trees. After a moment, he reappears, his head popping out of the thick foliage a few feet above me. He motions for me to join him.

I grab onto the ladder, which is mainly constructed of planks of wood spaced along two ropes of vines, each one tied a few feet apart from the other. I hesitate. The ladder is hanging freely from the tree, with nothing keeping it in place. I've always had a small phobia of ladders – I fell off one when I was very young at the Orphanage and broke my arm.

I look up at Peter. "Why can't I just fly up?" I whisper shout and he shakes his head. "Nope. Gotta climb it or it won't be worth it." Again with the riddles! I shake my head. "I can't, Peter." I say and step back from the ladder, which sways gently in the wind.

What if I slip and my foot gets tangled in the vines and I can't get out? And Peter can't get me? Or what if the vine breaks as I'm climbing and I go crashing down, only unlike last time I fell off a ladder, I break my neck, not my arm?

Tink could heal the cut on my chin, and no offence to her, but I don't think she can heal a broken neck. (I was right before- Tink uses magic to heal small cuts and scrapes. Only I didn't get to see the little room under the oak tree, which I was disappointed about – it seemed interesting.)

He sighs and disappears up into the tree. A few moments later he reappears, this time seemingly to hang from his legs, which must be wrapped around a branch above. His hair hanging freely in the air, and he smiled, his face distorted slightly from him being upside down. "You can do it, Cara. Just gotta believe you can." He gives me a thumbs up and I shake my head.