Neverland

picture a land you'll never have seen

The first time Lisa showed up at their window, Jennie was three and a half. The earliest memory she could recall, it was the eve of Jisoo's ninth birthday, and Solar had decided to sneak out to be with her friends.

Jennie didn't remember much else from that night because, well, she was three. But she remembered she'd insisted on sleeping in Jisoo's bed because their father had been yelling that night and she didn't like it when he yelled. Especially when it meant Jisoo had a bruise the next morning. So there she lay in Jisoo's bed when a copper haired girl flew through the window.

Literally flew through the small window. Which made no sense because Solar had always told Jennie that her fairytales weren't real, so that surely meant flying wasn't real either.

Like an uncoordinated bird, the girl perched on the windowsill. She was mostly silhouetted, but Jennie could make out a green smock of some sort, patchwork and made up of varying shades, that was secured around her waist with a leather belt too big for her body. There was some sort of small knife tucked into the leather, and dark pants that led to well worn moccasins.

Something about her was mesmerizing, but with fear and excitement thrumming through Jennie's veins, she pulled the sheet up to her nose as Jisoo stirred besides her, sitting up in the bed.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Jisoo said as she got out of the bed, grabbing the baseball bat that she kept next to her. "Get outta here!"

Jisoo swung the bat menacingly in front of her, but the girl in the window just smiled. With the moonlight streaming through the window, Jennie saw she had short red hair that rested along her jaw and long, gangly limbs. It was hard to tell, but she seemed about Jisoo's age, and Jennie wondered if she should scream for Solar or father.

The red headed girl jumped to avoid the bat but stayed floating in the air, smile still present on her face.

"I just wanted to say hi," the red headed girl said. She frowned and looked around the room for a moment. "You weren't who I was expecting. My name is Lisa!"

Jisoo stared, Jennie still frozen in shock in the bed.

"I'm Jisoo," she said cautiously before her demeanor changed. "Wait, I remember you. My mamma tells us stories about you. Well...used to."

"Bohyun?" Lisa's smile brightened. "Is she here?"

A quiet sadness came over Jisoo and Jennie. She pulled her comforter to her chest, eyes trained on Jisoo. Even at three, Jennie could see the mask slide over Jisoo's face when she realized her little sister was looking at her. Only nine and already figuring out how to hide her emotions from the world. How to protect people.

"Mama isn't here," Jisoo said simply.

"You two don't have a mom?" Lisa asked, head tilted.

"I'm basically Jennie's mom," Jisoo said, tiny chest puffing.

Lisa just hummed, attention moving to a stuffed bear on the top shelf of a bookcase in the corner. Lisa's feet lifted off the ground and she brought herself to eye level with it.

"You're flying!" Jisoo breathed.

Lisa shrugged. "Anyone can fly."

"I can't fly."

"Sure you can," Lisa beamed so brightly it rivaled the moonbeams. "I'll teach ya."

The baseball bat, previously held up defensively, fell to Jisoo's side as Lisa gracefully floated back to the ground. What looked like a small fleck of glowing dust zipped through the window and landed on Lisa's shoulder.

"This is Tinker Bell."

With a noise like a tiny bell, Tinker Bell took off from Lisa's shoulder and flew around Jisoo's head. Jennie's curiosity got the better of her and she slowly sat up, sheet falling down to her lap as she stared.