Happy Thoughts || Peter Pan

Chapter 5

Avery looked at the boy warily, wondering if he had really said what she thought he had said. If he really was who he said he was, then this was an invitation to go after Wendy and visit Neverland. Her brain was at war with her heart. One was telling her that none of this could be true, that fairy tales did not exist and that the boy was just mentally ill, while the other was telling her to listen to him, follow her heart and embrace the chance for adventure she had chased for so long in books. That adventure was now sitting right in front of her in the window frame.

'This is impossible,' she then stammered out. She turned away from him to sort out her thoughts. 'People can't fly and Peter Pan is a fairy tale.'

The battle was won.

'Why do you doubt my existence? I am right in front of you. If that's not reliable proof, I don't know what is.' He floated past her and lowered his feet back to the ground right in front of her. Hesitantly, he reached out for her hands, but Avery flinched away from him. 'But it can't be. It must be a dream, that's the only explanation.'

The boy raised an eyebrow. 'Then how can I convince you?'

'I don't know,' she replied in frustration. 'Why do you need me anyway? This is London, there are plenty of other young girls here eager to go to Neverland with you.' At first she was shocked by her choice of words, which indicated that she believed him, even worse she was shocked that she was trying to talk herself out of this adventure. But she was sensible, this was a lie and a dream and if anyone ever found out that her mind had created a concoction like an imaginairy Peter Pan, she would understand why she had no friends. 'You shouldn't want me, Peter, you should take another girl.'

He looked at her sternly. Had she offended him? Would he get angry?

'You don't know how long I waited to take you with me.'

Something snapped in her mind, making her forget all judgements about this scene before her. She fell silent and looked at him. 'You waited for me?' she could hardly believe it. Normally, no one thought of her. Normally she was not a part in anyone's life and now this complete stranger says he waited for her for a long time?

Again, there was that gentle smile. 'I've listened to your stories since you were five.'

Avery's head snapped up. She couldn't even remember what kind of things she had written down at that age. 'Have you been listening to my stories all this time?' She let her eyes slide over his figure once more. He looked at least 16, older perhaps, but not much younger. The rattles in her head started spinning as she realised something. If he'd only aged when he left Neverland and yet had been listening to her stories for at least 12 years, she understood why he looked older now. Whether his mind had grown with him remained to be seen.

Peter floated in the air, his hands resting under his head and one leg leaning on his knee. Dreamily, he stared at the ceiling. 'You write so beautifully. I love your thoughts.'

'Then that's how you got older,' she observed, totally ignoring his gibberish. 'It couldn't be otherwise. You spent more than a dozen years off and on outside Neverland.' She looked at him in astonishment. 'Why did you take that risk?'

'Not important. What I want to discuss now is whether you will come with me or not.' He lowered himself with a rollover and sat back on the windowsill, staring briefly at the night sky, before turning his attention back to her. He extended his hand and leaned forward to take hers, but she instinctively took a step back when his intense gaze found her eyes. 'I-I can't just leave, can I? What about my parents? And school?'

'Do you really care that much about those things?' He slowly approached and stopped right in front of her. She felt his breath on her head and could effortlessly count the hairs on his eyebrows. 'Or is that an illusion you're telling yourself because others want you to care?'

Avery shook her head. 'An illusion? Heavens, no. I love mum and dad.'

'And they love you so much they forgot they promised to go to the park with you tonight. They love you so much that they don't see that their daughter is lonely and doesn't feel at home in this world.' With each word, his dark eyebrows crept closer to his eyes and Avery felt her heart beat faster. His gaze was so intense and in that reflection she saw herself and the truth in his words. This world had never been her home. She had always been an outsider. She could not remember the last time since she had made a friend or done anything other than spend her days in her room between books and pens. Not a day had gone by that she had not once felt lonely.

She gulped. He knew exactly what she was looking for. Her eyes must have betrayed her, because she saw how Peter smiled.

'That injustice will not happen to you again.' His voice sounded deep but tender. 'Forget them, Avery, and you will never be lonely again. Not with me.' He gently tugged at her hand and she felt her feet move across the wooden floor, towards the window, where the night welcomed her.