➳Lost and Found ➳ (ON HIATUS)

Stranger

I hate the map maker. I always have. He speaks in riddles, which he thinks are hard, but I can easily decipher them. He is dreadfully boring and slow, but he gets the job done.

I came to this town two days ago to get a map I need and I have been here since. I told the boys I would be home by dinner, but it looks like I will be heading home early.

Whenever I come to town for a map I stay with the map maker, Melisius, and his wife, Hazona, the soothsayer. She tells me prophecies that I bring home to tell the boys, but they are always boring. The boys and I would rather hear stories of adventures and brave knights and warriors.

The past few times I have come she has told me the same prophecy. She tells of a curse on me and my island. She says there is only one thing that can break it, but she won't tell me what. This time I was expecting the same thing, but I was taken aback by what she said. She told me that the curse has finally been placed, and the shadow knows how to break it. She said the shadow brought the solution to the island.

That surprised me because the night I left, I felt a new presence on the island. I have been able to feel it ever since. There must be a new boy on the island. Normally when a new boy is found, their aura is scared and lonely and out of place.  I can feel what the people on the island feel subconsciously. It's an effect of the magical connection I have to the island. But this lost boy doesn't feel indifferent to the others, he feels... perfect. Like when you finally snap the last piece into the puzzle and it fits like a glove. This lost one feels like he belongs there, like they were always destined to be there.

My thoughts are cut short by the seer's words, 'That feeling, of security and completion, remember that feeling when you make your decision. It may just seal your fate.' I have no clue what that means.

'A map sublime, for your well spent time!' the map maker hands me my map with a wink. He thinks he is clever, but even the youngest lost boy could do better than that.  Still, I pay the man in thick gold coins and take my leave.

The boys must only be cleaning up from breakfast now. Normally I would be returning much later in the evening, but I am going home early because I am very excited to meet my new lost boy. I walk out to the dock and grab my bag of pixie dust from my pocket. I sprinkle some on myself and think the happiest thought I can muster.

My happy thoughts are always of my mother. Remembering how gentle she was. How no one was allowed to eat until we all sat down as a family at the dinner table. How she always knew how to settle a dispute, always knew how to calm me down. I imagine a motherly figure like that for my boys. That would be my happiest thought. But they are on the island for the same reason I can't allow girls on the island. Letting them get attached to a lost girl is a big risk. Me getting attached to a lost girl is a big risk. I won't let them go through the same grief they went through to make them lost again.

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I regain my focus when I land in Neverland. I landed on dead man's peak and made my way down to camp.  When I get there I spot Felix waiting for me in his usual spot, on a log by the fire. I walked over to him to discuss what I missed while I was on my journey.

'You're early.' Felix prods at my impromptu punctuality.

'Yes, the map maker finished early and I have a new prophecy to tell the boys. Also the new boy, what's his name? How did he get here?' As right as his presence felt,  I was concerned because I hadn't sent the shadow to get him. He just arrived. That never happens. No one ever gets on or off my island without my permission, until now. I was curious, as any true lost boy would be, but as soon as Felix opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by the most horrified, blood-curdling scream I have ever heard.

Petrified, I stand still until I hear it again. This time the person screaming is yelling names, my name. But instead of the usual pan, they call out for Peter. I haven't been called Peter in a long time. I am a bad guy -pan- and I know that, yet still upon hearing my name I run to the source. The voice is unfamiliar, so it must be the new lost boy.

I soon find three lost boys standing by an opening of water, not far from dark hollow. The screams have stopped and the boys are trying to look into the water. I clear my throat and they turn to see me, and they all run. I lean over the edge a bit to see what the cause of the commotion was, and I see someone's head. I can see the sirens that inhabit these waters surrounding the unfamiliar figure. I feel the urge to help this stranger, but why? I am a villain, I don't help random people who come to my island uninvited. But still I find myself jumping into the dark waters, against my better judgment.

I can see the sirens swarming the body. I shoo the sirens away by showing them my vial of dream shade and threatening to empty it into the water. Once the sirens clear and the water moves the mess of hair out of his face I see him for the first time. Except he isn't a him. It's a girl, and a beautiful one at that. She looks into my eyes and I feel like she can see into me, see every piece of my broken and unsalvageable soul.

Her eyes are a magnificent blue like the ocean, a contrast to the dark dull waters we are currently submerged in. I am momentarily distracted by her ethereal looks. This is the aura I felt. She is unnervingly gorgeous. She has such plump, soft looking lips and we are so close I could reach out and capture them in mine. But I can see her eyes start to roll back into her head and I can tell she won't last much longer. She doesn't stop me when I firmly grab her waist.

I lift the weightless body out of the water and sit her up against me. I prop her back up against my chest as we sit on the floor and I try to coax her to eject the water that is blocking her airway. She coughs out some and then lets her head fall into my chest again. She looks into my eyes until she gracefully passed out. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, the way her thick, long, dark eyelashes rest gently against her cheeks.

Why do I feel nervous? My stomach feels funny and my heart is beating irregularly. Peter Pan is ruthless, he doesn't get nervous. So why do I feel like this?

I can see she is cut in several places over her body from the claws of the sirens, but the biggest gash is on her arm.  Making haste, I pick her up in my arms bridal-style and carry her all the way back to the med-hut.

When I am in the camp Felix and Devin rush to me. They follow me to the med-hut and I explain how I found her and why I am dripping wet. I set her down on one of the beds in the hut and let the boys get to work on fixing her up. It is taking every bit of will power I have in me not to rush to conclusions and send those three boys to the echo caves right now. But I want to hear what happened from her instead of being irrational.

What am I going to do? I can't have a girl on the island, but what will I do with her? She has done nothing wrong to me and the boys, so I can't banish or execute her. But I can't keep her here. This is what the map maker's wife meant. That feeling, of security and completion, remember that feeling when you make your decision. It may just seal your fate. Was she trying to tell me to keep her here? Is she the solution the shadow brought to me? Maybe I will give her a chance... just maybe.

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That was a long one guys. It got really intense there for a minute. I won't spoil the plot for you but it's gonna be good. What was the curse? Who placed it? All will be revealed in due time my loves. I hope you had a great Super Bowl 58! I wrote this while I watched it with my family. I didn't love the halftime show, Alicia keys was the best part. Do you like football? Who's your favorite team? Personally I don't understand it or really care for it, but I get why other people do. Per usual if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions Let me know! I always respond to messages almost instantly! Also if you have any other Wattpad book recommendations let me know! I live to hear from you! Lots of love!!