Peter Pan and the Lost Fae of Neverland

[11] UNDECIM

The Fae Graveyard looked even more disturbing up close.

And yet, Peter couldn't keep his eyes off the headstones that he now realizes were actually carved with the faces of all the dead fairies. Nakaramdam ng pangingilabot ang binata nang lapitan niya ang isa sa mga ito, akmang babasahin sana ang nakaukit sa lapida, nang bigla na lang gumalaw ang mata ng imahe.

"Shit!"

Napaatras si Peter samantalang tipid namang ngumiti si Jester na nasa kanyang likuran.

"Don't worry, they're just carvings. Hindi mo rin naman mababasa ang nakasulat diyan. Iba ang lenggwaheng gamit naming mga fae---"

"Liora Moondust, let the moonlight shine upon thou."

Napanganga si Jester.

"What the...? You can still read fae language?!"

Nagkibit naman ng balikat si Peter. Hindi niya alam kung paano niya nababasa ang kakaibang mga simbolo sa lapida, pero para bang awtomatikong tina-translate ng kanyang utak ang mga salita. It terrified but piqued his interest at the same time.

"I guess it's my hidden skill," Peter casually stated.

Hindi niya aaminin pero nakakagaan pala sa pakiramdam ang makitang ganito ang reaksyon ni Jester. All the fairy smugness wiped away, leaving only a bewildered expression.

It was a good distraction from the fact that being inside the graveyard makes him feel sick.

Nang sulyapan ni Peter ang kabuuan ng sementeryo, doon niya napagtantong hindi niya makita ang hangganan nito. Rows and rows of headstones following a spiral path almost made him dizzy. Yari sa kulay abong bato ng mga ito, lahat ay may nakaukit na mukha at pangalan ng fairiy na namatay. If the Fae Sanctuary was buzzing with energy, the Fae Graveyard is the complete opposite. Nalalanta na ang damo sa lugar na ito at tila nakabibingi ang katahimikan. The atmosphere also felt stale, as if someone just took a vacuum and sucked all the air out of it. Mabigat ang pakiramdam ni Peter, pero pinili na lang niyang 'wag ipagbigay-alam kay Jester.

After all, he was here to discover parts of his past... To unlock his memories by triggering them with familiarity.

Habang naglalakad sila ni Jester papunta sa sentro ng spiral path, napansin niya ang nalantang mga bulaklak sa ilang lapida.

"Who visits them?"

Jester looked away.

"I do."

Peter stopped in his tracks. Just noticing that... Almost all the headstones had withered flowers on them.

"All of them?"

He instantly regret asking it when Jester sighed, as if this was the last question he wanted to hear today.

"Bakit naman hindi? Are humans the only ones who can honor their dead? Fairies have feelings too, you know."

"H-Hindi sa ganon," mabilis na depensa ni Peter at itinaas ang mga kamay. "I was just surprised... Hindi ko alam kung paano mo nagagawang bigyan ng atensyon ang bawat isa sa kanila."

"I rarely visit these days," Jester said and shrugged. "Magmula noong naging abala ako sa paghahanap sa'yo sa Eastwood. Do you know how many windows I've looked into just to see if you were in any of those houses? If you had a family of your own and moved on from us? Tapos nasa isang abandonadong teatro ka lang pala."

Natigilan si Peter sa kanyang sinabi.

"Why look into windows?"

"Because," Jester flashed him a knowing smile. "That was the kind of thing you do in the past."

Naguguluhan man sa sinabi nito, tumango na lang ang binata at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad. Pero habang papalapit sila sa sentro ng sementeryo, hindi niya maipagkailang naroon ang pakiramdam na tila may kulang sa kwento. It was only a matter of time before the migraine suddenly returned, halting him once more.

Sa 'di kalayuan, narinig niya ang nag-aalalang boses ni Jester.

"Peter? Hey, are you alright?"

'Obviously, not.'

But the words never left his mouth. Mahinang napamura ang binata nang lumala ang sakit ng kanyang ulo, tila ba binibiyak ito. Nanghihina siyang napaupo at sumandal sa pinakamalapit na lapida. Naririnig niya ang boses ni Jester pero ni hindi na niya maintindihan ang mga sinasabi nito.

'What is happening to me?'

"Something that should've happened a long time ago."

That wasn't Jester's voice.

Peter's eyes shot wide open when he felt something slowly pulling away from him.

Doon niya napansin ang unti-unting paggalaw ng kanyang anino sa lupa. Gulat niyang pinagmasdan ang pagbibigay-anyo nito sa kanyang sarili, isang itim na imaheng kawangis niya. Peter's breathing hitched when his shadow took the form of himself, a faceless entity laughing at him in mockery.

As if it was just waiting for the perfect time to free itself.

"Lost your shadow again, Peter Pan?"

---

"'Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,' he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone."

---Walter de la Mare, "The Listeners"