Never is an Awfully Long Time

Ch.1 Diamonds

Wendy

Wendy was tired. Absolutely and unbearably tired. She set down the brush that she had been grooming her long, wavy, chestnut hair with and studied her reflection in the vanity mirror. Even her face showed obvious signs of exhaustion. Given, she was still very beautiful and everyone knew it. But, the stress of Wendy’s life had been taking its toll on not only her appearance, but her mind as well. Wendy could no longer tell the difference between right and wrong, up and down, or simple and complex. She was a mess.

The longer she looked at herself, the more she noticed the little things about her that made her look so ill. Wendy was thin, very thin. She tried to hide her shape by wearing flowing gowns that created space between her body and the fabric but if anyone looked hard enough, they would be able to see the sharp points of her collarbone, her hipbones, and her ribs. Without the gowns, her features would easily be visible and Mother would surely faint from the sight. There wasn’t anything Wendy or her family could do about it for Wendy simply just didn’t have an appetite anymore. Things were simpler when she was younger.

“Wendy!” Michael, the youngest of the Darling children, rapped his fist on the door, interrupting his sister’s train of thought. “Father said it’s time to leave. He wants to give you something so come downstairs when you’re ready.”

Wendy listened closely to the sound of her brother’s footsteps dying off in the distance. Having become quite comfortable in her chair at the vanity, she gave her appearance one last look and stood up, sighing in defeat. Special occasions like tonight made Mr. Darling very impatient so Wendy tried her best not to keep her family waiting. Hastily, she put on the new, white, satin gown that Mother had picked out. The fabric flowed to the ground and gathered at her waist in a neat bow. Lace bordered the neckline and intricated in delicate designs throughout the train. Although beautiful, the gown was hugging and didn’t give the wearer much room to hide.

Wendy quickly put on the pearl earrings that her Aunt Millicent gave her two years ago and checked her figure one last time in the mirror. Lovely. She looked like a woman.

Still, something was missing. Having been completely covered in beautiful clothes, she still felt naked…bare. She smoothed her hands over her sides and tried to get a feel of what was wrong. Wendy looked around the room, hoping to find what she lacked.

Over the past few years, things had drastically changed for the room that was once a nursery. Shortly after Wendy’s thirteenth birthday, John and Michael were moved into the room across the hall in order to give Wendy more opportunity to be a teenager. All three children were very upset with the new arrangements but Wendy quickly became accustomed to her new environment. She greatly appreciated her extra space but there were times when she missed her brothers’ company.

For the most part, the room looked the same with a few mild adjustments. The toys and play objects were stored under the bed or in the closet and various vases of flowers took their place and sat on almost every flat surface that was available. Paintings of fields and trees hung on the walls to cover up the skid marks that the children had somehow made when they were kids. In the corner by the window was a waist-high jewelry box that held the rings, necklaces, and bracelets that Wendy had collected over the years. A small couch was added next to the brick fireplace, giving Wendy a place to read in the winter. The rest of walls were littered with shelves of books that held the tales of hate, adventure, and love.

The only thing in the room that Wendy refused to change was her bed. Her quilt comforter still hugged the mattress and her favorite doll was still settled at the head of her pillow. Mrs. Darling had insisted on moving the bed to the corner in order to move a new and bigger rug into the middle of the room but Wendy had held her ground and put up quite a fight. She would never move her bed for it was positioned exactly where she liked it; directly opposite the window that Wendy always kept unlocked for a very special boy.