Hiraeth: Return to Neverland #1 (a darlinghook fanfic)

5 | stars

Wendy looked out the window and saw the first few stars starting to appear. Soon she would be able to go and she wouldn't have to come back unless she wanted to. Rifling through her suitcase, she tried to think of what she should wear and take there.

She decided on a pair of loose camouflage pants with lots of pockets and a green t-shirt with a black hoodie over top. In her canvas backpack she already had some things she always took with her: a box of matches, a rain jacket, and a spy-glass. Binoculars were probably much more practical, but the spy-glass reminded her of Neverland. She strapped a short hunting knife that she sometimes used in her research to her side and quickly looked around to see if she was missing anything. She put the roll of bandages in from her first-aid kit and thought about going barefoot, just for old times sake, but decided that that wasn't practical and pulled on a pair of boots that went halfway up her calf.

Looking outside, Wendy saw that the sky had darkened to almost black and she opened the window, breathing in the fresh air. She took the vial off her necklace and carefully poured out its contents onto her open hand. It really wasn't a lot and she doubted that it would have been enough for John and Michael too. Taking a deep breath, she closed her hand and slowly lifted it above her head, letting the sparkling dust sprinkle over her head and shoulders.

Wendy closed her eyes and thought of Neverland. Not of Peter, or Tink, or the mermaids or the Lost Boys, just the island itself. She giggled when she felt her feet leave the ground and she quickly opened her eyes. Her head bobbed against the ceiling and she quickly got the hang of flying again, taking a couple spins around the room.

But she knew that she did not have as much pixie dust as she could have hoped for, and that she couldn't waste any of it. On a piece of paper on her desk, Wendy wrote the word 'Neverland' in big letters, but she knew that this would hardly convince her brothers. With one look back at the room, Wendy flew out into the night.

Oh, the feeling of flying! Wendy had not realized how much she had missed it until she soared out the window and into the open air. It was truly the feeling of freedom. She couldn't help but giggle as she flew into the tree in the backyard and alighted on a high branch to get her bearings.

She looked up and was happy to see that the second star to the right was clear. After one look back at the house, she thought of Neverland again and rose off the branch. Smiling widely, Wendy was so excited, she completely forgot her argument with her parents. She was going back to Neverland. Nothing else mattered.

And so she flew to the bright star that beckoned her in the dark night sky.

The only part of her plan that Wendy had been worried about was finding the way. She had only flown to Neverland once, and that was with Peter guiding them. Well, not the whole way, sometimes he'd disappeared and had adventures, almost forgetting who they were when he returned.

Wendy shook her head and flew steadily on, through cloud banks where she could hardly see ahead of her, but she always emerged from them and was able to see the star again. She had the thought in the back of her mind that she soon should be having a tough time breathing, but even though she kept flying higher, she was still fine. Soon, however, the second star to the right disappeared.

She was passing stars now. Not the huge balls of fiery gas, but shining orbs of light, the largest no bigger than a basketball. Remembering that Peter had mentioned talking to them, Wendy said, "Hello?"

For a moment, there was silence, but then Wendy heard a strange, twinkling giggle.

"I'm going to Neverland," she continued. "could you help me find the way?"

Another giggle. Then, she saw small silver arrows that seemed to be made of pure light pointing ahead of her.

Wendy smiled. "Thank you." And she flew, following the arrows the stars had provided.

Although in the beginning, Wendy had been able to tell, in general, how long she had been flying, the farther she went, the less relevant time became. Every time she checked her watch, it was either going too fast, too slow or had stopped entirely. Once she even looked down to find it going backwards.

The arrows were getting larger, brighter and were more gold than silver. Wendy realized that it was no longer the stars guiding her, but the sun itself. She smiled, that meant she was getting close.

It was no longer night around her and she saw the blue of the ocean in the distance. Her heart thumping in her chest, she flew faster, eager to see the island.

And there is was, almost exactly as she recalled it, maybe a little smaller. There was the Native village, the Mermaid Lagoon, Cannibal's Cove and the Jolly Roger anchored near it.

But she barely had time to admire the island, because as she approached it, the last of the pixie dust was used up and she slowly started to fall to the water. She tried to hold out her arms and slow her fall but it wasn't much use.

She got closer and closer to the water and quickly prepared herself to dive in. It did seem like the best way to do it and she dove straight down, grateful that she had had the presence of mind to keep her matchbox in a plastic bag. She quickly swam to the surface, gasping for air, and blinked in the bright sunlight that reflected off the water.

Treading water, she pushed her short hair back from her face and planned her course of action. Luckily, she had not lost her backpack or either of her boots underwater. She put her boots and her sweater and put it inside too and then started making her way towards the island.