Chasing Neverland: A Retelling | ✔️

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"I live in a place called Neverwoods," Pete explained as they flew. "You're not afraid of lions, tigers and bears, are you?" he asked with a sideways smirk.

"Of course not," Wendy responded bravely. And she meant it. She wasn't afraid of anything when Pete was around.

In the distance, Wendy could see an enormous cluster of colorful trees standing on the horizon.

Neverwoods. It was just as captivating as Neverspeak Mountain!

Pete's house was nestled snugly in the center of a bright orange tree, its sprawling branches adorned with large purple fruit.

"A tree house?" Wendy asked in surprise as they landed on the porch.

"Absolutely! How else am I supposed to stay out of harm's way?"

"So, are there really wild animals here?"

"Would I lie to you?" Pete responded cheekily.

"I certainly hope not," Wendy huffed. "Do you mind if I look around?"

"Please do. But remember to stay in the tree house. I don't want you to get eaten by a wild animal!" he chuckled, amused at his own humor. "I'll be right back."

Wendy rolled her eyes and began to explore the wraparound porch. She marveled at the tiny designs in the wood and noticed that like any boy, Pete left his clutter scattered about. There were shoes and soccer balls, books and a large whip littering the wooden deck. Why a whip? she wondered, amused by it all.

She walked to the edge of the porch and gingerly reached forward to grab a piece of fruit from the tree. Stretching herself over the wooden porch rail, she was unable to reach the purple food hanging from the branches. But she did notice some strange flowers on the ground underneath the tree. She considered herself fairly well-versed on different plants because her mother had always been such an avid gardener, but these flowers were different.

Curious, Wendy decided to get a closer look. She searched for a ladder that would take her to the ground below, and when she found it she climbed down. "I'll just look really quick," she whispered to herself, careful to make sure that Pete didn't see her slip away.

Once on the ground, she began to look at the variety of plants covering the earth beneath the tree house.

"I don't recognize these flowers at all," she quietly pondered, and she leaned in closer to smell them. They were the strangest looking blossoms. Similar to the trees, they were covered in uniquely shaped petals and leaves, in just about every color you could imagine.

Suddenly, she heard a low grumble from behind her. Her blood ran cold as she turned around and came face to face with an enormous lion. Its majestic mane made the massive animal appear even larger than it was. Hungry amber eyes looked her up and down as it exhaled slowly through its large black nose. Feeling her knees begin to shake, Wendy took a shallow breath, trying to think of a way to appease the wild cat.

"Shhhh," she whispered soothingly,trying to subdue the lion.

But the beast slowly stepped toward her, intimidating her with his size and looking her square in the eye. Bewildered, Wendy moved back, careful not to make any sudden movements, when her foot tangled in a vine and she crashed to the ground.

She coward under the animal's gaze and let out a scream, but her call for help sounded more like a broken whimper.

Pete!

The lion revealed its sharp canine teeth and gave a huge roar as his powerful legs crouched down into a pouncing position. He was getting ready to spring forward when Wendy suddenly heard a loud call come from behind her, followed by a sharp crack. The lion, momentarily distracted, looked away from Wendy and stepped back. Wendy heard the crack again, but was unable to take her eyes off of the hungry beast. She watched as he bowed his head in defeat.

All at once, Wendy felt her body being scooped up and carried away. Her frightened eyes met Pete's as he hoisted her up onto the ladder and quickly guided her to the safety of the tree house.

"What were you thinking?" he shouted when they reached the top. "I told you not to leave the tree house!"

"I wanted to look at the flowers," Wendy explained after she caught her breath.

"Did you think that I was joking when I said that there were wild animals lurking all over the Neverwoods?" Pete sighed deeply, aggravated by Wendy's stunt.

"I don't know," she confessed. "I didn't see any animals, and I just wanted to look at the flowers."

Pete shook his head silently.

"Why do you live in the middle of some crazy wild animal safari anyway?" she demanded, unable to fathom why someone would want to live in constant danger.

Pete weighed his options before answering. Should he tell her that he got a kick out of the adrenaline rush? That he enjoyed life keeping him on his toes?

"I like the adventure," he finally said.

Wendy looked at him with a frown on her face. This is not exactly where she would have chosen to live, but she understood that boys were more reckless than girls. Something in their DNA...

"Well, I guess that explains the whip," she reasoned to herself.

Pete looked down at the long piece of leather still in his hand. "You've got to be prepared when you live in the Neverwoods," he shrugged. "I may enjoy a bit of danger, but I'm not stupid! There are unspoken rules that need to be followed. You respect their turf and they will respect yours."

"So, you chose to live in the woods?" she asked incredulously.

"Sure. I had my pick of places, but this seemed most fun to me. Can you imagine looking out your window every morning and seeing wild animals roaming about?" he laughed. "I would take that over having a nosy neighbor any day!"

"Do other kids live in the woods?"

"Some, not many. A lot of kids prefer to live on the mountain, and some like to live on ships and dock in the shipyard. Others choose to live near the bay so that they can talk to the mermaids and fish in their own backyard. There are so many different places to choose from. It's all about preference here. Not everyone's Neverland is the same," Pete explained as best he could.

"Where do you think that I would live?" she smiled coyly.

Pete looked thoughtful, "I think that you would live on the lagoon, and you would have a large deck so that you could enjoy the outdoors. And, I think that you would paint out there everyday."

Wendy's eyes widened in surprise, "How do you know that I paint? I never told you that."

"I've watched you," he admitted quietly.

Wendy didn't know what to say. Instead of finding answers to her unsolved mysteries concerning Pete, she just kept adding more to the list.

Suddenly, she let out a yawn.

"Here, let's sit on the porch swing," he offered, noticing her exhaustion and leading her to a beautiful handcrafted wooden swing.

They sat down and the swing began to softly sway.

"Did you make this swing?" Wendy asked as she gingerly touched the carved wood.

"Yes. The Indian chief helped me." Wendy looked up at Pete but did not question his response. 

Indian chief? Apparently, there was an awful lot to learn about this mysterious place called The Neverlands.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"Not at all," she replied, stifling another yawn. She laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

 When Wendy opened them again, she was tucked safely in her bed.

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