Neverland [✓]

[ Our Deep Thoughts ]

"Does the sunrise never occur in this part of Neverland, or anywhere at all?" Irene implored without looking at Taehyung. He was busy throwing pebbles towards the overlapping sea waves. It deemed impossible for the pebble to bounce and create ripples through each leap. He envisaged himself as the pebble enveloped by the ocean waves.

Taehyung expressed his silence silence with a strained sigh and returned to his seat next to Irene. She fidgeted in her seat and kept her gaze forward. He wrapped his arms around his knees and observed the frantic ocean too. He had been living through the night sky ever since his arrival here and longed for the sun to rise. 

"That's what I've been asking to myself for quite some time. Why does the sun never appear in Neverland? Where is the sun? Why is it always nighttime here?"

She reprimanded the desire to laugh and instead snicker to herself. Taehyung could not hear her giggle despite the overwhelming sound of the ocean waves. 

Eventually sometime, the waves became calmer and they could listen to each other properly without shouting to their fullest. Irene, especially held a very soft voice and if she had to speak louder, her voice would only trail out into silence at the end. She would always be nervous during presentations and speaking louder took time for the lass.

Taehyung continued nonetheless, although they were transfixed by the simplicity and beauty of the ocean waves. His hands almost reached for Irene's but considered it twice before speaking loudly. 

"Even if the sun does not rise for whatever reason, the scintillating stars are very nice to look at." Taehyung held a white lie. He actually knew the sole reason for Neverland's perpetuating darkness. He just did not want to involve Irene deeper into the dark side of Neverland that it already is.

He was scared and alarmed for the other souls. Peter took enough from his world and he did not want any parents to weep for their children's strange sleeping state. Losing more children would cause chaos and the village would have to be destroyed. 

"I agree with you, somehow." She responded with lethargy laced in her tone. Ever since her visits to Neverland that were out of her control, she felt more different. Irene could not express it herself, but it was just her gut and feelings. 

She grabbed a full amount of sands in the grip of her palm and watched it fall down back like an hourglass. She fascinated hourglasses. Regardless of its simplicity, the beauty of the hourglass struck her in awe. It was just a simple artifact, yet her mind bombarded her with pure fascination. 

Neverland was like an hourglass. For Irene, she knew that time never existed in Neverland. It never occurred to her at all where a dream could inflict reality. She had never envisaged a dream that could be the same. She only knew them as a normal, fascinating dream or even a horrendous nightmare.

Irene was left lost in a deep thought, inducing Taehyung to stand up. He approached the ocean waves and grabbed two sand dollars. He had never seen anything of the like back home, but anything was possible in Neverland. He prayed that it would be possible to take Peter down, but anything against his darkest minds deemed impossible.

Taehyung simply wanted to go home. He knew that the others wanted to return to their safe sanctuary. They were all fooled into thinking that they'd find salvation and a safe haven in Neverland. They'd been tricked into thinking that they were lost souls, intertwined in confusion and fascination from Peter's convincing words.

They were manipulated, even when they were lost for a few minutes.

Taehyung sauntered towards Irene and crouched down in front of her. The patterned lantern were their only source of light and Irene's eyes widened in surprise. She grabbed one, their skin brushed for a split second. Irene examined the carved shapes on the sand dollar. 

"Is this-? What is this?" She required in fascination, flipping the sand dollar around in silence. She was quite uncomfortable with the close proximity, but she focused her interest more towards the sand dollar. 

Taehyung sat on the sandy ground and allowed the sea waves to wash ashore. The distance was quite far from him and he held no worries for now. He felt happier and relaxed when he was near someone that's not Peter. He felt remorse for Peter after revealing the hidden truth, but Peter was two faced. 

The other one vanished in thin air even before Irene had been pulled into Neverland. The good Peter wanted them to go away and to never think about Neverland. However, the evil replica Peter won over with everyone knowing except Irene. They kept their minds and mouths shut since Neverland has its ears.

"That's a sand dollar."

"A sand dollar?" She inquired with further fascination, engendering the latter to laugh at her child-like behavior. 

"It isn't money, but it is quite an interesting object from the sea compared to the other seashells."

Irene returned the silence and pressed her lips into a smile. Taehyung did not catch her smile and gave it back to him. Irene was like a pure mind who had not been corrupted yet. He did not want her mind to be tainted with severe consequences. 

She was already ostracised from the town and isolation made it worse. He had seen her struggle from the original Peter, who wanted to help those in agony. Neverland was created for that purpose, but his darkest secrets cradled the good Peter to an eternity of slumber. 

"I think we should get back. It's kind of cold here ... a-and I'm kind of hungry." Irene stammered. avoiding eye contact whatsoever. She had never been this close to a man, in whom Irene had no idea that he was younger than him. She was also unaware that Taehyung, the young man sitting right in front of her was her childhood friend.

Taehyung agonized when she could not remember him, but it wasn't her fault. The memory of them as children remained hazy. She had never thought to think about the past as Irene concentrated over the present days. 

"Sure." He responded and stood up, offering his hand to Irene. She glanced up at pressed her lips into a smile again. She stood up on her own and held the folded blanket in both hands. Irene avoided eye contact as usual and Taehyung simply clapped his hands. 

They sauntered back in silence, letting the wails of the insects and creatures occupy their surroundings. Irene followed Taehyung through the unfamiliar path of trees. There were so much that she could not as easily remember where to go. 

"You guys craving for some chicken marsala?" Was the first words from Peter, slightly alarming Irene more than Taehyung. She noticed the mouth-watering smell of cheese and tomato sauce.

"Might want to eat it while it's hot." Taehyung continued and occupied a space near Peter, serving some for himself. Irene nodded in acceptance and sat near between the two men. Taehyung began eating and gazed at the burning fire. Irene thanked Peter for dinner and began to eat in silence. 

She savored the warm taste of cheese and tomato mashed together, slightly flinching at the heated temperature of the food. She opened her mouth and inhaled the cold air. She blew the heat like a dragon, inducing both men to chuckle at her naivety. 

Irene scooped up another portion, blowing on the food first before chewing it. It reminded her of her Mother's cooking and there was not a single day were she despised it.

Taehyung finished his serve in ten minutes, baffling the woman since it took her almost half an hour to finish. Irene preferred to eat slowly to savor the great effort into making three meals a day. It wasn't easy to prepare a meal and Irene smiled to herself. 

She had no idea what was coming for her and Taehyung prayed that his one chance won't blow.