Reflections of Light

A Remedy For Sadness

"He's really upset." Luci said, worrying her lip.

Dec shrugged nonchalantly. "He's just going to mope for a while. It'll be fine, you'll see."

Luci looked at her son, sitting at the end of his bed listlessly stroking his dog's head, a dower expression on his face.
"He's been like this for the past couple of days. Did you see the looks he was giving me at breakfast?" She said, still not reassured. "I swear he blames me for the whole thing."

"Hey, no." Dec hushed her, placing a sympathetic arm around her. "He doesn't blame you, not really. It's just more like... He'd been waiting for the answer to that question for the four years of his little life, and now he's got it... He's just reeling from it being over so soon."

"... I guess you're right." Luci admitted, rubbing her brow tiredly. "But he is upset with me for taking him away when he fell asleep. He thinks I tricked him."

"Well, that's not fair." Dec said, pulling a face of disapproval. "Do you want me to have a word with him?"

"You can try if you want." Luci said with an exhausted shrug. "I think... I think I want to get him another copy of Peter Pan. He gave his up at the gate and I think... Well, he was very attached to it."

"Do you want me to look for another one?"

"If you can. His was a special edition though, you might not be able to get another one like it."

Dec smiled, pressing a kiss to Luci's forehead. "Don't worry, I'll see what I can do."

Billy slammed the door of his room, stomping across the floor loudly in a display of his irritation. He'd made a point of sulking the whole way through dinner, practically outright ignoring his mother whenever she'd tried to speak to him.

Dropping his shirt in a messy pile on the floor, he changed into his comfy new pyjamas; the skull-and-crossbones pattern grinning up at him in a ghoulish contrast to his current dark mood.

Crossing his arms, he flopped down on the hotel bed, burrying his face in the bedspread as he lay spread-eagled.

A knock at the door caught his attention, making him pull his face up from the bed to yell frustratedly at the door. "Wot is et?!"

Couldn't they understand that he wanted to be left alone?

"It's me- Declan." Dec said from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

Groaning and muttering exaggeratedly in aggravation, Billy strode over to the door and forcefully yanked it open. "Wot?"

"Hey." Dec said conversationally, as if he hadn't heard Billy's angry tone. "Are you alright?"

" 'M FINE!" Billy yelled, stomping his foot in irritation. Why did people keep asking him that?

"I'm glad." Dec agreed, again ignoring Billy's aggression. "Anyway, I bought you a present."

Billy curiously tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at Dec in suspicion. "Wot?!"

Taking this as permission to continue, Dec held out the gift-wrapped rectangle, offering it to the small boy. Billy eyed the blue wrapping paper, intrigued blatantly being suppressed under his sullen mask.

"Et's not my birfday."

"I know. It's sort of a 'Get well soon' present, except I didn't actually have the chance to give it to you when you were ill."

Billy seemed to accept this answer, his curiosity giving in as he snatched the present from Dec's hands and bounded away to the bed; Dec following him into the room.

"An' I wozen't ill, I woz poison'd."

"Ah, yes. Sneaky Captain Hook put the poison in your mum's drink. Or wait, am I getting confused?"

Billy chuckled despite himself. "No, silly. Dat woz when Tinkerbell woz poison'd."

"You mean I didn't have to clap my hands to make you better? Ah, well now I just feel foolish."

Billy laughed then, properly, loudly guffawing at Dec's claim. "You did not!"

"I did too, I'll have you know." Dec chuckled. "Besides, it must have worked, you're alright aren't you?" he tickled Billy's stomach, making the small boy shriek joyfully, wriggling out of his reach and burying his face and front into the blankets so Dec couldn't reach his ticklish neck or stomach.

Almost shyly, Billy peeped out over his armful of bedspread. "Did you weally dough?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Bashfully, Billy hid his face back in the blankets.

Dec chuckled. "Come on. Are you going to open your present?"

Billy sat up, nodding enthusiastically and looking around for where his gift had been flung in the midst of all the merriment.
Dec picked it up from the bedclothes and handed it to him. "Here. Now, are you going to open it nicely, or..."

The loud sound of tearing paper answered his question.

"... Or just rip it open, that's good too."

Sticking out his tongue, Billy threw the screwed-up wad of wrapping paper at him.

"Oi!" Dec chuckled, tossing the paper over his shoulder. "So... What do you think?"

Billy looked at his present in confusion, then back up at Dec.

"Alright, let me explain." Dec said, holding up his hands. "Your Mum wanted me to get you another copy of your Peter Pan book, you know, to cheer you up.
But I couldn't find one of the same type, you know, with the pictures and everything. I mean, I could have just gotten you a different version, but then I thought you've read it so much, you could probably recite it from memory, knowing you, and so wouldn't actually be that impressed with another copy.
So instead, I got you this one, which I know you haven't read. "

"Peter Pan... In Scarlet." Billy read, tracing the title with his fingers as he sounded it out.

"It's the official sequel. I don't know if you'll like it or not." Dec said cautiously. "But I figured it was worth a try at least."

Billy looked at the front cover sceptically, tilting his head. "... Why's Peter Pan dressed like dat?"

"Ah, that's Captain Hook's second best coat he's wearing." Dec said knowledgeably.

"Wot? Why's he wearing dat?" Billy asked, brow furrowed.

"Well, Captain Hook was wearing his first best coat when he went down the Crocodile's gullet, so he can't exactly wear that." Dec said, grinning broadly.

Billy grinned shyly back, wriggling up closer next to Dec with the book in his hands. "Read et to me."

"Are you sure?" Dec asked. "Don't you want your Mum to..."

"No, you read it!" Billy insisted. "You do da better piwate voice anyway."

Dec laughed. "Alright. I'll have a go. But after that, it's bedtime, okay? No getting all wound up, or you won't sleep and your Mum will kill me."

"I pwomise!" Billy said, settling down on the bed for his story.

An hour and a half later, Luci was walking down the hallway to her room when she heard a commotion coming from one of the rooms up ahead. A second later, Dec dashed out of the doorway, swinging an imaginary sword and darting away from his pint-sized opponent.

"Aha, you'll never catch me, Peter Pan! I am James Hook, captain of the Jolly Roger... Oh, hey Love."