Except One

Regan swung upside down, her legs were expertly tucked over a gap between two strong branches. She swayed softly in the breeze, her face pink with blood rush and her hair sparkling around her. She hummed as she twirled her fingers, closing her eyes and revelling in childish freedom.

She had become apt at many things, Neverland seemed to have birthed a large range of new talents in a girl who had previously felt herself useless. Hanging upside down was one of them, braiding tiny Never Daisies into bracelets and tiaras for the fairies in the nearby oak tree was another. To some, these talents may seem obnoxiously silly but in Neverland there was a use for everything. That’s what Peter said anyway, and Regan was slowly realising that most things Peter said, someway or another, they were usually right.

A bird tinkled at her from the nest tucked between the groove of a trunk, showing off pearly white eggs. She whistled, telling Regan how beautiful her chicks would be. Regan smiled, swinging herself upright and balancing like a trapeze artist on the branches. Like a dancer, she hopped and skipped her way through the tree tops of the forest finally arriving at the biggest tree, their tree-house.

She frowned in a sudden realisation at how quiet her surroundings were. Yes, the birds were singing, the wind was whispering secrets to the gossiping leaves but something vital to Neverland was missing. Regan waited, listening closely but she was right. Something was missing.

There was no echo of a boy’s laughter, no tinkling of a Tinker fairy. The squirrels were silent, not having any person to play tag with and the clouds seemed lonely without their usual dark silhouette swooping through and around them. Peter wasn’t here.

With a worried heart, Regan went back into the tree-house, searching for something, anything that could tell her what had happened to Peter.

She didn’t have to search very long for on the rough wooden window sill, a piece of paper was blowing gently underneath a stone that was securing it. Regan picked it up, reading the childish scrawl;

Regan,
Gone on a advenchoor
Bee bac soon

Keep I on ur shadow

Peter

Regan smiled at the letter writing, learned from Wendy and John all those years ago. For a moment her heart grew sad. There were so many memories of Wendy here…would she ever be able to fill her place or would she always be that girl who was just second-best.

She shook her head when she realised she sounded jealous but all of a sudden she wanted to know, needed to know what Wendy and Peter had had. They had loved each other, but was it a childish love? Or was it something more, did Peter’s heart still ache when he heard her name…if Regan left like Wendy did, would she cause Peter heartache?
“Stop it Regan” she scolded herself. “He’s Peter…Peter, the boy. He will always be a little boy”

But would he? He appeared like an adolescent, his voice held an edge as though he were a man, he had muscle tone, he was strong…

“Stop it!” this time she growled at herself and she sat down. She stayed silent for hours, immersed in thought, watching the sky of the second star to the right grow darker and darker, changing from a merry blue to a dark navy.

A cold night wind hit her and she shivered violently, suddenly becoming aware of her surroundings and for the first time in a long time, she felt lonely. The room was too empty, and the shadows that loomed on the walls were frightening. She shouldn’t feel fear, here she was supposed to be safe.

She pressed herself closer to the wall and huddled, her arms around her knees. Then she heard the singing drifting through the window.

It was a sift melody, rising and falling slowly. It held hurt, sadness, love and betrayal all in one. It held promise and happiness. It held hope, it held the past and the future.

Without realising Regan stood up, walking to the door and out onto the tree…She found herself on the ground but couldn’t remember if she had climbed down or finally flew. All that mattered now was going to the water, towards the voices.

Her past began to hit her again, the loneliness, the pain. She felt the pain of all the beatings, the rape, the abuse and she flinched, almost falling onto the sand, ready to curl herself onto the ground and give in. But why should she stay here…when there was so much promise somewhere else. Se had no-one left, even Peter had abandoned her.

She walked onto the rocks and before she saw them, she knew they were there. They beckoned to her, never stopping their singing “Come” they seemed to say “Come with us…and you will be free”

Regan smiled, finding the eyes of the stormy merman. His irises were calm and dark, they were full of greed and lust. He was ready to take her. He wanted her.

They reached out to her “Regan…come, the waves are calling”

Regan closed her eyes, swaying on the spot and began to sing with them, her voice rose and fell with the waves. She stepped closer to the edge and then she jumped, a perfect dive into the water.

As soon as she was enveloped under the sea, hundreds of arms grabbed her. Regan’s eyes grew wide and she grew scared. Peter was right…she had trusted them, she shouldn’t have. They started to pull her down and no matter how much she kicked and struggled, their powerful grip was too strong. Her lungs began to grow painful as water rushed into her body and she felt herself begin to drown.

She began to drift slowly downwards as life left her, her weak body floating eerily, and then she arched, her legs snapping together. She squeezed her eyes shut as a strange constricting feeling came over her and she wriggled in the water.

Then she opened her eyes and everything was much clearer. She could see the colours of the sea clearly, blues and purples. She could even see a school of fish several miles away. She looked down and gasped as she gazed at where her legs had been. Instead of limbs, she now possessed a turquoise tail, the scales glittering like diamonds.

Awe overtook her and she looked up at the mermaids that surrounded her, welcoming her to their home, her new home. She found her merman and he offered his hand. The cold of the water began to settle in her heart and Regan no longer remembered Neverland. She couldn’t remember the face of a golden haired boy, and she had no reason to stay.

She swam off, a mermaid.