Chasing Neverland

Willow lay on the soft furs of skinned animals, her head lolled back on a pillow. When her eyes peel open, she sees a toe-headed boy with big blue eyes staring into her face. Her vision is almost clear, but his words sounded garbled. She closed her eyes again, her eyebrows pulling together in frustration.

When she opened them again, the same boy had the red furs of a fox pulled over his head, the ears flopping over on one side. Confused, she tried to sit up but found that her arms were too weak to support her weight. She fell back with a groan, and watched another young buy scurry to her side, his front teeth long like you'd see in a child who continuously sucked his thumb. His dirty blonde hair was quickly hidden by the gray fur of a rabbit, the ears on the hood standing tall.

She had no idea what was going on, and thinking about it made her head hurt in a terrible way.

“Come look!” the boy in the rabbit furs called, bouncing up and down. “Come look!”

Willow closed her eyes, her center of gravity completely off. She felt like she were laying placid on a boat, floating along a mostly calm sea. It made her want to throw up, but her stomach was too empty for anything to come up or out.

A young man with auburn hair moved silently to her bedside. He had his hands clasped before him with what looked like a hat clutched in them. A bright feather stuck out from the top of the hat, and his eyes were large, a swirling shade of hazel. He leaned over Willow, his hair flopping around his smooth face and his lips tight in what resembled concern.

Willow tried to speak. Her voice was harsh and her throat was dry. With a snap of his fingers, Peter summoned a glass of water to her bedside. He held it to her lips, and she drank it greedily, but once she was done, she found herself drifting back to much-needed sleep.

The boys were murmuring amongst themselves, a few jumping around and making small amounts of noise. Peter raised his hands, then lowered them sharply, signaling the boys to fall to quiet themselves. Obliging, the boys settled into their beds and held back from shouting or cheering. Peter turned on his heel and strode into his back room, brushing aside the bear pelt on his way.

---

Willow awoke with a scream. She'd had that dream again, but this time she had tried to follow him and ended up tumbling out of her window. As she'd hit the ground, she'd jumped awake, and her scream had caused a whole mess of small children to scurry to her bedside.

“Are you okay?”

“What's happening?”

“Wendy?”
“Wendy?”

“Go get Peter!”

“Wendy?”

“I'll get Peter!”

“Wendy, are you okay?”
“Wendy?”

Overwhelmed, Willow pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them to herself, her heart racing. What was going on? Where was she, and who were these small children?

“She's awake!” she heard the high voice of a young boy call out.

Quickly, a young man rushed from behind a cloaked room and to her side. He shooed the small boys away and took up her hand, his eyes wide with worry.

“You shouted,” he explained in a husky voice. “Is everything alright?”

Willow yanked her hand away and scooted farther back into the mounds of pillows. Now she was completely frightened; nothing good could come of a strange guy and a bunch of small boys in the creepiest and most life-like animal costumes she'd ever seen.

“Wendy?” a boy in the red furs of a fox asked cautiously.

A boy in gray rabbit furs moved to her right. “What's wrong with Wendy?”

Twin boys dressed as raccoons called the same name in unison: Wendy. Everyone circled around her, repeating that one word: Wendy, Wendy, Wendy. The only quiet one was a boy of no more than two wearing the furs of a skunk. The pressure caused a shriek to ripple through her, silencing the commotion at her bedside.

“My name is not Wendy!” she shouted in their faces.

Peter's mouth dropped open. “Of course you are.”

“No!” She stood up on the bed and shoved on his shoulders. “My name is Willow!”

There was a tense moment where everyone was sure Peter would explode on her, his temper short and his patience thin. Much to the boys' surprise, he stayed calm.

“Will-oh?” Peter sounded it out, liking the way it sounded on his tongue.

She nodded. “Yes, my name is Willow. Who are you?”

He smiled but didn't say anything. He walked across the room and peered into a hole in the bark of what looked like a tree. A bright glow shone from that direction, interesting Willow. She lowered herself legs to a relaxed sitting position and began to examine her surroundings more carefully. The place looked as if it were underground, for there were no windows to be seen.

A musty smell hung in the air and the walls looked as if they were made of actual wood. Not cut four-by-fours like she would expect, but the actual bark of trees. She was laying atop the furs of large game animals, and the boys all looked dirty and like they hadn't used a comb or had a wash in months.

“Who are you people?” Willow asked quietly.

The boy in the rabbit fur jumped up to answer her. “I'm Nibs!”

“My name is Slightly!” the boy in the fox costume announced happily.

“Marmaduke,” one of the raccoon twins announced.
“Binky!” the other chimed in.

Slightly overwhelmed, Willow looked to the chubby boy in the bear costume. “I'm Cubby, and this is Tootles.” The small child dressed as a skunk waved happily, the freckles of his cheeks making him look even younger than he was.

The young man turned toward her, the tights hugging his legs making him look leaner than he really was. The look on his face was one of slight worry, but underlying happiness.

“I'm Peter,” he said casually, “Peter Pan.”

Willow's face turned red in shame. “You're who?”

He smiled and took a deep bow. “Peter Pan, my lady.”

A bright orb floated towards her, chiming with excitement. Peter told her, “This is Tinkerbell.”

“She's.. a....”

“Fairy,” Peter interjected. “Tink is a fairy.”

“This isn't happening,” Willow whispered to herself. “This is a dream. This isn't happening. I'm dreaming. No! I'm hallucinating. This isn't happening..”

Peter shooed the Lost Boys from the room, and Tinkerbell followed them.

“This is happening, Willow.” He told her as he left the room, “This is all very real.”

Once he was gone, she threw herself back on the pillows and yanked a bear fur up around her neck. She closed her eyes, but she couldn't sleep; her head was spinning wildly.

What was happening to her sanity?