“I thought it was going to be bigger.” She said, slightly disappointed with the small blue scaly fish.
“They are much stronger in the water. That’s their element.” He explained.
Lily couldn’t imagine trying to force a bigger fish than that out.
“Is this enough to feed both of us?” She asked.
“No, we’ll need to catch at least one or two more.” he replied.
They sat again in silence, waiting for more fish to bite. Lily decided this was the perfect opportunity to address at least one of her questions.
“Why is Sage always so sad?” she asked.
Peter didn’t look at her, at first. He just kept looking out at the water. At first, Lily thought that maybe he didn’t hear her. Then he made a face. A strained face.
“Sage lost a baby a few years ago.” He stated.
“Oh…” Lily replied. “How did the baby die?”
“She died at birth. Sage blamed herself. She felt like she had done something wrong. And then she was unable to have another. She hasn’t been able to get over it,” he explained.
Lily felt terrible for prying into their private lives. She was embarrassed that she had been rude enough to ask. But she still had one more questions about it and then she would leave it alone.
“Why did Tiger Claw thank me for making her happy? I didn’t do anything.” She asked.
The baby she lost was named Lily.” And with that Peter went silent again.
Lily’s thoughts were everywhere. She felt so bad for Sage and her broken heart. She had never lost a baby, but she had lost her own mother through childbirth. She felt like that made her understand a little more. Lily also couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the baby had the same name as her. She herself had loved the fact that all of Tiger Claw’s daughters had been named after flowers, but it just seemed so strange that she had the same name as the one they had lost. What an odd coincidence.
“Here comes another fish.” Peter announced.
Lily ran over to help him pull the second fish in. This time it seemed a bit easier. They got the fish onto the shore again and Peter unhooked it and threw it with the other fish. This one was bigger, so Lily was confused as to why it was easier to pull in.
“We were prepared this time.” Peter explained.
That made sense.
“I think we have enough. Let’s head home.” Peter suggested.
Home. There it was. The one thing she had been anxiously grasping for since she was 4 years old. Especially these last few weeks, since she left with James. She had become a lost girl. But not anymore. She was found and she was home.
They got home and climbed up the ladder to their kitchen. Peter and some of the tribe had brought the stove from the ship. Peter cut open each of the fish, removed their insides and then handed them to Lily. She began to cook them on the stove, while Peter headed outside and returned with some vegetables. They were having a feast their first night in their new home.
Chapter 14
After dinner Peter and Lily sat in there house with the doors and windows open, enjoying the breeze. Lily could hear howling from outside.
“I never heard wolves or anything like that when we were living in the tree near the village. How come I feel like i hear them everywhere here?” she asked.
“The animals stay clear of the village. There are too many people and the fire scares them. Out here, they are free to roam without worrying about running people and there is no giant fire to keep them away.” He explained.
“But I thought the animals liked and trusted people here?” Lily was confused.
“They do, at least more than they do where you are from. But they still have to be cautious. The tribe hunts when they need meat. So the animals have learned not to go near large groups of them. Plus, they are still wild animals and it the dark when they are hungry, their instincts still kick in. It’s best to just take all measures to make sure we aren’t on the bad end of an angry, hungry wolf.”
Lily had spent a lot of time thinking about how she’d love to see and possibly meet mermaids. Peter had been busy building her house and taking care of her that she didn’t want to bug him with another request, but now that the house was ready and they were settled in, she desperately wanted to ask him.
“Peter, I’m dying to meet the mermaids.” She started.
“Oh, ya. I forgot about that.” He answered back.
Lily was confused at how he could have forgotten about introducing her to them. When she first met him he told her countless stories about them. And then he suddenly forgot?
“Well, can you introduce them to me tomorrow?” She pressed.
“I.. I guess.” He replied.
Lily couldn’t figure out why he was so hesitant.
“Peter, I feel like you don’t want me to meet them.” She said.
“I don’t.” Peter admitted.
She was shocked. After all he had told her why in the world would it bother him?
“Can I ask why?” she continued.
“Mermaids aren’t nice.” He began. “They are cruel and jealous and they aren’t going to be your friends. They will try to hurt you. I should have told you before. I know I made it sound like they are fun and adventurous and they are, but they hate outsiders. I don’t want you to get hurt and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Oh, is that all?” She replied.
Peter rolled his eyes. “You don’t seem to grasp how dangerous they can be.”
“Let’s just go meet them. If it’s dangerous, we can leave.” lily suggested, hopefully.
“Oh alright.” Peter grumbled.
After their conversation, Peter started to yawn.
“I’m going to head to bed.” He declared. “It’s been a long day.”
Lily had never seen him sleep before. He usually went to bed after her and got up before her. Lily was worried he had overworked himself. She had wanted to talk about the dying island, but decided to wait until tomorrow. Peter needed to sleep.
Lily was wide awake and worried she’d never fall asleep. She was so excited about her new bed and now she couldn’t even sleep in it. She walked around the house, looking at all the tiny details Peter had put into it. While she explored her kitchen, she caught sight of the moon outside the window. She felt terrible for having forgotten about her dear sweet for so long. He probably hated her. She wanted to say something to him now, but was worried he’d reject her.
“I have to at least try to talk to him. I owe him at least that.” She said to herself.
“Hello, my dear old friend.” She called out.
She saw him slowly emerge from behind a cloud. He was there! And he heard her!
“I’m so sorry i haven’t been here for you, “ she continued. “So many things had happened. But I have never stop loving or thinking about you. You have gotten me to where I am now. And you have always been my best friend”
Lily then went on to recount her adventures she had been on so far. She finally finished by thanking the Moon for teaching how to be a friend and preparing her for Peter. If it hadn’t been for the moon she may have never known how to behave and treat a friend. He was her constant friend through the years and she would be eternally grateful for that.
“Goodnight, Mr. Moon.” She ended, when she finally started to get tired. “I will speak to you again soon.”
Lily then headed to her room, laid on her bed and snuggled into her blankets for the first comfortable night’s sleep since she’d been in Neverland.
Chapter 15
Lily’s eyes popped open. She could smell something amazing. It smelled like something frying. She flung her blankets off of her and followed the smell to the kitchen, where Heather and Dahlia were cooking. As she entered the room, Dahlia looked to her and greeted her with a smile. Heather ran over and swept her into a giant hug.
“This cooking thing is so amazing!” Heather squealed. “It’s way better than the fire in the village”
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“What are you making?” Lily asked. “It smells so good..”
“We cooked eggs and vegetables. Together. At the same time. Isn’t that amazing!!!!” Shrieked Dahlia.
Lily laughed. It had never occurred to her that cooking could be fascinating. To her, it had always been a chore. And she had always taken modern conveniences for granted. She would have never thought that an indoor stove could be something to get excited about.
The girls ate their breakfast and chatted about Azalea’s wedding and how fun the party had been and what had been going on in the village since and how Tiger Claw had decided it was time for Iris to start thinking about getting married. That explained the intense conversation that had left her unhappy at the wedding party.
“What are we going to do today, ladies?” Lily asked.
“I’m so sorry, Lily, we have chores all day. We only came for breakfast because we didn’t get to see you yesterday.” Heather explained.
“I promise we’ll play tomorrow.” Dahlia added.
Lily felt very disappointed, but tried to hide it. She knew they had their responsibilities as part of the tribe and didn’t want to cause a problem. She would love to belong to the tribe and work along-side them, but she knew that was impossible.
“Hey girls, sorry to interrupt.” Came a voice from outside, then Peter flew in through the window.
“Oh you weren’t interrupting.” stated Heather. “We were actually just leaving. We have a lot of work to do today. “
“Well, then have a great day.” Peter replied.
Both girls hugged Lily and waved goodbye to Peter and they climbed down the ladder. Peter looked over at Lily once the girls were gone and had a mischievous look on his face. The mischievous look that Lily had come to love. It meant that playful Peter was here.
“Mermaids?” was all he said.
“Yes!” Lily was elated.
She had been looking forward to meeting mermaids since Peter first mentioned their existence back at her home in Boston. That felt so long ago.
“I see you’ve eaten. Let’s get going then.” He suggested.
That sounded good to Lily, so she wasted no time and headed straight out the door. Peter beat her to the ground, using his short cut out the window.
“Come on, slow poke.” he laughed.
And she ran after him. They made their way through the forest, heading in a direction that Lily had not been yet. As she looked around she could tell there was something different about this part of the forest. It all felt darker, or perhaps deader.
“Peter, why is everything so strange here?” She asked. “It somehow feels colder here.”
“That’s because we are closer to the source. This part of the forest died much faster because it relies more heavily on pixie dust.” He explained.
Lily looked around and now realized what was really different. All of the plants and trees here were nothing like she’d ever seen before. They were all strange shapes, growing in strange positions. There were more fruits and plants that she didn’t recognize, She also noticed that there were fairy homes in every direction. At first glance, they just looked like parts of the forest, but Peter had taught her how to look for them. No wonder they all left Neverland, their homes looked dead. No wonder it was so important to them to find a cure for the source.
Lily and Peter broke through the dark forest and stepped onto the sandy beach. It was nothing like the beaches she’d been to on the other side of Neverland. Those beaches were beautiful and soft, but nothing like this. The sand shimmered like diamonds. Lily would have sworn it was just ground up diamonds. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. And the water wasn’t quite blue. It was more of a bright turquoise. She followed the water line out and saw several large boulders out, just a few yards. They looked like regular boulders, other than the fact that they were shimmering lavender. Oh, and that there were mermaids sitting on them, waving in their direction.
The mermaids were just as beautiful as Lily imagined they’d be. They had hair every color of the rainbow. And some in colors she was pretty sure she’d never seen before. Every part of the scene was like something you’d see in a painting of a dream. Several of the mermaids leapt off their rocks and swam over to her and Peter. Lily was nervous. Peter had warned her that they wouldn’t like her or even be nice to her. But she was determined to win them over.
“Hello,” Lily waved and called to the mermaids as they swam over.
Several of them just looked at her with blank faces and then moved on to the excitement of seeing Peter.
“We’ve missed you.” an orange haired mermaid called to him.
“We never see you anymore. “ Cried another, with lime green hair.
“Here” he started, ignoring their whines,” this is Lily.”
At the introduction, they all stopped their pouting and got a closer look at Lily.
“Lily you say?” asked an older looking mermaid with navy blue hair that had light blue streaks through it. She seemed to be their leader.
All the mermaids looked back and forth to each other and then back at the older one.
“It is so wonderful to meet you.” the blue haired beauty stated with genuine pleasure. “I am Oceana.”
A strange look passed over Peter’s face, but he did his best to mask it.
“We’d love for you to come play with us,” a red haired mermaid offered.
“Do you mean swim with you? Like in the water?” Lily asked.
“Of course,” giggled the orange haired mermaid. “By the way, I’m Gully.”
Lily could see another dozen mermaids off in the distance. She wasn’t sure she’d ever remember all of their names.
Lily dove into the water and swam to where the mermaids were gathered. Peter followed, but hung back behind them.
“What would you like to play?” Gully asked.
“I don’t know any water games. I just learned to swim a few days ago.” Lily explained.
A few of the mermaids gasped.
“You didn’t know how to swim?” the red haired mermaid that Lily had learned was named Marina asked.
“Nope, Heather and Dahlia, from the tribe, taught me how.” Lily said.
“As those girls are good for something.” Marina retorted and a few of the other girls laughed.
Lily scowled. She hated the way they were talking about her friends. Oceana noticed Lily getting upset.
“Let’s not insult Lily’s friends.” Oceana suggested.
The girls nodded and looked remorseful.
“We’re sorry, Lily. We should not have said that. The truth is, none of us know them well enough to know anything about them.” Said the lime haired mermaid named Misty. The others nodded in agreement.
“Why don’t we play hide and go seek?” Gully suggested.
Hide and go seek in the open water sounded dangerous to Lily, especially since she had only known how to swim for a week, but she also really wanted to play with the mermaids.
“That sounds fun.” She hesitantly agreed.
“I’ll be it first!” called Marina.
Lily joined all of the other girls in diving in and finding places to hide. One girl hid in the tall bright blue grass, on the bottom floor of the ocean. Another few launched into a row of caves, a few feet off of the cove. Several others swam off in directions Lily didn’t notice. She swam back to the surface to take a breath. She was already exhausted and the game had just began.
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Gully.
“Come hide with me.” She suggested.
Lily was relieved. The prospect of hiding alone had been daunting to her. This was the clearest water she’d ever seen but it was still hard to see very far, due to the valleys, grass and boulders.
“Let’s go this way.” Gully suggested and Lily followed.
Lily was concerned about hiding anywhere in the water for too long. She couldn’t hold her breath for very long and it seemed to her that anywh
ere not in the water would be deemed off limits, since she was playing with a bunch of mermaids and all.
They swam for a while when they finally came to a tall grassy area, just above the surface. They followed the grass around to a large shelf in the boulder, halfway out of the water. It was perfect! The grass covered the shelf just enough that you would never know it was there if you didn’t know what you were looking for. The girls wedged themselves in and waited.
“So where are you from?” Gully asked
“I’m from Boston.” Lily replied.
“Boston? Boston. BOSton. BosTON.” Gully mulled the word around for a bit. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“It isn’t anywhere around Neverland. Peter and I flew here.” Lily explained.
“Peter flew you here?” Gully questioned.
“Yes, is that ok?” Lily asked.
“Of course.” Gully replied, sounding distant.
She was thinking about something else. Lily wondered why it would be strange for her to fly there with Peter. Surely everyone knew Peter could fly. And surely they knew how he flew. So why would her being here be so weird.
Gully and Lily sat there for what seemed like forever. Finally they decided that they had been sitting there too long.
“I guess our hiding spot was too good.” Gully laughed.
Lily chuckled in agreement and followed Gully back. As they approached the boulder from their previous gathering, Lily could see that everyone else was already there.
“There you are, finally.” Marina snorted.
“We were hiding, like everyone else.” Lily defended.
“You don’t have to defend yourself to her, Lily.” said Gully.
“You’re talking about me? I’m not the one running off with some human.” Marina spat.
“Oceana welcomed her!” Gully spat back.
“Oceana then approached and placed a hand on each girls’ shoulders.
“Ladies, let’s not argue. We brought Lily as our guest. Perhaps it’s time we left, it is getting late.” Oceana was a calming presence. She turned to face Lily.
“My dear, it was such a pleasure to meet you. You are such a lovely girl. We are so glad to have you here in Neverland.” Ocean took Lily’s hand in hers, gave it a squeeze, and then released it. Let’s go, ladies. Goodnight, Lily.”
Lost Girl (The Lost Series Book 1) Page 8
