Keeping Fantasia: The Third Book of the Fantasia Series

Chapter 50: Neverland Misadventures - Step In Time

Chapter 50: Neverland Misadventures – Step In Time

(When: Somewhere in Time)

Jim had once heard Sinbad give Mary Darling a compliment.

"Mary was an angel." Sinbad had said. "Literally an angel. She had this...I dunno talent for finding peoples' good side. She could make you feel like the coolest person in the world. She was beyond nice."

It had been a high compliment. 

As a rule, Sinbad only complimented himself, so his admiration for Mary was truly miraculous. It had always made Jim wonder if Mary Darling was the heroine Wendy portrayed her to be.

Thus, Jim entered the household with hopeful expectations of Mary Gwendolyn Darling. 

Mary ushered them inside. Peter hopped over the threshold, but Jim was slower. Wendy must have greeted him there dozens of times when they were children, but now the foyer was unrecognizable.

The dark entryway Jim remembered was uncharacteristically inviting. 

The house was warm. Everything smelled wonderful. The décor was a touch feminine and everything was decorated for Christmas.

Some of the decorations had clearly been made by children. Paper chains arched across the glass chandelier. Homemade snowflakes plastered the walls. There were pinecones with googley eyes, made to look like owls, and brown handprints with red button noses, made to look like reindeer.

It was cute.

Jim was reminded of his own children. Wistfully, he gazed up the staircase, towards the nursery. He remembered that Wendy had shared the nursery with her brothers. So...Wendy was probably somewhere up there...

Jim stopped. He caught a movement at the top of the staircase. The stairs were dressed heavily with poinsettias, but Jim found two blue eyes peering behind the red leaves.

"Wendy." Jim breathed, taking an involuntary step. "There you are."

Mary suddenly blocked his view. Startled, Jim bumped backward into Peter.

"Ow!" Peter whacked Jim's body armor. "Watch it grandpa, I'm standing here – oh. Um..."

Peter stopped. Mary was frowning at him, disappointed by the outburst.

"Sorry." Peter mumbled, glaring at the ground. He rubbed an ear, muttering something about Jim's "stupid spacesuit."

Jim could have killed Peter, but Mary merely nodded, accepting his apology. Deftly brushing snowflakes from their shoulders, she bypassed Jim's strange attire with no further comment than, "My goodness, you haven't even coats for the cold. Poor things."

Mary indicated that they should remove their shoes. "Have you traveled far?" she asked, closing the door.

Jim glimpsed Ariel and Silver's horrified faces as the door clicked shut.

Mary turned. She smiled encouragingly. "Have you traveled far?" she repeated.

Jim swallowed. For the first time in his life, he felt shy.

Peter did not.

"We came for Wendy!" he announced.

Jim choked. 

"Peter!" he scolded, half listening to Wendy scamper from her hiding spot. "What are you doing?"

Mary cocked her head. Her eyes flickered up the stairs, before returning to Peter. "I beg your pardon?"