Dissolve the Sky and Float Away

April 8th, 1964 - The Girl Who Never Grows Up

"We are almost there!" Peter exclaimed, Tinkerbell fluttering around him excitedly.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, looking away from the sky to see where soaring over the ocean.

There was a moment of silence. Through the darkness, I could see the outline of an island. As we neared, lights began to flicker along the island. Like the stars of London in the sky; few and far between.

"Welcome to my home," Peter gestured at the island, "this is Neverland."

I gaped as both Peter and I descended onto the sandy beach, to be greeted by a group of children. A girl maybe two years older than myself stepped forward from the group. Her blonde curls bounced just above her shoulders, framing her round face, which wore a bright, welcoming, smile. It was evident by her pale blue dress and kind aura that she was none other than Wendy Darling. My mind was racing and I was starstruck.

"Hello! Welcome to Neverland!" she extends her hand out for me to shake it, "My name is Wendy!"

Her bright smile sent a jolt of warmth down my body. I sent her an equally big smile, unable to contain my excitement as I shook her hand.

"I'm Bridgette," I state, "it's nice to meet you, you're a bit of a legend back home."

She laughs and pulls me along the beach with the other children swarming around us. All the children bombarded me with questions all at once, which I tried to answer as many as I could. The sand felt soft on my feet and the air was buzzing with excitement I hadn't felt before. 

"How is London? I haven't seen it since 1911," Wendy asked curiously, "have you heard anything about my parents?"

"Your parents were heartbroken at first, they lost their beautiful children," I bit my lip, "last I heard they turned a hefty profit off the search campaign they set up for you."

Wendy scrunched up her nose, disgust written on her face, "those good for nothing-"

"London as a whole is quite the marvel though," I interjected trying to change the subject.

Wendy's disgust quickly melted away and was replaced by wonder. The last time she had seen London it was in turmoil, protests, and gun battles plagued the streets.

"It really is!" I nodded excitedly, "The cars come in so many different colours, and for some, even the roofs come off!"

Wendy's eyes sparkled, "you mean the roofs just pop right off!" she shook her head, "That just can't be right!"

"No, no, the roofs don't pop right off," I pause making a folding motion with my hands, "they fold back into the car!"

Wendy looked at me in wonder and we both started giggling. The other children looked at us confused.  It was a strange concept to think about, even though the children looked years younger than me, the truth was I was the youngest one here. Followed by Wendy, who was over fifty-years older than me.

I was just about to answer another one of the curious children's questions when there was a loud bang in the distance. Before anyone could react the ground beneath us shook and we were sprayed by a wave of sand. My body felt stuck in place, the ringing in my ears drowning out my thoughts. I was jerked out of my stunned state when Wendy grabbed my wrist and sprinted with me into the forest following the scattered children.

She was yelling something I couldn't distinguish around the ringing then suddenly, Peter's hand replaced Wendy's and I was flying again.

This flight was unlike travelling to the island, it was more urgent. I looked down to the beach, scanning the shoreline through my unruly brown curls. I noticed dark spheres settled in craters in the sand. Cannonballs, I thought in horror, I know exactly who sent those.