Emerald

Chapter 17: Jake's Place

Jake's Perspective:

I lead Lea deeper into the woods as we neared closer to where I was taking her. She felt so warm and fragile as I guided her. I hope I can make her forget the things that haunt her...I never want to see her cry like that again. After about fifteen minutes we had made it to my favorite part of Neverland. I let go of her hand when we stopped in front of my tree. But this wasn't any ordinary tree. This tree overlooked the depths of Neverland's waters. I looked over at Lea and smiled with teeth and all. I walked over and started climbing up until I paused and looked over at Lea with her arms crossed and a smile on her face.

"You know..." I started.

"If you think the view from there looks great, then check this out."

I continued climbing up the tree until I reached a wide branch and pulled myself up. I sat on the branch and looked out into the open view. A few moments later Lea had climbed up and sat down next to me. The first few minutes were quiet as we gazed into the open ocean in front of us. Lea broke the silence when she asked me something.

"Jake?..."

"Yeah?"

"...why did you bring me here?"

I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts.

"Whenever I need to think, I go the creek where it's quiet, but when I just need to forget, I come here..."

"How did you find this?" she asked.

"It was one of the first things I came by when I first got here. When Neverland was the way it used to be, I would have fun and it felt like home, but something always felt missing. So when I would come here, I would try my best to forget, and it seems to work"

"Wow..."

"...Now what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"...How did you know Tom?"

"Oh...that..."

She took a deep breath and continued.

"The last set of parents that adopted me was Tom's parents. They thought that if they adopted me they'd just be able to forget about Tom and go on with their lives. But I reminded them too much of him, and they tried to send me back. So I ran away, hoping I'd never have to see another orphanage again."

"Wow...they just wanted to send you back? How is that even possible?"

"It's simple, if they don't want you, they drop you back at the orphanage to sit there another six months until you find another home or you transfer to another orphanage. Trust me, I would know..."

"Oh...but why were you in foster care to begin with?"

She hesitated for a second but soon continued.

"When I was 14, on New Years Eve, my family and I were in a car accident. The doctors told me how remarkable it was that I made it out with minor injuries. But...my family wasn't so lucky..." she glanced at me.

"My Mom and Dad, they were killed on impact. And I had a brother, his name was Tyler, he was only 10 years old, and they couldn't save him. I always swore I'd protect him. Whenever he'd wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare I was always there to calm him down. I promised him that as long as I was around, nothing would ever hurt him...but I couldn't save him..."

I sat there stunned not knowing what to say or what to think. What happened to her...it reminds me a little of me...

"They put me in foster care, but every time a family adopted me, they made up some sort of reason that I was a problem and sent me straight back to the orphanage. I guess six times wasn't the charm..." she sighed.