Again In Neverland

Chapter 12: Tiny Truths

Alina shrugged, "I've seen worse. Some of the Lost Boys in Neverland have much less hygiene than you do right now."

"Didn't all the Lost Boys leave with Wendy?" Lil said as she scrunched her brow.

"More came soon after. Peter has always had a way of finding new friends. As I see he's done once again, with you."

It was Lil's turn to roll her eyes, "Like I said last night, I met him once and he never came back."

"And like I said, he's interested in you."

"Enough talk of Peter for now. I'm starving. Do you know what's edible and not?"

Alina stood up and Lil bent down to lift her.

"Of course I know. But don't you think it'd just be easier for you to go back to your house and get food?"

Lil stopped. She had forgotten about home.

Alina saw the look on her face,

"Look, Lil, I thought a lot about your story. And I think that you should go home. It sounds to me that they were never going to go through with what they said. It was most likely just to frighten you into behaving. If you went home now, I'm sure they would be very happy to see you. And everything that happened would be forgiven."

Lil bit her lip and squeezed her fist until her nails dug into her palm,

"I'm not going back. I'm never going back. My parents would just be even angrier at me and things would get worse. I don't know where I'll go from here, but it's not back. Do you understand, Alina? Nothing you can say will convince me to return home. And if you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you in your quest of finding Peter. I have many questions that need answers."

Lil looked down at Alina who was hugging her thumb and had soft features on her face.

"Alright," She said gently, "You may do as you please. I was only trying to look out for you. You're my friend."

"Thank you, for being my friend and trying to help. But the best way of doing that right now is helping me forget. Not pushing me back."

Alina nodded and her blonde tendrils rustled around her face,

"I understand."

Lil moved forward, "So about that food. I could really go for something sweet."

A grin developed on Alina's face,

"I know just the thing."

                      * * * * * * * * * *

There could not have been a more perfect day. Alina taught Lil how to pick out non-deadly plants to eat and how to turn them into something delicious.

In the woods surrounding the park, they found an assortment of wild berries, some cattails, and pine nuts.

Lil put up a fight when Alina insisted that she crush the three together, but once she did, it sent her tastebuds in a whole new direction. The odd concoction turned out to be extremely good and Alina spent the rest of the morning experimenting with Lil to find the perfect blends of each plant.

There weren't many visitors to Wicklow Gardens, surprisingly. The place was so beautiful that Lil expected it to be bursting with tourists, but the only people to step foot inside was a photographer lady and a grounds keeper who picked weeds out of the flowers. Alina and Lil easily hid in the thick brush of the woods, and waited for the people to leave.