-Dedicated to @onebookmaniac for all the comments and support! <3-
We grabbed breakfast and bid farewell to Jimmy and Peter before taking off to no real destination. We were back on the interstate, with the Pontiac being towed behind us.
"Where are we going exactly?" questioned Jordan.
"To find that damn river" answered Simon.
"Yes sir." replied Riley with a bass in her voice. Ugh.
We stopped for a refill of tanks. We are still surviving on the whole load of money Simon brought along with him.
We met this guy at the gas station.That's where our journey took an unexpected turn.
"Hey man. Where can we find a river?, The closest one?" questioned Simon.
The guy observed the van before asking, "Are you looking for the Neverlanders?"
We all replied with confused expressions on our faces.
"That gypsy village" he stated, when he got no verbal response.
"Yes we are!" I exclaimed.
"We are?" questioned Jordan. I saw Riley give him the just go with it look.
"Where is it exactly?" questioned Marco.
"Wait a second" the guy said, and he pulled out a small notebook from a pocket in his pants. He then pulled out the pen behind his ear and started jotting down stuff.
We all exchanged whats going on looks.
"This will take you to the start." he said tearing the paper off and giving it to Simon.
"Good luck finding the four clues." he said with a grin.
"What are these clues exactly?" questioned Marco.
"To find the village in the woods? Hidden in plain sight, from what I hear." the guy said with a shrug.
"Those who fail to find the place apparently don't deserve to find it. Im sure you guys know this already" continued the man.
"Fun stuff" stated Jordan. We all wore a grin before saying goodbye to the man.
We were all in. We left with a hidden destination in mind.
We drove for hours and hours. Riley has not spoken to me much at all. There is something bothering her. The only thing keeping us entertained were Simon's jokes, Jordan's teasing, and Marco's life story.
Marco comes from a homophobic family and homophobic neighbourhood. His story said he had been bullied over the years. He said he had nothing but hatred for that place. I doubt it. I am sure he didn't start off that way. They made him hate it. Suddenly his introductory line, " I do graffiti because I am gay", made a whole lot more sense to me. Maybe art was an escape to him. Like it is to me. Maybe art combined with vandalism is how he expressed or portrayed his anger and pain, making it visible to the people that hated who he really was.
***
We finally reached the first stop marked on the paper. We were facing a road that ran deep into the woods.
"That man could be leading us to a psychopathic murderer, but whatever" said Jordan.
"Or... to that river" said Simon. Shut up about that river, already.
"Or to an awaiting adventure hidden in the woods" I exclaimed, grinning.
We couldn't tow the Pontiac down the untarred, narrow road, Jordan had to drive it behind the van. Trees surrounded us. I breathed in the smell of wet leaves, and moss. Fresh air found its way to my face. We were in the woods.
We were following "signs", although we had no idea what to expect as a sign. It arrived at a point where the road split into two. They ran opposite ways, one almost like the mirror image of the other. There was a signpost, colourfully painted wooden arrows. Riley stuck her head out of the van and read them.
"Lost boys hideout", "Pixie hollow", "Crocodile Creek".
She turned to us and questioned "which way?". She raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like we are going to have to search for a sign?" I suggested. The five of us got off the vehicles and walked. It looked as if we went in circles, aimlessly.
About 5 minutes later, Simon shouted.
"Guys"
We all walked up to him. He was pointing at a tree trunk, with carved compass. It was slanted in a way north pointed to the road on to our left. This left us all smiling.
"Great!" stated Jordan.
"Come on lets go!", said Riley climbing back onto the driver's seat.
Soon we found that damn river! The sound of water lapping added a tune to the deafening silence in the woods.
We were soon out of the vehicles again. Simon just stood there gawping at the river.
"Where to now?", I questioned. Riley shrugged. She shot a smile at me, her eyes twinkled in excitement.
Everyone scattered in search of clue.
"Follow the music" Marco read out loud. This time it was written clearly on a paper, nailed to a tree. Except message wasn't all that clear.
"I hear no music." said Simon.
"Hippies are a bunch of retards, we should just go back" stated Jordan.
"The only sound we hear is the water. Im guessing to any nature lover, this is music." I said eyeing towards the river.
"Lets follow the flow of the river?", questioned Riley.
"We'll end up at an ocean.", stated Simon.
"Lets just follow it till we see another sign" I suggested. Riley gave me a nod before heading back to the van.
***
"Watch out for Big Foot" read an off white cloth with painted letters on it. It hung on a tree, making the large letters visible to all.
"What the fuck" Jordan shouted from the Pontiac.
"I told you these guys are retards!", he shouted again.
We gathered in a circle to discuss.
"Are we supposed to find Big Foot now?" I questioned raising an eyebrow. Riley and Simon let out a chuckle.
"If thats what it takes" said Marco heading away from us. We all scattered again.
We walked on the banks of the river and the forest onto our right, exploring for the next ten minutes.
"I think I just found Big Foot" shouted Riley.
We all ran up to her. There were rocks the size of fists kept in the shape of a "big foot". It faced the woods. We all let out a slight chuckle.
"I see no road." stated Marco.Our glances stayed fixed on the large leaves.
"Didnt that guy say a van could go through? I dont even see a footpath" questioned Jordan.
I walked towards the direction the "big foot" pointed at. The others followed me.
Now, we were inches away from the large leaves. I think we all noticed what I said out loud next.
"The stems are tied." They were tied by strings. I traced the string with the tip of my finger till I found a small rock at the bottom. The string was tied around it. I turned my head back to face Jordan.
"The rock is anchoring the leaves down, its covering something.", said Riley walking closer to me. She moved the leaves carefully, revealing another cleared path in the woods.
"A van could fit through that" she said eyeing Jordan. She then turned to me and smirked. Jordan gave a smug smile in response.
We all drove down that road, until we came to another junction in the woods. It held one wooden board with carved letters that read "Find Neverland"
I got off the van, tilted my head and stood there gazing at the sign.
I turned to the confused faces and smiled. I solved it.
"How do you find Neverland?"
""Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.", answered Riley, grinning at me.
"Right" I replied.
"Thats four signs", said Simon
"And straight on till morning" replied Marco with a smile.
Jordan rolled his eyes, with a smile he couldn't hide.
***
We drove for a few minutes down that direction, surrounded by trees. Riley slowed the van down, while our eyes remained fixed on what was before us. It was a clearing in the woods, a god damn colourful one. There were three colourfully painted Volkswagen vans parked, more than seven equally colorful tents scattered about and three carts and one caravan, with elaborately decorated exteriors.
Dream catchers hung on surrounding trees, plants, tents, vans, pretty much everywhere. Lanterns were placed in all corners. Tapestries hung all over the place. It all looked like a festival!
Our silence discussed the wonder reflected in our eyes.
"Holy fuck" we heard a familiar voice. It was Jordan. He was out of the Pontiac.
It was then we realized our van had stopped moving.
"Well hello there" greeted a guy jogging towards us. He wore a blissful smile and a calm persona. About 6 ft tall, with dark, wavy, iconic shoulder length hair and that iconic beard and mustache. He just perfectly fit the hippie guy image in my mind.
"You can park over there" he said pointing at a direction. We did as we were told, Jordan followed suit, without hesitation.
We all gathered in a semicircle. We stood there silently eyeing that same guy, who was now approaching us, again.
"Im Jerry"
"Welcome to our home" he said stretching his arms. That's when I noticed how much he fit the physical description of Jesus.
"Good looking guy" said Marco, stealing my attention. I blinked twice, when my mind merged the two observations.
"We are not- here to join you." stated Jordan.
Jerry shot a smug smile at him and gestured us to follow him, before jogging towards the gypsy village.
My heart raised in excitement.
Once we were at the center of the settlements, he smiled at what was before him, his village. "This is our home. Our way of life." He said, with an expression that hinted a hidden content.
"Freedom, Nature and Simplicity." he stated with more emphasis on those words.
I took a moment to take in the surrounding. This time giving special attention to the community. I could see ladies with turbans, men and women with paisley bandanas. Some girls wore long skirts, some wore Aladdin pants, men wore long baggy shirts.
"This is Melody, she was one of the founders, from back in the late 60's" said Jerry standing next to an old lady. She looked up at us and smiled. Her eyes wore a certain grace, they prominently stood out on her wrinkled face. The old lady was seated on the floor next to a tent. Before her was a polished wooden box with beads, surrounded by more beads scattered on the floor.
"Hello. I make necklaces." she greeted us. We returned her hello and smiled.
Soon after, bead chains hanging on tents, and people's necklaces, caught my attention. We glanced at the people around and mirrored their smiles, some just glared at us. I could say the children were amused by everything about us. They scanned us from head to toe.
Jerry went on and on, as we walked slowly walked through the village. Suddenly, my glance was fixed somewhere else, on one of those cart houses. This one stood out. Whoever owned the place had a little garden around it. I got lost in my thoughts.
If the exterior was so decorative, I can only imagine the interior. What a complex and colourful soul must the person who did all that might possess, I wondered.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jerry turn his head to see where I was looking at. So I shifted my glance to him.
"She is a beauty" he said now gazing at where I was looking at before.
"She sure is" replied Jordan.
Thats when I stole another glance at the cart, to now find a redhead girl standing in the garden.
I wasn't sure if Jerry meant the girl or the cart, but I could say Jordan meant the girl. The sparkle in my eyes would have said I agreed with both of those observations.
"She is okay." said Riley.
"She is Ayla. You've got to see her eyes up close. That girl's spirit is something." said Jerry, this time definitely talking about the girl.
Ayla I thought as I observed her from a distance. If Fiona was autumn, this girl was spring.
"Thats a lot of pink and flowers, I'm sure she is straight" Riley said to me in a stern tone, suddenly interested in talking to me.
"I just want to get to know her" I replied, walking towards the cart.
I stole a glance at Jordan I could say he wanted to come with me, but Jerry put an arm around him and dragged all the boys into a discussion.
"Are you coming?"I asked turning back to meet Riley's gaze.
She rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Ive got better things to do" she replied.
"Alright then, suit yourself" I hollered as I continued walking.