"So you jumped into the water? Then what? Swam to America?" Ambrosio laughed.
I snorted. "The thing was, it wasn't just regular old water we jumped into."
I expected to be doused in ocean water when we jumped off that pier and for a moment, we were. I couldn't see Peter through the water but I still gripped his hand so I knew he was there.
Suddenly, without warning, his hand was ripped from mine and we started tumbling. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out as something in the water pulled us this way and that.
I couldn't fathom what was happening. We were underwater just a minute ago. Something was moving us. I begin to fight against it but Peter's frantic hand takes hold of mine again and I go still.
The current moves around us like a whirlpool, moving us back and forth until finally the feeling of falling engulfs us.
"You were falling? In water?" Ambrosio questions in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
I tap my nose. "It wasn't water though. It was a portal."
The current pulls us back and forth. I've lost sight of Peter and fear engulfs me once more. Twisting my body this way and that, I tried to break free of the ocean's grip and find the surface. However, I wasn't a very good swimmer.
'This is it' I thought to myself. 'This is how I'm going to die'. I brace myself for the impending release but it never comes. Suddenly, I'm propelled upwards in the water by an unknown force and break free into the light.
Coughing madly, I spit out the water entrapped in my lungs and manage to take a raspy breath.
"Peter!" I call out frantically as I tread water and whip my head around, searching for my lost friend. "Peter!"
Waves crash over me and I'm once again thrown into a tumble. When I manage to make it back to the surface, I'm rendered to a stop.
Gone were the pointy towers of the cathedral as well as the coloured flags of the market and dirty merchant streets, replaced by something I could only describe as impossible.
"By my mother's name," I gasp in shock. Before me lies not the busy streets of London, but an enormous island that stretches as far as I can see.
Green trees litter the terrain all the way up to what I can only assume is a dormant volcano. Mountains of rock are scattered across the surface of the island, outlined by a lonely beach. But there's something that stands out even more.
A small piece of land stands off to the west coast of the island. Even stranger, a large rock taking on the appearance of a skull looms over the bay.
"Bless my soul." I exclaim as I peer at the rock cavern. "How is this possible?"
Wherever the water had transported Peter and I to, it thankfully wasn't very deep and the beach was easy enough to reach within a matter of minutes.
I drag myself out of the ocean and onto the sand. The salt stings my eyes and my cut hands but I'm too preoccupied with the island to really notice.
Peering around in search for Peter and finding no sign of him on the deserted beach, I raise my hands to cup my mouth and call out. "Peter!"
I try not to worry when I hear no response. After all, I was alone on a strange island with no recall of how I got here and what's worse, I had no idea how to get home. That is, if I even had a home anymore.
Sitting down mournfully, I tried not to panic. Looking around the island, it seemed normal enough but being transported by water to an unknown place was certainly not a typical thing to happen to oneself.
Considering it had been noon when Peter and I had left for the market back in London, I only had about several hours until nightfall. With the strong possibility of being here for the night, I knew I had to find a way to survive. With or without Peter.
My heart ached as I longed to go search for my friend but my survival was the biggest priority. The weather wasn't particularly warm and my clothes were soaked so I had to work fast. It would do neither of us good if the other was dead.
Looking up once more at the large volcano protruding in front of me, I set to work collecting firewood.
I tried not to wonder too far into the forest for fear I may get lost so I stayed close to the beach. When I had an armful of branches and sticks I trudged back to the shores of the island and began building a fire.
By the time night fell I at least had a bit more comfort. I was admittedly scared of being alone on a strange island without Peter but I tried not to think about it.
I had managed to craft a shelter of some sort using large fallen branches from the forest and had a steady fire going. Hunger ached within me but I wouldn't starve, so I would wait until morning before going in search of food.
When I finally trusted myself enough to try and sleep it was late and the fire was burning low. I could hear the crashing of waves against the rocks in the bay and the breeze shook the trees. I shuddered at the cold and moved closed to the fire.
With a final prayer of hoping that Peter was okay, I closed my eyes and lulled myself to sleep on the strange island I had found myself.
"So you were just magically transported to this random island in the middle of nowhere?" Ambrosio exclaims in disbelief. "How does that happen?"
I cocked my head towards the silhouette of the same island that could only just be made out in the darkness. "The same way you were transported here. This is Neverland. Nothing makes sense here, from the day it was created."
"But you created it?" Ambrosio replied with a confused look on his face.
"Exactly," I nodded "And I don't even know how. There's something about that island that's off. Something magical about it."
"You sound crazy."
"Maybe," I say. "But I know this place. I only fear what has become of it."
Ambrosio hugged his knees to his chest as the night air was chilly and the wind over the ocean felt like knives against your skin.
"So what happened after," the young boy goes on. "Did you find Peter?"
Looking away, I reply. "I did. But I think he was really lost all along."
The morning after my first night on the island was rough at first. I had to scavenge to find food; a handful of berries on which I gambled my odds of them being poisonous or not, and trying to make some form of adequate shelter for my survival.
The one I had made last night had been rocked around in the night breeze, alerting me that I needed something stronger.
I worked to keep my mind off Peter but it just wasn't happening. I longed for the familiarity and comfort of my friend by my side.
Thankfully, that comfort was soon restored.
It was around noon when the first sound of the day made its way to my ears. A loud, echoing call from the other side of the beach.
I looked up at the sudden shrill in the air. Could it be? I rushed to stand up and cupped my mouth in my hands. "Peter!"
No response came but I wasn't ready to give up yet. "Peter!"
It was silent, but then I heard it.
"James?"
My eyes scan the beach around me frantically, turning in all directions. "Peter?"
"James!"
I spin around, facing the rocks when a sudden flash of brown hair intrudes my vision. "Peter!"
"James!"
I take off running, my legs carrying me faster than I could physically go. Scrambling up the rocks to a higher point, I nearly cry in joy at the sight of Peter on the other side, running along the beach. "Peter! I'm here!"
In the distance, Peter turns around and his eyes widen as he finds me, relief overcoming his face. "James!"
I run, each step taking me closer and closer to my friend until we're in arms-reach. Peter runs to meet me and when I'm close enough, I waste no time throwing myself forward into waiting arms as I pull Peter to me in a bone-crushing hug.
"Peter." I gasp, arms tightening around my friend as I take him in. "I can't believe it."
Arms tighten around my waist as his chin gently rests on my shoulder.
"James," Peter breathes. "It's really you."
He pulls back and I take in his appearance. Hair dishevelled by the strong winds of the bay, Peter's green eyes sparkled in excitement as the grin on his face broadened at the sight of me.
"It's me." I cry. "I can't believe you're here. I thought I'd lost you."
Peter shakes his head. "I washed up on the other side of the island. I guess you landed here?"
I nod. "The current, it pulled us apart. I never thought I'd see you again."
Peter gently sweeps the hair away from my eyes, fingers lingering on my face. "I'm here." he says softly and reassuringly. "I'm here."
"But, where exactly is here?"
We pull apart and for the first time, take in our surroundings properly. Together.
"An island." Peter says. "We've been taken to an island."
"But how?"
"I don't know." My friend shakes his head in confusion, a slight frown on his face. "Were we swept out to sea?"
"We couldn't have been." I answer. "There are no islands off the coast of London. None close enough to swim to at least. We would've been dead."
"So, that must mean," Peter turns towards me, eyes sparkling in excitement. "We've been transported."
"Transported?" I let out a laugh. "To an island in the middle of nowhere?"
"Well, what if it's not nowhere?" Peter says, eyes widening. "What if it's somewhere?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Peter begins to pace before me. "Think about it James. We ran through the city, jumped off the docks into the water and suddenly find ourselves entrapped on some remote island. What do you think that means?"
"That we both drowned and none of this is real?" I offer weakly.
"We can't have both experienced the same afterlife."
"Then how did we get here? What do you suppose this is?"
Peter's green eyes shine. "Magic."
It's my turn to laugh. "Magic? Peter, all the seawater must have gone to your head."
My friend shakes his head. "I am perfectly adequate, James. We've been transported by magic."
"It's impossible."
"Why?" Peter challenges, turning to me with a daring look. "So just because you've never seen magic, it doesn't exist?"
"Peter," I laugh. "C'mon. Magic? There has to be a real explanation as to how we got here."
"There is." Peter says, looking away. "You're looking at it."
I follow his eyes to where they are focused on the sea. "The water?"
"What if it's not just water?" Peter asks, eyes still trained on the glistening ocean. "What if it was a portal?"
"Peter," I take a step back in concern. "You're insane."
"My sanity is perfectly functional, James. I'm telling you, we were transported by a magical portal."
"You're crazy."
"Am I?" Peter raises an eyebrow daringly. "Or am I right?"
My mouth opens and closes like a fish as I try to find the words to say. Giving up, I sigh. "So what do we do now?"
"Now," Peter's eyes are shimmering in excitement. "We run the island like kings."
Comments (0)
See all