"I'm not sure about this, Peter." I said hesitantly as I peered out on the cerulean ocean. "What if something goes wrong?"
"James, you worry too much." Peter laughed softly beside me. "What could go wrong?"
"You fall and drown." I said flatly.
"I'm a good swimmer."
"The current would pull you under."
"I'll fight it."
"You're not strong enough to-"
"James." Peter grabbed my shoulders and laughed. "It's going to be okay."
I tended under his grip. After mulling over the decision for days, we finally stood on the beach north-east of the island. The large, skull-shaped rock sat far out in the bay, a pale ivory under the golden sun.
"We could always take the ship." Peter teased.
"We don't have a crew." I mumbled in frustration.
Though I would never entrap another soul on this island, two boys were not enough to captain a ship and everyday I had to trample the desire deep within me to set sail on the open seas as my own captain.
Peter nudged my side and smiled. "Lighten up, you can do this."
"It's not me I'm worried about." I muttered in response but Peter didn't hear me.
He stepped closer to the shore and held his hand out to me. "We can only try, right?"
I stared at his hand, unconvinced.
Peter simply smiled. "Do you trust me?"
Did I trust Peter?
"Yes." I said. Truly, whole-heartedly and stupidly.
As I took his hand, doubt began to fill my head. What if we fell? What if Peter couldn't carry the both of us? What if magic was all a lie and we got stuck on an island with no way of getting to shore?
"James," Peter said gently. "Breathe."
Tortured gasps escaped my lips and my body shuddered. "I can't." I said in a raspy tone.
Peter cupped my face in his palms, delicate strokes of his thumb tracing my jawline as he met my eyes.
"I'm right here, okay?" he said. "I'm here and I've got you. I won't let you fall. Do you believe me?"
My breath came out in broken gasps but I managed to nod. "I believe you."
"Then believe me when I say we will be okay." Peter lifted my arms and gripped my wrists with his own. He looked up. "Are you ready?"
I breathed, long and hard before nodding once. "I'm ready."
Peter didn't give me a chance to second-guess myself and for that, I was grateful.
Temporary mindlessness and then a rush of wind encircled us as Peter lifted us high into the sky. I cried out in surprise as my feet left the ground, sailing out over the azure ocean.
"Let go James! Just relax!" Peter called gleefully from above as he spread his arms out. Graceful as a bird and bathed in sunlight, I stared up at him in awe. He was more beautiful than a thousand sunsets.
I gripped Peter's legs tightly but as his call, I began to slowly relax. Stealing a glance down at the sea below, my grip softened and I let Peter hold on to me as I slowly spread my arms out to the wind, throwing my head back with an animalistic cry.
"There you go!" Peter grinned down at me.
We flew higher and higher, wind rushing around us and stained in the taste of salt as it blew through my hair. This was what it was like to be a bird. This was freedom.
Levitation was beyond the capacity of the human mind, but at that moment I was more bird than boy, blending into the wild in vibrant blues and greens and it was all so magical.
Our journey was over too soon as Peter touched down on the rock cavern, only metres away from the mouth of the cave.
"Wow." I breathed as we regained our footing.
Peter grinned at me. "I told you."
I kicked a small rock with my foot and it went sailing across the ground. "This place is so much bigger up-close."
Peter nodded in agreement. "It really is like a skull."
The large mound of rock resembled a human skull all too well. Two holes punctured the top of the heap whilst the large cave entrance served as the mouth. A shiver ran down my spine at the uncanny resemblance. It was impressively veracious.
Tracing the ridges carved into the rock, Peter slowly made his way towards the mouth of the cave. He stared up in awe, mesmerised by the haunting beauty of our discovery.
He stopped at the entrance, turning back to me. "You coming?"
Reluctantly, I followed after him.
We entered the damp atmosphere within the rock cavern. Minimal streaks of light filtered through the cracks in the walls, though a large opening at the very top of the rock allowed the sun to beam down into the cave.
Looking up, I noticed that the sun was not directly aligned with the opening at the peak. The only time the two would align was when the sun was at its highest peak of the day.
"James, come look at this!"
I ran to where Peter was standing. Around the cave, a series of rocks curled upwards around the walls and towards the roof like a makeshift staircase. Peter was climbing it hastily.
"Come check this out."
Following after him, Peter and I made our way upwards until the staircase opened onto a landing. Filled with open entrances that acted as windows to the sun, the room was filled with light.
"Woah." I said, looking around in awe.
Peter galloped to the centre of the room where a small dais sat. "No way!" he exclaimed, placing his hands down on something solid before him.
I was by his side in seconds, looking down at what appeared to be a stone table. A series of lines carved into the rock chased after one another, numerous symbols and letters scattered across the surface.
"It's a map," Peter said in awe.
Frowning, I leaned over the table and traced the lines. "A map of what?"
"Of Neverland." Peter's eyes were filled with stars.
Looking closer, I saw that Peter was right. The markings illustrated a replica of the island, each corner filled with imprints and symbols. Words were carved into the stone, each section of the island having its own name.
"Peter," I breathed. "You don't suppose this map is alive?"
"What do you mean?"
I pointed at different sections. "Every place we've given a name is written on the map. Other places aren't; the ones we haven't been to yet. It's like...it's like the map marks a new section every time we discover one."
"James, I think you're right." Peter turned to me, grinning. "Isn't this amazing?"
"Amazing?" I asked in disbelief. "A place we've never even been to before today is tracking our actions. How is that amazing?"
Without responding, Peter moved around the table, head down and focused as he follows the trails. He eventually came to a stop on the other side of the room by the largest window. "James, I think you'll want to see this."
Peter was looking down as I approached his side. Following his gaze, my sight climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. Standing back, I did a full turn of the room. "Oh my god."
"It's not just a map," Peter said, starstruck. "It's an entire navigation system."
Excitement courses through Peter as he begins to move enthusiastically about the room, eyes trailing over every marking carved into the walls and even on the ground.
"This one measures wind patterns. Oh look, this one marks all the oceans around Neverland. James, there's even a map of planets and star constellations!"
He stopped short at the very back of the room. Between two large windows, a large map is carved into the wall.
Peter cocked his head and frowned. "That's strange. This map is the same as the one on the table."
I came to a stop beside my friend and observed the map. He was right, this one was identical to the one on the stone table.
"Why would they be the same?" Peter asked, frowning.
Moving forward, I reached out to touch the wall when suddenly I tripped over something. I fell hard to the ground with a proclaimed "Ouch!"
"James, you have to see this." Peter crouched down in wonder.
"What?" I huffed in annoyance, rubbing my sore ankle.
Peter reached out towards a rock-like structure. Crouching low, he observed it intently. "I don't think this is just a rock."
I sat up. "Then what is it?"
"It looks like it was made for something."
"Like what?"
Peter's gaze shifted between looking up at the map and back down at the structure. He pointed to the bottom corner of the map. "See there?"
"Yeah."
"It's blank."
"Okay?"
Peter sent me a plain look. "There's no compass. Every map has a compass except this one."
"So what?"
Peter was quiet for a moment. He looked back down at the rock before glancing at me. "Say, do you still have your father's compass?"
My hands rushed automatically to my coat pockets, searching in panic until my fingertips brushed the cool metal. I pulled it out and handed it over hesitantly.
I watched as Peter analysed the compass, gazing back and forth between it and the rock. Sitting before the wall, he began to twist and push the compass into the small structure, tongue resting on his lower lip as he worked.
I scrambled up in alarm. "What are you doing?"
"I just wanna see if it-aha!" Peter cried in triumph as he managed to get compass to sit inside the small bowl in the centre. It fit perfectly.
Crossing my arms, I stared incredulously. "Okay, so you got it to fit. Now wh-"
Peter twisted the compass until a click sounded and suddenly the room erupted in thunderous chaos.
Rock began to grind together as what sounded like gears began to turn. The room seemed to warp and thunder echoed outside, but it was the map before us that interested me the most.
Silence fell over the cave for a brief moment before the compass snapped open by itself, and suddenly golden light was rushing in from all angles. Fast and vibrant, it was like the room came alive as magic ran through the walls.
I watched in awe as the map before us began to glow, starting out as a dull spark before erupting in a golden flame. Shadows danced along Peter's face beside me as he too watched in surprise.
Golden rivers of magic began to trail through the lines carved into the wall and suddenly the map exploded to life. A compass appeared in the corner of the map, moving on its own accord until the whole wall was illuminated in colour.
Blue, red, green and gold coloured the wall. A series of purple sparks erupted from the stone table behind us and the map of star constellations exploded in blue. A rush of wind danced through the room, keeping Peter and I pinned to the ground.
"What's happening?" I called to Peter, but it was too loud for him to hear me.
The room was glowing in an array of colours. Slowly, the wind and light began to filter out, leaving behind a series of luminescent maps.
Carefully, I stood up, brushing my fringe out of my face as I stared in astonishment at the sight before me.
The map of Neverland, now glimmering in colour, had awoken to light up different sections of the island. My fingers ran over the lines, each shimmering under my touch.
Peter joined me at my side. "Woah."
The island itself was outlined in green, but thicker blue lines ran through the map. I traced them gently. "What do you suppose these are?"
Peter studied the map thoughtfully. After a moment, he said "Ley lines."
"Ley lines?"
He nodded, fingering the indents until they ran right off course of the map. "It runs right through the centre of the island, right under the mountain and through the forest."
"James," he said. "I-I think we've awoken it."
"Awoken what?"
Peter's eyes glowed with excitement and magic. "The true power of Neverland."
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