on the iron post behind him.
My first reaction is to quickly shove the stone into my jeans pocket and hide it from his view. “I don’t see how that is any of your business,” I snap.
He reaches into his pocket and without warning tosses the apple at me. “Make it my business.”
I catch the fruit with both hands and sort of panic, immediately biting into it before he can reclaim it. Oh dear mother of God, this tastes delicious. The saliva in my mouth mingles with the apple’s juice and I swallow, quickly taking another bite.
“You’re a visitor.”
“What gave me away?” I ask around the piece in my mouth and give him a cynical look.
He comes over and sits down in front of me. He doesn’t bother to dust off the wall with a tissue first, like I expected from someone of his status. So maybe he’s not a haughty little prince after all. Instead of answering my question he counters, “Where do you come from?”
Now that he’s abandoned that demeaning scowl from earlier, he looks a lot less intimidating. And since he seems interested in my story, maybe he’ll help me. Licking the juice off my lip, I study him for another moment, but when he lifts his brows, prompting me to continue, I tell him, “I come from a different island.”
“Really? What’s it called?”
“Ee…ah…” I snap my fingers twice and roll my eyes skyward, struggling to get the name out that’s on the tip of my tongue. Agh. Why can’t I remember it all of a sudden? I know I told it to Peter last night. But it’s just like with my own name. The information seems completely eradicated from my memory.
Feeling awkward to the bone, I move my gaze back to the man in front of me and say with a firm voice, “The name of the island doesn’t matter. I live in London, a huge city there.”
“Oh. Okay.” He shrugs. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Yeah, I thought so. No one here seems to have. Which doesn’t make it any easier for me to go back there.”
“You want to go back?”
“Of course!”
“Then why did you come to Neverland in the first place?” His face is still all innocence and intrigue. He swings one leg over the wall so he sits astride it and braces his hands on the space between us. “Isn’t it irrational to go to a place where there’s no way to leave again if you don’t intend to stay?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my intention to come here. It was an accident.”
He flexes his shoulders. “Ah. I see. Makes all the difference.” He sounds like he doesn’t believe one word. “And now you’re trying to countermand that mistake.”
“Accident.”
“Right.”
“Yes. Sort of. If only I knew whether all this is really real ,” I whine and finish off the juicy apple then throw the apple core in a high arc into the water. “You know, like whether I’m just dreaming or hallucinating.”
The man fidgets again in his coat then opens the buttons and frowns, pulling uncomfortably on the collar. “To me it seems real enough. Or I wouldn’t feel so compressed in this bloody thing.”
Somehow I get the feeling the dress coat isn’t what he usually wears. Did he only put it on to impress somebody today? Certainly not the booze buddies at the barrel over there. One of them just tipped over and is now snoring on the hard cobblestone street.
“Can you tell me how to get off this island?” I ask him, not intending to waste any more time on chitchatting. I really have to return to my sisters.
He shrugs. “Ship.”
“Do they go out anytime soon?”
Looking over his shoulder, he rubs his neck and drawls, “I don’t think so. But I know of a ship outside town. It should be leaving in an hour. If you hurry up, you can make it.”
I jump to my feet like an excited puppy. “Which way?”
The young man laughs. A soft sound I wouldn’t have expected from him either. “I’ll show you, and you can tell me all about this London while we walk.”
Whatever. I’d even give him a piggyback ride if it meant I’d
My first reaction is to quickly shove the stone into my jeans pocket and hide it from his view. “I don’t see how that is any of your business,” I snap.
He reaches into his pocket and without warning tosses the apple at me. “Make it my business.”
I catch the fruit with both hands and sort of panic, immediately biting into it before he can reclaim it. Oh dear mother of God, this tastes delicious. The saliva in my mouth mingles with the apple’s juice and I swallow, quickly taking another bite.
“You’re a visitor.”
“What gave me away?” I ask around the piece in my mouth and give him a cynical look.
He comes over and sits down in front of me. He doesn’t bother to dust off the wall with a tissue first, like I expected from someone of his status. So maybe he’s not a haughty little prince after all. Instead of answering my question he counters, “Where do you come from?”
Now that he’s abandoned that demeaning scowl from earlier, he looks a lot less intimidating. And since he seems interested in my story, maybe he’ll help me. Licking the juice off my lip, I study him for another moment, but when he lifts his brows, prompting me to continue, I tell him, “I come from a different island.”
“Really? What’s it called?”
“Ee…ah…” I snap my fingers twice and roll my eyes skyward, struggling to get the name out that’s on the tip of my tongue. Agh. Why can’t I remember it all of a sudden? I know I told it to Peter last night. But it’s just like with my own name. The information seems completely eradicated from my memory.
Feeling awkward to the bone, I move my gaze back to the man in front of me and say with a firm voice, “The name of the island doesn’t matter. I live in London, a huge city there.”
“Oh. Okay.” He shrugs. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Yeah, I thought so. No one here seems to have. Which doesn’t make it any easier for me to go back there.”
“You want to go back?”
“Of course!”
“Then why did you come to Neverland in the first place?” His face is still all innocence and intrigue. He swings one leg over the wall so he sits astride it and braces his hands on the space between us. “Isn’t it irrational to go to a place where there’s no way to leave again if you don’t intend to stay?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my intention to come here. It was an accident.”
He flexes his shoulders. “Ah. I see. Makes all the difference.” He sounds like he doesn’t believe one word. “And now you’re trying to countermand that mistake.”
“Accident.”
“Right.”
“Yes. Sort of. If only I knew whether all this is really real ,” I whine and finish off the juicy apple then throw the apple core in a high arc into the water. “You know, like whether I’m just dreaming or hallucinating.”
The man fidgets again in his coat then opens the buttons and frowns, pulling uncomfortably on the collar. “To me it seems real enough. Or I wouldn’t feel so compressed in this bloody thing.”
Somehow I get the feeling the dress coat isn’t what he usually wears. Did he only put it on to impress somebody today? Certainly not the booze buddies at the barrel over there. One of them just tipped over and is now snoring on the hard cobblestone street.
“Can you tell me how to get off this island?” I ask him, not intending to waste any more time on chitchatting. I really have to return to my sisters.
He shrugs. “Ship.”
“Do they go out anytime soon?”
Looking over his shoulder, he rubs his neck and drawls, “I don’t think so. But I know of a ship outside town. It should be leaving in an hour. If you hurry up, you can make it.”
I jump to my feet like an excited puppy. “Which way?”
The young man laughs. A soft sound I wouldn’t have expected from him either. “I’ll show you, and you can tell me all about this London while we walk.”
Whatever. I’d even give him a piggyback ride if it meant I’d
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