A short drabble I wrote after re-reading Peter Pan and reflecting on all the things we lose while growing up, whether we want to or not. Enjoy.

Many of you have read the story of Peter Pan and Neverland. When children are young they dream, they believe, they can fly away to that marvellous place where every day is a new adventure and one can stay young forever, never ever grow up. Sadly, some day, every child comes home. They leave Neverland and they grow up, they forget how to fly, and do you know the worst part? They stop believing.

I know that many of them try not to. They watch movies and play games, but they can never quite get back into their old selves. The young child inside has been forgotten along with all the rest.

But guess what. I'm here to tell you a secret, a wonderfully exciting secret that can only be told by a few. Some of those children never stop believing! They may grow up, many of them forget how to fly, but they don't stop believing.

Would you like to see some of them? Well, let us go for a little trip, and I will show you.

We arrive first at a library, because of course you know, a library is one of the best places to find them. Let us look around for a while; we will come upon one presently I'm sure. This area we can skip over obviously, you would certainly not find them in the non-fiction section. Ah, here we are! Fantasy literature; and sure enough, there is one. Do you see him? He is sitting there in the corner. Oh, you are having a hard time noticing him. Do you know why? It is because he is not really here, he is in Neverland.

You see, these interesting individuals have got a bit of a step up from younger children. Their Neverlands have grown with them. Most children will grow out of their Neverlands, but in this boys case, Neverland has grown to fit him. His Neverland is no longer a lone island; it is a much larger and diverse world. Let us take a look, shall we?

See, there is the island there. The pirate ship is still in the cove, the lagoon with the mermaids is right over there, but there the similarities end. There is a much larger mainland just past the island. We can see a mountain with smoke pouring out, a dragon flies down from it into a valley, it is heading toward that village there. Past this we see… But don't let us waste all our time here. There is far too much for us to view it all. We will now move on and try to find another who believes.

Now we leave the library, though I am sure there are more of them there, and look in at a high school just a few blocks away.

It is lunch time and most of the students are here in the cafeteria. Ah, I see another already. There at the far end of that table, the girl with the notebook and pencil, and a bag with a Doctor Who keychain clipped on, full of books at her feet. This girl has a very special ability; she remembers how to fly. Oh no, others cannot see it, but it is all there in her notebook. She can create new places in her Neverland just by writing it out there on the page. You may think this is a unique ability, and it is, but not quite so rare as you may think.

What you are reading right now was written by someone who believes. Maybe you yourself know, perhaps you remember as well? If so, hold onto it. Hold on with all you are worth. There are few things in this world as precious as the ability to believe, to write words on a piece of paper and watch them fly.

If you are reading this, and you have lost this ability, do not feel too bad. After all, in the words of a great man who has flown higher than many…

"One day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."

Quote is from C. S. Lewis, writer of The Chronicles Of Narnia.

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Jfreak