Take Me to Neverland || OUAT

Enchanted Endings

6 months later:

Amber's POV

We credit snowflakes for being unique and fragile to the touch.

In the midst of their beauty, however, we forget that they are just inanimate objects produced by Mother Nature's will.

Same goes to the leaves of autumn. They fall. Snowflakes fall. Everything eventually falls.

Even people.

If we value a snowflake's individuality and a leaf's artistry, then why can't we respect one another as human beings?

The question still clung to me like wet newspaper on cement as I shivered, the chill of Brooklyn air colliding with my warm breath. When Peter let me go, I fled to the city to live with a family friend, one that knew my mother when she was at her prime peak. She smiled and welcomed me into her dimly lit apartment. At the time, I was too grateful to think much of it, but now I realize: the urban atmosphere was just a mere distraction from reality.

I know this, because every so often I find myself slipping.

Stumbling.

Off balance.

Falling.

Falling into another existence that others believe to be surreal. They concern themselves with "the facts," when really, I know that they are just afraid of the things they cannot prove. According to them, anything that science could not verify was deemed fiction. Period. It seemed like nearly everyone on Earth was like this.

Everyone except one man that I knew in my lifetime.

My footsteps faltered, slowly crunching on the grass of the nearly vacant graveyard. The atmosphere of it seemed to linger for a moment, hesitating in my presence. Even the remaining birds who haven't yet fled for winter stopped mid-song.

There I stood before a single grave, a bouquet of white lilies clutched in my hand.

"Hey dad."

My voice came out in a hushed whisper as I slipped down on one knee, now at eye-level with him. The words that I saw carved in stone was deeper than the holes in my heart, but unlike the crumbling headstone, my heart could be refilled.

I let my foggy eyes drift up to meet his name etched in the stone. Cold, smooth fingers ran over the dusty Times-New Roman font, bringing old eventful memories to life. Just the thought of his smile brought a lone tear to its wake, the meandering trail that it left was cut off by my sweater's sleeve as I quickly wiped it away.

"Long time, no see."

I paused for a response, knowing that I would never get one back.

That was when I remembered a repeated saying. Something that he would tell me whenever I was sad, alone, or scared.

"Smile through your worst moments. Remember, chin up, soldier."

With a few glistening tears, I lifted my chin and smiled brightly. Maybe it was the way that the sun hit his grave, or that the birds continued their song, but I knew something different was in the air.

"I miss you, still," I started slowly, readjusting my grip on the flowers. "I mean, I'll miss you always. But you already know that." Taking a moment to arrange my surge of feelings, I quickly swept away another tear. The wind started picking up as well, tangling my hair into a mess not worth dealing with at the moment. Instead of pushing it back into my hood, I snuggled deeper into my coat, bearing the cold.