[MJ Fanfiction] Collide

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - NEVERLAND

The sight of the large golden doors brought me back to the vision I had a few days before. I was amazed by their beauty and how magical they looked. I had the feeling that I was entering a magical place, something unreal. I guessed that, if Michael decided to call his property Neverland, it had to have something magical about it, and I was eager to discover it. Working with children allowed me to preserve my inner child, and I had the feeling that, deep down, this place would help me bring my carefree attitude out.

"Welcome to Neverland, doc!" Bill cheered, as he looked briefly in my direction through the rear-view mirror. "Don't panic if you see animals walking around here."

I nodded, as I remembered the flashes I had a couple of days ago. The giraffes, the monkeys walking freely around the property, and in the distance, Michael. I looked through the window to the passing landscape, and I was amazed by the beauty of my surroundings. The greenness of the place brought a huge smile on my face, as the scenery brought joy in my heart. The mountains in the distance made it look even more beautiful. It looked peaceful, away from the pollution that takes over the noisy city, away from any source of disturbance. I figured this was what Michael was looking for when he built this place.

"We're going to stop here," Bill announced as he stopped the car once parked. "This is Neverland's train station," he pointed high up to a building that seemed to overlook the rest of the Ranch.

"There's a t-train station?" I asked, stammering a bit, not believing my own words. "For real?"

"Yes," Bill chuckled, as we both got out of the car. "The property is vast and beautiful, it's actually nice to enjoy the view while seating on the train. You'll see that by yourself. This way," he smiled sincerely, and motioned me which way to go.

"How long have you been working for Mr. Jackson?" I wondered, curious. The more I talked to Bill, the more I forgot about why I was nervous in the first place.

"I started back in the seventies, when the boys were still a band," he let me know, as we were walking side by side to the place, I assumed, Michael was. "I've been around, as you can see," he laughed, and I laughed along with him. "You told me you were a doctor, but do you have a specialty?"

"I'm a pediatrician," I proudly said with a genuine smile. "This is why Michael and I met the first time. He came to visit the kids in UCLA, and I was working the day shift that day."

"I probably missed you that day then, because I was-oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks. "Wait, aren't you the one who fainted?"

"That'd be me," I admitted, covering my face with both of my hands. "I'm visibly known as such around here."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I didn't remember meeting you, and I found it weird," he explained.

"That's because I was out of it before we even had the chance to," I chuckled to lighten up the mood a bit.