Lost Girl (Completed)

CHAPTER 1: The Shadow of Her Past

2020, The Other World, Wendy's Bedroom

Wendy was lying on the floor, her elbow cushioned by pillow, and she was staring blankly at her homework. It had been five hours since she last took a break and the heat in the room wasn't helping her brain process the mathematic equations any faster. Finally, she stood up and threw the windows open. A gust of wind came in, and along with the curtain that was in the way, hit her in the face. Annoyed, she pressed her lips in a hard line, but a curtain slapping on her face was not yet the final straw for her, so she only sighed and went back to her homework.

The final straw though, was when she punched a big fat dot on her homework and clapped the cap of her pen shut, announcing that she had officially completed the homework, only to turn the paper to see a full page of equations unanswered. The paper went back on the floor, and her face into a pillow and she yelled into it, her screams muffled by the fabric.

Behind her, the slightly ajar window was pulled open fully from the outside. The curtain was drawn apart slightly, and a black shadow fell out of it and in front of her just as she raised her head. She dropped the pen in shock, but the shadow seemed more terrified of her than she was of it. It darted away. She hastily got up to the window and pulled the curtains back. As she did, someone stepped in, setting her off in a startled scream.

A small hand found its way to her mouth, effectively shutting her up. He had her in sort of a hug, his fingers on her lips, and he shushed her. Wendy tapped on his finger on her lip, and he released her. "You're scaring the shadow away." A soft voice came to her as a whisper. Wendy froze. The voice did not sound threatening. If anything, it sounded like the sea on a calm day, and Wendy recognised that voice that no girl could ever resist. The figure behind her stood straight, and she could tell that he was almost her height. Of course, Wendy was almost an adult now, but her slender build still put her below the average height.

The shadow darted across the floor right before them, and the boy jumped at it but he missed. In her full view, Wendy recognised her uninvited guest. It was just as she had imagined it as a child. Peter Pan, the boy from her Neverland. The shadow darted in Wendy's direction, and she wasted no time picking up her pillow and throwing it at the black mass. The pillow hit the target, and Wendy picked up the writhing shadow and handed it over to Peter.

She watched as he walked around the room, picking up every little thing until he settled for a hand soap from her toilet. He excitedly ran back to where she was, and for a moment she saw a flash of pure innocence that made any word that had manifested in her mouth dissolve away. He propped himself against her bed frame, and started rubbing the hand soap on the filthy sole of his small foot. When he was satisfied at the amount of foam, he pressed the shadow against his foot and waited for it to stick. It didn't. The shadow tried to escape, but he caught it by the ankle and tried to stick it on again. When it didn't work again, he threw the soap at the shadow, pissed, and wrapped his arms around his legs. The little water in his large, clear eyes, told her he was trying his best not to cry.

Suddenly motivated to help, she fumbled around her desk and found a bunch of rubber bands. She grabbed the shadow and tried to tie it to his foot, and despite her initial doubts, it stuck. She handed him a tube of superglue. "If it falls off again, you can try this." Peter ignored the superglue, and proceeded to shake his foot. The shadow dangled from it, and shook as well but didn't fall off. Pleased, he hopped onto his feet and did a little dance around the room, admiring the result of Wendy's handiwork.

"Aha! The power of the almighty me, it sticks!" he proudly declared.

Wendy knew full well that this was a kid who had tried to stick his shadow on with a hand soap and nearly cried when it wouldn't stick, but against her better instincts, she replied, "I see. Then if I'm not needed by the 'Almighty', my homework calls, so please excuse me."