Antuki: A Little Boy's Story

Prologue: On the Wind's Back

"Antuki?"

Six-year-old Akio Sakai opened his eyes groggily. He heard a familiar voice calling out his name and knew it must be time to get up.

"Antuki? Please wake up. It's a brand-new day and children need our help."

Sitting up in what he called his bed, Akio turned towards his oldest friend.

"Good morning, Jo-kira," he said, smiling at the little globe of light darting excitedly around his young head. "You're up early today."

"Fairies only sleep when they're sleepy," Yoko reminded him. "And I could hardly catch a wink last night, thinking of all we need to accomplish here."

"You're right, Yoko," sighed Akio. "I've been trying to put this off for as long as possible, but there's no escaping our duty. Samaiuk, Praxaluk, Ganufin?"

"Karalu, Jahamu, Xanuxin," replied the fairy. In their language, those six words meant, 'My Name, my Power, are Eternal; your Life, your Soul, are Sacred'. It was a solemn oath they swore each day to protect the little children under their care.

Akio peered over the edge of the cloud. Below them, he could see the city of London, bathed in the orange rays of the rising sun. In the distance, Big Ben was chiming out the hour: 6am.

The boy smiled bitterly at these sights and sounds. Many years ago, another child like himself, accompanied by another fairy had visited this very city, bringing friends to Never Neverland. It was a story he and Yoko had read many times over.

For unlike most people, they knew that fairy tale was true. There was a real Peter Pan, and a real Tinker Bell. Neverland wasn't a fantasy; it was the place Akio had called home for a good two years. And he might still have been able to call it home, if only...

Akio shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. He could deal with such painful memories later – right now, there was work to be done.

"Are you with me, Sunshine?" he asked, calling her by her English name.

"To the end, Antuki," nodded the fairy solemnly.

"Then let's do this!" he cried, leaping off the cloud which had carried them to London. "For the One!"

Yoko followed him as he took off soaring through the air. She'd been with Akio all his life and seen the challenges this line of work posed to him. Briefly, she allowed her mind to wander back, to a humble house in 1940s Japan...