The
grottos crawled underneath Neverland, bringing flowing water along with winding
paths above the surface of the river. Electric eels illuminated the water’s
surface as the two of them trekked along in silence. Foxtail and Lively were
too curious to be scared of the darkness. They knew that the only things that
scared them was their own imagination, so they only thought the happiest things
possible. Each time one of them had a happy thought, the eels shined brighter,
the water flowed calmer and they smiled at each other. Foxtail’s tail would
whip around in excitement and Lively’s freckles would dance.
“HELLOOOOooooooooo.”
The
calls echoed through until it bounced back to them.
“Helloooooo,”
Foxtail called back, “Hoooowwww arrrrrrrrre yoooooooou?”
“FaaaaaaaanTASTIC!”
Lively replied to hoots of laughter. The eels shined another way to go.
Foxtail’s tail could whip a fly away from 15 feet. Lively’s freckles danced a
konga line.
Rivers of glowing light flowed throughout
the cave, even glowing from the ceiling, to a bright opening on the other side.
It opened to another side of Neverland, overlooking a coral reef surrounded by
shady mangroves and birch shoots. Brightly coloured fish dotted the water as
they looked out beyond blue waters, catching a glimpse of Maple dancing with
her mermaids alongside the horizon of blue colour.
As they skipped on the water’s ripples
and crawled through the wave’s holes, they didn’t speak a word. Foxtail and
Lively knew each other well enough not to need conversation between them all of
the time. Besides, the Fairy Festival would be coming up soon, and they needed
a gift to present to the fairy queen. Lively had already chosen a gift, but
Foxtail needed an idea. As they reached the other side and found different ways
to climb the same thicket, Foxtail still hadn’t thought of a good idea.
“Hey,
Lively?”
“Yeah
Foxtail?”
“What
can I get them?”
“Get
who?”
“The
Fairy Queen and the Indians. I can’t think of anything to get for them.”
“Why not
something scary?”
“But
that would scare away the children.”
“That’s
true…”
Lively
plopped a finger onto her chin as her feet flew through the leaves.
“I would
get them something gross.”
“You
have the worst ideas.”
“At
least I have a few. Unlike someone who doesn’t have any.”
She
jolted a shoulder upwards as her eyes rolled to the trees.
“You
asked me. I told you what I have in mind for you to get them…at least what I’m
thinking of right now.”
“What in
Neverland could you be thinking that is scary and gross?”
Lively
hadn’t been looking where she glided until she fell flat into a mud puddle.
BLORP
Her eyes
pierced through the mud dripping off her face.
“I guess
that was it.”
She
looked down at her favourite shirt covered in mud… and had an idea.
“Here,
catch!”
She
gripped a splatter of mud and threw it at him, smacking him straight in the
face.
“Oh you
clumsy clod! I’ll get you back for that!”
He
rushed her into the mud pile, sending sloppy mud everywhere. By the time their
ruckus ended, there wasn’t a single drop on the ground, and a dozen fairies
laughing along with the two mud-soaked children in the distance.
They
decided to cool off in one of the many lagoons floating above the island,
swaying atop a massive flamingo indifferent to the two children climbing atop
its massive legs. As they slithered into the warm waters, they didn’t notice
someone watch them from above the flamingo’s head.
“’Allo,
muddy freaks!”
They
slunk backwards as they recognized the mermaid princess.
“Where
are your mermaids, O great and talented one?” Lively didn’t know of sarcasm,
only genuine emotions; that was fear. Foxtail admirably watched her bravery.
“Them?
They’re too afraid to come up here. Besides, they’re napping not too far away.
You seem not to scary, so I can trust you. Right?"
The two
of them nodded as their mud slipped away, keeping the water clean. She slid
down the flamingo’s neck and into the blue water, the three children fitting
comfortably in the lagoon.
“Why is
your name Maple?”
“Why is
yours… Wait, I don’t know yours. What are they anyway?”
The two
of them took glances, as if giving away a deep secret. Then they brought their
faces back towards hers and Lively spoke first.
“I’m
Lively and this is Foxtail. He’s got a tail and Peter tells me I’m ener-getic.
He never explained what that word means. Maybe I should ask him.”
“He’s got
a what?!” Maple’s eyes opened wide as not only did she hear that, but
when Foxtail actually showed her his tail, she actually got to see one.
Something definitely was odd about this place…
“So
who’s Peter?”
Foxtail
tried stopping her, but she said it anyway.
“He was
the one who attacked you yesterday… well, by accident.”
“Yeah,
he didn’t know who you were…”
“So why
did he do it if he didn’t know me?”
They both
shrugged their shoulders simultaneously. Maple raised an eyebrow in
contemplation. Her arms stretched as far around the lagoon as possible, as if
her personal lounge chair. A cloud lazily drifted between the flamingo’s legs.
“So, how
did you get to this crazy island?”
“No
idea,” Lively put a finger to her chin again.
“The
last thing I remember was waking up here, with a big bandage on my head, like I
had fallen into Neverland. Wait, I don’t remember falling… I have no idea how I
got here. What about you?”
Foxtail’s
eyes looked upwards in thought while Maple readied herself to answer the
question. By the time she began to answer, they all felt the water cool down to
uncomfortable levels so they all agreed to jump into the ocean below. The
waters eagerly ran up to greet the three of them, as the mermaids rushed up to
greet them.
“Before
you greet me, meet Lively and Foxtail. They are my friends, and therefore yours
as well. That is the rule of the waters. Capisce?”
Azure
agreed on behalf of the rest of them and brought them all to the warm mainland,
the sand warm to the touch and drying their bodies as they lay on the sand with
the Mermaid princess. She weaved her tale with big words and hand waves,
mesmerizing Azure, Lively, Silverfin, Sirena, Dolphin, Foxtail and Madeline
with how she got to Neverland. As they walked together into the darkening brush
and to the festival, Foxtail knew what gift to give to the Indians and Queen
Mabs of the fairies.
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