Neverland

There is a world that lies beyond what we can now see. We used to be able to see it, though. Sometimes, it could be found when we closed our eyes on a warm summer day. Glimpses of it were caught as we lied on a freshly mowed lawn and looked up at the white clouds contrasted against a clear blue sky, pointing out what shapes we thought they made. But most often, this world of ours slipped just into view as we lay our heads upon soft pillows, a mother’s lullaby still ringing gently in our ears.

It was Neverland: the fantasy realm that exists solely within the imagination of a child; a land where a child was truly free to do and be whatever they cared. There were no parents and their bothersome rules, no scraped knees, no runny noses. It was a world created by children, and so only for children was it meant.

On some days, Neverland was a tropical jungle to explore. Laughing children pushed their way through the lush foliage and tangling overgrowth, the girls stopping to admire a rare bright purple flower while the boys snuck up behind them with a slimy toad. And of course, as they playfully ran away, they would almost always stumble into a clearing. Sun beams fell through the treetops, crossing the ground in shadow and light for the children to dance in with the fairies and butterflies.

But other days, Neverland was not so friendly, for on these days there were pirates. Children did not go there to play, they went to defend their magical playground from those scabrous sea dogs. Dark clouds battled with the sun for control of the sky, casting the crusted ships into shadows and making the ruthless men they carried all the more ominous. But the children were not afraid. They crossed swords with those pirates on the slippery decks beneath the black flags. And even if it seemed that there was no way the children could beat the buccaneers, the pirates would never, ever win. For just as a pirate would go to deliver a final blow, the child would wake up safe in his bed, and Neverland would slowly fade back into his mind, until he went back again the next night.

Neverland was always there. To a child, it was the real world, and what they woke up to in the morning was the dream. But with time, that dream takes over, and Neverland slowly drifts away to be occupied by other children that have not yet been distracted by the responsibilities of life. But maybe, just maybe, if we look for it with the forgotten mind of a child, we may just find ourselves finishing that duel with a pirate captain, or twirling around one last time with the fairies.