Temptation

Temptation

“Come away Wendy, come with me.
Forget them all…”

The night sky never looked so appealing.
The stars were beckoning me, winking a tempting invitation,
And the breeze carried their whispered message;
An echo of the boy’s proposal.

In that brief instant,
The world, a whirlwind of dreams and denials,
Stopped.
An eternity spent,
In the warm embrace of childhood.
That is what lay ahead, on the island of Neverland,
And the promise of never, ever, having to grow up,
Filled me with endless joys…
I looked around at the dark nursery. This is what awaits me here,
Until the shadows of age creep up on me
And all dreams of Pirates and Indians,
Will be lost, forever.

I turned to look out of the window.
An elusive voice, at the back of my mind
Was trying to fight its way,
Past glittering thoughts of Mermaids and adventure,
Past frightening images of the one-armed Hook.
But it surrendered, helpless against such opponents.
So I took Peter’s hand and gave myself up
To the ultimate temptation…
Neverland.

As I soared over the town of London,
That fugitive voice finally broke free
And my mother’s face swam before my eyes…
But nothing could have saddened me.
The image blurred, mingling with immortal promises
Of eternal youth.

Until at last Peter’s face took mother’s place