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Later that night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, Slightly slowly and carefully raised himself up off the bed. Quiet as could be, he flew out of the underground house and into the night. Pitch black surrounded him, as there was no moon out this night, so he returned to the house and snatched up his mother’s NeverStone from its resting place on the shelf in the kitchen area. “As long as I put it back before morning there’s no slight chance she’ll ever know it was gone,” he whispered to himself. So with the stone firmly in hand, he flew out into the night once more. He had grabbed the NeverStone intending to use it as a night light, guiding him through the black sky. Magey had taken to using it for the same purpose in the underground house. Losing much of its brilliance since returning to Neverland, the stone still radiated enough light that it was able to luminate the underground house at night, casting a soft glow throughout the interior. Seizing upon this use, Slightly did the same thing - though not quite as effective - as he made his way through the night towards his destination; the Jolly Roger. It was Jukes’ night to stand watch and he knew Slightly would come by; like he had been doing ever since the two of them became friends. But, tonight Billy didn’t care if the lost boy came by or not. In fact, for the first time in all the years they had been friends, he actually hoped Slightly wouldn’t. And he knew why. Billy was still upset about Slightly having a mother. He didn’t want to be, and he felt bad about feeling that way, but he couldn’t help it. From what he could tell Slightly had indeed gone back on his word and openly accepted Magey in that part of his life, and this made the gunner angry inside. But what pained him even more was the fact that his friend had an actual mother. Not some mindless, clueless rag doll who was caught up in the whole wonder of Peter Pan and Neverland, but an honest to goodness real live mother. The young pirate could just imagine all the lost boys - and lost girls - being tucked in at night and being read to....and being told “I love you”. “I love you.” Words he had heard once-a long time ago. Long before he ended up on the Jolly Roger, and the Walrus before that. But they were memories now, nothing more. Memories that ached somewhere in the back of his mind. Still he was curious. He wanted to know how she got here and exactly why she was. But not tonight. Tonight he just wanted to be left alone, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. While looking at the lantern light, the gunner heard a familiar voice. “Hey, Jukes,” Slightly whispered as he came to land in the crow’s nest. “Hi,” the pirate said, with a small bit of contempt in his voice. What’s wrong with you? You sound slightly upset.” “Nothing,” Billy grumbled. “Yes there is,” Slightly nodded. “What’s wrong?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” Then he turned his back to Slightly. “Why not?” “I just don’t.” “Billy-” “I don’t want to talk about it, all right!” Jukes snapped, glaring at his friend now. “Did something happen? Did Hook say or do something to insult you again or something like that?” “Nothing more than he usually does.” Then what’s wrong?” Slightly was getting insistent now. “I said I don’t want to talk about it, okay. Can we just drop it.” Billy was trying to control his anger, but Slightly’s persistence was beginning to make him really upset. How could he possibly tell his best friend the problem was his new mother. But Slightly didn’t want to drop it. “But Jukes this isn’t slightly like you. You always tell me what’s wrong. How come you won’t now?” “Because I don’t feel like it, okay.” These words grated out and Slightly couldn’t help but be surprised at the level of animosity in the young gunners voice. “Okay,” Slightly said with hesitation. “But if you change your mind-” Billy let out a low sigh and looked out over the water. He was kicking himself inside for being so harsh to Slightly, but he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to tell his friend what the real problem was without screaming at him and possibly having his shipmates; or worse yet-Hook, catching Slightly on the Jolly Roger, thus giving their secret away. If only she hadn’t come, he said to himself. Come with a boy and those two girls....Those two girls! That’s it! I can ask him about the girls! The twins. Pleased with himself, Jukes turned around and asked, “So....what’s it like having lost girls around? Kinda like having sisters isn’t it?” Slightly smiled, relieved that Billy was finally displaying a happier side. “Yeah, it is. It’s different. I’m not slightly used to it, but then they’ve only been here for a little while. But I can say this - it’s fun....different, but fun.” “They seem to fit right in with all of you, especially-what’s her name, Amy?” Slightly laughed a little bit, nodding his head. “Amy. Yeah, she doesn’t have the slightest problem fitting in at all. Except for when it comes to Peter. She’s only been here four or five days, and the two of them have already had their fair share of bickering. Especially after she tried to take on Hook-” “I can’t believe she did that,’ Jukes replied. “Doesn’t Peter have a rule about anyone other than him fighting the cap’n?” Slightly nodded his head again, ”Yep,” and the gunner continued. “I thought so. She’s either very bold or very crazy. So what happened to her? Obviously she’s still here. What did Peter do?” “Nothing really, other than yell at her. Normally he would banish somebody for doing something like that, but if he did that to Amy he knows Mother would be slightly upset with him. Besides, she got quite the scolding from Peter on our way back to the house that day. I don’t think she’ll be doing anything slightly like that again.” Billy had cringed when Slightly mentioned his mother, and fortunately the lost boy wasn’t able to see it in the lantern light. But it was gone again as he listened to his friend finish the story. Laughing , he reiterated one of the comments he had made, “Yep, she’s crazy.” Then his mind floated to her sister. “But what about her twin?” “Anna?” Slightly replied, his eyes lighting up and his heart beat fluttering. Although Billy couldn’t make out Slightly’s face, something about the way he said the lost girl’s name made Billy wonder. “Yeah, Anna. She’s not too much like her sister, is she?” “No....not really, I guess.” “You guess? Slightly, you live with her.” “I know.” He had an ear to ear grin as he fully acknowledged that fact. Smirking at the way the lost boy sounded while talking about Anna, Billy asked. “So, tell me what she’s like.” “Well, you’re right, she’s not much like Amy, for the most part, anyways. She’s not slightly as bold, and I don’t think she likes coming here to the ship.” “And I don’t think she likes fighting either, “ Billy added. “No, neither do I. “But she has that twin thing with Amy, so I think that’s why she comes with us. That, and well, she’s a lost girl. But she’s really nice.” Slightly’s mind was floating now as he thought about Anna, and Billy smiled as he was pretty certain his best friend had a crush on her. Coming back, Slightly went on about the girls now. “But get those two together; be careful. They have no problem speaking their minds. In fact there’s been a few times they’ve almost made Peter speechless, or at least real flustered.” “Are you serious?” the pirate laughed. “Yes. Their first day here, Peter was explaining how he found Mother and everything, and he kept changing the story ever so slightly. Amy and Anna kept correcting him, and it got to the point where he got so fed up he had to ask them to be quiet.” ,br> Though hearing him mention his mother again, Billy couldn’t help but laugh at the tale Slightly had told. “Everyone found it so funny, even Mother. Oh Billy, I wish you could meet her. I think you’d really like her.” Upon hearing those words, Jukes stopped laughing and became angry once more. Although he knew who Slightly was talking about, Billy feigned any knowledge and asked, “Who?” “Mother,” the lost boy replied. “You’d ya think?” “I don’t know....Maybe....the lost girls.” Billy was trying to find a way to keep the conversation from heading in a direction he didn’t want it to. But it didn’t work. “Um, yeah, them too. But I mean my mother. I wish you could meet her.” “Oh,” was all Jukes could say. “Oh?” Slightly questioned. “That’s all you have to say?” “What else do you want me to say?” “I don’t know,” Slightly replied. “It’s just that-well- there’s a sudden change in your attitude. What happened? Everything was slightly fine when I was talking about Amy and Anna, but now I mention my mother and-” Then silence fell on the two of them. Looking at his friend through the shadows from the lantern, the gunner knew Slightly had figured him out, but he didn’t know what to say. “What?” was the only thing that came to his mind. Sadly, Slightly asked his friend. “Jukes, please don’t tell me you have a slight problem with my mother.” But Billy couldn’t say anything. He just looked away. This only confirmed things for the lost boy, as he let out a pitiful sigh. “You do, don’t you?” Finally giving in, the pirate groaned. “Yes, Slightly....I do.” “Why?” Slightly implored. Looking at the lost boy once more, Billy let his anger begin to pour out of himself . “Because you made a promise, Slightly, and you broke it! You promised you would never accept another mother again no matter who she was, or how good of a mother she was. Remember that! I do! But now Peter brings someone back and you suddenly go back on your word. Deciding to let her be your mother like the rest of the lost boys.” He had to stop here because he words were taken over by tears as they poured out of him. Turning his back to Slightly again, the pirate leaned against the railing of the crows nest and cried bitter tears of anger and frustration. Slightly was stunned, not knowing what to do. He had no idea Billy had felt this way. Remembering the promise he had made so long ago, the lost boy realized he had broken it. But he couldn’t help it. He and the other lost boys finally had the mother they had always wanted. She had only been there a short time, but they knew she was right. Still, he felt bad about breaking his promise, especially when it upset his best friend so much. Reaching out and putting a hand of Jukes’ shoulder, Slightly said softly, “Jukes, I’m sorry.” “It’s not just that,” Billy croaked out after a few seconds. “Then what is it?” Slightly asked with concern as he stood next to his friend now, with his arm across his shoulders. Wiping the tears away, the young pirate looked to the lost boy and choked out. “She’s a mother....a real mother....and Peter brings her here....to be a mother to all of you....It’s not fair” He then looked down once more. “As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted a mother, you know that....I want my own mother back, but I don’t know where she is....and because I’ve been stuck here so damned long, I don’t know if she’s still alive anymore. I can barely remember anything about her; I don’t even remember what she looks like, Slightly. I miss her....I always have. But I thought if I could find someone somewhere to take care of me the way she did, I’d be okay. But that hasn’t happened....Yeah, Mullins is good to me and he’s like a father, but it’s not the same.” He looked to his friend again, and went on. “And as long as you were without a mother, and the promise you made to never accept one again, I felt like everything would be okay in that way then too. But then....when Peter brought back Mistr- When Peter brought back Magey and I realized who and what she was....and I saw how you took to her, well....it made me mad. And it hurts inside. Because now you have something I don’t. Something I want....And I don’t like it.” ,br> Not realizing the depth of pain Billy felt until now, Slightly felt horrible; feeling like he had betrayed his best friend. In a way he had, but he didn’t know how to make everything right again. “Billy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. If you’d like, I won’t talk the slightest bit about my mother-ever.” “No, no,” Jukes insisted. “Slightly, please....I want to hear about your mother. I want to know what she’s like.” Confused by this, Slightly remarked, “But Billy, it’ll only make you upset.” “I know,” the pirate sighed. “But I still want to hear about her....Please, Slightly, tell me about your mother. Tell me what she’s like. What’s it like having a real mother here in Neverland?” “Well....” the lost boy began. But then guessing the look on the gunner’s face through the lantern light, he asked once more. “Billy, you’re sure you want to hear about her? Because I don’t want to make you slightly more upset than you already are.” Jukes thought about it for a brief moment and nodded to his friend, “Yes, I’m sure....It been so long, Slightly, that I don’t remember what it’s like anymore-” His words trailed off then. “To have a mother.” Slightly finished for him. Billy nodded his head. “But I want to know.” “All right....what do you want to know about her?” “How did Peter find her? And how in the world did she ever get here to Neverland? She’s the first grown up I’ve seen to come here....well, I guess you could say....magically. She’s not like the other grownups who are here, or come and go. She’s here because of Peter. Tink obviously used her dust on her; and the fact that it worked...So, what happened?” Slightly told Jukes the tale the best he could, explaining the way in which Peter presented himself to her after hearing her tell the story of the Echo Cave. ,br> “Didn’t that happen when Jane was here once?” Billy asked. “Uh-huh,” the lost boy confirmed. “Oh, I slightly forgot to mention, she’s Jane’s daughter, and Wendy’s granddaughter.” “Wendy?” the pirate asked with slow clarity. “Yeah....and Jane,” Slightly nodded, though Jukes couldn’t see it in the lantern light. Jukes thought about this as Slightly went on with his story, though now Billy wasn’t paying much attention to it. He was thinking about the legacy he had just discovered Magey was a part of. She was the third in line to come to Neverland. As though it was predestined ever since that day Wendy stepped foot here. Somehow, knowing that what might have appeared to be happenstance - Magey coming to Neverland - was rather something that could have been somehow carried out by fate, made the young gunner soften his attitude towards her. In that instant, he no longer felt animosity and anger. He felt a strange kind of peace come over him, and he understood why Slightly had let Magey into his life. With Wendy long gone, and no one found good enough to replace her, Magey’s arrival, along with her lineage, must have been a welcome change as well as a chance to return to the way things were when Wendy was around. Oddly, somehow the young pirate found comfort from this fact. Somehow, he knew at that moment he too would have a mother in Magey. Not the same way Slightly would, but he knew that through the lost boy he would have one. Even if it meant by vicarious means. “Hey, Jukes, is there the slightest chance you’re listening to me, or not?” Slightly asked, snapping his friend out of his trance. “What?....Huh?....Oh, sorry, Slightly,” Billy stammered out. “What’s that?” he asked next, noticing the white shining object held firmly in the lost boy’s hand. “It’s Mother’s NeverStone.” Slightly said. “You didn’t hear what I said, did you?” then he held it up for Jukes to look at. “Uh-uh” the pirate mumbled, looking over the stone as it’s light softly luminated the boy’s face. Billy then replied. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen one out of the ground before.” “That’s because you can’t take it unless the stone gives you permission.” “Oh, well that would explain why the Cap’n’s never been able to retrieve one....It’s beautiful. And the way it’s glowing. Is it supposed to do that?” “Yes, it’s part of the life force here. But it apparently glowed much brighter for Mother before she came here.” Able to faintly make out each others faces in the stone’s light, Billy queried, “What do you mean?” Feeling important for giving Billy a history lesson, Slightly explained. “This used to belong to Jane....rememeber her. Peter gave it to her during her last visit here. She then gave it to Mother when she was old enough to start believing. And if I slightly remember right, the stone’s never faded in all the time Mother’s had it.” “Why is that so important?” Slightly then told Jukes about the legend and how Magey has never stopped believing. “-and because she believes the way she does; so strongly, is one of the reasons Peter brought her here. I slightly don’t think he would have if she didn’t have this.” The lost boy then held the stone in the tip of his fingers allowing faint luminant shadows to etch their way across his face and the gunners. Looking at it some more, Billy crossed his arms over his chest and remarked. “One little stone....and it can change a person’s life. Alter it completely.” The look on Jukes’ illuminated face told Slightly he didn’t quite understand. “You slightly don’t get it do you, Jukes? This isn’t just some stone you pick up off the ground. This is a NeverStone. This is a part of the life force here. Without these Neverland will die.” The lost boy said all this with a sense of urgency in his voice. A bit confused now, Billy asked, “I thought without Peter Pan, Neverland will die?” “Oh, it’ll die without him too. But it’ll also die if the NeverStones are gone, or if they fade out. The magic that created Neverland can be found in these. And that magic keeps going as long as someone believes in it. So as long a that happens, the NeverStones and Neverland live. “This one was taken from the quarry and went outside of Neverland with Jane. And it’s been alive, Billy, all. This. Time. None of us have seen anything slightly like this before.” Slightly was staring at the stone now. “And that Mother’s the one who’s kept it alive all this time - well, Peter finds it slightly amazing. “The fact that she believes the way she does,” -he poised the stone firmly in his hand- “Told Peter he just had to bring her here.” The pirate still didn’t quite understand, and he credited it to not being a natural inhabitant to the magical island. But he nodded his head in agreement, so as to make Slightly happy with the explanation. Then Slightly changed gears and said with a touch of nervousness. “I just hope nothing happens to this and I get it back slightly before Mother wakes up.” “She doesn’t know you have it?” Jukes scolded. Shaking his head, the lost boy answered, “No, she doesn’t. And I don’t slightly know what she’d do if she ever found out. It’s....it’s her prize possession.” “Then, pray tell, why do you have it?” the pirate demanded. “I....I um,...I needed a light to see where I was going. It’s so dark out tonight - no moon - so I thought I’d try it. I’ll put it back as soon as I get back home. I promise.” Remembering he was talking to Billy Jukes and not his mother he quipped at him, “Hey, I don’t have to answer to you. You’re not my mother.” “Thank god for that,” Jukes replied with a laugh. Slightly laughed along with him afterwards. For at least another hour the two friends talked up in the crow’s nest. Slightly was careful not to let the light of the NeverStone be seen anymore; both he and Billy were afraid that if Hook or any of the crew saw it, they would both be hanging from the yardarm. Finally, Slightly had grown tired once more and, saying good night to his best friend, went back home. Carefully, quietly, he put the NeverStone back where it was and stole over to the bed. He grumbled when he realized whatever spot that was there for him when he left was filled up now by one of the other lost boys. Squeezing in and finding a niche, Slightly lied down on his side and fell asleep in an instant. Billy, on the other hand, stood in the crow’s nest still looking out over to the island, thinking about everything he had been told that night about Slightly’s mother. A smile covered his face as he whispered, “Yep, she’s worth it.” Back
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