The change came slowly for Peter. It was so slow that Peter himself didn’t realize it until after it had happened. Of course, when Peter realized that the change had happened, he told everyone that he’d known it all along, for Peter Pan was a very cocky boy. So he would talk, and as he talked he nodded sagely, and that air of authority that surrounded him shivered delightfully.
The change is this: Peter Pan started to remember things. Or rather, he ceased to forget.
Oftentimes, Peter would have whole adventures and then simply forget them. He would forget killing villains, like his arch-enemy Captain James Hook, pirate extraordinaire. He would forget the Lost Boys and his mother, Wendy. And sometimes Peter even forgot bosom friends, like his fairy, Tinker Bell.
Peter was good at forgetting. This is what made him stay a boy for so long. Because, as everyone knows, it’s when you start remembering things that you start to grow up. You can’t remember something without learning from it, or changing. You become sad when someone you love has died, or been lost. You become wiser after falling for a trap. When you remember something that has happened, you become a different person from the person you were before you experience the thing that happened.
Peter Pan did not want to be different. Peter wanted to remain a boy forever and have adventures.
Let us eavesdrop on Peter and observe the moment he realizes that he’s changed. Continue reading →
Tags: Captain Hook, Fairy, Flying, Lost Boys, Mermaid, Neverland, Peter, Peter Pan, Story, Tinker Bell