I was moments away from sleep. My eyelids had become little weights holding my eyes closed and my body relaxed as I got ready to go. He came every night right as I was sure I couldn't avoid sleep for even another second. Sleep gently pulled my mind deeper and deeper into its grasp, but then out of nowhere a sharp chill entered the room. It crawled into my bed and kissed my bare arms, raising the little hairs and creating goosebumps. He's here I thought. I forced my eyes open and searched for him. There leaning against the closet was the dark shape of a boy just out of reach from the pale light coming through the window. His shadow of a mouth was held in a devilish grin.
"Do you want to come with me?" a whisper echoed throughout the room. I was used to his tricks now, so I didn't search for where the voice came from like I once had. Instead I nodded my head and stood up. Sleep made me stumble forward, and as I was about to hit the floor his icy hands surrounded me and whisked me back up. Leaving pinpricks that immediately turned my skin red with little droplets of crimson blood. He backed away, his smile gone.
"Don't go, it's okay," I gushed out. Panic clawed at my chest. I turned towards the door that separated my brothers' room from mine and I locked it, hoping this would keep them out in case they had heard me and had woken up. Shadow was mine. As if he were a timid dog he slowly inched forward. I knew he wanted me to come with him. "Hurry boy, before they realize I've gone" I whispered irritably. Patience was something I had little of. In a kitchen not so far away a teapot screamed. My mother would be coming soon with my nightly drink. The shadow looked around frantically, the sound of the teapot no doubt worrying him. He lunged for my wrist and brought me forward. I made a small gasp at the sudden movement. Shadow lightened his grip and held onto my hand instead. Instantly sores formed and my hand numbed from the icy cold. The cold spread shivers down my spine and filled my body with tremors that radiated darkness and ice. I welcomed it. The wind had blown the window open during the shadow's entrance, and was now where we would exit. Together we jumped, a mild wind blew through my curled dark brown hair and a giggle bubbled up in my throat. Nearly seconds from what would've been a loud thud, Shadow lifted us upward and into the sky. The stars shined brightly on us as we flew. Shadow looked back at me with his devil may care smile, causing me to smile in return. "To the second star on the right," I whispered to myself. I had thought it over and I now knew what my answer would be. Peter, the boy whose shadow was with me now, had asked me to go home and think over something very important. Did I want to live forever with him or did I wish to stay home and grow old, never to visit again. He had asked my sisters to stay too, and they had. Now here I was with my answer. A searing light flooded my vision and I knew we would soon be entering Neverland. The hand holding on to Peter's shadow was inflamed and dripping blood, thankfully the cold had made it painless. Down we descended. Neverland was just below me in all its glory. I saw the cerulean blue of the ocean, the turquoise green of the lagoon, the mossy green of the earth below, and a double rainbow reaching from one side of the island to the other. Seeing it all brought a warmth to my body and sent my heart pounding. Shadow and I landed in the middle of Peter's camp. The lost boys and my sisters ran up to me.
"Laurraine you came back!" they cheered. Wendy hugged me and whispered into my ear. She and I had been the ones who had wanted to stay home, but now we were convinced staying home wasn't the right choice.
"Have the boys been back since I left?" I asked Wendy. Our brothers had visited, but only to try and bring my sisters back.
"No," Peter answered. Peter came up and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm so glad you came back," I could hear the emotion in his voice. All around the boys cheered and began to skip around the fire. My sisters joined in, flowers adorning their hair. Peter and I sat back and watched their games. "I would have gotten you, but I was afraid you wouldn't return," his voice nearly cracked at the end. "Shadow didn't hurt you too bad did he?"
"No," I replied while hiding my arm behind me. Peter pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. I was glad I was here, and secretly I had preferred that shadow was the one who got me.