“But, Miss Wendy, Alex don’t know who Peter Pan is!” Rachel said, very concerned.

“So what?” mumbled Tristan.

Wendy tried to push her thoughts aside. “Well, that’s okay. I’ll just have to fill Alex in,” she said. Even though Alex was currently rubbing a piece of blue construction paper between his thumb and finger, he kept stealing glances at her. Wendy leaned forward and propped her elbows on her knees, and her small audience grew quiet. Even Tristan the Forlorn Starfish sat up.

“As most of you know, Peter Pan is a magical boy,” Wendy began. “He never grows up and has been a boy for as long as the stars have existed. With help from his fairy friends, Peter uses pixie dust to fly to Earth and finds Lost Ones—boys and girls who join him in Neverland, where they get to stay and go on adventures with him. You can reach Neverland by following—”

“The second star to the right!” the group cheered.

Wendy smiled. The familiarity of the story was a comfort. “That’s right. The second star to the right, and straight on till morning.” The line was well rehearsed—the same one her mother had told her, the same one she told her brothers, and now told the children at the hospital. “Peter and the Lost Ones go on treasure hunts, build tree houses, fly with fairies, fight pirates—”

“And meet mermaids!” Rachel added.

Wendy nodded. “Yes, and meet mermaids! One day, Peter Pan was exploring rocks in the mermaid lagoon and collecting shells from tide pools when he heard someone calling for help.” Wendy lowered her voice to an ominous tone. “The voice was coming from the mouth of a deep, dark cave surrounded by jagged rocks. But, since Peter Pan is very brave, he went into the cave to help whoever was in danger. Inside, he saw a mermaid trapped on a rock, held captive by a—”

“A pirate!”

“No, a bear!”

“Bears can’t swim, dummy. How could it—”

“Yes they can. I saw one swim on TV once—”

“A shark!” Wendy continued. The kids all gasped. “The mermaid was crying, and she told Peter the shark wouldn’t let her go until she gave him her pearl necklace. But the mermaid had spent years finding all the perfect pearls on the shores of Neverland to make the necklace, and it would break her heart to give it up.

“So Peter chucked a seashell at the shark and hit him square in the nose!” The kids laughed. “Peter yelled at the shark, ‘Hey, leave that mermaid alone! Just because you’re big and scary doesn’t mean you can boss other people around!’ But the shark swished his big pointy tail and splashed Peter with seawater.