After checking in with the men once more to make sure they were clear on their plan for the night of the party, he decided to distract himself from his worries by exploring the neighboring areas around Skull Rock. Since Never Land was comprised of islands, James took a small boat and ventured out. He never forgot how beautiful it was in Never Land or the feeling it gave him when he was there. All cities had their own heartbeat, their own soul, but this was greater than the difference between how one may feel in the country as opposed to the city—this was another world, and it felt like coming home.

Skull Rock was situated near the Hangman’s Tree, the entrance to where the Lost Boys lived. James could see the large dead tree from his boat, and he wondered what Peter and the Lost Boys were doing now. On the other side of Skull Rock was the Mermaid Lagoon. Determining it was best to stay out of Peter and the Lost Boys’ way until the party, he decided he would pay the mermaids a visit.

It was strange for James to be back in the place he considered home and feel like an outsider, to feel like he didn’t belong, but he guessed that would all change once he brought Tinker Bell back to the Many Kingdoms and Lucinda granted him his final wish. Even though he had already waited a lifetime for all this to happen, three more days felt like an eternity. In three days he would get what he always truly wanted. As his ship glided into the Mermaid Lagoon, he could hear the voices of the mermaids talking to one another, their lilting voices instantly bringing back the memories of visiting them when he was a small boy.

Mermaid Lagoon was an almost entirely hidden rock pool, and its waters were deep blue. As James approached he saw several mermaids on their rocks gazing up at the evening sky while listening to the splash of the waterfall behind them, illuminated by the moonlight. He couldn’t believe he was actually there, and that his memories of the place had remained so vivid in his imagination for all these years. He just sat there in his boat watching them, and taking in the beauty of the lagoon, feeling a rush of happiness in his heart to be in the place he had longed to be for so many years.

“We know you’re lurking there, James. Come over and say hello,” said one of the mermaids. She had long dark hair and eyes with features so delicate and cute, she reminded James of a little rabbit.