Darkness has finally fallen after a seemingly endless day. The stars stretched across the great night sky. The moon was full and robust, sending ripples of ivory light cascading down on the earth. The house lights begin to twinkle, illuminating the city as if they were Christmas bulbs. And most of all, it was the first day of winter.

Sophia looked out from her frosty room window and watched the snowflakes gently drift down toward the ground. She wanted to reach out and touch them, had not her mistress been watching her with eyes like a hawk, evaluating her every move.

“What are you looking at outside, girl?” she screeched. “Do you want to stay outside in the bitter cold, hm?”

“N-no,” mumbled Sophia as she tore her eyes from the window and resumed her stitching. Her eyes began filling with tears, but she couldn’t wipe them, or it could mean another hit from the whip. But they were obscuring her view, until she couldn’t see properly anymore and pricked her finger on the needle. She let out a soft gasp to mark her pain, hoping her mistress didn’t hear. Unfortunately, she did.

“You imbecile! This is already a very simple project, and you couldn’t do it without making mistakes!”

He mistress raised the whip, and Sophia cowered in fright. She dropped her stitching and crawled far away from the evil lady.

“N-no… Please… Enough…” she whimpered.

“I’ll say enough when I think it’s enough!”

A crack of the whip, a cry of pain, and a bang of a door broke the peaceful silence of the first winter night.

 

Sungjong flittered around and about, looking for sources to entertain him. He took shiny top hats from passing gentlemen, flew by so fast that the skirts of the fancy-looking ladies spun and rose, and played with the children’s eyes.

But he wasn’t amused.

“Is it just me or are things getting more boring and adult-like here?” he said with a sigh. He propped himself up on a bare tree and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You know what, Sungjong, we could go home and mess with them pirates instead,” suggested a tiny ball of golden dust that always went with him. “Why do you always insist on coming to this particular place if you knew it were full of grown-ups?”

“That’s the point, Jae,” insisted Sungjong. “I want to make fun of them for growing old. Look at me, I’m still—and forever will be—young and free.”

“But tonight, you just said you were getting bored,” said the golden ball. It shed some of its light and a tiny fairy could be seen, no bigger than Sungjong’s thumb.

“Just hang tight, Jae. You’ll see. We’ll find entertainment here. Or even more, we might find someone to take back home. Maybe even a lady, someone who could be the mother of the Lost Boys!” said Sungjong excitedly.

He stood up on the branch and launched himself downwards, flying through the stone houses and looking through windows with Jaemin barely managing to catch up. Then, he arrived at a dismal-looking place. It had lights on, but it didn’t look very festive.

Sungjong flew to the highest floor, where the room was dimly lit. He peered through the window and saw a small candle, and a girl. The girl looked like she was crying, and she was hugging herself. Sungjong could scarcely see her, but he knew she was crying, and he felt bad for her.

He put his hands under the window frame to lift it up.

“Sungjong! What are you doing?” hissed Jaemin.

“Look in there! That girl, she’s crying. We’ve got to help her,” whispered Sungjong.

Before Jaemin could stop him, Sungjong lifted the window open. Cold air came in and snuffed the little fire the candle could make. The girl looked up in surprise and terror, scooting away from the window.

“No, wait, I’m here to help you,” said Sungjong, extending an arm. Then he turned to Jaemin. “Give us a little light here, Jae.”

The fairy flew to the top of the room and tossed a handful of golden dust to light up the room. Having fairy hands, it had been a small amount, but it was enough the illuminate the whole room. With the light, Sungjong could see that it was as empty as a room could be: no furniture, no blankets; just littered by threads and cloth of different colors.

Sungjong looked at the girl again and stopped in his tracks.

She had rumpled golden hair and a tear-stained face. But her eyes were big and blue, and they looked terrified, and possibly confused. She was scarcely covered by a baby-blue dress that was ripped and cut in various places, revealing her scarred arms and long, fair—yet wounded—legs. She had her arms crossed over her chest, trying to warm herself.

Sungjong was frozen. Indeed, she looked abused and very hurt, but he could see what a beautiful lady she could have been, of it weren’t for her cuts and bruises. His eyes glazed over her body, then stopped at her eyes. They were sad, and pleading for help.

“Hello there,” mumbled Sungjong. He slowly came towards the girl and outstretched his arms. “My name’s Sungjong. What’s yours?”

“S-Sophia…” whispered the girl. He managed to smile. Her voice was soft and lilting.

“Sophia… Would you like to come with me?” he asked softly. He offered his hand for her to take.

“To where?” she asked.

“To Neverland,” he said, “where you’ll never have to worry about growing up. Ever.”

“Never grow up…?” Sophia said, quite unsure of what this mysterious boy was telling her. Then, after a few seconds of thought, she took Sungjong’s offered hand. Despite being ragged and injured, her hands were soft and small, and they fit right in Sungjong’s own. Sungjong felt his heart race against his chest.

He pulled her up, and he looked into her eyes. He saw something new; he saw hope in there. He took her other hand and led her towards the window sill, his eyes never leaving hers. He backed up until he was already standing on the frame.

“You’ll really take me away from all this?” Sophia asked, looking into his brown orbs.

“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of you from now on,” Sungjong replied gently.

Just then, a shrill cry was heard from outside the door. Sophia stiffened and tried to get behind Sungjong’s back, but she tripped on a cloth and tumbled straight into Sungjong’s arms. Sungjong signaled Jaemin to dim the room again.

The door burst open and Sophia’s mistress stood there, purple with rage.

“You, girl! What are you doing? And who are you?” she cried, pointing an accusing finger at Sungjong. She started towards the two.

Sungjong hoisted Sophia up and held her by her forearms. “Sophia, do you trust me?”

Sophia nodded wildly and Sungjong lifted her into his arms. He smirked at the mistress and let himself fall backward out of the window and onto the air. The mistress scrambled after them, trying to catch Sophia’s flailing legs, but to no avail. Soon, they were just a dark speck in the horizon, with an occasional gold ball flying around them.

 

Sophia was too dumbstruck to scream as they went free-falling towards the ground, but when she saw that they were safe and the boy was actually flying, she relaxed and stared at his face.

He was beautiful. His skin was pearly white, and he had a well-defined jawline. His eyes were a soft brown and perfectly shaped, hinting playfulness. His lips were soft and curled into a smile, and Sophia couldn’t help but wonder what they felt like. The way he held her was safe and secure, and she couldn’t help but trust him deeper.

She looked to her right and saw the boy’s fairy friend. She was adorable, and ever so tiny. It made her want to touch it, to see if she truly is real. She has only heard of fairies and flying boys in stories the other children often talked about.

“Sophia?”

Sophia snapped out of her thoughts. “Yes?”

“What were you back there?” the boy asked. “Why was that dragon of a woman trying to keep you in that shabby room?”

Sophia fell silent for a while that Sungjong thought he offended her.

“Oh, is that woman your mother? I didn’t mean to…”

“No, no, she’s not,” replied Sophia quickly. “My mother is… long gone. I was an orphan, and that woman—my mistress—took me in, in exchange that I stitched and worked for her. She feeds me, and let me stay.”

Sungjong looked down at her. “But your arms and your dress… Does she hit you too?”

“Well, I make mistakes, so it’s just proper—”

“It’s definitely not proper when she hits you every time you make a mistake, Sophia,” Sungjong said, cutting her off. “People make mistakes all the time. Even from where I come from, we only hit bad people when they’ve done something terrible.”

This piqued Sophia’s interest. “Wherever did you come from? What is ‘Neverland’? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Of course not,” said Jaemin suddenly, surprising Sophia. “No one’s ever heard of it till they get there.” She flew very close to Sophia’s face, then stopped and touched her nose with a tiny foot.

“It’s a beautiful place, Neverland,” explained Sungjong. “No one ever grows old there. I’ve been young for as long as I can remember. There are pirates, and mermaids, and more fairies like Jaemin. And the Lost Boys… You could be their mother!”

“M-mother?” said Sophia. “I’ve not experience whatsoever in being a mother. I don’t even remember having one. What if I do something wrong?”

“Don’t worry; I won’t let anyone hit you if you do,” said Sungjong and smiled down at her. “I’m their father, you see, and they’ve always wanted a mother as well.”

 

They’ve been flying for a great while until they came to the presence of the stars. Sophia felt Sungjong’s grip on her tighten, and she felt like something was going to happen, so she tucked her arms in and clutched Sungjong’s tunic.

“Sophia, close your eyes.”

Sophia did as Sungjong instructed her and closed her eyes tightly. She could feel the wind blow even harder through her hair, but Sungjong’s arms were still holding her firmly, and she was not afraid.

Soon, Sungjong spoke again.

“You can open them now.”

She did and was astounded by what she saw. The sun was rising, shooting out golden beams and breaking the darkness of the sky. In the horizon, she could see the silhouette of an island with a towering mountain. Sungjong flew steadily downward, and Sophia stretched an arm to touch the glittering blue sea. She peeked and saw the morning stars reflected on its glass-like surface.

“This is it. Welcome to Neverland, Sophia,” said Sungjong and smiled.

 

He landed in the middle of a forest glade, and he let Sophia down. She felt the soft grass between her toes. She looked up, closed her eyes, and let the sun’s rays peeking through the trees kiss and warms her frozen face. She inhaled the sweet morning breeze. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sungjong smiling at her.

“Like it already?” he asked.

Sophia, overcome by her extreme happiness at the prospect of freedom, threw her arms around Sungjong’s neck. Sungjong stumbled, but he gladly returned the hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.

Sungjong pulled away from her hug and wiped her tears with his thumb.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered. “This will be your paradise, as it is mine.”

He gazed into her blue eyes, and she gazed into his. Slowly, as if unsure, she stood on her toes and touched his lips with hers. Sungjong smiled shyly as she did and returned her kiss.

 

So this is what I’ve missed all this time. And yet here I am, with the one person who managed to make my heart race differently, in the middle of the most beautiful place in my paradise.

Our paradise.