A Mother's Love

The voices of the children echoed across the island of Neverland with a tone of happiness and excitement. But one boy sat quietly by himself up in a tree and tears ran down his face. It was the boy called Smee. His encounter with his birth mother hadn’t gone as well as all the others. He found his mother living on the streets of Boston; a homeless person. She wore tattered clothing and wore rags around her feet for shoes. Only in her early thirties she appeared much older in years. Life and the world had not been kind to her and Smee would find out that he was the cause of it all.

Her name was Margaret Myers. He found her sitting on a grating on Stuart Street to keep warm by the air blowing up from it. She was begging passer bys for spare change to get a meal. In reality the money that was given her wasn’t spent on food. She would buy a cheap bottle of wine to drown away her troubles.

Maggie, as her friends called her, was sitting there with the bottle inside a brown paper bag that was hidden under her tattered coat. Smee stood across the street from where she sat and watched for a while before making contact. He reached out with his mind and started to sort through her memories. What he found there was quite disturbing to him.

After giving birth to him she went to the authorities because she felt that something wasn’t right with what Doctor Scull was doing. She told them that she was hearing a voice in her head and she thought it was the child she had been carrying. The authorities did investigate her claims and they were found unjustified.

Doctor Scull, having the right connections with the Agency, had her classified as mental incompetent. She was in the custody of the state for four years before she was released. After being released she couldn’t find work because of her legally classified state of mind arrange by the not so good doctor. Maggie lived with some relatives for a short while but that didn’t work out either. They all thought that she wasn’t quite all there mentally and treated her as such. She would sit in her bedroom and listen as they made jokes about her.

They would say things like “Maggie had a conversation in her mind today with a green man from Mars.” or “Maggie just saw Elvis leaving the building.” Their laughter tormented her till she couldn’t stand it anymore and just ran away.

She had been living on the streets for the last two years and getting by on handouts and charity. Smee felt a tear roll down his cheek as the guilt built up inside of him. It tore at his heart to see the woman that showed him love while in the womb reduced to this lifestyle. He blamed himself for her pitiful fate and he made up his mind to change her condition. That’s why he was sitting in the tree crying. What he had done to change her condition was something that Mister Blue had forbidden them to do. Was he to suffer the fate of James? Would he be sent to that place and left there for the rest of his life. He knew he couldn’t hide what he had done from the other boys or Mister Blue and he knew he had to pay the price. He wiped away the tears and climbed down from the tree and headed to the meadow to meet with the other boys and Mister Blue. He could justify in his own self being for what he had done, but he was certain that others would judge it as a misuse of his abilities.

All the boys gathered in a circle in the meadow and as the sun set they proceeded to create the plasma ball as before. It rose into the air and below it appeared the image of Mister Blue. He quickly scanned their minds and absorbed all the information about their meeting with their birth mother. He paused for a moment then spoke to them mentally and said, “I am proud to say that all of you pass my test and are worthy of going out into the world and experience had it holds.” Smee stood up and orally spoke and said “How can that be true? I have willingly misused my abilities so that another may profit by it.” The image of Mister Blue turned and faced Smee and said “My son, you did not misuse your abilities. You simply reestablished the balance of a human life. You brought light and hope where there was darkness and despair. You righted a great wrong that was inflicted against your birth mother.” “What is it that you did? We may all learn something from it.” requested Peter.

Smee looked around at his brothers who at sat staring at him waiting for him to reply. He cleared his throat and said “I crossed the street and stood next to her on the grating and made mental contact. I felt fear rising up in her and she was about to scream. The foot traffic on the street had dwindled down to almost nothing so before she screamed I quantum tunneled us here to Neverland Island. At first she was in a state of hysteria and she did scream until I manipulated her mind to a calmer state. I told her who I was and that in fact all she had told the authorities was true. I let her feel the guilt I felt because of what had happened to her life because of me and that I would find a way to fix it. I then put her into a deep sleep and left her here on the island while I tried to fix things.

I knew I would need some money to find her some suitable living quarters and clothing so I quantum tunneled to visit Mr. Mucci. I told him of my intentions of helping my birth mother and what she would need.

He told me that he had some connections and he could possibly find her a job and living quarters, but eliminating the records of her mental competence was something even beyond his reach. I told him that I could take care of that but I would appreciate any help that he could offer.

I left his office and visited the relatives that knew of her mental state and erased any and all recollection of the matter from their minds. Next I followed a paper trail of every document, hard copy and digital, and eliminated them from existence. I made a mental note of any name that was associated with these documents and sought out there mental signatures. Upon mental contact with these people I eliminated any memories of processing the documentation and her identity from their minds. It took great effort on my part to accomplish this task because I felt that I was using my abilities for an unjust cause. I weighted the consequences in my mind and was willing to be exiled like James to correct the injustice that was put upon my birth mother.

When these tasks were completed I returned to see Mister Mucci and he explained to me that he had found a small apartment for her to reside on Marlboro Street and the rent had been paid in full for a year. I said I would try and find a way to pay him back the money but he stated that it was a gift. He told me of the money they found at his home and that he put it aside for all of us if we needed it. He then told me that he had been looking for someone to fill a recently open spot within his business and would gladly hire Maggie Myers to fill it. He gave me the address of the apartment he rented and told me to have Maggie drop by as soon as she was settled in. I thank him again for all his help and quantum tunneled back to the island.

Upon arrival to the island I awoke my birth mother and told her what I had done. Tears started to fill her eyes as I spoke to her and she reached out her arms to me. I walked forward into her embrace and in my ear she whispered, “Thank you Toby.” We both held that embrace for a long time drinking in the warmth of love and the joy to know my given name from her. We sat for a long time and I told her about my life and how we were freed by Peter and that Doctor Scull had died at the hand of one of his misguided creations. She then allowed me to share her memories of the pregnancy and it was a wondrous experience full of love and caring.

I quantum tunneled us to the location of the apartment Mister Mucci had acquired for her. It was a three room apartment on the first floor and fully furnished. The closet in the bedroom was full of clothing and shoes for work and casual wear. The kitchen was fully stocked with food and on the table was a bouquet of flowers with an envelope addressed to her. Opening the envelope she found keys, money and a note and a business card. The Note read:

Miss Myers,

Welcome to your new home and enjoy it for you deserve it. The money is yours free and clear. You do not have to pay it back. My business card has the address of where you’ll be working. I will see you there when you are settle in. Be proud of your son for he and his brothers are about to change the world for the better. I have been chosen to represent them and I could use all the help I can get to do so. So welcome aboard.

Yours sincerely, Mr. Gaetano Mucci

She asked me to sit and talk for a while over a cup of tea. I told her I would like to do nothing more than that but I had to be back at the Island by sunset. She asked if I could come and visit her occasionally. I told her I would but in my heart I knew that I would be likely banished like James, but I could not bring myself to tell her the truth. She hugged me for a long while and I basked in the loved that poured forth from her heart thinking I could never share it again with her. She gave me a soft kiss on the forehead and thanked me for all I had done. I told her that I loved her then transported myself back to the island to face my punishment.” Smee looked at Mister Blue and waited for a response but he just stood there nodding his head. “I don’t fully understand why I am not being punished for my action. Can you please explain it so I and my brothers could understand?” Smee requested.

“I will try to explain it as best I can and it will be our lesson for today.” Mister Blue responded. “The existence of all things is based on a balance between two opposites. These opposites can be anything; Light and Darkness or Right and Wrong for examples. It is at this point where these two opposite meet that the balance is most critical. For light and darkness it is the moment of dusk or dawn, when the light of day or the darkness of night must relinquish itself to the other. In the case of Right and Wrong; this is what occurred in your scenario Smee, the righting of the wrong brought back balance to your birth mother’s life. She was right in what she did by informing the authorities of what may be going on in Doctor Scull’s business, but he had the backing too make it appear that she was delusional. In doing so he horribly wronged her and unbalanced her very existence. Her life began to spiral downward to a state of utter defeat and she had no way out of it.

She was set on a path of self destruction but not through her actions but his. Unknowingly you identified the wrong and corrected it. You selfishly put your own existence on the line to correct the atrocity committed on her. The sacrifice that you offered in it brought her existence back into balance. The greatest act of kindness that one person can give another is to give wholly of themselves without reward. You were willing to give up your existence with in this world so that hers may be saved.”

Peter, Smee and the other boys understood completely what Mister blue had inferred. For every day there must be a night, an incoming tide must have and outgoing tide, an up must have a down, but it is where they coexist at a meeting point that the balance must exist or else the change between the two could not happen. Sacrificing one’s own security of life can balance that of another. To maintain the balance of all things is the greatest accomplishment one can achieve in a lifetime. Mister Blue smiled knowing that he had informed them so they understood and his image faded into the night. Peter and the Lost boys gathered round Smee and thanked him for being a good example of what they strove to be. The lesson they learned tonight was one they shall never forget.