//Closed starter for darlingchiiild
It had rained last night. Not the light, drizzling shower of a London Spring; the kind that made puddles, caused the lake in the park to swell, and panicked the ducks. Not the kind of rain Michael was used to. This wasn't fun rain.
It had been the kind of tropical storm Michael was still too young to have even heard about. Great fat droplets of water had pounded down at them relentlessly, downing branches and leaves, and destroying the smaller saplings completely. Out on the bay, the crashing waves had reached right up the cliffs on the other side of the island, and lightning had lit up the sky like midday. This wasn't the first storm the brothers had witnessed, and it wouldn't be the last. In Neverland, it seemed, even the weather was ruthless.
Michael Darling clung tight to his sodden teddy bear, shivering under the old oak tree in the cold morning light. He was trying to be brave, for John. But the little boy's lower lip quivered. His nose streamed, and his eyes shone with barely concealed tears. Back at home, Mother had always comforted him during the night of the storm. She had held Michael close, sang him songs, and made sure Nana was close by at all times. But now there was no Mother, and no Nana. Mother had stopped coming to comfort Michael a long time ago, and he couldn't understand why.
Had he been bad? Was she cross at him? Michael didn't want to be here. Neverland wasn't fun any more. He wanted to stop playing this game.
