Rabbits and Watches

I had to write this for a class, and figured I would put it here. My take on Alice in Wonderland.

            Azure as the ocean, Alice’s eyes stared up at the dusty ceiling of the hotel room. There was little noise at this time of the night, somewhere between midnight and three in the morning. The only sounds came from the old grandfather clock in one corner of the room, her breathing, and the soft snoring of her sister in the next bed.

            The soft ticking of the clock echoed throughout the dark room. Alice lay on top of the covers, letting one foot dangle off the side of the bed. It was late, and she knew that, but she couldn’t sleep.

            She looked over at her sister in the other bed. Her auburn hair splayed out against the pillow, and her breathing had long ago become regular. Alice envied her; she wasn’t stuck with insomnia this late in the night.

            Figuring that laying there would do nothing to help her sleep, Alice stumbled her way to the rust and lemon-cleanser scented bathroom of the cheap hotel room. She lit the small lamp on the counter, watching as its fiery light bounced off the porcelain surfaces. She ran the tap for a few seconds, using the water to fill a small cup for a drink. She raised the glass to her lips, and in the split second before it touched, something moved out of the corner of her eye.

            Alice lowered the cup, trying not to shake from fear. She always had a vivid imagination; it was something her sister told her every day. But this, this wasn’t just her imagination, was it? She decided to let it pass for the moment, and glanced once quickly around the tiny room before once again raising the glass to her lips.

            A soft rapping noise sounded from in front of her. Alice paused, feeling her whole body go cold. It couldn’t have been her sister knocking at the door. The noise had come from before her, and the door was on the left. This was from the mirror.

            She didn’t want to look, for fear of what she might find, but she had to know. She again lowered the glass, and brought her eyes down to rest on the mirror. Staring at her was a large white rabbit holding a pocket watch.

            Alice dropped the glass in surprise and it crashed to the floor, breaking into dozens of tiny pieces. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, threatening to leap out at any moment. After all, it wasn’t every day she saw a rabbit in a looking glass.

            She tore her eyes of the rabbit for a moment, and glanced behind her. No rabbit. She pondered this for a moment, before coming to an obvious conclusion. The rabbit was in the mirror, on the other side.

            It beckoned to her, waving its tiny white paw. “Come closer” it seemed to be saying.

            Alice gingerly took a step forward, being careful not to step on the shattered remains of the glass with her bare feet. She reached out a hand, and the rabbit rolled its little grey eyes before taking her wrist and pulling her in.

            The mirror rippled around her like a pool of water, and Alice found herself falling downwards, with no end in sight. She tumbled down for what seemed like an eternity, watching with an odd mixture of curiosity and fascination as other objects fell around her. She had to move to narrowly escape being crushed by a falling piano.

            For what felt like hours she fell, until a sudden soft impact brought her to her senses. She had landed on a well-placed mattress in a dark, dome shaped room. There were only two ways out: the way she had fallen, and a small door on the far side of the room.

            A small wooden table stood in the center of this, and Alice headed towards it. Resting on top were a small golden key, and a glass bottle filled with blue liquid. Alice pocketed the key, and picked up the bottle, turning it over to read the label.

            “Drink Me.” It read, the thin paper of the label looking frail and aged.

            Not having had anything to drink that day, Alice did what the bottle advised, and took a sip from the flask. Not long after, she found herself shrinking, the bottom of her nightgown pooling around her. She desperately clutched it to herself, and when she had stopped shrinking, found it uncomfortably large.

            She trudged towards the door, dragging the loose fabric behind her. Digging for the key in the many folds and crevices of the now too-large dress, she pulled it out and unlocked the door. It threw itself open, and Alice gasped, looking out at what appeared to be a forest.

            “Alice!” a voice called from somewhere in-between the teal colored trees. “Alice! Have you finally decided to return?”      

            Alice said nothing, just pushed her blonde hair out of her face and hugged her dress to her body.

            A tall man, possibly only a few years older than herself, walked out from between two purple bushes. “Alice!” he called once again. “You’ve come back! We’ve been waiting so long for your return!”

            “How do you know my name?” Alice asked, slightly afraid with the turn of events.

            He looked at her quizzically. “You don’t remember, do you Alice?”

            “Remember what?” she questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.

            He shrugged. “No matter.” He made his way over to her, until he was towering over her small frame. “Have you gotten shorter?”

            “The bottle said…”

            “Never mind the bottle,” he rummaged for something in his pocket, eventually pulling out a small red-and-white cake. “Eat this.”

            “I don’t think it’s a good idea to eat something a stranger offers,” Alice said, wanting desperately to put her hands on her hips; she would have, if she didn’t have to hold the dress up.

            “Always such a doubter, you were,” said the man. “I don’t suppose you want to walk around with a too-large dress, do you? Eat this,” he repeated.

            Alice obliged for the moment, and took a small bite. It tasted horrible, but she soon found herself growing as fast as she had shrunk just minutes (or was it hours?) before. She was within seconds, back to her normal height, now face-to-face with the strange man.

            “Please, sir, how do you know my name?” she asked.

            “Alice, do you not remember? You have been here before,” he said gently, studying her with hazel eyes.

            “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “You will soon,” he said, seeming sure of himself. “But until then, allow me to refresh your memory.” He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. “This is Wonderland,” he said, gesturing at everything around them.

            “Wonderland?”

            “Wonderland,” he repeated. “And I am known as the Mad Hatter. But you may just call me Hatter if you wish.”

            “Well, Mr. Hatter,” she began, emphasizing his rather strange name. “If you would please direct me back to England, I’ll be out of your hair.”

            His eyebrows shot up until they looked as if they would fly off his forehead. “Back? Why would you want to go back?”

            Alice remained silent. Besides her sister, there really was no reason to go back to England. They weren’t well off, and Wonderland already seemed much nicer than their moldy hotel room.

            “Exactly my point,” said Hatter, liking his arm in hers and beginning to walk off. “Where would you like to go first?”

            “I don’t know,” Alice responded. “I’ve never been here before.”

            “Of course you have,” Hatter insisted. “But if you won’t choose, then I will. Off to tea.”

            As Hatter pulled her through the multi-colored forest, Alice couldn’t help but wonder what she had done to deserve this. Bushes rustled as the pair walked by, and Alice could have sworn she heard tiny voices whispering.

            “Hatter,” a thin, wispy voice arose from the air. “Who is this lovely lady you have brought?”

            “This is Alice,” Hatter responded, looking up and around him.

            “Alice? The Alice?” The voice called again. This time though, a slim body of a cat appeared, black as night, and with very large, very green, eyes.

            “She doesn’t seem to think so,” Hatter accused, jerking a thumb back at Alice. “But I know she is.”

            “I’m telling you, I’ve never been here before,” She argued. “Though it does seem awfully familiar.”

            “She’s doubting,” Hatter disclaimed with a wave of his hand. “We’re off to tea. Would you like to come Chesh?”

            “Not today, Hatter,” The cat responded, spinning around slowly. “I’ve got a castle to haunt.” And with that, he disappeared.

            Hatter rolled his eyes. “He enjoys tormenting the Red Queen. She’s not a queen really, but the people of Wonderland don’t feel like dealing with her.”

            Alice didn’t know how to respond to this, and instead let him lead her deeper into the forest. Eventually they came to a little clearing, with a long white table set for tea standing in the center.

            “Hatter! I see you have found Alice.”

            Alice looked for the source of this new voice, and did not find it until she looked down. “You!” she exclaimed. “Why have you brought me here?”

            “Don’t you remember Alice?” The white rabbit said, looking up at her. “It has been a full five years since your last visit. I felt you were long overdue.”

            “But…”

            “No Alice,” Hatter interrupted. “It’s no good arguing with him. He’ll always have his way.” He gently nudged her to the table and pulled out a chair for her, where she sat.

            “We shall return you in good time,” the rabbit spoke up. “Until then, enjoy your tea.”

            She stared down into the cup.

            “It’s not poisoned,” the rabbit said, rolling his grey eyes.

            The tea party went on for a few hours, until the Red Queen happened to walk by, and ordered them all to leave or it would be ‘off with their heads’. The other two didn’t seem to think much of this threat, but Alice wasn’t going to test the false-queen’s resolve.

            The sun was now beginning to set, and Alice rested against a tree, half asleep. “Please, Hatter, may I go home now?” she asked, trying not to sound as tired as she was.

            “Do you not like it here?” he asked, worry evident in his voice.

            “It’s not that, I do like it here. But I belong where my sister is,” Alice explained.

            “Will you come back?” Hatter asked.

            “If there was a way to come back, and bring my sister, I would stay here always,” she said quietly.

            Hatter smiled, and pulled something from his pocket. “Take this,” he said, handing her what looked like a pocket watch on a long chain.

            “What does it do?” Alice asked, turning it over in her hands.

            “It will bring you and your sister to Wonderland,” he explained.

            “But how does it work?” she asked, fiddling with the hands of the clock.

            “You’ll figure it out,” came his reply, seeming light and distant.

            Alice looked up. The Hatter and all of her previous surroundings seemed to be melting away, as if they had never existed. But the watch was still in her hand, and she gripped it tighter, waiting for a moment of impact. But the next thing she knew, she was sitting upright in her hotel bed, breathing heavily.

            She looked around her. The room was still dark, and her sister was still sleeping. The grandfather clock read the same as when she had left for Wonderland. If it weren’t for the cool metal of the watch in her hand, Alice would have thought it was all a dream.

            She placed the watch on the nightstand, and curled back under the covers. Her sister would hear about this in the morning.

Author's Note

Kind of long, I know. But if you took the time to read this, let me know what you think.

Reviews

[Leah Blume]

Oh my gosh! This is really good! Keep it up!