Meditations in Wonderland by Anna Patrick

Author:Anna Patrick [Patrick, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: River Grove Books

Elizabeth reached out to touch Alice’s horrific masterpiece, but her finger moved straight through the steam as it dissolved before her eyes. Her gaze then darted quickly to the Hatter, who was still staring at her, licking his lips.

“I’m not Alice,” she said, as her voice shook. “You have no idea who I am, but I’ll show you who you are!”

Elizabeth grabbed her compact and thrust it toward the Hatter, who jumped back, toppling his chair. The teacup that rested on his hat crashed to the floor, cracking into sharp slivers of white porcelain. Elizabeth pushed the mirror toward him.

“Take a look! Look at the snake!” she demanded, her voice growing so loud that the ravens flew off the branches. “Next time you want to invite a girl in, make sure you know who she’s really talking to first!”

Elizabeth snapped the compact shut and stuffed it back into her pocket. Her green eyes flashed a parting look that told the Hatter she would not be bitten.

She ran. She ran so fast that the steepness of the hill hardly slowed her down. But even over her struggling breath, she could hear the Hatter’s possessed screams echoing behind her.

“Alice!” he wailed like a wounded beast. “Please come back, Alice!”

His voice pierced Elizabeth’s ears. He sounded more animal than human. As she ran up the hill, leaving his maddening shrieks behind, Elizabeth decided that he was neither. He, too, was a monster.

“Alice!” he boomed again, followed by a blood-curdling scream that made Elizabeth’s heart pound. It didn’t sound like he was following her, but merely meandering around the table, occasionally collapsing into despair.

“I’m not Alice,” she panted with disgust as she neared the crest of the hill at last.

When Elizabeth reached the top of the hill, she too collapsed, but not in a frenzy like the Hatter down below. She laid flat on her back, her chest rising and falling angrily, like waves crashing on a shore in a storm. The only thing that kept her anchored to the ground beneath her was her breath, and her vow that she would find Alice, regardless of the darkness ahead. She thought of the ravens. She thought of Adam.

“Follow me into the darkness,” she repeated, closing her eyes as she felt herself fall away. Adam’s eyes were the last thing she saw.

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