LJ Idol Exhibit A-The Other Side of the LOOKING Glass
“You’re a BITCH!!”
Alice winced as the car door slammed. Gwen had such a temper, just like her dad’s. She watched anxiously as the sobbing teen ran into the house and, she was sure, upstairs to cry on her father’s shoulder. Alice bit her lip; this was not going to go well she could feel it. She looked in the rearview mirror at 13 year old Kenny who was smirking as he played his 3DS and pretended not to have noticed his sister’s temper tantrum.
She sighed, “Let’s get these groceries in the house, shall we?”
The house was dark which meant David wasn’t home yet. Alice called up the stairs, “Gwen? Gwen if you want to come down we can talk about it? You can help me decide what to make for dinner and we can talk, o.k.?” Silence. Kenny slinked around her as she juggled the bags and the door, “Ken, could you…?” Head down, eyes transfixed on his game, he headed up the stairs without so much as a backwards glance. She sighed again; Alice didn’t know what she expected from David’s kids. They had hated her the moment their father introduced her to them three years ago and it had only gotten worse. Did she really think anything was going to change? She carried what grocery bags she could and dragged the rest behind her as she made her way to the kitchen.
She didn’t notice the metallic silver eyes watching her from the hallway mirror. Or the grin that lingered as the eyes faded away.
Alice thought back over the last three years as she put the groceries away. How could everything have gone so wrong? She had so much promise! She’d just graduated college with a master’s in horticulture and had applied at The Esplanade Association (TEA) in their parks and operations division. She didn’t think she has a snowball’s chance of getting the job, TEA positions were one of the most highly sought after in the country and she was still a wet behind the ears college grad. So she was more than a little surprised when she got the call a week later to come in for an interview. She’d driven to their main building the next morning a nervous wreck, sure that there had been some mistake. After sitting for 20 nail biting minutes in the outer office the door was opened by one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life. Sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes and a smile that could dazzle the panties off of Mother Teresa, David gestured to her, “Miss…(he glanced at the resume in his hands)…Liddle is it? Please, come in.” She practically floated into his office. After a whirlwind interview that she could barely remember, he hired her on the spot and asked her out to dinner with the same breath. She immediately said yes and that had been that. It was love and she was head over heels. He’d been honest with her about his pending divorce, not so honest about his intentions with her. After months of courtship, convincing her to move in with him and promises made and broken, he confessed to her that he never wanted to get married again, never wanted anymore children and that she could accept what he was willing to give her or leave.
She’d been heartbroken, and too much in love to do anything about it but hope. And hope, and hope…
Alice wiped her eyes as she chopped vegetables, it was the onions she told herself, they always made her cry. She checked the bubbling soup pot on the stove and added a little more pepper, but not too much. She had this thing about too much pepper in her soup, it made her sneeze. She tossed dishes into the soapy water in the sink and reached in to wash a few, her fingers brushing against a tiny glass bottle. What was that? She lifted it from the water and wiped away the soap. What were those letters? Alice raised the bottle to her eyes and squinted to read the etched words, “…drink me?...Where did this…?” Suddenly there was a rushing sound in her ears, a loud pulsing and throbbing. She saw an image of herself as a girl holding a very similar bottle and heard her own voice in her head, “What a curious feeling, I must be shutting up like a telescope.” The bottle slipped from her soapy fingers and clattered to the floor. She felt sick, she needed to sit down. She stumbled towards a chair, the pulsing in her ears growing louder and louder. And then the world went black.
“Wake up.” “Wake up Alice dear.”
Alice opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She was still on the kitchen floor, where were the kids? Where was David? How long had she been out? She groaned as she lifted her head, the world swam for just a minute as she blinked and took in her surroundings. She couldn’t have been out for very long. She pushed herself up gently and leaned against the kitchen counter. She was right; it had only been a couple of minutes. She got herself a glass of water and sat down. “That was curious.” she thought to herself. She scanned the floor for the bottle but it was nowhere to be found. Had it just been her imagination? What had made her pass out like that? She touched her head and grimaced at the lump rising in the back. Whatever it was she was going to have one hell of a headache. No time for that now, she had to get dinner finished before David got home. She took a deep breath, brushed herself off and got back to it.
Dinner was a nightmare. Alice flopped back in the bed exhausted as she tried to forget the horrible evening. David got home late; dinner was even later after he spent an hour convincing Gwen to come out of her room. Of course she told him how “unfair” Alice had been to her and of course he took her side, Alice was unreasonable, Alice was hard headed, Alice didn’t appreciate what his children were going through and should be a little more sensitive to their needs. Gwen got what she wanted and spent her short time at the dinner table gloating before leaving to call all her friends. Kenny bolted down his meal and ran back to his video games, leaving David and Alice alone. And what should have been a pleasant meal was laced with insults. The soup was cold and not spicy enough, when she was going to do something about her hair it was getting tacky and then they had their usual argument about Dinah. Alice stroked the graying fur as she rehashed their conversation. David wanted Dinah gone, she was old, she got fur everywhere, all she did was sleep anyway so what good was she? Alice had no idea why he hated her cat so much. She lifted the tired old tabby to her chest and smiled as the deep purr rumbled through her. She’d had Dinah for as long as she could remember. Was she old? Sure. She’d probably lived much longer than your run of the mill average puss. But then, Dinah wasn’t your average cat, she was special. Alice hugged her gently and was nuzzled in return. Dinah was her only connection here, the only thing that made her feel...real. What would she do without her? She drifted off into a troubled sleep, her fingers still tangled in her cat’s silky coat.
She dreamed. Her dream world was filled with color, brilliant rainbow colors, many she didn’t recognize. Shadows flitted past her, a table crowded with teapots; a rose filled garden..was that a big bug...on a mushroom...smoking? She laughed and her laughter turned into tiny butterflies. She twirled around and around trying to take it all in. This place felt so wonderful, so familiar...as if she somehow belonged here. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. A pair of sea green eyes stared deeply into hers. She couldn’t make out his entire face but she caught a lock of auburn hair curling gently across his forehead. He was tall and slender with a cocky air about him. His lips curved into a smile as he looked her over. “You’ve grown...my goodness how you’ve grown.” She felt herself blushing under his gaze. She tried to pull away but he gripped her tighter, his smile fading. “Listen Alice, I only have a few seconds. We’re waiting for you. We NEED you. It’s time for you to wake up. Wake up Alice. Wake up Alice dear.”
She awoke with a gasp, her body trembling. She sat up and looked around, the silence of the room deafening. It was the weekend, David would be off to the country club and the kids were at their mother’s. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her chest tightly. What a dream! The sounds, the colors...they had all seemed so real. She rubbed her shoulder; the heat of his fingers lingered on her skin. Alice smiled to herself as she climbed out of bed, at least she’d have something interesting to talk to her mother about today. As she stood and stretched a small cloth tag fell to the floor. She scooped it up and stared at it trying to understand what it meant. It must be from one of David’s expensive outfits, there weren’t even any washing instructions on it. She turned it over a few times then set it on the dresser. As she toddled off to the shower she thought, “10/6? What a weird name for a clothing line.”
Her day got stranger and stranger still. Before she left for her weekly visit with her mom and sister she decided to do a little pruning in the garden. Plunking on her straw hat and armed with a basket of tools she made her way to the flower beds. She set the tools down in front of the rose patch and bent to work when she noticed something odd. What...? She peered closer; nestled deep inside the white rose bush was a large, red rose. She was mystified, how did it get there? It almost looked like someone had painted it a deep heart red. She reached out to touch it and then noticed the time on her wristwatch. 12:00 already?!? “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” She paused, did she just say that? Alice shook her head, she was losing her mind. She scrambled to her feet and raced into the house to change.
Sitting with her mother and sister was no better. She listened as her mother droned on and on, “Alice why aren’t you married yet?” and “Alice when are you going to give me grandchildren?” and “Alice why can’t you be more like your sister?’. Her sister sipped her tea, nodding gently at her mother’s words. Every once in awhile she would interject in her soft voice, “We only want what’s best for you Alice dear.” The conversation went on and on and on... The room was warm, her mother’s criticizing voice became a soft hum in her mind and she felt herself drifting... Suddenly without warning her mother screamed “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” Alice’s eyes shot up to her mother’s drawn face, “What did you say?!?” She turned to her sister, “What did she say?!?” Her sister leaned in, patted Alice’s hand and whispered, “Twas brilling, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.” and sat back again nodding solemnly. Alice blanched; the china cup in her hand trembled violently. “I have to go.” She stood up quickly. “I have to go. Right now.” She kissed her puzzled mother and sister and tore from the room.
She walked home, enjoying the soft breeze that blew through her blonde hair. “I’ve got to get ahold of myself”, she thought. “I can’t explain it, I’m afraid I’m just not myself.” She stopped. No, no, no, keep walking Alice. She looked through the store windows as she passed, pausing to look at a beautiful red and white chess set in a game store window. She’d always been really good at chess. Alice pressed her face to the window to get a better look, then...did they just move?!? She rubbed her eyes and looked again. There!! The tiny pieces were waving at her!! She clapped her hands to her gaping mouth and turned away. Taking a deep cleansing breath, she shook her head, straightened her blouse and ran. Very fast, to get somewhere else.
Alice ran all the way home. Panting, she stopped at the doorway to compose herself. There was nothing wrong with her; she was just tired that’s all. She was going to go inside, grab a nice, LARGE, glass of currant wine, draw a bubble bath and soak this weirdness away. Feeling better already she opened the door and felt her heart stop. David, Gwen and Kenny were seated at the dining room table, their chairs facing the door. David’s face was solemn, Gwen smacked her gum and Kenny stared off in the distance. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”, Alice took a step forward as David rose from his chair. He smiled sadly, “I’m sorry honey, it was all for the best.” Her heart beat faster, “What? What's all for the best? What are you talking about?” He moved towards her, his hands held in front of him in a placating gesture, “She was old sweetheart. The vet said there was nothing more they could do for her. I had to make a decision quickly.” Dinah. No. David put his hands on her shoulders and tried to pull her to him. Alice shoved him away and sprinted up the stairs. “Dinah!! DINAH!!” She could hear David calling behind her, “It was her time! Don’t you understand?!? She wasn’t going to live forever. Alice! Alice!! YOU HAVE TO STOP BELIEVING IN IMPOSSIBLE THINGS!! ALICE!” She took the last of the stairs two at a time; her heart not believing what her head already knew was true. She burst through the bedroom door calling her friend’s name. “Dinah! Kitty, kitty, kitty! Dinah? Oh Dinah please come out. Please Dinah!” There was her blanket and the bell on a string that was her favorite toy. But no Dinah. Alice threw the blankets from the bed, dug through the closet, ripped the bathroom apart but there was no sign of her friend, her only friend.
Dinah was gone.
Alice collapsed on the bed weeping. Her heart felt like it was going to tear itself from her chest. She cried and cried, rivers of tears that threatened to sweep her away. How could he do that to her? She had dealt with his cruelty and lies; she’d tolerated his neglect and his awful kids. But this? She sat up abruptly. No more. She was done. She wiped the tears from her eyes and reached for the suitcase under the bed.
That was when she noticed the man in the bedroom mirror.
He was smiling at her, a myriad of colors swirling behind him. Alice heard him whisper as if he were standing right next to her, “Are you really? Done, I mean. Are you ready to come back to where you’ve always belonged?” She was confused, “What are you talking about, where I belong?” As she spoke, the colors in the mirror began to take form and as each shape materialized a flood of memories washed over her. Alice as a little girl, a rabbit hole, an amazing adventure that she'd convinced herself was a dream. There they all were! The White Rabbit! The Red Queen! The Mock Turtle! It was all coming back to her. She could smell the smoke from the Caterpillar’s hooka, taste the Queen’s stolen tarts, hear the laughter of an insane tea party. Oh my God, how could she have forgotten? “It happens you know”, whispered the man in the mirror. “When you go back to the “real” world. We’re forgotten; we become happy, childhood dreams, fond memories. That’s what they want you to believe, because if you didn’t..” he gestured around the room, “...well honestly, who would want to come back to this? Who would want to stay in that horrible, stale, boring place when they could be here?” He looked behind him as his world continued to grow in the mirror. Alice watched as blooming flowers began to sing, a living chess set rose from the green and... “Oh! It’s you. It’s really you isn’t it?”, Alice’s eyes filled with tears as her old, grinning friend trotted towards the mirror. “Which way do you want to go Alice?”, he purred. The creatures in the mirror chimed in. “The time has come Alice!” “Run as fast as you can!” “You’ve found the moral!” “Believe in impossible things!” “Remember who you are!”
The man in the mirror held up his hand and there was silence. “Alice, the choice is yours. You can stay in that...place..." He made a face as if he'd swallowed a sour cup of tea. "Or you can come here, with us. Where your dreams are real. Where you are loved. All you have to do is step through the glass.” He reached towards her, his hand coming through the mirror and hovering before her palm up. Alice looked around her. She remembered that world, a world of chaos and nonsense. Of flamingo crochet and races that nobody won. A world where anything she ate or touched could change her size, her form, her path, even her life. She stared at the mirror, into his deep green eyes, is that really what she wanted? Forks in the road that led to nowhere, babies that turned into pigs, madness? Was that really where she belonged? She thought of her life here, thought of everything she’d be giving up.
She slowly reached for his hand...
Alice winced as the car door slammed. Gwen had such a temper, just like her dad’s. She watched anxiously as the sobbing teen ran into the house and, she was sure, upstairs to cry on her father’s shoulder. Alice bit her lip; this was not going to go well she could feel it. She looked in the rearview mirror at 13 year old Kenny who was smirking as he played his 3DS and pretended not to have noticed his sister’s temper tantrum.
She sighed, “Let’s get these groceries in the house, shall we?”
The house was dark which meant David wasn’t home yet. Alice called up the stairs, “Gwen? Gwen if you want to come down we can talk about it? You can help me decide what to make for dinner and we can talk, o.k.?” Silence. Kenny slinked around her as she juggled the bags and the door, “Ken, could you…?” Head down, eyes transfixed on his game, he headed up the stairs without so much as a backwards glance. She sighed again; Alice didn’t know what she expected from David’s kids. They had hated her the moment their father introduced her to them three years ago and it had only gotten worse. Did she really think anything was going to change? She carried what grocery bags she could and dragged the rest behind her as she made her way to the kitchen.
She didn’t notice the metallic silver eyes watching her from the hallway mirror. Or the grin that lingered as the eyes faded away.
Alice thought back over the last three years as she put the groceries away. How could everything have gone so wrong? She had so much promise! She’d just graduated college with a master’s in horticulture and had applied at The Esplanade Association (TEA) in their parks and operations division. She didn’t think she has a snowball’s chance of getting the job, TEA positions were one of the most highly sought after in the country and she was still a wet behind the ears college grad. So she was more than a little surprised when she got the call a week later to come in for an interview. She’d driven to their main building the next morning a nervous wreck, sure that there had been some mistake. After sitting for 20 nail biting minutes in the outer office the door was opened by one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life. Sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes and a smile that could dazzle the panties off of Mother Teresa, David gestured to her, “Miss…(he glanced at the resume in his hands)…Liddle is it? Please, come in.” She practically floated into his office. After a whirlwind interview that she could barely remember, he hired her on the spot and asked her out to dinner with the same breath. She immediately said yes and that had been that. It was love and she was head over heels. He’d been honest with her about his pending divorce, not so honest about his intentions with her. After months of courtship, convincing her to move in with him and promises made and broken, he confessed to her that he never wanted to get married again, never wanted anymore children and that she could accept what he was willing to give her or leave.
She’d been heartbroken, and too much in love to do anything about it but hope. And hope, and hope…
Alice wiped her eyes as she chopped vegetables, it was the onions she told herself, they always made her cry. She checked the bubbling soup pot on the stove and added a little more pepper, but not too much. She had this thing about too much pepper in her soup, it made her sneeze. She tossed dishes into the soapy water in the sink and reached in to wash a few, her fingers brushing against a tiny glass bottle. What was that? She lifted it from the water and wiped away the soap. What were those letters? Alice raised the bottle to her eyes and squinted to read the etched words, “…drink me?...Where did this…?” Suddenly there was a rushing sound in her ears, a loud pulsing and throbbing. She saw an image of herself as a girl holding a very similar bottle and heard her own voice in her head, “What a curious feeling, I must be shutting up like a telescope.” The bottle slipped from her soapy fingers and clattered to the floor. She felt sick, she needed to sit down. She stumbled towards a chair, the pulsing in her ears growing louder and louder. And then the world went black.
“Wake up.” “Wake up Alice dear.”
Alice opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She was still on the kitchen floor, where were the kids? Where was David? How long had she been out? She groaned as she lifted her head, the world swam for just a minute as she blinked and took in her surroundings. She couldn’t have been out for very long. She pushed herself up gently and leaned against the kitchen counter. She was right; it had only been a couple of minutes. She got herself a glass of water and sat down. “That was curious.” she thought to herself. She scanned the floor for the bottle but it was nowhere to be found. Had it just been her imagination? What had made her pass out like that? She touched her head and grimaced at the lump rising in the back. Whatever it was she was going to have one hell of a headache. No time for that now, she had to get dinner finished before David got home. She took a deep breath, brushed herself off and got back to it.
Dinner was a nightmare. Alice flopped back in the bed exhausted as she tried to forget the horrible evening. David got home late; dinner was even later after he spent an hour convincing Gwen to come out of her room. Of course she told him how “unfair” Alice had been to her and of course he took her side, Alice was unreasonable, Alice was hard headed, Alice didn’t appreciate what his children were going through and should be a little more sensitive to their needs. Gwen got what she wanted and spent her short time at the dinner table gloating before leaving to call all her friends. Kenny bolted down his meal and ran back to his video games, leaving David and Alice alone. And what should have been a pleasant meal was laced with insults. The soup was cold and not spicy enough, when she was going to do something about her hair it was getting tacky and then they had their usual argument about Dinah. Alice stroked the graying fur as she rehashed their conversation. David wanted Dinah gone, she was old, she got fur everywhere, all she did was sleep anyway so what good was she? Alice had no idea why he hated her cat so much. She lifted the tired old tabby to her chest and smiled as the deep purr rumbled through her. She’d had Dinah for as long as she could remember. Was she old? Sure. She’d probably lived much longer than your run of the mill average puss. But then, Dinah wasn’t your average cat, she was special. Alice hugged her gently and was nuzzled in return. Dinah was her only connection here, the only thing that made her feel...real. What would she do without her? She drifted off into a troubled sleep, her fingers still tangled in her cat’s silky coat.
She dreamed. Her dream world was filled with color, brilliant rainbow colors, many she didn’t recognize. Shadows flitted past her, a table crowded with teapots; a rose filled garden..was that a big bug...on a mushroom...smoking? She laughed and her laughter turned into tiny butterflies. She twirled around and around trying to take it all in. This place felt so wonderful, so familiar...as if she somehow belonged here. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. A pair of sea green eyes stared deeply into hers. She couldn’t make out his entire face but she caught a lock of auburn hair curling gently across his forehead. He was tall and slender with a cocky air about him. His lips curved into a smile as he looked her over. “You’ve grown...my goodness how you’ve grown.” She felt herself blushing under his gaze. She tried to pull away but he gripped her tighter, his smile fading. “Listen Alice, I only have a few seconds. We’re waiting for you. We NEED you. It’s time for you to wake up. Wake up Alice. Wake up Alice dear.”
She awoke with a gasp, her body trembling. She sat up and looked around, the silence of the room deafening. It was the weekend, David would be off to the country club and the kids were at their mother’s. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her chest tightly. What a dream! The sounds, the colors...they had all seemed so real. She rubbed her shoulder; the heat of his fingers lingered on her skin. Alice smiled to herself as she climbed out of bed, at least she’d have something interesting to talk to her mother about today. As she stood and stretched a small cloth tag fell to the floor. She scooped it up and stared at it trying to understand what it meant. It must be from one of David’s expensive outfits, there weren’t even any washing instructions on it. She turned it over a few times then set it on the dresser. As she toddled off to the shower she thought, “10/6? What a weird name for a clothing line.”
Her day got stranger and stranger still. Before she left for her weekly visit with her mom and sister she decided to do a little pruning in the garden. Plunking on her straw hat and armed with a basket of tools she made her way to the flower beds. She set the tools down in front of the rose patch and bent to work when she noticed something odd. What...? She peered closer; nestled deep inside the white rose bush was a large, red rose. She was mystified, how did it get there? It almost looked like someone had painted it a deep heart red. She reached out to touch it and then noticed the time on her wristwatch. 12:00 already?!? “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” She paused, did she just say that? Alice shook her head, she was losing her mind. She scrambled to her feet and raced into the house to change.
Sitting with her mother and sister was no better. She listened as her mother droned on and on, “Alice why aren’t you married yet?” and “Alice when are you going to give me grandchildren?” and “Alice why can’t you be more like your sister?’. Her sister sipped her tea, nodding gently at her mother’s words. Every once in awhile she would interject in her soft voice, “We only want what’s best for you Alice dear.” The conversation went on and on and on... The room was warm, her mother’s criticizing voice became a soft hum in her mind and she felt herself drifting... Suddenly without warning her mother screamed “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” Alice’s eyes shot up to her mother’s drawn face, “What did you say?!?” She turned to her sister, “What did she say?!?” Her sister leaned in, patted Alice’s hand and whispered, “Twas brilling, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.” and sat back again nodding solemnly. Alice blanched; the china cup in her hand trembled violently. “I have to go.” She stood up quickly. “I have to go. Right now.” She kissed her puzzled mother and sister and tore from the room.
She walked home, enjoying the soft breeze that blew through her blonde hair. “I’ve got to get ahold of myself”, she thought. “I can’t explain it, I’m afraid I’m just not myself.” She stopped. No, no, no, keep walking Alice. She looked through the store windows as she passed, pausing to look at a beautiful red and white chess set in a game store window. She’d always been really good at chess. Alice pressed her face to the window to get a better look, then...did they just move?!? She rubbed her eyes and looked again. There!! The tiny pieces were waving at her!! She clapped her hands to her gaping mouth and turned away. Taking a deep cleansing breath, she shook her head, straightened her blouse and ran. Very fast, to get somewhere else.
Alice ran all the way home. Panting, she stopped at the doorway to compose herself. There was nothing wrong with her; she was just tired that’s all. She was going to go inside, grab a nice, LARGE, glass of currant wine, draw a bubble bath and soak this weirdness away. Feeling better already she opened the door and felt her heart stop. David, Gwen and Kenny were seated at the dining room table, their chairs facing the door. David’s face was solemn, Gwen smacked her gum and Kenny stared off in the distance. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”, Alice took a step forward as David rose from his chair. He smiled sadly, “I’m sorry honey, it was all for the best.” Her heart beat faster, “What? What's all for the best? What are you talking about?” He moved towards her, his hands held in front of him in a placating gesture, “She was old sweetheart. The vet said there was nothing more they could do for her. I had to make a decision quickly.” Dinah. No. David put his hands on her shoulders and tried to pull her to him. Alice shoved him away and sprinted up the stairs. “Dinah!! DINAH!!” She could hear David calling behind her, “It was her time! Don’t you understand?!? She wasn’t going to live forever. Alice! Alice!! YOU HAVE TO STOP BELIEVING IN IMPOSSIBLE THINGS!! ALICE!” She took the last of the stairs two at a time; her heart not believing what her head already knew was true. She burst through the bedroom door calling her friend’s name. “Dinah! Kitty, kitty, kitty! Dinah? Oh Dinah please come out. Please Dinah!” There was her blanket and the bell on a string that was her favorite toy. But no Dinah. Alice threw the blankets from the bed, dug through the closet, ripped the bathroom apart but there was no sign of her friend, her only friend.
Dinah was gone.
Alice collapsed on the bed weeping. Her heart felt like it was going to tear itself from her chest. She cried and cried, rivers of tears that threatened to sweep her away. How could he do that to her? She had dealt with his cruelty and lies; she’d tolerated his neglect and his awful kids. But this? She sat up abruptly. No more. She was done. She wiped the tears from her eyes and reached for the suitcase under the bed.
That was when she noticed the man in the bedroom mirror.
He was smiling at her, a myriad of colors swirling behind him. Alice heard him whisper as if he were standing right next to her, “Are you really? Done, I mean. Are you ready to come back to where you’ve always belonged?” She was confused, “What are you talking about, where I belong?” As she spoke, the colors in the mirror began to take form and as each shape materialized a flood of memories washed over her. Alice as a little girl, a rabbit hole, an amazing adventure that she'd convinced herself was a dream. There they all were! The White Rabbit! The Red Queen! The Mock Turtle! It was all coming back to her. She could smell the smoke from the Caterpillar’s hooka, taste the Queen’s stolen tarts, hear the laughter of an insane tea party. Oh my God, how could she have forgotten? “It happens you know”, whispered the man in the mirror. “When you go back to the “real” world. We’re forgotten; we become happy, childhood dreams, fond memories. That’s what they want you to believe, because if you didn’t..” he gestured around the room, “...well honestly, who would want to come back to this? Who would want to stay in that horrible, stale, boring place when they could be here?” He looked behind him as his world continued to grow in the mirror. Alice watched as blooming flowers began to sing, a living chess set rose from the green and... “Oh! It’s you. It’s really you isn’t it?”, Alice’s eyes filled with tears as her old, grinning friend trotted towards the mirror. “Which way do you want to go Alice?”, he purred. The creatures in the mirror chimed in. “The time has come Alice!” “Run as fast as you can!” “You’ve found the moral!” “Believe in impossible things!” “Remember who you are!”
The man in the mirror held up his hand and there was silence. “Alice, the choice is yours. You can stay in that...place..." He made a face as if he'd swallowed a sour cup of tea. "Or you can come here, with us. Where your dreams are real. Where you are loved. All you have to do is step through the glass.” He reached towards her, his hand coming through the mirror and hovering before her palm up. Alice looked around her. She remembered that world, a world of chaos and nonsense. Of flamingo crochet and races that nobody won. A world where anything she ate or touched could change her size, her form, her path, even her life. She stared at the mirror, into his deep green eyes, is that really what she wanted? Forks in the road that led to nowhere, babies that turned into pigs, madness? Was that really where she belonged? She thought of her life here, thought of everything she’d be giving up.
She slowly reached for his hand...