THE STORY THAT ENDS THIS JOURNAL (?)
BEGINNINGS END WHERE ENDS BEGIN.
She watched the blood flow outwardly from her former comrade's body, like living scarlet ribbons unwinding themselves from a gift-wrapped package. Well, he was, once upon a time, truly a gift.
Once upon a time...
And once upon a time, the Cheshire cat was a guide and a friend.
THAT was the beginning of the fairy tale.
"I'm sorry I brought you here," spluttered the orange and black feline through the blood escaping his lips.
"I'm not," Alice said as she wiped her blade on her pristine apron. "Besides, it's not you who brought me here. I decided to come here. It's the Voice of Wonderland that beckoned, not yours."
A hissing cackle escaped from the dying cat's mouth. "Yes, how stupid of me. I am only an agent of the Voice of Wonderland. A mere puppet."
It was Alice's turn to hiss: "Call yourself what you want. But all of us are agents of the Voice. If you feel that your calling is some sort of divine slavery then that is your loss."
Human eyes connect with the feline's. The former, calm and steadfast. The latter, slitted and steely. Long, tension-filled silence. The kind of silence that accompanies the arrival of death. And farewells.
"One question before you go woman!" wheezed the cat. "Why did you not leave Wonderland when I asked you? You could have been spared from this. ALL of this!"
Silence and the sound of a knife being sheathed.
"I realized that wherever I go, Wonderland will always be with me. Running away is futile. Besides, I was hoping that I can still rescue those that were left within it."
Mirthless feline laughter suddenly stops Alice from continuing. "And now that you find that there is none left to rescue for I have been taken?"
"Then it will be YOU who will leave Wonderland. There are others who need my help more than you. Besides, wasn't leaving this place what you really wanted from the beginning? Then, it shall be given to you."
"So go ahead then girlie! Do it! Kill me now! Isn't that what you were supposed to do in the first place? Go ahead and cut off my head!"
Alice sighs deeply and shakes her head at the feline's snarling rant. A small smile pulls at her lips even as her eyes remained expressionless. "That wasn't the real reason why I was brought here Cheshire. If, until now, you don't know why, then I will allow you to live for a season to find out for yourself. I will not offer respite for you, in death or in life. That is not for me to give. It never was, no matter how you view it."
At this the woman/girl turns around and walks away with decisive but graceful steps, but not before she had stamped the dust off her feet adjacent to where the Cheshire's head lay. The howling yowls of anger and frustration continued to echo within the forest even when she was beyond earshot. Even when she was but a dot in the distance. Even when she was already within the butterfly's castle. Her life's a new book that has already begun even before she was aware of what has ended.
And now she realizes that she is free from that chapter of her life. She always had been for this battle was won even before it started.
It is finished.
A new beginning dawns as soft wings encircle her.
And welcomes her home to wonderland.
-------------------
I am still deciding if this will indeed be my last post for this journal. As of now, it seems a wise decision because of the many tasks that are set before me in reviving the wonderland I know and yet to fathom. This story was actually written October last year to announce the finality of my decision regarding the many people that decide to deride me and even destroy me in their own ways. Whatever their reasons are for doing so is no longer my concern. They had their chance to speak to me and tell me their issues to my face but they never intended to do that. Too bad. Now it is inconsequential for I no longer trust them. Whatever they will do now will no longer be viewed as sincere by me or my colleagues. It will take a long time and a lot of proof for us to believe them again.
So maybe, I might change my mind about this journal. Only time will tell. The same holds true with the aforementioned subject above. Maybe, just maybe. But I no longer expect it.
No, journal. I will still post on you. But it will happen after a very long time. Fare thee well.
She watched the blood flow outwardly from her former comrade's body, like living scarlet ribbons unwinding themselves from a gift-wrapped package. Well, he was, once upon a time, truly a gift.
Once upon a time...
And once upon a time, the Cheshire cat was a guide and a friend.
THAT was the beginning of the fairy tale.
"I'm sorry I brought you here," spluttered the orange and black feline through the blood escaping his lips.
"I'm not," Alice said as she wiped her blade on her pristine apron. "Besides, it's not you who brought me here. I decided to come here. It's the Voice of Wonderland that beckoned, not yours."
A hissing cackle escaped from the dying cat's mouth. "Yes, how stupid of me. I am only an agent of the Voice of Wonderland. A mere puppet."
It was Alice's turn to hiss: "Call yourself what you want. But all of us are agents of the Voice. If you feel that your calling is some sort of divine slavery then that is your loss."
Human eyes connect with the feline's. The former, calm and steadfast. The latter, slitted and steely. Long, tension-filled silence. The kind of silence that accompanies the arrival of death. And farewells.
"One question before you go woman!" wheezed the cat. "Why did you not leave Wonderland when I asked you? You could have been spared from this. ALL of this!"
Silence and the sound of a knife being sheathed.
"I realized that wherever I go, Wonderland will always be with me. Running away is futile. Besides, I was hoping that I can still rescue those that were left within it."
Mirthless feline laughter suddenly stops Alice from continuing. "And now that you find that there is none left to rescue for I have been taken?"
"Then it will be YOU who will leave Wonderland. There are others who need my help more than you. Besides, wasn't leaving this place what you really wanted from the beginning? Then, it shall be given to you."
"So go ahead then girlie! Do it! Kill me now! Isn't that what you were supposed to do in the first place? Go ahead and cut off my head!"
Alice sighs deeply and shakes her head at the feline's snarling rant. A small smile pulls at her lips even as her eyes remained expressionless. "That wasn't the real reason why I was brought here Cheshire. If, until now, you don't know why, then I will allow you to live for a season to find out for yourself. I will not offer respite for you, in death or in life. That is not for me to give. It never was, no matter how you view it."
At this the woman/girl turns around and walks away with decisive but graceful steps, but not before she had stamped the dust off her feet adjacent to where the Cheshire's head lay. The howling yowls of anger and frustration continued to echo within the forest even when she was beyond earshot. Even when she was but a dot in the distance. Even when she was already within the butterfly's castle. Her life's a new book that has already begun even before she was aware of what has ended.
And now she realizes that she is free from that chapter of her life. She always had been for this battle was won even before it started.
It is finished.
A new beginning dawns as soft wings encircle her.
And welcomes her home to wonderland.
-------------------
I am still deciding if this will indeed be my last post for this journal. As of now, it seems a wise decision because of the many tasks that are set before me in reviving the wonderland I know and yet to fathom. This story was actually written October last year to announce the finality of my decision regarding the many people that decide to deride me and even destroy me in their own ways. Whatever their reasons are for doing so is no longer my concern. They had their chance to speak to me and tell me their issues to my face but they never intended to do that. Too bad. Now it is inconsequential for I no longer trust them. Whatever they will do now will no longer be viewed as sincere by me or my colleagues. It will take a long time and a lot of proof for us to believe them again.
So maybe, I might change my mind about this journal. Only time will tell. The same holds true with the aforementioned subject above. Maybe, just maybe. But I no longer expect it.
No, journal. I will still post on you. But it will happen after a very long time. Fare thee well.