A short story I wrote for my English Literature class. This is basically a mix between the original book and the game Alice : Madness Returns. Hope you guys will like it.
« Tell me, Liddell, do you like mirrors ? » the cat said.
« Of course. Who doesn't ? » Alice replied.
« Why do you think people like mirrors ? »
« Because people like themselves. » Alice said.
« And what about those who do not like themselves ? Those who hate themselves. Do they like mirrors too ? »
« Maybe not, but however, they can't help looking at them, because they hope that this will change. »
« But you, why do you like mirrors ? »The cat asked.
He had insisted on the « you ».
« Because I like myself. »
« And what do you see, when you look in the mirror ? »
« The truth. »
« Yes Liddell, you see the truth. »
Just after saying this, the cat disappeared, leaving Alice all alone, in the middle of nowhere.
« What a strange dream. » she thought.
Alice began walking between the trees and the chimneys and the mountains and the cups of tea.
She felt like she had been there before, like she knew the place.
She walked for seventy-seven minutes and sixty-three seconds, before reaching a small and lovely house.
She recognized it immediatly, it was the house she had dreamt of a million times before.
She put her hand in a pocket of her white and blue dress and took the key of the house.
She opened the door and entered. Who could blame her ? It was her house, coming from her dreams, after all.
The inside was exactly like she remembered it. Coloured, warm, welcoming. She felt home, she felt safe.
In the living-room, on a chair, there was a dress, with a little piece of paper stuck on it. It said : « Wear me. »
Alice took the dress in her hands, and the second after, she was wearing it. It was a black and white dress, really beautiful and elegant.
She then climbed the stairs and got in the bedroom. There, stood a mirror. On the top of the mirror, there was a small notice saying « Look at me. »
She obeyed.
And in the mirror, of course, she saw herself. A perfect doppelgänger of herself, smiling at her.
« You were right to put that dress on. » the doppelgänger said. « It suits you perfectly. »
« Thank you. It suits you too. »
Then, there was a silence. And Alice finally asked :
« I was wondering, do you know the name of the Cheshire Cat ? I mean, Cheshire is a nickname. What's his real name ? »
The doppelgänger smiled even more and replied :
« The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have three different names. »
The doppelgänger then marked a pause, and spoke :
« What are you doing here, Liddell ? »
« I wish you could tell me. »
« True, I can tell you. »
The doppelgänger bent and took a knife in her hand. No, it wasn't a knife. It was a blade. The Vorpal Blade.
« This is why you're here. »
« But I'm not here to fight » Alice replied.
« Are you sure of that, Liddell ? » the doppelgänger asked.
The Vorpal Blade was now in Alice's hand.
« Remember Liddell, what do you see in the mirror ? »
« The truth. »
Poem : The Naming of Cats by T.S. Eliot.