The Rabbit Hole

The smell of laundry detergent and the aroma of dirty and fresh clothes was not the smell I savor the most, I would rather be in the musty old library down on Thatcher Street instead of being stuck in the Laundromat. Well, I had to be stuck in aisles of washing and dryer machines instead aisles of bookshelves with their shelves full of great books since it was laundry day and I really needed to get my clothes washed. The dryer that I was sitting on was happily tumbling up my clothes while I miserably read one of my favorite books, Alice In Wonderland. I was never without a book and my friends were shocked when I didn't carry a book around with me and the librarians were shocked when I didn't check out any books because I was checking out books often. I haven't been to the library or carried a book with me for a while was I had a job at Baum's Bookstore where the shelves were filled with musty leather bound titles ranging from old classics to new stories. I helped Baum restock the bookshelves and that was about it so I could just lounge around his store and read. I go there every day to help out. The shaking dryer halted to a stop and so did Alice after her fall down the rabbit hole. I set the book down and I opened up the door to take out the warm clothes. Finally done with the laundry I picked up the basket of clean clothes, it was then that I noticed I had my hands full and Alice was sitting on the dryer waiting to be picked up. I attempted to pick up the book in my mouth but it was a failed attempt until a little girl came by in a blue dress with an apron and picked up the book to put it in my mouth. I gave the little girl muffled thanks and headed out the door. I spat out the book onto the pile of clothes, not wanting to destroy the book's beauty with my saliva. Sighing I looked back into the Laundromat knowing that I wouldn't come back here for two weeks. Moving a little faster than I do everyday when I am reading I quickly headed next door and into the apartment buildings to get into my apartment. Once I got inside I set the basket along with the book on top down on the couch then headed out once more to my wonderful job. Baum greeted me with a hello and nothing more, not a how are you or how was your day. Even though he and I didn't talk much I knew he appreciated the help.

Baum needn't to tell me what to do since I've been only working there for a week and got the idea of how things worked around here in a day. I went to the back of the store where Baum's office was located. I grabbed a box of leather bound books and I walked into the main room. I set the box on one of the tables and savored the smell of the old worn books to set them away. No matter how slow or fast I worked Baum didn't care as long as I got the job done. Today I felt like working slowly, like usual, so I grabbed one book and looked at the title. Moby Dick. So I went to the aisle with the M's in it and found its rightful home on the shelf in-between two books. The next book was The Wizard Of Oz. I found its home and then got back to work. It took me about three or four hours to get two boxes unloaded. The last book I unloaded was Alice In Wonderland, I didn't shelf it but I lounged myself in one of the comfy big leather chairs and began to start to read it over again. Silently I read to myself like I always did. Baum came into the room and clicked on a lamp nearby for me.

"It's almost closing time Ayden," Baum somewhat whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping volumes of books.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily. I yawned and stretched on the chair which made Alice fall and close on the floor as it hit.

"It's eight. You've been reading Alice I see? Great book. You must have been reading that thing over and over again because I had customers come in and you weren't there to help. I did want to disturb you but I know how you get when you read."

I was hurt, "don't call the book a thing. You know better than that Baum." He and I laughed because it was a joke we had. Teenagers called the books 'things' and it annoyed me sometimes. I picked up the book and stood up and said, "Is that ok if I take this one home?"

"Don't you have that book?"

"Yea. But I love the smell of old books; it's just one of those things."

"Take it for as long as you like."

"I'll give it back to you next week. Well, I should be going now Baum. Bye."

I exited the store missing the smell of the worn books; I forced myself to get on home. The streetlamps were just turning on and casting a small pool of yellow muddled light on the ground, casting my shadow long as I walked underneath them. As I passed a small empty alley I heard a crash as a trash can fell over. I slunk into the shadows to see what was happening. A small white rabbit hopped out from behind the fallen trash can and I let out a sigh of relief. I walked into the alley and picked up the white rabbit. It squirmed in my arms.

"Looks like you're more afraid of me than I was afraid of you," I said to it quietly. Here I was talking to a rabbit in my arms like it was a baby. Wow. I was sort of scaring myself. It must have been all the volumes of books from Baum's store. The white ball of fur didn't look like he had a home so I decided to take him home with me and turn him into a pet store in the morning. As I got into my apartment I looked for a box to put the rabbit in. I found one but had to empty the books out of it, when that was done I put a blanket in then set the rabbit down inside. I found a place on the floor for the rabbit's makeshift home was to be until the morning, I set Alice In Wonderland on the table above the box. I set a piece of lettuce and a bowl of water in the box with the rabbit. I patted its white head before setting off for my room. I threaded my way through the piles and piles of books all over my apartment to get to my bedroom to get catch forty winks. I dressed for bed and slowly slid underneath the warm covers and laid my head down for rest. A noise awoke me in the middle of the night, I was worried that a thief was in my apartment to steal my books so I slowly slid out of bed and slid into the living room. I slowly made my way in the darkness, avoiding the piles and piles of books, to the dining room where I saw a weird sight. The white rabbit had grown to human height and was fingering the leather bound Alice In Wonderland book, I heard him say something like "I must get to Wonderland. I would have gone down the rabbit hole but that man had to pick me up and bring me home." I decided to get dressed just in case the rabbit decided to try to get to this Wonderland he spoke about, it made me wonder if he was from Alice In Wonderland and that Wonderland was a real place. I entered the living room and saw the White Rabbit had opened the book and was reading some of the pages.

"What the hell?" I said to interrupt the rabbit.

The rabbit jumped and dropped the book into the box it was in its cute rabbit form. He jumped over a pile of books but bumped into the coffee table which made some books fall off and then he tripped over a stack of books, toppling them to the floor. The rabbit made his way to the door without knocking anything else over and he threw the door open and fled down the stairs. I quickly followed, but very quickly and quietly to not wake up the other residents. Out into the street I went to follow the white rabbit, he was ahead of me but I could catch up and keep in tune with him. The rabbit turned down into the alley that I found him in. As I turned the corner into the alley the White Rabbit was gone. I walked down the alley and listened for the rabbit but he was nowhere. The only thing in the alley was a door standing in the middle. I knelt down and brought my eye to the keyhole and saw that white rabbit running down a checkered hall with many doors on either side.

"Oh my fur and whiskers! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late," the voice of the White Rabbit said as he ran down and checked his waistcoat pocket.

I tried the doorknob and the door swung open on unseen hinges to let me forth into the hall. The door shut behind me and the lock clicked shut. I heard somebody laugh behind the door. "Welcome back to Wonderland Alice. We've been waiting," the voice said. It must have confused me with the girl who came down the Rabbit Hole before. I turned and started down the hall gazing at the doors. They were all the same, none larger than the other. All the doors were locked. Each time I tried a door something giggled behind it, mockingly. I tried the door at the end of the hallway and it opened for me. Behind its wooden oak there was nothing but the cold hand of darkness. A trickling sound broke the still silence and I backed away from the slowly moving water. It wasn't enough because all the other doors opened and were trickling in water to flood the hall. I slipped and fell down to the floor where the tiles turned into playing cards just as I struck the floor. Down I fell with the cards floating beside me. I started to fall with my feet pointing downward and I noticed the cards had all disappeared into thin air. It was too dark below and too dark above to see where I was going. I looked around me and saw bookcases, pictures, maps, and mirrors and what not as I went down and down. To the left of me was a bookcase so I picked out a book and opened it to the first page:

Jabberwocky

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

I tried to slip the book back into an empty bookcase so it could slumber on but I missed and craned my head to watch as it slipped into the slot by itself. I landed in something after staring at the book and I noticed I was sitting on a rocking horse suspended in mid-air. Softly the rocking horse rocked me like a babe in a mother's arms as she sings a lullaby, that is how I felt but the soft caressing lullaby was only in my memory. The lullaby in my memory grew from a soft whisper and began to be fed notes upon notes until it grew into a fortissimo orchestra. As the lullaby grew louder the rocking of the horse became violent. As the orchestra became full the horse rocked back and forth rapidly, threatening to send me hurtling down. I thought I heard the rocking horse come to life and neigh as it started to run and trample about in mid-air. Mirrors cracked and re-paired themselves, books were flung off their shelves but they flapped back in place, maps were torn but they sewn themselves back up as the horse rampaged about the Rabbit Hole. Suddenly without warning the rocking horse reared back sending me downward head over heels down below to the light of torches.