It was a sunny day, Alice noted simply. Sunny, and boring. Her sister was just sitting and reading in the garden while Alice did nothing. She had already read the book he sister was reading a billion times, and as much as she loved the book, today didn't seem like a day to read.
"Sis," Alice said, picking at a blade of grass. "Why don't we play a game together? Why do we just sit here and read?"
"Alice dear, if you are bored, perhaps you should play by yourself? I am quite intrigued with this book."
"But sis, I already know how it ends… the girl wakes and…"
"Ah, Alice! The purpose of the ending not being first in the book, is so that the reader can read to the end." She smiled sympathetically at Alice. "You haven't explored in a while, and I'm sure if you are bored you will find more than enough entertainment from it." Alice sighed as her sister looked back to her book. Exploring the garden seemed hardly entertaining.
Alice already knew everything in the garden. There was the center, where she and her sister were. This was where the roses grew on bushes so high that no one could look over them. Then, there was a small path in the back that lead to an old well, where daisies and such grew. In the well was nothing but water, and many coins that Alice had thrown in there as a child. And finally there was a tree, a big strong oak tree upon which Alice and her sister had spent many days reading under. On the tree was also a small swing, set up by Alice's father when he wasn't too busy with work. The rose bushes always made it hard to get to the tree, for they were much like a maze. Alice however knew the route, after many travels through it.
Alice sighed again, and focused her attention on the bush nearest her. The roses were quite beautiful in full bloom, but this wasn't new to Alice. In fact, it was just as boring to her as the grass.
"Sister… perhaps we could just play a quick game… I am ever so bored…"
"Later perhaps Alice, but I am busy." Her sister put the book down and glanced around the garden. "Why don't you play with Dinah?" She said simply, as the small black cat wandered lazily into the garden.
Alice looked up from the grass to Dinah. The cat was chasing a butterfly now, and Alice thought this strange. How could Dinah have such fun with something so… trivial?
"I shall play with Dinah then." Alice said, standing slowing and brushing herself off. She walked over to the cat and picked him up. "Come along Dinah. If sister insists upon reading, then we shall play together at the old oak tree. You shall teach me to climb today, is that clear Dinah?" She asked the cat, not really expecting a replay. She headed to the well, stopping only for a second to make a wish and toss in a coin. Dinah purred softly as Alice patted his head and continued through the rose bush maze. A sudden flash of white caught Alice's attention, as well as Dinah's. The cat leapt from Alice's arms, and started after the white thing.
"Dinah! Wait! You are to teach me to climb the tree, not to chase… rabbits?" She squinted hard at the white blur that now sat at the bend, as if waiting for her. Dinah was sitting there too, not chasing the white rabbit, but simply staring at her. "Dinah, come back here. I made it clear that I wished to climb." She sighed a little. "But if you wish to follow this… rabbit. Then I guess we shall."
Alice reached the two creatures waiting for her, and the three continued on their way. The white rabbit lead them through the rose maze, stopping only to check on Alice. Dinah seemed intent upon following the rabbit, so Alice did not argue. The sun was rising high in the sky, and Alice began to grow tired. She brushed a strand of her straight blonde hair out of her face and closed her sky blue eyes in a large yawn.
"Dinah, I don't know about you, but I am tired of following this rabbit. As bored as I was, I did not wish to go for a walk around and around the garden. I can do that any day. I wished to learn to climb. And now that I am tired, I fear we will not have time for such things." She sighed yet again as Dinah continued, without a second glance towards Alice.
After what seemed like forever to Alice, the rabbit stopped at a large hole in the ground. It looked to Dinah, then to Alice. It pulled a pocket watch out of what looked to Alice like a small vest, or waistcoat.
"Oh my my! We are indeed late! If you wouldn't mind my dear Alice, we must hurry!"
Alice, not believing her eyes or ears, just stared.
"Alice, please! We cannot dally here much longer! Your garden is ever so big, it took longer than I thought. So if you wouldn't mind…" He gestured to the hole.
"You want me…" Alice said slowly. "To go down that… that hole…?" She stared at the rabbit, a quizzical look in her eyes. "Why? What's down there?"
"Why Alice!" the rabbit said. "Everything you could ever wish for is down there! There is adventure, excitement, entertainment! Everyone will love you Alice! Why, down there… down there is where you belong!"
"I belong… in a rabbit hole?" Alice wasn't sure exactly what the rabbit meant. "Everyone will love me? What is all that supposed to mean?"
The rabbit looked down at its watch, made a small gasping noise then gestured to the hole once more.
"What do you think Dinah?" Alice asked. The cat just looked at her, and followed the rabbit as it leapt down the large hole. "Well… I guess there isn't much left to do but to follow…" Alice took a deep breath, and jumped into the hole.
The ground flew past as Alice plummeted down. But it wasn't just dirt that she was falling past, but clocks, cupboards, chairs, all manner of things.
"Dinah!" Alice called out as she continued falling. "Dinah! I am not comfortable falling at such a rate! And… it is rather lonely! Where are you?" Alice wrapped her arms around herself, and clenched her eyes shut tight.
"Don't be afraid Alice," a voice said softly in her ear. "The tunnel isn't that long, and I'm here for you." Alice opened one of her eyes to see a guy next to her. He had black hair, emerald green eyes, and… cat ears?
"D-Dinah?" Alice stammered, unwrapping her arms from around herself and rubbing her eyes. "Is that… you?" She couldn't believe that it was, yet… it looked like Dinah. If Dinah was a human. And he had cat ears, and even a tail!
"Yeah! It's me Alice, so you don't need to worry anymore!" As he talked, Alice saw his small fangs. It was intriguing to her, just as much as his ears and his tail. She reached out slowly, and touched one of his black ears. She rubbed it a little, as she did when he was in cat form. They were soft and warm. Alice continued to rub them, completely lost in thought, she even forgot that they were still falling down what seemed like a bottomless pit.
"Dinah… What in the world is going on?" Alice snapped her gaze back to his, anger flashing in both her eyes, and voice. Dinah flattened his ears guiltily, and dropped her gaze.
"Well… Alice… you said… you were bored. So I decided to follow that white rabbit fellow. I figured he would take us somewhere new, where you could have fun exploring, or perhaps… find someone to play with you. As even I could see… your sister was too interested in reading her book to play with you."
"Ah sister…" Alice drifted off into thought, as they continued to fall. "I wonder if she has noticed my absence at afternoon tea… then again, her boyfriend always shows up for afternoon tea as well as dinner…" Alice sighed dreamily. "To have a boyfriend… I wonder what it is like… I am 16 but… I have yet to meet a nice young man… Dinah, do you think that sister will be upset with me for not showing up? Or do you think Master Will is going to think less of me for skipping… will he think I skipped? Oh dear Dinah! We must hurry back! I do not want Master Will to think any less of me! But of course… he is sister's boyfriend, and not mine… Dinah, I am just so confused…" Dinah yawned loudly.
"Alice, do not worry what that… Will, thinks of you. Does it matter? He is naught but a boring adult in a boring world of… adult things." Dinah scrunched his nose, as if having smelled something awful.
"But Dinah, he is a kind man… and… I am going to let you in on a little secret… often times… I wish I were in my sister's shoes. Ada is so beautiful… and I… I am so plain. Now look at where I am! Plummeting through a hole in the ground, following some silly rabbit. If I told Ada this story, she would surely think me crazy!" Alice's eyes began to fill with tears, and she quickly put her head in her hands. "Dinah, I want so much to be her. She has beautiful curling blonde hair, her eyes are that of the ocean and the sky. She has the grace of any lady, and elegance of any queen. Why could I not be her? I have no elegance, no grace, no… beauty of any kind. Oh Dinah… I wish… oh how I wish…"
Alice couldn't finish her sentence, they had reached the end of the tunnel. Alice and Dinah dropped out onto a pile of pillows, to the tapping foot of the white rabbit. Only… he wasn't a rabbit anymore. He, like Dinah, had changed back into human form. He was now wearing a vest and coat, with neatly pressed grey dress pants, along with fancy shoes which he was tapping vigorously upon the dirt floor. On his head were the biggest bunny ears Alice had ever seen.
"Alice, if you please, we must hurry. I hate to be the one to rush you, but there is so much to still be done! And we are in fact late." He said, as he pulled out his gold pocket watch. "If you must take your time, at least get to the castle by dinner. The queen will be waiting!" The rabbit-man glanced at Dinah quickly. "I trust you know the way Dinah. Do not keep her waiting." Glancing back at Alice, he dipped his head slightly, and was off.
Alice stood a moment. Not sure of what the white rabbit had meant, and still thinking about how wonderful it would be to have ears like the Rabbit's.
"Dinah… Never mind. Dinah, may we explore?" Alice asked, after a few minutes of thought.
"Of course Alice! You won't be bored here, I promise!" Dinah seemed happy at Alice's request. "You have explored that garden so many times! Maybe you should thank your sister for being boring! I mean… this is the prefect place to get rid of your boredom!"
"Have you been here before Dinah?" Alice asked him, a quizzical look in her eyes. "Speaking of here… where is here?" Alice began to look around. She wasn't sure where they were anymore. They weren't falling through the strange tunnel anymore, and since that point she hadn't really looked around. She could now tell that they were in a room of sorts. There was a table in the center, with a chair. The walls were made mostly of doors, big doors, tall doors, skinny doors. But there was one in particular that Alice was drawn to. It was a tiny door, about the size of a doggy door.
"Well Alice, I don't really know how to describe where we are. I mean… I didn't explore when I was here a while ago… anyways… its sort of like… a… I don't know… I thought maybe you would remember… you've had dreams about it, remember?"
"A dream!" Alice blurted. "Of course! Such a simple explanation! I should have thought of it first. I mean… I'm still lying by sister. I've just fallen asleep, and this is all a dream. Right Dinah? Of course… if this is a dream… I don't wish to wake up yet."
"Alice, I'm not sure if you could consider this one dream… but, I suppose it is a sort of a dream. I mean… it is your dream world. It's the world you've always wanted! With a few twists and turns… or perhaps it's just that you don't know it is the world that you've always wanted… or… I… Gee Alice, I don't know." Dinah scratched his head, then flattened out his plain black shirt and dusting off his pants. "All I know, is that you want to be kind of careful in this world… but, that's what I'm here for! I'm going to make sure you stay safe. If anything ever happened to you Alice… I don't know what I'd do." Dinah gave her a small, sad smile.
"Don't worry Dinah, I shall be as careful as I can. And don't let anything happen to you either! You are… my best friend. My only friend, besides sister." Alice could still see sadness in Dinah's eyes. She reached over and hugged him, hesitating only a moment. "When we get home Dinah, I shall make you the best tuna casserole!"
"That sounds fantastic Alice!" Dinah hugged her back, smiling warmly. "But before we think about getting home… perhaps we should think of how to fit you through that little door, eh?"
Alice pulled away from Dinah to examine the door. She got down on her hands and knees, to examine it. She looked into the little key lock, out to the other side of the door.
"Oh Dinah! It is so beautiful out there! It seems to be a garden of some sort! Of course… this door is far to small for me to fit through… and where on earth is the key to such a door?" Dinah gave a small cough, and Alice turned around to see him holding the small gold key. "Ah, Dinah. Without you, I would be ever so lost!" Alice smiled, and took the key from him. Bending down, she fit the key into the lock, and opened the small door.
"Where does it go? A garden?" Dinah asked, trying to peep over Alice's shoulder. "What kind of garden? Your home one?"
"No… not like the home one really. This one seems… I'm not sure. I can't really come up with the words for it." Alice stood up and sighed. "It doesn't matter either way. I cannot fit through that tiny door."
"Perhaps we should try another door?" Dinah suggested, looking at one of the large doors.
"That sounds like a good idea, perhaps we should try one that is more… normal? I've had quite enough with these strange things…"Alice said, looking around the room for a 'normal' door. "Ah! This one looks good." She walked over to a door that looked just like any other door, other than the bright pink color.
"Looks… good…" Dinah said, grimacing a little at the color. "Be careful though! Like I said." Alice nodded, then turned the knob.
The door opened into a small living area, equipped with a fireplace, table, chairs, and a window. There was another door opposite, Alice noted, as she stepped into the room.
"I'm going to go check out the rest of this… house?" Dinah said questioningly. "Yeah, house probably. Smells like the White Rabbit's house… stay here Alice, I will be right back!" Dinah quickly walked across the room, and out the door.
"What a strange place this is…" Alice said to herself. "It seems like a nice little house none the less… oh, what's this?" Alice stopped walking around the room, and stopped at the table. There was a small phial on the table now, that hadn't been there a moment ago, or had it? She wasn't sure. "Where did this phial come from…" Alice wondered. She picked up the phial, and noticed the small label which read: Drink me! Alice looked around once more, trying to find where the little thing might have come from. She shrugged, uncorked the bottle, and took a small sip from it. "It tastes a bit odd…" Suddenly, Alice began to grow. At first it was very subtle, she herself didn't notice it, but then the growth was so extreme that no one would ever have been able to ignore it. The room shrunk before her, and soon she had no room to even move.
"Dinah, I have a slight problem!" Alice called out. There was no answer, and yet Alice was continuing to grow. She stuck her foot out the window, hoping to make more room for herself. "Oh how I wish I would stop growing this instant!" Alice pleaded to herself. As if on cue, Alice's growth stopped. "Thank goodness! Any more growth and I surely would have hurt myself. Now where on earth is Dinah?" Alice tried to look around, but couldn't. She was far too large for the little room, and her leg was getting tired from being out the window. She sighed to herself a little. "This is your own fault Alice, drinking things that ought not to be drunk! Just because the label says to, I should not."
"Alice? Alice! Are you ok?" Dinah began to pound on the door and attempted to open it. But of course, Alice's knee was blocking it. "Alice, open up! This isn't a game! Come on!"
"Dinah! I can't help it! I've grown far too large for this tiny house. My knee is blocking the door, and my leg is out the window! I fear I may never be able to get out of this room!" Alice could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"Don't cry Alice!" Dinah pressed his ear up to the door, knowing that Alice was going to cry. "Just… maybe… wait there! I will go get help!"
"No! It's fine Dinah! I will try to get out. Perhaps I can fit through the window." Alice tried to wipe her tears away, but couldn't move either of her arms around to her face. Then she realized that she wouldn't be able to get out the window. "Oh dear Dinah! If I cannot move around, then how am I to try to get out the window?" Alice looked towards the door, wondering if she could get out that way. Then she saw something that looked like a small cake. The cake had a familiar tag on it that read: Eat Me. Alice moved her arm just enough so she could grab the cake and move it to her mouth. "There is no way I could possibly get any larger! Hopefully, this will make me smaller though!" Alice took a bite, and instantly began to shrink.
"Alice!" Dinah shouted as he launched into the room. "You shrunk? Good! Wait… how? And… how did you grow? Doesn't matter! I'm just glad you're back to normal!"
"Dinah!" Alice shouted, launching herself into Dinah. Tears were running down her face. "What is going on here? I grew ten feet! Or more! And now I've shrunk simply by eating a cake! Dinah! I am not sure I can take too much more of this… whatever it is world that we are in…"
"Don't cry Alice… Look! I got the key!" Dinah held up a small silver key with a triumphant smile. "We can go through that little door you wanted. Though… I do think that leads to the Red Queen's garden…" Alice smiled a little, and pulled away from him. He walked to the door that lead back to the room, and pulled it open.
"Dinah… where is the room?" Alice asked. She and Dinah were staring at a blank wall, as if there was only a door frame resting against it.
"I'm not sure Alice… I'm not sure…"