It's said that there's a mysterious place that only few are allowed in. Were dreams and reality become blurred. Where fact, becomes fantasy, in the blink of an eye. In this place, there is a magnificent garden that is the entryway to this, wonderland, but the harsh fact is, few who have seen it once, get to see it again.
Alex was sitting in a lawn chair, trying to think of what to do next. The neighbor twins had just left, and he was beat from chasing them around in an eternal game of tag. He closed his reflecting blue eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Running his fingers through his light brown hair, he relaxed for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes, at the foot of the lawn chair sat a small, white, wolf. Alex didn't dare move. This wolf looked up to him and seemed to smirk, knowingly. With a small hop, a quirky skip, and a bounding jump, the wolf trotted off. Alex was extremely confused. He had never seen a wolf before, and why one would suddenly appear in his city centered back yard; with the color of coat it had no less, was a mystery in itself. After the wolf was a fair enough distance for Alex to follow, he stood and creeped after it, to find where it was going, and where it may have come from. They traveled for a short distance to the shed in an elderly couple's yard down the street, and this wolf walked right in, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Entranced, Alex followed and watched as the last tip of white disappeared behind a sack of grass seed. Walking over, Alex moved the bag aside, and there was a hole slightly larger than him broken in the ground. Alex got down on hands and knees and leaned in to peer over the edge. It looked deep to say the least. Alex was determined to get answers, but he didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing either. Alex took one final peek over the edge and leaned a bit more than last time; a sickening crack escaped the wood beneath him, and before it could register that he was in danger Alex was encased in darkness awaiting the hard ground that would end the fall and his life.
But it never came.
"Join us. Join us. Join us, please. Join us. Join us. We'll be waiting…" Alex blinked a few times and lifting an arm and, testing that he still had movement capabilities, sighed when all his fingers moved.
Sitting up, it was unlike anything he had ever seen. Nothing. You couldn't tell the floor from the ceiling and you didn't know which one you were sitting on. Looking around, the only furniture that adorned the room was a glass table. Only a small key sat on it, and picking it up Alex examined it carefully.
"Why does this all seem so familiar?" His voice bounced off the walls and resonated back to only his ears.
Walking around, Alex found nothing of any help. Twirling the key in his fingers, he examined it especially closely. It was ornate, but made simply of some silver metal. Alex brushed over the keys carved top, and found many things of interest; a teacup, a book, glasses, a bow, a mockingbird, a lily, a music note, and a small girl. All of the designs were invisible from a distance, but completely obvious at a closer glance. Alex sighed and looked around again. In what he assumed to be a corner, there was a small box. It was white and blended in with the walls. He must have overlooked it earlier. Walking over, he knelt in front of it and tried the key. It turned with ease, and the lid flipped open almost immediately. Inside was a small glass bottle and tied to it, was a slip of paper.
'drink me. But only a taste.'
Alex wasn't so sure, and opening the top he sniffed the liquid inside. It smelled like sugar water and taking a deep breath, Alex raised the glass bottle to his lips and sipped carefully. It tasted like sugar water and as Alex thought the key in his left hand became harder and harder to keep hold of. It was, growing. Alex looked around and it seemed as though the whole room had grown. Alex looked around and he was barely the size of a baby mouse. He took several steps to the corner of the box and looked around it. Walking toward the side that was nearest the wall, Alex looked around the corner and the scent of many flowers burst into his nose. Sneezing a few times Alex looks again to find a small doorway with light, grasses, and a slight breeze greeting him. There's just enough space for him to squeeze past the box and into the doorway. The closer he gets, the narrower the space becomes. With one final heave, Alex escapes the narrow passage and falls onto the earth. He's so small, her barely rises over the grass.
"Gotta keep going." Alex mumbled to himself. He brushes himself off and starts down an earth bare path. Keeping his eyes fixed ahead he didn't notice the flowers along the walk. But they noticed him. They swayed this way and that, conversing in code of the boy that walked the path. Uncommon as it was, they were not shocked, he had all the traits. Alex noted a small amount of what looked like bubbles rising from inside a patch of clovers. He pulled the green leaves apart to see what was going on. There sat an oddly colored mushroom, of orange and blue swirls, and a resting something on top of that. Alex stepped closer, being careful not to trip on anything, or make noise. The thing that sat atop the mushroom was a, caterpillar…? But it didn't exactly look, like a caterpillar. It was a cleverly thought out costume that gave the appearance of a pudgy caterpillar. A long purple train stuffed with who knows what attached to a similar purple coat and finally to a person, who sat sleeping. The antennae looked out of place and the person simply sat with their black hair covering their face and their shorts clad legs folded in what appeared the lotus position. With every exhale, there came a short string of bubbles.
"uh… hey. Hey, way up there!" Alex shouted hoping this boy would hear him. A head raised and looked about before shrugging and settling back down again. "Hey! HEY!" Again a head raised and looked around. "Down here!" He looked down and found Alex waving his arms.
"Who are you?"
"The name's Alex. What are you doing up there?"
"What does it look like? I'm sleeping of course."
"But it's the middle of the day."
"Yes, the sun provides a comfortable warmth."
"Where is this?"
"Why, wonderland of course, silly boy. And why in the name of all things good are you so small?"
"I can't tell you for sure." Alex's shoulders slump and a small sigh escapes him.
"Well shimmy up here, I may be able to help." Alex looked up and tried to think through how to reach the top. The edge of the mushroom top was out of reach. He wouldn't be able to jump for it. Looking around Alex found a few stones he could probably move. He sprints over to one and attempts to push it from behind. It barely moves and Alex gives up. Sprinting to another stone he attempts the same thing. This stone moves easily and once it's positioned under the 'shroom Alex climbs atop it. He reaches out and can almost grab onto the top to pull himself up. Alex narrows his eyes and attempts a mighty leap. He lands about halfway up and grabs onto the top and exerting as much energy as he can Alex tries to pull himself up. After a few seconds he pulls himself up and sitting for a second catches his breath.
"You're not naturally this small are you?" with an eyebrow raised the caterpillar boy looks at him as he returns to a normal breathing pace.
"No."
"Good. Pick a side, one helps you grow, one makes you shrink." Gesturing from side to side the caterpillar boy stays relatively emotionless.
"Oh no. I am NOT eating any part of a mysterious mushroom. Especially one that someone is sitting on."
"Suit yourself, but that's the way you grow. It gets confusing, but this is your best bet." Settling down to snooze again, the caterpillar boy glances back to Alex again. With a grumble Alex chooses one side of the mushroom and with a sigh takes a tiny bite. There's slight discomfort but Alex grows about two centimeters. Ecstatic, Alex takes the rest of the mushroom piece and eats it quickly. He continues until he is a reasonable size and with a bemused smile sprints off.
Alex continues to meander about in no particular direction, only pausing to attempt to follow the rustling of leaves overhead. After a short distance something stops Alex dead in his tracks. A girl with long light brown hair put up in pigtails hangs down from a branch above. Alex has to catch his breath and before he can open his mouth she shouts.
"ALICE!" Alex was stopped again by this but the girl only swings up and flips before landing firmly on her feet. Alex then got a better look at her. Short purple shorts that looked form fitting. And a purple shirt that looked more like a vest that show her midriff, a purple garter with black lace and black stripes down the back and wrapping around the sides of the girls figure. She was slim, but had a figure and wore purple ballet like slippers. Peeking pout from under her brown hair were two purple and black stripped ears and a matching tail coming from her behind. The tail swung back and forth and was the only large thing about this girl. She gave off a huge radiant smile and batted her long eyelashes.
"Um…"
"Alice! Where have you been! We've been waiting so long, you're just in time for tea."
"I think you have me confused with someone else."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly confuse an Alice! You're the only outsiders we get. Oh, and my friends will love you so. The last one was a bit… iffy."
"Iffy? Alice? No, my name is Alex! A-L-E-X, Alex."
"Oh. … But you must be an Alice, it-"
"Look, I don't know what's going on here, but it's confusing me to no end."
"You should come to tea! Felt could help you!"
"Who?"
"Felt, the hatter, of course!"
"I'm not sure I follow. Where are we, who are you, and who is Felt?"
"We're in wonderland, of course. Felt is the Hatter, as I mentioned earlier. My name is Cheshire, but you can call me…" The girl leapt up into the branches and within seconds she hung by one leg , the other foot placed flatly on her thigh. "Chesh…" And the smile was back. Big. Bright. And, strangely familiar.
"What are you?"
"I've been told I SHOULD be a cat, but a mostly look like a girl, though I'm VERY flexible. WANNA SEE!" And she easily un bent her leg so it lay straight against her chest as the one leg still hold her in the tree, she showed not an ounce of pain or struggle.
"Get down, you're going to fall!" Chesh frowned quickly before smiling again and simply letting herself fall. "NO!"
Landing carefully on the leg against her chest, she swung the other one down to land in a stance with her foot pointed on the ground.
"Don't worry cat's always land on their feet." She takes long strides and walks past Alex. Her tail winds around his arm and moves up to tickle his nose. "Come on, everyone has been waiting patiently for you."