It was a hot summer day in the middle of June in England. Atop a large, grassy hill sat a girl with long, thick blonde hair. She sat under a large oak tree. The oak's branches expanded towards the sky, reaching for something that could not be seen. It's roots twitsted and turned into the ground, extending as far as the girl could see.
In her hands was a book with a large red cover. She looked at the pages, quickly scanning each line with her eyes, devouring the words. She spent most of her time reading and sitting here under her favorite tree. On the top of the hill, she could see all the way beyond the forest trail that lead to her house. The girl thought that she could almost see the outline of her mother in the distance. At this time of the day, her mother would most assuredly be preparing dinner. Soon, there would be a loud call from across the clearing. This would be her sign to return home.
However, for the time being, she continued to enjoy the text picked out for her by her father. The book, titled 'The Tea Party and Other Tales', had entertained her quite fully, but she found herself longing for rest. The large book's stories had caused her eyes to become heavy, and sleep filled clouded her mind.
"I'll rest for just a moment or two, then I'll return home," she said to herself. Slumping next to the tree and leaning her head against the rough bark, the girl slowly faded to sleep.
Just as she began to fade, a ticking noise had invaded her thoughts. The curious ticking noise reminded her very much of her father's pocket watch. Her eyes jerked open, eager to locate the source of the mysterious ticking. There was nothing to be seen around her. Just the same hill that had been there before she closed her eyes. Upon further inspection, however, there seemed to be a small rabbit- perhaps the size of a child- was hopping by her, but there was something different about this rabbit. He stood only on his hind legs, wore a vest and an eyeglass, and he seemed to be speaking!
"I'm late!" he cried, "The queen will surely have my head this time!" As he said this, he looked up at the girl. "Oh! Oh, my! Well, if it isn't Alice! What a pleasant surprise this is! You are just the person I have been looking for!"
Alice stared, bewildered at the talking rabbit. "I'm... I'm sorry, I think you may have the wrong person!"
"No, I'd know that face anywhere! You're the Alice that I seek," the rabbit said, matter-of-factly. He reached out and touched her hand and looked directly into her large blue eyes, "You are the savior of Wonderland. I know it is you." Then, as if struck by lightning, his entire body jolted. "I'm late!" he yelped as he ran to the other side of the tree.
Alice stood up and followed without thinking. Her legs had fallen asleep, so she crashed head-first into the grass. Her eyes squinted and watered in pain. Alice rubbed her chin and slowly stood up again. Her eyes darted around the scene, attempting to find some trace that the rabbit had been there. She walked to the other side of the tree slowly, investigating.
"Curious! I don't remember this being here..." she said, staring at a small hole on the other side of the oak. Lowering to her knees, she reached through the empty hole as far as her arm would go. The darkness inside did not seem to end! He hand had not exited the other side of the tree, nor had she felt any other solid surface inside the hole. Alice removed her arm and placed her face very close to the hole. She tried to make out something in the abyss that lay ahead of her, but there was only blackness.
Suddenly, the rabbit's small white face appeared directly in front of hers. Alice screamed, falling backwards. "Follow me!" he said, winking at her, "Follow me to Wonderland!" His face disappeared again, but a chuckle could be heard echoing through the hollow tree. Still unsure of this new friend, Alice slowly entered the hole.
Inside, she could see nothing. "Mr. Rabbit?" she whispered, as though afraid of being caught, "Are you in here?" The chuckle echoed around her again.
With that, a bright light appeared beneath her. "Oh, my! I can't see!" she exclaimed, arms outstretched, attempting to block out the light so she could see.
The chuckle that had surrounded Alice in the darkness had now turned cold. It was deeper, a malicious sound that frightened her. "Please! Stop this! I didn't want this!" Alice yelled. The bright light began to change colors and flash in all directions as the opening in the tree closed behind her. "MAKE IT STOP!" she shouted.
Then, as quickly as it had all started, everything went black. Alice suddenly became of the fact that she was completely alone and had no idea what to do. At this thought, she began to cry to herself. The tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just want to leave this place and go home..."
Alice's tear hit the ground, as any tear might; but this tear was different. The tear, like acid, burned through the blackness. More and more tears hit the ground, and before Alice had even noticed, the blackness had given way to a long black tunnel. In the tunnel, items floated around her. There were lamps, tables, china sets, forks, knives, and even clothes! Spinning round and round, Alice dropped at a steady pace, the world above feeling further and further away as she fell.
"What a curious place this is!" Alice said to herself excitedly. She looked at all the items that floated around her. "I wonder if I could manage to grab something..."
Alice reached her thin hand out to grab an item that floated in front of her. Dresses and dressers whizzed by, only inches away from her trembling fingers. From out of nowhere, a knife sliced her hand, blood oozing as soon as the blade had left her porcelain skin. "OH! Ouch!" she screamed. Pulling her hand close to her chest, she wrapped it in the blue cloth that her dress was made of. Blood soaked the fabric, soiling the perfect aqua color that was once there.
Alice had been paying so much attention to her bleeding hand that she had failed to notice that she had stopped falling. Suspended in mid-air, the items floating in the tunnel had begun to rotate around her, almost as if in orbit. As soon as Alice looked up and noticed the strange behavior of the floating items, they stopped orbiting her. The silverware pointed at her. Hovering in place, there was a dead silence in all around Alice. The silverware suddenly flung itself at her. Alice screamed as forks and knives stuck her and cut her all over. "No! It hurts! Please, stop!" she yelled as a knife stabbed into her shoulder and continued to push all the way through her and out the other side. Blood exploded from the wound, covering her arm in red. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
The silverware stopped attacking her and continued to fall down the tunnel. All of the other items threw themselves at Alice. She ducked just in time as a writing desk flew over her head. The wardrobe barely missed her as she turned to the side to avoid it. Everything crashed in the middle of the tunnel, just about Alice, who was still ducking. The wooden items smashed against each other, breaking into tiny fragments of wood and splinters, which also flew at Alice.
She moved out of the way, but not in time. A shard of wood had pierced her eye. Beaten, battered, bleeding, and hurting so badly she was almost unable to scream out, Alice's world collapsed into blackness.