Wonderland's Truth

A twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter 1

Addie & Alice

The stained glass windows had recently been cleaned so that the light was freely finding the floor and bypassing grime and dust. The young girl traveled through the nave, reaching out to run her fingers over the cathedral pews. While the light was strong, shadows still lingered. These were the kind of shadows that could consume a particular area. One could hide in them, get lost, possibly even be whisked off to another world. The round columns that lined the open space kept the young girl occupied until the tour was over. Her mother and sister must be stricken with grief when they were unable to find her following them. Soon, the families had gathered in the choir area to hear more facts about the cathedral. As if they hadn't heard enough. The young girl sighed and joined her mother's side. Eventually, they were back out on the street. It was hard to eavesdrop on some of the conversations people were having as they walked by and the girl mischievously turned her head to try to get a better listen.

"Addie," he mother called as she held out her hand. London was always gray; she decided she couldn't even imagine living there. It seemed like the most vivid things on the street were her cherry red shirt and the streetlights. Her older sister, Alice, was talking their mother's head off about some shop that she absolutely had to go to.

"It's a little bookstore on the far corner- right by our hotel!" she kept saying, holding her palms up while crushing her dark eyebrows together.

"I believe you, dear. You don't have to repeat yourself, I heard you the first time" Addie didn't understand this about grownups. When one tries to tell an adult something they look like they are ignoring you the first three times you ask, only to say later that they heard you in the first place.

"Then there is a dress shop just down the way and-" Addie wanted desperately to cover her ears; her sister was constantly wanting to buy clothes. She couldn't wait to get home and rip the tags off. Addie turned her nose up at the dresses and little shoes her sister bought. You couldn't move or have fun in dresses.

"You will be able to go everywhere you want to go" her mother interrupted over Alice's loud chattering. They ducked into a little restaurant and were hustled into a booth under a dim light. The seats creaked when they sat down, and Alice hit her elbow as she slid into the free seat next to her mother.

"Ow" she complained and traced her fingers along the sore spot. Her mother shushed her. They sat in silence. Addie lost herself watching all the people rushing in and grabbing seats. She enjoyed taking in the sounds of the restaurant; loud clinking of glasses, swoosh of the kitchen doors, bell sounding above the front entrance of the place. It held her attention; every plate that rode out on the white china smelled delightful, and each receiver of a plate would move all their personal belongings off the table, shuffling their feet in excitement, rolling a napkin out on their laps, and picking up the silver ware, only to finish preparations with a smile or a curt nod to the waiter.

"Addie, what are you ordering?" Alice asked in a snarky tone. Closing her eyes shut tightly, Addie ran her hand over the plastic wrap over the menu and stopped. She quickly opened her eyes and shrugged.

"I'm having Cottage Pie"

"Minced beef, veggies, all topped by mashed potatoes- huh alright and Mum?" ever since Alice had come to England and heard a small boy call his mother, "mum"; she had been all over the nickname. Their mother didn't seem to mind.

"I think I'll have this," she leaned over just a little and pointed to a picture; Addie didn't bother to look. They ate dinner slowly as if to savor every bite. They were in no rush of course; where would they need to be? They had all the time in the world. It was spring vacation and Addie was in no rush to get back to school. After their early lunch, their mother had decided to continue their walk around the city.

Alice squealed upon seeing Big Ben, even though they had seen it countless times since they had arrived. She said it was because she was still in awe of its beauty. Addie shook her head; it was just a big clock; she didn't understand the importance of it. She hid her feelings from her sister because she was sure that she would be put down about the small opinion. Addie was more interested of the guards outside the palace gates.

Their bright outfits stuck out in front of her and their big, fuzzy, dark hats stood tall on their heads. Addie couldn't even imagine how hard it would be standing there unmoving without expression. Once in a while, they were allowed to travel in a box-like walking pattern to awaken their feet. She decided, there, it was a horrible job to have and chased after her mother and sister. The monstrous heels her mother was wearing were finally bothering her, and she suggested that they return to the hotel.

Addie slumped into a large plush green armchair in the corner of the room and closed her eyes, shooing her curls out of her eyes with an exhale of warm air. Her mother was throwing her heels across the room into her suitcase from the queen-sized bed. She picked a glass of water from the side table, gulping back two pills. Alice sat on the edge of her bed, kicking a foot and bobbing her head to music on her cell. She yawned and pulled her ear buds out of her ears.

"Mum, do you think that I could go shopping to kill some time before dinner?" she asked her plump pink bottom lip jutting out. Their mother squeezed the bridge of her nose in distress, sighing, and pulling her short dark hair off her face.

"If you have to," she muttered and closed her eyes, lying back into the fluffy white pillows, "but take your sister with you" Addie sat up and huffed.

"Mom," Alice and Addie whined. Without another world from their mother the two were pushed out onto the street. They hardly looked at each other. Alice pulled at her blue sundress and glanced uncomfortably over at her sister; Addie glanced back. Alice turned suddenly through an open doorway into an awkward store. Addie quickly lost her within the large bookshelves of books. She liked to read but for a reason a book with a thin layer of dust on the cover didn't appeal to her. She found Alice in the back row with a blue book in her hand. She was silently reading and had a small smile on her face.

"Listen to this," Alice said getting into her personal space, ""Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Alice faltered on her feet; "I love this book" Addie backed up and left her sister still standing in the aisle reading. She went over a few shelves and ran a finger over the binding of a book. Something moved behind her and she peered through the shelves to find herself facing a peculiar boy.

Dressed up in a burgundy corduroy suit, he was nervously clutching at a stack of books. He was mumbling and pulling at his short white hair. He stuffed the books quickly onto the shelves, wiped his sweating forehead, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and drew out a long gold chain with a circular pocket watch from his coat pocket, with W. R. engraved on the front.

"Oh, no," he cried softly and looked around, "Not early," he muttered and grabbed another book, moving it to another shelf, "I'm going to be late." he groaned and stuffed the watch back into his pocket, "so late for this very important date"

"Late for what?" she asked moving a book aside, getting a better view of him. His head snapped up and she met terrified grey eyes. He stumbled out of the shelves and started moving books by the old fashioned register. He disappeared into the back room with another cry,

"So late, late, late" she looked over her shoulder for her sister and followed him hesitantly, succumbing to her curiosity. Her hand gripped the doorframe when she entered the room. He disappeared through a dark green door. She looked at the mysterious door with wonder; the brass doorknob housed many dirty fingerprints and when her little hand closed around it, the knob was cold to the touch. She turned it and, was surprised by the loud creaking as it opened.

She turned around to look for her sister; with no sign of any movement from the other room she hastily closed the door behind her. It was dark, so she fumbled along the wall looking for a light switch. Unable to one, her eyes were forced to adjust. She began to walk slowly, making sure to keep one hand in front of her.