Chapter 2: DRINK(drown)ME

He was falling, and he was terrified. Was he going to hit the ground and die? Or would he lay there, returned to the state of horrid agony due to injuries he would receive from the collision? Which was worse? He shut his eyes tight and tried to brace himself-

One… Two… Three… Four seconds ticked by, and still no impact. He hesitantly opened one eye and saw no ground rushing up to meet him- rather the rabbit-hole seemed to go down for miles. He had enough time to look around, and was astonished by what he saw.

How very, very curious this is. Is this still the rabbit-hole?

Shelves were helter-skelter along the walls, and some things seemed to float in midair- jars, pictures in frames, oil lamps, books, and the like. He managed to catch a jar of something called "orange marmalade" as he fell past it and was able to open it. He dipped a finger inside and tasted it. It was delicious- he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything at all, let alone something so pleasant and sweet- and he wanted more than anything to eat up the whole jar's worth, but he decided against it.

No, that would be rather rude. And besides, what if the owner became angry with me?

He placed the jar on another shelf as he fell past, and realized he seemed to be falling in slow motion. Shortly after he realized this, he started to fall faster. He began to feel afraid again, but before he could get too worked up, he landed somewhat softly on a smooth surface. He sat up, glad that he wasn't hurt, then realized that it felt as if his hair was standing straight up in the air. That couldn't be right-

The next moment he fell to the ground with a yelp. He looked up and realized that he had somehow been sitting on the ceiling.

That's so very strange. How is that even possible?

He looked around, finding himself in a room with striped walls and several doors.

A way out!

He ran around the room, trying every door, but they were all locked and there was no key in sight in the little room.

No… No no no no…

He was trapped, and he didn't like it. It brought back memories, memories of being trapped in his cell, trapped with them-

He frantically ran around, desperately trying the locked doors, panicking and in tears, until he tripped over something and fell to the floor. He looked back and saw a tiny curtain at the bottom of the wall. He moved over to it, wiping his eyes, and pulled it aside to reveal a door, just the right size for perhaps a mouse to get through. He tried to open it anyway, and unsurprisingly it was locked. He sighed and sat up, hiding his face in his hands for a moment. When he looked up, a glass table had appeared in the room, with a key sitting atop it. He got to his feet and grabbed the key, going to every normal-sized door and trying the key, but it would not unlock any of them. He then looked to the tiny door.

Perhaps…

He knelt down by the small door and tried the key.

It… It worked! It's unlocked!

He opened the door and laid on his stomach so he could look out the door. He saw sunlight and flowers, green grass and a stone path- a lovely garden.

If only I could somehow shrink.

Sitting back up, he found himself turning to look back at the glass table again, and when he did he saw a small bottle. He stood up and walked back to it, placing the key on the table and grabbing the bottle. It was a glass bottle, with golden liquid inside, and a label attached to the stopper that said, in lovely script, "DRINK ME". He was very thirsty, but hesitant. He cautiously took out the stopper and sniffed at the liquid. Nothing seemed amiss, so he slowly took a sip.

It was absolutely delicious. With the first sip, it tasted like sweetened cream. With the next, it tasted like some sort of fresh fruit, then something else familiar- "Chocolate" his mind supplied-

Half the bottle was gone before he realized that the tiny door he had opened was now the size of a normal door.

The door grew?... No, wait a moment…. I shrunk! I can get through the door!

Elated, he set down the half-full bottle, then ran to the door and tried to open it, but it had gotten locked again.

That's alright, I have the… The key! Oh no!

The key was still on the table, where he had left it. He tried to climb up the table leg, but the glass was far too slippery and he was still too weak to pull himself up anyway.

Oh no…

He was about to give up again when he saw a box tied up with a ribbon on the floor underneath the table. He picked it up and untied the ribbon, opening the box. Inside was a small, square white thing that also seemed familiar, something good… Something sweet? There was also a note in the box that looked just like the label of the bottle, only this one said "EAT ME".

Eat? This white square?

He picked up the small white thing and stared at it, thinking. Suddenly he recalled what it was.

Cake! This is called cake! I wonder….. I wonder if I like cake…

He nibbled the corner of the cake.

It's so good… I'm so, so hungry…

He ate the square of cake quickly, wandering back out from under the table as he did so. He was licking the frosting that had gotten on his fingers off when his head hit something hard.

Ow! Wait, I walked back out from under the table, so what have I hit my head on?... The ceiling?! I grew!

He looked down and around the room as best he could- it had become a bit of a tight squeeze.

Well, now what?

He saw the key on the table, and the half-empty bottle.

That's it!

He stooped down as best he could and took the key and bottle off the table, both of which were much, much tinier now. He downed the bottle in one sip and held tightly to the key. He felt himself shrink down until he was at the perfect height to go through the door again. He ran to it and unlocked it with the key.

YES!

He opened the door, took a deep breath to steady himself, then walked into the beautiful garden, the door to the striped room closing behind him.