Edith's mind wondered relatively aimlessly as she made her way down the hall. Thoughts skipped and skidded smoothly through her head, acknowledging and discarding topics before she'd really considered them in that vague, distracted way one does sometimes when nothing pressing or interesting can be persuaded to present itself.
Her destination had been tentatively identified as the kitchen, the odd itching in her teeth demanding something sweet. Though, 'something sweet' was horribly vague and she wasn't certain they even had what she wanted in the house…whatever that was.
Alice was seated on the edge of her bed, long almond strands chaotically draped around her small frame, frizzy and damp with no ribbon to hold them in place. The soft cream of her light night gown pooled around her legs matching nicely with the pale blue of her bedclothes, one thin strap loose and sliding off her shoulder slightly as she leaned forward over something in her hand.
Whatever she held was small, enough to be hidden in the palm of her hand. A piece of jewelry maybe? The long, delicate chain that daggled from between her fingers seemed to indicate as such.
The human eye misses little, less than most people think in fact. What it actually sees, however, depends on what one happens to be looking at.
So, while Edit's eye caught and cataloged all these things as she passed the open door, they were hardly anything out of the ordinary and so did nothing engage her bored mind thus failing to turn her focus or warrant her attention.
Thud!
Taptaptiptappitterpattertip!
That certainly did.
She took two quick steps backward and turned to peer through the doorway.
It was a…pocket watch? Yes, her father used to have one, probably still did somewhere, though she was fairly certain he didn't carry it anymore. His was a decent sized watch, not huge but large enough to read easily, colored gold with a short chain made of big, rounded links.
This one was smaller and more delicate, obviously designed for a woman. The silvery metal was thinner and lighter, more eye-catching and attractive.
It was also in pieces.
Tiny gears and silvery bits of metal littered the floor near the far wall against which her sister had evidently thrown it. The outer lid, the only piece still clinging to the thin rope of tiny metal links, had flipped and rolled and landed on its side, the angle giving Edith a good view of the pretty spray of flowers engraved on its face. She must've seen that spray a dozen times, all lined up neatly in row over a long, fuzzy cloth…
A woman sold them every weekend at the local Farmer's Market in town. They were cheaply made and clearly designed for fashion rather than function, prone to a short work-life, assuming it actually kept time in the first place. But they were cute and popular among younger girls, none of whom bought them for their usefulness. They were also cheaply sold and easily replaced…Really, it was no surprise Alice had managed to throw it with enough force to destroy it.
But Alice stood stock-still near the bed, some bizarre instinct driving her to her feet before freezing her in place. Both hands covered her mouth as she stared at the shrapnel of the broken watch, bright eyes wide with horror as if she couldn't believe what she'd just done. As if she'd done something unforgivable.
A wordless sound of grief that left Edith trembling and nearly choking on a sob of her own forced its way through her fingers as she turned and collapsed to her knees against the bed in movement so fluid it was almost graceful.
And suddenly the rabbit was in her arms. Edith hadn't even seen the little ball of cotton settled so glaringly against that wide expanse of blue. But Alice scooped it up and tucked it under her chin, clutching it so tightly Edith almost feared she'd strangle the poor creature. Again, however, the rabbit didn't seem distressed, simply allowing its mistress to hug it, even pawing at her cheek as if to console her.
She was mumbling something against its fur. Edith strained her ears, "I'm sorry," it sounded like. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Sorry for what?
Just as Edith got it into her head to enter the room, to try her hand at comforting her sister, Alice seemed to pull herself together.
One breath.
Two.
She pulled herself away from the rabbit and stood, one more breath pulled so deeply, Edith could hear the gush, before settling the rabbit gently against the pillows almost like a child does her favorite stuffed animal. Soft fingers stroked its ears, the action absentminded but loving, as she opened the drawer to the small wooden nit stand beside the bed.
She pulled out another watch. Fingers more quick and nimble than Edith could ever remember seeing carefully adjusted the tiny hands and closed the lid. She pressed it against her chest and closed her eyes.
Held it close and listened to it tick.
...It's called Mad As Rabbits, not Well-Adjusted As Rabbits.