Ten years ago...
-Alice-
"And there was a rabbit with a pocket watch, and he kept saying 'I'm late, I'm late. And do you know what mother? He wasn't late after all! The Queen didn't even care. I should know, I saw them in the garden playing that silly little game of theirs! And do you know what else -"
"Alice," mother's usually tolerant voice changed. "Sit down." We were in her bedroom. She was getting ready to visit father's solicitor. Father had passed away two months before, right after I got back from Wonderland. I sat down, my enthusiasm for Wonderland had calmed down slightly, but colorful images were still racing in my mind.
"It's been a difficult two months since your father passed away. You have to understand that things are not as they were. Without your father to support us, we will have to live a little differently now. I know you are only young, and I did not want to ask this of you. But, you cannot be... well... you need to set these fantasies aside and try to strive for greater things. I know that your father always encouraged your imagination, but you have to realize that we live in the real world. In the real world, if we don't try to face reality, we will crumble. Now, I know it's hard, but it is for the best."
I did not listen to mother. When I thought she wouldn't hear me, I would go off ranting about Wonderland as I played with the cat, or my dolls. Mother eventually brought me to Dr. Knightly.
"Who is this Hatter boy you keep mentioning?" Dr. Knightly asked while writing on a clipboard.
"He's my friend," I said confidently.
"Where does Hatter live?"
"In Wonderland."
"Wonderland does not exist."
"It does exist!"
"Then, how do you get to Wonderland?"
"I followed a rabbit down a hole, and then I ended up there."
"Have you gone back since?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I... don't know... I tried," I began to weep. "I don't think they want me anymore."
"Do you remember how you got back from Wonderland?"
"I was being chased..."
"Yes, go on."
"And then... I was at the river with Lorina."
"You woke up from a dream."
"No, I was there. I was there!"
"Can you prove it?"
"... No..."
"I think children often confuse reality with fantasy. Sometimes it feels as if you were there, but in reality it was just a dream. Dreams can feel very real, you know," said Dr. Knightly gently. He patted my head at the end of every visit and assured mother that everything was going to be fine in the end.
"Dr. Knightly says you have made a great deal of progress," mother chirped.
"The less you think about Wonderland, the less you will have to visit," explained Dr. Knightly. "Shall I show you something?" I nodded.
Dr. Knightly brought me to the other wing of the hospital. He showed me his patients. They sat behind bars as if they were imprisoned. Some rocked back and forth, and others were spouting nonsense. It was terrifying.
"You see, Alice. You are making so much progress. If you keep doing as I say, you won't have to live here when you're a grown up. They believed in Wonderland too, and look at them now..."
"I will forget Wonderland. It was a dream, just a dream," I confirmed.
Dr. Knightly looked proud. He patted my head.
"Yes Alice, I think you will be just fine."
