Down, Down, Down
Chapter Eight
As the beautifully crooked branches of the tallest trees snarled down at me, looking fairly distorted yet without menace I thought to myself of the strange and obscure place that Wonderland was. A place with a million sceneries and a million faces, like its characters. Hatter for one, also had a million expressions and faces – all of which I intended to see.
A place I had loved all along, though my memories only held few traces of it. It appeared as though in this part of the forest that the trees were slowly contorting themselves towards our direction, to which of course, I treated with my habitual scepticism and disregarded with a fleeting glance. My footsteps echoed Hatter's more graceful ones and as we walked on we found no need for unnecessary small talk, we were comfortable in silence.
My fingers were still curled around the Hatter's sleek palm, which I had only noticed to retreat when I felt the ends of his slender fingers slipping through my hand. I motioned to catch a finger in the hook of one of my own, but thought of nothing than the consequence of my own embarrassment and took my hand the rest of the way out, unbinding us. The emptiness of his hand in mine left a twinge in my heart so minute I was able to shrug it off as if it were nothing but prickling pins and needles in my fingertips. I flexed my hand in front of me so that I had to look down towards the ground and studied my nails, my knuckles and everything else instead of facing the piercing stare that I knew Hatter to wear, especially when he was analysing. In this case, analysing me. I thought something would have changed about these hands, which have just held hands with a boy for the first time but they were no different – though they felt it.
He took a few long strides and got ahead of me eagerly, his body leaning forwards as if he were drawing towards the coloured ribbon of a race finish line. I looked up from behind his tall figure in time to notice a muggy smell and a mist that had suddenly appeared to surround us, in the time I had drifted to dreamland and come back.
I coughed like sick child at the humid and suffocating smoke that I had already inhaled in my lungs, before I began swatting the mist away from my face. As I pushed away the thick fog from near my face I began to be able to see a distance in front of me, as if I had waved away a cloud that had fallen from the sky – I was briefly reminded of a time when Uncle Albert blew a ring of smoke into my face and I was left coughing for minutes. Out of the mist, I suddenly saw Hatter reappear before my eyes as he quickly took my wrist in his hands and pulled forwards that I had to lunge forwards to keep up, though forcefully saving me from the dangers of intoxication by smoke and into a clearing of oversized plants and flowers.
This clearing was but a merely circular space and only coated in a very light mist of smoke that was barely noticeable but for the swirls and shapes it made in the air, otherwise the smell of it was gone. Around the clearing the smoke was much thicker and darker, possibly where I was standing just moments before. It acted as a wall of protection, as if whatever was here had not wanted to be heard or to be seen. Out of the over grown, giant leaves that looped in the centre of the clearing and the bright flowers that loomed over me, I half expected an insect of the same prospective size to emerge from one of its petals to come and greet me. A beetle perhaps, a butterfly but frightfully, I hoped for anything but a giant spider. I shook with a little terror and excited familiarity as a leaf in the very middle of the floral entourage rustled. A caterpillar, was obviously more suited to this situation. A blue one.
I looked over to Hatter for a little encouragement that we were safe and fine, and then became pleasantly relieved when he threw me a toothy grin through the light mist between us. His smile was as bright as the vivid flowers that I caught it infectiously and found myself beaming back, for no reason. Without warning, his warm smile became an expression of perked annoyance, his nostrils widening, his forehead creasing and a low sigh escaping his parted lips. He confidently marched up to that centre leaf and shook it violently, as well as vigour; I barely had time to accustom myself to that previous smile. A vein somewhere in my head snapped and I tightened my lips like a child not receiving her birthday gifts.
"Come on Absolem! Enough with this smoke before my lungs give out!" Hatter called out sharply to somebody I could not see from where I was standing and still shaking the leaf. Even as I stood on my tiptoes and peered into the darkened depth of foliage Hatter was talking into, I still could not see whatever Hatter could see. I felt hurt and left out; pursing my lips as Hatter rapidly leapt back and elegantly avoided receiving a particularly large ring of smoke in the face. If only I had been blessed with that grace upon my first meeting with my Uncle Albert, if I dared try leaping back like that I'd only result in tripping on my own feet and landing on my bottom! Then surely, I would have still received a poisonous ring of smoke in my face as a sign of defeat – the story of my clumsy existence.
Reverting back to the reality of where I currently was standing behind the sleek figure of a tall man sporting a top hat and colourful attire, I shook away the reminiscent thoughts of my astonishingly difficult relatives. I suddenly jumped at the shock as the previously discussed leaf moved and rustled without Hatter holding onto it, whilst Hatter himself took a small shuffle back, sweeping an arm half up to shield me in protection. I peeped over it in curiosity as the leaf crackled.
This time, as slow and sluggish as the passing of time in this place, a rather large and pleasantly plump caterpillar the colour of lapis lazuli emerged from the depths of foliage looking rather unkempt and displeased. I stifled the urge to burst out laughing at this poor little creature and his striking resemblance to my Uncle, apart from the fact that he did not bear the same ridiculous handlebar moustache that everyone knew him for. My eyes widened as he drew closer to Hatter and I, trudging or rather dragging himself with his heavy insect body unwillingly to the point where he reached the end of the leaf and it drooped down towards the grassy floor for it could not hold his weight.
When Hatter deemed it safe to free me, he stepped aside and as if a magician presenting his new assistant or magic trick he held out his arms at me to show me off to the displeased, plump Uncle caterpillar. I did not feel the need to follow with a bow or twirl, instead I stood statue-like still, as always. "I've brought back Alice, Absolem!" He greeted, "Now wouldn't it be nice to change that sour expression of yours and say hello!" Hatter continued, this time with a rather sarcastic and playful undertone to it. However, I did agree that from the short time of me being here I too was already getting tired of that irritating, bitter face that the caterpillar still had on. Did nothing impress or move him? And why was he smoking an endless cigar?
Caterpillars, the last time I checked, did not smoke?
"Why hello, Alice," The caterpillar at long last said in a sickly monotone which made me twitch, to which he added, "If you are hardly Alice." Hardly? He slid off the last part of the large grass leaf and ended his long journey towards us. In response the grass leaf rebounded back high as the rest of the over grown plants, obviously having been released of the dead weight of a fat, smoking caterpillar. This Absolem creature now stood in front of me at a good metre or two's distance before he looked me from toe to crown, crossing unnaturally thin arms across his chest and huffing from his cigar.
After seeking a brief approving glance from Hatter, who seemed have become preoccupied with conversing with a tall sunflower that gestured with its leaves instead of talking with its hands, I began a conversation with a bug – I sighed, daring not to question the strangeness of the world anymore.
"Hello, I'm Alice and I'm not hardly Alice, because I am Alice." I began, recognising that I oddly uttered my name three times in one sentence.
"Well, if you are truly Alice then what are you doing back here in Underland and also, whooo am I?" He cooed, flicking his cigar so that a few dribbles of ash fell off from the end of it and into a pile that was growing on the patchy green, grass below.
My brow twitched as I temporarily wondered why Hatter had ruined my lovely, good mood to bring me to such an unpleasant character and I forgot the reason we came. If anything, I could understand why I could forget a strange creature as him, possibly because he was too bad a memory to try and recall!
"You are... annoying as ever!" I responded with a 'hmph' before mimicking his stance with crossed arms and standing defensively with my feet at shoulders width apart, despite weirdly knowing vaguely who he was. The caterpillar won, and he smiled a smile so deviously wide I wanted to flick his face. Was he really all knowing? About anything and everything, or everything and anything – so to quote?
"Now, now!" Hatter mediated, waltzing over between us like a referee for a sports game and gave me an apologetic, understanding look before giving the caterpillar a distasteful, stern one. Obviously his conversation with the lady sunflower was over, if there was much to talk over with a flower. How about, for example... are you getting enough soil and water?
"Let us not get into a petty fight here and remember why we really came to visit. Tell us how we can get our dear Alice's memories back?" Surprising as ever, I gaped at the endless wonders that were Tarrant Hightopp and gulped back my unlady-like, impolite annoyances in order to move forward.
Absolem's 'meek' wide smile never once faltered and with another habitual flick of his never-shrinking cigar, he turned to face Hatter, "Has the child forgotten about us all over again? Even after all that trouble in the Queen's garden." He sighed and twiddled his free thumb and forefinger in which the cigar was cradled in between, he wore a look of thoughtfulness. He breathed a mist of smoke through his nostrils.
Given a space of sheer silence, I took the chance to gaze up at Hatter beside me in search of how I should feel or react in this oddly familiar situation. Whilst the caterpillar continued the long, thinking silence Hatter caught my hopeless look, shrugged and shyly slid his hand back into mine as a sign of encouragement, apology as well as a dozen other feelings I thought holding hands could mean at a time like this. I flushed slightly, still not having been accustomed to holding hands with-
"It seems you will just have to trigger her memories by doing familiar things from her last visit, like maybe talking to various characters she encountered before... the twins, or the Queen perhaps?" How futile! I thought as he announced, gesturing in a far off direction as if pointing to where the people formerly mentioned were. Another thing, why was he talking like I wasn't here? Inwardly I also thought about how we came all this way, when he merely stated the obvious.
"Oh! What a clever idea Absolem, you really do know about everything and anything! Thank you very much, we should do just that!" The Hatter praised brightly and energetically, patting the creature on the right shoulder as a sign of thanks and without a hint of sarcasm. I raised my eyebrows at both Hatter and the caterpillar, having thought that Hatter said exactly the same thing not too long ago! How was he getting strung along so easily, was I the only one aware that this caterpillar had no special knowledge than the rest of us maybe?
Instead I held my resentful tongue again and felt the nagging feeling of having recognised the 'twins' as a mischievous pair named Tweedledee and Tweedledum who both wore matching striped shirts, stockings and red playsuits. I stared off beyond the foliage behind the caterpillar's head into the distance with a strange sort of feeling as if I knew exactly where to find them... and a Dodo? With that, I felt no urge to stay in this smoky, suffocating place a moment longer and tugged at Hatter's gripped hand in the direction in which I sought.
"Let's go Hatter, they are this way." I pointed faintly and stated in a manner that had me in disbelief, as if I was so familiarly accustomed to this place already and wondered where this was all spouting from. I continued to pull Hatter along behind me and pictured his bewildered face, with a gaping mouth and eyes the colour of emeralds with curiouser delight. Before disappearing into the field of outgrown, vertiginous plants ahead of me I looked over my shoulder to where I knew the caterpillar would be simultaneously retreating from.
I cast him a brief smile, thinking of a few memories that clicked together in my head in the short while I was in this place. Looking over an enormously long map that was more a timeline of events than an indication of locations, being told I was to fight with a monster called a Jaberwocky and I was not feeling too confident about it. After all, I had never even held a sword or dared to ever pick one up... but I was going to and I did.
There was a maze with hedges a feet's height taller than my own, embellished with red and white ever bloomed roses and a sunset that dazzled the Wonderland sky as I conversed with a familiarly, all knowing caterpillar over my troubles and fears. Whereas he previously had prickled my annoyances, I thought of him now as kind and understanding, he reminded me of my visit to Underland as a child.
I pictured a Knave with a face as pale as a white, painted wall and an expression so cold it could melt wax like a fire on a candle. Likewise, his personality was uncaring, deceiving and I stood across a chequered board from him as he was dragged away banished to the Outlands with the... who? A few memories retraced its way back into my conscious thoughts and I recognised this wonderful sensation of remembering a few things.
Absolem was irritating and misleading, but I owed him a lot for my memories the last time I was here too, "Thanks Absolem!" I called behind me, though I was only talking to his shady blue back as he slugged ahead, "You gave me a lot of courage before and I think we've established that I am the same Alice from back then! I'll be going to get my memories now!"
With a scoff, and without once turning back to show us his face he waved that smelly cigar across the air in the gesture of a fleeting wave. He blew a ring of smoke.
A/N: I've been absent, I don't expect forgiveness this time. I thoughtfully had to reread my previous chapters and actually wrote down (PLANNED!) what I was going to do with the rest of this story! I also noticed many, many typos - so forgive me for the mess on that, I obviously typed out the chapters on here rather than on word.
But would you believe what's happened, I've finished highschool and Alevels forever and lost my first love, what an eventful year oh! and had an operation - nothing interesting. I found this meaningless chapter already typed on my laptop so I'll upload it now and write a better next chapter this weekend. Hope you enjoy this! *tears prickling* It's so nice to be back!