Chapter 1
Memories are like snowflakes.
"...ease don't go..."
So fragile...
"...ou could live here...ith me. With us... We love you"
I swear when I close my eyes tight enough, I can still feel his hands...
"Please..."
My favorite thing about...about...damn it. Why can't I remember?...
"Alice..."
Tears streamed down my eyes as it all slipped away. I squeezed my eyes tight, but nothing came to me. Nothing...
"Alice!" My mother called out.
I cast a sideways glance towards my door. I took a pillow from under my head and placed in on my face softly. I forced the sobs back down my throat and replaced the pillow.
"Yes ma'am..." I answered weakly.
"It's time to get up..." she answered respectfully.
My mother wasn't a horrible woman. She was actually quite nice. She just... didn't understand. How could I tell her that I was getting depressed by something I wasn't even sure was real? No, all she needed to know was that I was sad.
"I know." I stood up and sighed.
I looked at my tan skin in the mirror. My long blonde hair hanging over one of shoulders. I turned away from the mirror and took a shower. 20 minutes later I was dressed in a light blue tank top and some skinny jeans. I yanked my running shoes on and dragged my bones down the steps. My mother cheerily, "Alice! You look so beautiful..." I feigned a smile and hugged her lightly. "Thanks mom..." I grabbed my books and walk out of the door.
8o8o8o8o8o8
I walked to school and sighed heavily knowing that everyday would be the same until they carried me off to the mental hospital.
"Oi! You who!"
I froze and stood deathly still. Everyday was like this..
"Heyyyyy!"
I clenched my teeth and turned to see my tormentor, Bianca.
"Alice! How are we today? Are we good? That's good. Oh no! What happened to your book bag?" she screeched unpleasantly.
I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "What are you-"
I didn't get a chance to finish that statement because she and her posse had each pulled a long pair of shears out of their book bags and promptly snipped the straps of my bag to ribbons. The bag fell from my shoulder and all of my books spilled all over the broken cement.
Bianca's loud obnoxious laugh echoed in my ears as tears filled my eyes. She and her bitch squad strutted away, as though they were on a runway. I bent down and picked up the shreds of my now useless bag and walked somberly to class.
8o8o8o8o8o8
My classes drew out until I reached my very last class of the day, Sketch 104. I pulled out my sketch book and my sketch pencils and closed my eyes. Then, light an old school photograph I got a flash of him. He was so vivid... so real. Not in anyway fuzzy or like a hallucination, and then it was gone. I was so grateful that I made a little sound of appreciation and got to sketching.
I sketched the structure of his head, his angular chin, and his high cheek bones first. Then I sketched out his dark hair. It was shaggy and hung to about his jaw. Then I sketched his eyes...a piercing shade of green. The only color in the entire piece. My pencils didn't do his eyes justice. They were what lingered in my mind most of all. The color just couldn't be captured. The school bell scared me out of my thoughts. I gathered my heap of cloth and books and stashed them in my locker then ran home as quickly as possible.
I dashed up stairs and changed into a simple green t-shirt, a striped black hoodie and some looser jeans. I walked back into the kitchen and left for my mom, it said: 'Mom, I'm going out for a walk in the woods. I should be back soon. Love you- Alice'I set out through the woods in our yard. Deeper and deeper I walked until all there was, was trees. And then out of the corner of my eye something moved. I jerked my head towards the source of movement. Then it moved again. I was panicking now. "Hello?" I called. I was nervous and decided to turn back. I set off at a steady run, too frightened to walk. I think I made it about 15 feet until I felt myself being pushed. The ground that lay before me opened up, like the maws of Hell and swallowed me whole. I turned in the air to see a pair of violet eyes and then all was dark.
Chapter 2
I was falling. Down... Down... Down... My voice had escaped me and, oddly enough, I didn't feel the need to scream. I felt soothed... Like this was right. I noticed that the chasm was lightening up and I smelled... razzberries. Razzberries? I thought to myself. What are raz- My mind couldn't quite complete the thought. I was a tad preoccupied by the sudden enter I had made into a strange new world.
I felt the air whizzing around me throwing my hair in front of me. I was facing the sky and wasn't quite sure how fast I was falling.. until I hit the ground.
Now, usually when you fall and hit the ground there's a solid thunk! sound followed by pain. In this magical place when I collided with the earth, instead of being smashed to bits like a porcelain doll, I was absorbed and then slingshot-ed back into the sky. This time, the scream came, and I flailed around pitifully until my rapid descent again.
By the 5th bounce my manic scream of pure terror had turned into uncontrollable fits of giggling. I felt like a 5 year old on a bouncy castle.
As I descended from another bounce I braced for another bounce but landed in something firmer. They felt like arms.
I was flustered and dizzy from the bouncing so I couldn't really tell what was going on.
As my poor head spun the man (I assumed he was a man by his lack of breasts) clutching me, like a child's favourite toy, began to speak, his voice a deep, sexy roll.
"Aye, w'at do we 'ave-'?"His voice, accented with a Scottish brogue was cut off as he brushed my hair from across my face.
"'ere..." He finally finished he seem paralyzed by the sight of me. Then he did something I didn't see coming. He dropped me.
My ass hit the ground rather solidly instead of bouncing up like I had before. I screamed out in pain, but jumped up indignantly holding my sore behind.
"Hey! What the hell is your problem!" I screamed at the man. I was on the verge of tears but I'd be damned if I cried in front of a stranger.
The man looked taken aback but a broken smile quickly spread across his face.
"Ah, Ahlice... so youh've finally returned to meh, eh? Ahfta all these years darlin'? Hah... mah sweet Ahlice.."
I took in the man's appearance: He was quite tall. He looked to be a bout 6 foot, looming over my 5' 3" frame; Atop his head sat a large top hat with a deep forest green ribbon tied around it. A price tag with '10/6 Always In Style' scribbled in messy handwriting was tucked in; his hair was long, black and rather shaggy, but in a very attractive way, but it was eyes were what pierced me, seeing as they were so green. They were like emerald that sparkled in the sun...
I warily spoke, afraid for an unknown reason, "T-Terry?"
Then I held my head as a memory tackled me full force.
8o8o8o8o8o8
Flashback Start:
"EEEEEEEK!"A smaller, younger version of me screamed.
"Ahlice!" I heard a small child's Scottish accent call my name.
"Terry I'm over here!" I responded to the boy.. His name was Terry
"W'ere? I cahn't find you!" The boy seemed distressed beyond belief by my absence.
"In the pond! Chessur pushed me!" The young me screeched. I must've been about.. 6. Terry was about 8.
"He W'AT?," The boy's voice rose about 3 octaves. "Why that no good, rotten little furball of a-" Past-me interrupted Terry.
"Just get me out of the pond Terry. I want to dry off please." Terry helped young me out of the wicked cold pond and into his warm house. I noticed that his eyes were a fearsome red the whole trip as he mumble something about cats.
Young me kissed Terry chastely on the cheek when he gave me a dress from what looked like his sister's room.
The boy's eyes turned from a piercing emerald to a beautiful rose and his cheeks held a warm blush as young me and Terry skipped outside to play again.
End of Flashback
8o8o8o8o8o8
I looked up and Terry was looking down at me, shaking me. His eyes had turned a heart-breaking shade of blue.
"Ahlice!... Ahlice, please wake uhp! I didn'ae mean ta stahrtle yah... oh Ahlice.. Please be okay..."
I sat up and shook my head.
Terry scooped me up bridal style and said, "Ahlice I'm sorry.. I prohmise not ta drop ya again. It's jus tha.. It's been 5 years.. Ya scared me. I feared that.. that you'd up and forgotten 'bout me, er, Wunderlahnd..."
Terry started walking and after a while I softly said, "I forgive you... Terry"
He glanced down at me with those deep green eyes.
I hooked my arms around his neck and said in his ear, "I missed you. I'm sorry for being away for so long. But I've been dreadfully busy being miserable."
Terry swallowed audibly and responded, "Darlin' you'll never 'ave ta be mis'rble again. I'm sure I'll find somethin ta entatain ya with." With that last word Terry glanced down at me, his eyes now displaying an interesting shade of indigo.
I made a mental note to press Terry on the meaning of his colourful eyes.
In the meanwhile, I was suddenly very tired and drifted to sleep in Terry's arms thinking over my new found life.