Chapter 4: Remembering Him

I came a upon a darkly lit clearing, in the middle sat a slumped over rundown cottage. Weed grew up and around the building, ivy snaked up the sides of the couch sometimes reaching into broken windows. Yet it seemed familiar in a nice, comforting way. The smell from the flowers that sprung from the weeds was sickly sweet to a point of overpowering your senses. The flowers were a charred black and vines dripped with fresh blood, the red stood out against the black.

Just then I heard a crash.

"You! Pass me a new cup, you stupid bunny-boy!"

"Get it yourself, Hatter; I'm reading."

"You read all all the time! Just pass the cup!"

I took a step back. Was I about to meet this Hatter?

Soon the Bunny-Boy spoke in a whisper "Quiet, someones here." He was curiosity gave me the impression that visitors didn't come around very often.

"Who?" the Hatter asked, intrigued.

"Well I don't know! I can hear only so well, if you want someone to smell for you get a dog! I think its a girl or a cat, the footsteps sounded very light."

"A girl or a cat? Really? You can't tell the difference between a cat and a girl?"

"Well it could be a Cat-Girl?" He offered.

I called out, "I can hear you ya know!" as soon as I said that, a boy with bunny ears and feet hopped out from behind the hedge.

"I'm sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all, his voice was monotone and uncaring, he was holding a book loosely in one hand and a tea cup in the other.

"It's okay, but who are you?" I looked him over, he was wearing a green hat and a yellow vest with black pants, his fur was black, orange and brown patched calico. He was tall and skinny and looked to be about twenty, he had the black shaggy hair most punk/emo boys have.

"Hopper, . . . don't think about petting me, I'm not a pet." He looked me over in return.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Do you by chance know where we are?"

He looked skeptical of this question. Was it so obvious?

"Wonderland, home of the Mad Hatter and his "Bunny-Boy" as he likes to call me." He hated that name, you could tell by the venom in his voice.

"Thank you, Hopper, um, who is the Mad Hatter?"

"Who is the Hatter? Please, that's like asking why the sky is pink, and how does the grass grow in zig-zags! You must be sane."

"Of course, I'm sane! Are you? And, um, those things are normal here?"

"You're the one talking to a rabbit-man and yes, quite ordinary." He continued to sip his tea.

"I thought you were a bunny-boy?" I said with a smirk.

"I am not a bunny-boy! I'm a rabbit-man!"

"Alright! Don't get so bent out of shape!" For some reason, I was smiling, I was having a good time and had no idea why. I was arguing with this man and it was so familiar and comforting, I had been running through dark, scary woods and now I felt safe.

"What did you say?" he asked in a quiet voice, he looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"What? Don't get bent out of shape? What's wrong with saying that?"

"Nothing, I just used to know someone a long time ago how would always say that to me. She hated that I was so "mopey" as she called it, but she also loved that I would read. She loved to read too. Sometimes, we would read together. We were both very fast readers and it was like we were going to different worlds together. It was amazing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on, its just you look a little like her." He shook his head and the distant look in his eyes faded.

"I'm not her, I've never been here."

"Obviously. Would you by chance want some tea? We are having a tea party."

"Yes, that would be lovely, who else is invited?" A cup of tea would hit the spot right about now!

"Just me and Hatter." He said simply.

"Oh." I followed him past the gate and into his yard, upon the lawn was an old antique table that was almost as long as the yard, on it was draped a tea stained lace table cloth. Behind all the teapots and teacups was a man peering out from a stalk of plates and only spoons.

"Who are you?" I asked as he stood up from his seat, knocking over a teapot and some forks, he hadn't even heard the crash because his eyes were fixed on me.

"Why, I'm the Mad Hatter."