Could reality really be relative to the individual? Was it possible that what is real to one person could not be real to another? It is certainly a fact that two people seeing the same incident will tell the story two different ways. It is just about how it is perceived; yet the two people telling these two different stories believe whole-heartedly that their version of the story is correct. How strange then to think that the world is sharing a reality, yet at the same time, that very reality isn't real at all.
With those thoughts in mind, we meet with the heroine of our story. On this particular day, Alice Liddell is completely unaware of the notion of reality being relative. She will find in time, however, that this particular concept will have great significance to her life, maybe even save it if truth were told. That revelation, however, is part of her near-distant future and is asked to be forgotten by the reader for now. At this moment Alice is simply Alice, and that is really all that is important.
Alice was not exactly in a favorable mood. Even though the sun was shining, birds were singing, and the sky was bright blue, Alice was upset, terribly irritable, and simply angry. She knew that there was no cause for such anger. In fact, she was being quite childish. Still, Alice couldn't quite shake that little stir of rage in her stomach every time she thought of what her mother and sister had planned for her.
She had been informed earlier that week that there was to be a grand party in her honor. It was Alice's sixteenth birthday, and as her mother had said, every young lady deserves a lavish party on such a wonderful occasion. She, however, did not feel that it was such a wonderful occasion. To her, it meant another year older and one more step closer to marriage and the chains that with it came.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Alice had asked. She had been seated in the downstairs parlor with her mother and sister. They were both bubbling with excitement, but Alice looked as if she had just seen a ghost. "You must have been planning this for several weeks."
"Oh, Alice," her sister had chimed in. "We both know how you feel about parties. You would never have let us carry on with all this. "
"Then, you shouldn't have planned it at all if you knew how I felt!"
"Now, Alice," her mother had said." There is no reason for you to be upset. I know you'll thank us for this later."
Her mother had been terribly wrong. Alice was no closer to thanking her for the party than she was to kissing a frog. She hated the whole situation, and she had unsuccessfully tried to avoid the whole thing. It was rather useless, however, for her sister had taken it upon herself to make sure Alice would be every vision of loveliness for her special day.
Why, that very morning her sister had practically danced into her bedroom carrying several white boxes. Her green eyes had sparkled with excitement as she dumped them all onto Alice's bed and started ripping them all open. She then proceeded to pull out a large ball gown and gloves and hairpins and every other thing that is needed when going to a party. She kept giggling and gushing at how lovely everything would be as Alice tried to pull her large, white comforter back over her head.
"Isn't this just delightful?" she had kept asking. "Oh, Alice, dear, you'll look absolutely stunning."
"I don't want to look stunning," Alice had mumbled.
Her sister had just ignored her.
Now, Alice wondered how she would ever survive the coming event. It's not that she didn't like all parties. Some were actually rather fun, but she wanted nothing to do with one in her honor. It just seemed silly, and she would rather have spent her birthday happily alone with only her family for company. She also had the sinking feeling that this party was not just for her birthday.
For several months, her mother had been casually hinting at the idea of engagement. Her sister had been engaged for sometime, and her mother felt that it was time for Alice to follow the same path. Even if she were younger by a few years, how grand it would be for both daughters to be engaged!
Alice had also noticed, that as of late, several gentlemen callers seemed to be very present in the Liddell household, William Fortsworth being the most prominent. He was their guest at dinner quite often, and he joined Alice for afternoon tea in the parlor every Thursday. In the beginning, Alice had paid no attention to this for she felt that it would not last for very long; however, as the weeks passed, she began to worry quite frequently that he would not disappear anytime soon. She now had a terrible suspicion that he would be at her party with intentions that did not match her own.
"Why couldn't I be more like my sister?" she said to no one in particular.
Her sister was the perfect vision of a lady. She was coy, terribly beautiful, polite, and gentle. Her laugh was like a bell ringing, and she adored everything associated with parties and engagements and all those other things ladies were supposed to enjoy. Alice was none of those things. She was simply curious and defiant. Hardly, the formula that made up the proper lady. Still, Alice was happy with herself. Wasn't that what truly mattered anyway?
"Maybe I'm being stubborn," she said. "After all, it could simply be a birthday party."
Alice, however, didn't think so.
With a sigh, Alice moved away from her bedroom window (for she had been in her bedroom all this time) and decided she needed some air. It felt like the walls were closing in on her, and she needed to escape soon or risk the chance of going mad. It just wouldn't do to go mad at such a young age, not when she had so many other things she would rather experience first.
She kept her footsteps light as she exited the quite comfort of her bedroom and made her way through the house. She didn't want anyone to catch her when she was so close to escaping for a few hours. Alice needed some time away from last minute party preparations. It was so tedious and ridiculous. It didn't make any sense to her why anyone would go through such trouble for only a few hours. She had a feeling that it would never make any sense to her either. She simply was not wired to think the way her mother and sister thought.
Her feet carried her down into the foyer and then out the door to where freedom awaited her. She hadn't realized what a lovely day it was until she was finally apart of it. The temperature was just right, and she was reminded of a day a long time ago when she had dreamed of falling down a rabbit hole. How silly she had been then to think it was possible for such a thing to occur! Yet, silly as it seemed, she had never quite been able to forget about it.
Some nights she would sit and ponder the possibility of another world like Wonderland existing. It was a ridiculous notion, but to Alice, it almost seemed like a reality. Besides, she felt as if something was there inside of her tugging her closer and closer to the idea being a truth. Maybe she wanted it to be true just so her own reality would make a little more sense. Either way, she couldn't give up the idea even if she never spoke of it anymore.
As she was thinking, her feet carried her to the old shade tree where that strange little rabbit had appeared all those years ago. It was as if her subconscious were pulling her there, and Alice didn't even notice until she standing underneath the leaves.
She had decided to sit and rest for a bit when she saw something white out of the corner of her eye. At first, she decided to ignore it. After all, there were many things that could be white outside. Though she couldn't think of any at the moment, she was sure they existed. It wasn't until she saw the little flash again that she began to wonder.
"How curious," she said.
She glanced up toward the house wondering if she should follow the flash. A little bit of exploring couldn't hurt. She wouldn't be gone terribly long, and it would be all right if she were a bit late for dinner. Besides, going back now meant more talk of parties, and that was the last thing Alice wanted any part in.
With one last glace at the house, Alice dashed off after the white flash. It didn't take her long to catch up. She had barely taken more than ten steps when she came face to face (well as close as you can come with a rabbit) to the White Rabbit. He didn't seem to notice her at first, and then, his eyes widened and he began to twitch.
"You're terribly late!" He squeaked at her. "No time to waste!"
"What?" Alice was momentarily taken aback. "What do you mean I'm late?"
"No time! No time!" he cried before dashing off.
Alice was now very confused. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it wasn't this. Without stopping to think, Alice chased after the Rabbit. He darted easily between the bushes and was not tripped by any of the roots or weeds, but Alice found herself struggling a bit to keep up as they moved steadily deeper into the woods behind her house. As she ran, she thought she could hear the White Rabbit muttering to himself a little ways ahead of her.
"Mr. White Rabbit!" she called. "Where are we going?"
He did not answer her. He only continued at his frantic pace until they arrived in front of a tiny rabbit hole. Alice's first thought was that she would never fit. Her second thought was that she should be completely against the idea of jumping down a rabbit hole in the first place. Proper young ladies did not jump down rabbit holes. Alice, however, had never really been a proper young lady. Still, she was sure that jumping down rabbit holes defied more than more rule.
The White Rabbit ultimately made her decision for her. Frantic to make it back, he nudged her ankles rather forcefully, which caused Alice to momentarily lose her balance. This tiny slip was all she needed to fall head first down the rabbit hole. She only had one thought as she fell. At least, she would miss the party.
Well, there's chapter one. I know it might seem a little slow and generic right now, but I promise things will pick up soon. Please review!