Description: Wonderland was created one lovely spring afternoon by two children.
"Should the inhabitants be the same as here?", - the boy inquires. The answer is obvious, but he enjoys how such questions make his companion thoughtful.
"What's the point of making the make-belief place, if it is the same?", - the girl reasonably asks back, and he nods gravely at her logic.
"What should we change then?"
On the ground between them, two big drawing albums are lying open. The album paper is white yet, but ready to take any colour or shape they pick, waiting for them to pour out their imagination onto the pages.
"Perhaps, we ought to make everyone fly?", - she ponders, twirling a lock of her hair.
"I thought we agreed it would be my superpower", - the boy pouts.
"You already have one too many", - the girl points out but relents. - "How about we make animals speak?"
"Every fairyland has talking animals", - he waves his hand at her in a bored manner.
Now it's her turn to shake her head stubbornly. "But they would look so cute! Imagine a little rabbit in a jacket!"
"Uh-ha. With a golden watch chain", - he sarcastically remarks, but changes his tone as soon as he sees her press her lips in a thin line, - "I know what we can do"
"What?", - her face softens a little, but his suggestion needs to be good for her smile to return.
"Let some people be able to transform into animals sometimes", - the boy triumphantly suggests. This sounds like a reasonable alternative.
"Any they like?", - the girl asks seriously.
"No, just one kind - it would be too unbalanced otherwise"
"Then let's have only the cute ones", - she insists, - "Like rabbits and cats"
"Who'd want to transform into a rabbit?", - he grumbles but agrees.
"Oh, but how would others know about this ability?"
"Hmm. Perhaps, some sign?", - the boy asks carelessly, twirling a green pencil between his fingers.
"I know!", - the girl clasps her hands excitedly, - "Let them keep their ears and tails at all times!"
The boy slightly shudders at the image, - "It's not manly". He doesn't necessarily care about so-called "manly" things but feels he needs to remind her that he's a boy.
"But it's cute", - she shows her tongue at him.
"Fine", - he returns the same gesture, - "But this animal form shouldn't give any advantages in the battle"
She agrees easily, clearly not caring one bit about the possibility of fights in their world.
"The rest of the people also need something special", - she ponders aloud.
"It'd take too long to come up with something for each and everyone", - he points out, - "And we only have till afternoon"
She pouts a little but admits the truth of his words. It would be a waste to have to leave without playing with this wonderful new world they so painstakingly constructed. But that meant they needed to decide quickly.
"Isn't there something you'd want to change about this world?", - she asks him.
"I want there not to be any hospitals or doctors", - comes a ready answer. The girl huffs indignantly.
"It totally would have both! What if someone gets sick?"
"How about making a world where no one gets sick?"
"Impossible", - she sounds wise beyond her years now, - "All stories have sickness and death in them"
"Perhaps, there is something we can add to make it easier on everyone", - he ponders after a long pause.
"I think I know what it can be", - she slowly speaks. When he eagerly leans closer, she gives a quick look around and leans closer too.
"The hearts", - she whispers, - "Doctor said that mother has a weak heart and that'd kill her"
He keeps silent. He wants to say some words of consolation, but they'd be empty because deep inside he's grateful. Had her mother been completely healthy, they'd never met.
"What should we do with their hearts? Make them stronger?"
"No", - she shakes her head. - "It'd never be enough"
Doctors try everything they can to make her mother's heart stronger and fail.
"What then?"
"We'd replace them", - she says, slowly, as if not completely believing the words she was saying, - "We'd put in something more solid"
"Stones?", - he suggests.
"No, they'd make them like Peter Munk, remember? We need something else"
Both fall silent, as they racked their brains for a possible solution.
"Clocks", - she suddenly says and the smile breaks on her face.
"Clocks?"
"Yes", - now there is conviction in her voice. - "Father says they can be mended, even if the mechanism goes bad"
"Clocks sound like a good idea to me", - he agrees after some contemplation. Then he insistently tugs at her sleeve. - "Let's draw them now"
She takes out the album and colourful pencils and in the nearest ten minutes, both demiurges are busy drawing.
"Show me what you've got", - the boy is more impatient.
"Here"
He sees several figures of men and women. Some are red-haired in yellow dresses with blue patterns. Some are black-haired with red dresses and hearts all over them. Some are blond with tiny red roses in their hair.
"The dresses are pretty", - he says, because those are detailed and nice, - "But you forgot to draw their faces"
"It'd take too long to draw each and you said yourself, we don't have much time today", - she shrugs, - "Show me yours"
His is a less elaborate setting. Both men and women wear black suits, which look so very much like office workers from the building next to the hospital, Alice almost clucks her tongue. But there is something else on the sheet of paper.
"What's this? Didn't we agree to work on people?"
"I thought I'd draw a small building too. Everyone needs to live somewhere"
"A small building? This one is probably higher than Big Ben!" Near the people in black, the green tower which from the looks of it the boy spent the majority of the time, and half of her green pencil drawing looked enormous.
The boy looks pleased. "It'd be my home. Fits me, doesn't it?"
She doesn't listen. "We were supposed to work on people", - she reprimands, - "Not drawing ourselves giant houses"
"It's a tower", - he protests, - "And I did draw people"
"Without faces!", - true to her words the boy's people also lacked eyes.
"You know I am not good at drawing faces", - he counters, - "And it's not like you've drawn any!"
They argue a bit longer but call a truce soon. As they keep discussing this or that matter, both completely forget about the time. When they are called both give a sharp breath as if waking up from a dream.
"But we've barely started!", - he is the only child and is spoiled like one.
"We'd have to finish it some other time", - the girl, being the second eldest, knows when to throw a towel and let adults drag her away from the most interesting things. - "Let's go"
"But we have so much unfinished!", - he animatedly points at their pictures. She pats his sleeve in consolation. "We'd finish it next time we meet"
He sighs, but follows her, as she rises from their comfortable seat beneath the oak tree. Together they collect the pencils and paper and slowly turn toward the hospital's building.
"There's still some time", - he says, as they slowly make their way from their favourite spot, - "We can decide upon rules"
"Rules?", - she asks, curious. "Which are?"
"We still have enough time to figure those out", - the boy gives her a smile, "I have one already", - he takes a deep breath and speaks in a low, deep voice not suited to such a young boy, - "Listen"
Author's Notes:
"In a World of Our Own" - a modified quote from the Disney's song (can you guess the movie it came from?).
Peter Munk - the main character of Herr Hauff's fairy tale "Das kalte Hertz" ("The Cold Heart"), who at one point traded his human heart for a stone and had to face the consequences.