The Mad Alice

Drink Me and Eat Me

Chapter 5- Drink Me and Eat Me

Another day of hard work in the garden was coming to an end and Alice was absolutely parched. All her mouth desired was a cold drink to cool her off after being in the hot sun all day. Through Alice's eyes, she saw today as a success due to the fact that the flowers talked very little to her and when they did, she blocked them out. Alice didn't need to listen to their harmful comments because if she did, she would probably end up being upset which led to tears. Tears led to her mother comforting and she knew that her mum would be even more troubled at her behavior.

Alice still couldn't process the reason why her mum was so concerned and worrisome, and why her family couldn't see the things she sees. The poor girl just assumed that they all had bad vision, but obviously, that's not the case.

When Alice and her mother walked indoors, they both went straight to kitchen. With their throats dry and their stomachs empty, they searched for something to nibble on. While the mother aimed for the fruit, Alice had her eye on a batch of iced cookies. She placed a cookie or two on a small plate and her mother poured her a glass of lemonade.

Eagerly, Alice began chugging the cold sweet-but-tarty drink, and almost instantly, she felt like she was shrinking and shrinking. Her blue eyes nearly popped out of her head as everything seemed to grow bigger as she grew smaller and smaller. Finally, she felt like she was the size of an ant. The glass slipped out of her hands, shattering to the floor. The loud noise frightened her mother, but the look on Alice's face frightened her even more--a confused and terrified expression. A sinking feeling crept up in the mum's stomach; she knew something wasn't right.

"Alice! Alice, dear, what's wrong?!" She crouched down to Alice's level, holding on to her shoulders.

With a calm voice, but a chaotic head, the young girl replied, "I was shrinking!"

"What?"

"That lemonade you gave me, it made me shrink! Can't you see? I'm the size of an insect."

"Alice, you're a normal size. You haven't shrunk at all. You are the same size as you usually are." Alice's mum explained, knitting her eyebrows.

"No I'm not!" Alice began to yell frantically, "Mum, I'm tiny. I need to be big again!"

"Alice, trust me, you are fine. Nothing is out of the ordinary." Her daughter's frantic behavior made her nervous at the whole situation. Suddenly, Alice busted out in tears and the motherly instincts kicked in, "Sh, Alice, calm down. You're okay; you're alright. Here, just munch on a cookie."

The crying girl gently took an iced cookie that was beautifully decorated, and she nibbled a bit on the sweet deliciousness as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Instead of getting the feeling that she's shrinking, Alice felts as if she was growing and growing like a tree. The taller she felt, the more scared she became.

"I'm growing! I'm growing!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs. The twins, who were playing outside, heard Alice and came running inside to find her in complete confusion. Their sister's frantic behavior was affecting them as well, making them panic.

"Boys, go play in your rooms, please. Go!" Their mother said in panic, and the boys ran off nervously without a single word.

Alice continued to scream as loud as she could, "Mother, I'm getting too tall! I'm growing too big."

"Alice, calm down, please!"

"I can't! I'm growing."

In the midst of the complete chaos, the mum knew that she needed to find help for Alice. Something wasn't right, and she began to feel like it was out of her control. Everything Alice did wasn't like the common behavior as all the other children. Her husband and her talked several times about it, and they agreed to wait to see how things unfold. This has gone way too far, and she knew that it was time to put an end to it.

Alice has been causing her brothers to worry and her parents to be so concerned, but most of all, she has caused herself so much fear, confusion, and stress. The bizarre events that have occurred to her seem so real.

The line between reality and fantasy has been blurred.