The Mad Alice

Mad

Chapter 6- Mad

"James, I'm telling you, something isn't right with Alice..." The mother stated, pacing the floor.

"What did she do today?" Her husband said as he leaned back in a chair.

"Okay, we came in the house after working in the garden and we get a glass of lemonade and Alice wanted some cookies as usual. Then, as she chugs down her lemonade, she began screaming! When I asked her what's wrong, she tells me that she's shrinking."

"Well, was she?" Her husband wittily asked.

"Of course not! I kept explaining to her that she wasn't shrinking and that's she was a normal size. Once I calmed her down, she took a few bites of the cookies and began screaming louder, but that time she told me that she was growing."

"Well, was she?"

"James, take this seriously! This is really becoming a big problem. I've noticed recently that I have to repeat every word I say to her because she's off in her own little world."

He shrugged, "Alice is always like that."

"But it's gotten incredibly worse, James. She doesn't pay any lick of attention to anything, and this whole situation with 'Wonderland' is affecting her mood. Alice's demeanor isn't as cheerful and lovely as it used to be. It's like she's in a daze all day, everyday. Alice doesn't even act like herself anymore..." Alice's mother felt overwhelmed by it all because she desired to just wake her daughter up from her slumber so she can see the real Alice again.

"...well, what can we do about it?" He asked as he fully realized the intensity of the situation.

"... I just don't know, James, I just don't know..."

"Maybe we can ask a doctor for advice on what they recommend we should do for her overly-active imagination," James offered.

"Maybe that would be best..."

***

The next afternoon, Alice's mother went to visit a doctor, and she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. When Alice displayed her huge ordeal over the imaginary 'White Rabbit' she never thought it would be taken this far to the point where she would ask a doctor about how to put it to an end. The voice of a nurse called out her name and the mum takes a deep breath before following the nurse into a room.

"Dr. Smith will be here to see you in a few minutes," the nurse said with an overly-sweet smile on her face before she left the room.

Alice's mother took a seat and nervously adjusted her dress and fiddled with her hands until Dr. Smith walked in. As soon as his feet stepped in the door, she sat up straighter and carried herself in a more calm and proper manner.

"What seems to be the problem with you, Mrs. Hatman?"

"Well, nothing is wrong with me, but I wanted to talk to you about my young daughter, Alice."

"What about her?" The doctor said as he jots on a small journal.

"Doctor, I'm afraid that my daughter has gone rather mad. It's as if she isn't connected to reality. Instead, Alice is stuck in place she calls 'Wonderland'. She'll go through these spells where she tends to babble on and on about her wondrous experiences within 'Wonderland'. For example, every time there is a crescent moon Alice starts screaming and pointing at it, claiming that it is something called a 'Cheshire Cat'. Another time, we were just sitting in the garden and I caught her trying to run off, and when I told her not to, she told me she had to follow a white rabbit. The weird thing is, there was never a rabbit at all! Some of the  most recent ones are when she started calling her younger twin brothers, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, she talked to flowers, and she thought she was shrinking! To be honest, it all is getting to a point where it concerns me. Everything Alice does seems like she's trapped in a totally different world."

"So it's almost like she is seeing things that don't exist?" The doctor asked, looking at her over the rims of his glasses.

"Yes. Sorry, it's just... it is starting to really concern me. She's been talking about all these make believe things and yet they just don't exist even though Alice believes them with all her heart. The whole thing has been affecting her mood more. She isn't as happy as she once was, Dr. Smith. I told my husband that she's always in her own world; Alice never pays attention anymore as well. My husband and I, well, we just don't know what to do anymore to stop her active imagination."

"If you could, explain all the abnormal instances to me in detail." Mrs. Hatman did just that, and the doctor listened to every word. Several moments later, she finally finished and Dr. Smith jotted down a few notes in his journal before he spoke, "Alright, here is what I think you should do, I suggest taking her to a psychologist and allow them to have a session together for an hour or so. Then, ask them what you should do because by what you're describing to me, it's hard to tell if it is just--like you said--a very active imagination or a possible mental illness." Dr. Smith thoroughly explained.

The mother's heart sunk, "Wait, are you saying my daughter could really have gone mad?"

"There is a possibility, Mrs. Hatman. She has some signs that can lead to different mental illnesses, but it's not unusual for children to have a big imagination. Just take it easy."

"Thank you, Dr. Smith..." Alice's mother replied dryly as she got up and left. She began to feel very overwhelmed at the fact that her child could be mentally ill.

Later on that week, she took Alice to a psychologist. To confirm Mrs. Hatman's fear, the psychologist mentioned that he suspected Alice had schizophrenia and later, the doctors confirmed it. Alice had schizophrenia. Her mother cried and cried because all she wanted was for her daughter to be healthy again. She wanted Alice to not see or hear the stuff her mind fools her with. It broke her heart. Everything fit together like a puzzle, and it explained why Alice was in her own world all the time.

To be honest, Alice's own mind trapped her up in her own world that she called 'Wonderland'.