Beautiful Madness, Book One: Follow the White Rabbit

Chapter 3: Intermittent Madness

“Gwen,” Marc coaxed softly from the sofa.

“It should have happened by now.”

“You don’t know that. Give it time.”

“What if nothing happens? What if I’ve already missed it?” Gwen chewed gently on her knuckle as she peered into the long grass.

She had been leaning on the window frame for an hour, staring out at the forest while uncertainty continued to spread through her mind like a stain. The weight of this day had been pressing down on her for weeks while she relentlessly studied the history books, but today could very well be the day the tension finally crushed her.

Since Gwen had woken up that morning—literally rolling out of her bed—she’d been almost single-minded in her obsession, only pausing to make some quick additions to her ensemble. A special day deserved a special outfit. She hadn’t slept much at all, and her wild red hair looked even more unkempt than usual, but that wasn’t her concern. At first, when she had been too sleepy to notice, her clothing had looked tired and not at all up to Gwen’s usually eclectic standards. Some might even have claimed that her ruffled top matched nicely with her powder-blue skirt! It simply wouldn’t do. After sitting by the window to enjoy her first cup of tea, she’d gone back to throw on a bright orange belt and ruby red party shoes just to keep things interesting.

And then she waited.

And waited…

The sofa squeaked as Marc shifted his weight. “You’re waiting on a rabbit. As in a furry little animal? And you’re expecting it to be keeping a schedule? I can’t say I understand exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish, but we’ll be laughing about this later. I promise.” He was determined to keep the mood light, and his optimism was incessantly sincere. And annoying.

“You make it all sound so ridiculous.” Gwen looked over her shoulder at her roommate to see if he was teasing her. She needed him to appreciate what was at stake, to agree that seeing a white rabbit today was the most important thing they could be worrying about right now.

She had tried to explain the intricacies of Wonderland’s lore to him—the patterns and tipping points that determined the fate of all her residents—but it was hard to do without coming off as a little unsteady. She could talk endlessly about the books she’d read or the stories she had been told, but that didn’t make her grandmother’s tales of talking animals sound any less ridiculous. If she tried to explain how she knew that the legends were true, he’d think she was as well and truly mad as all her neighbors believed her to be.

At times, Gwen felt as though Marc was the only one who saw any value in her ramblings, and she wasn’t about to lose him by explaining the near silent voices she heard every time she left the house. The land and its inhabitants remembered Wonderland’s history, and whispered secrets to Gwen—secrets Gwen didn’t always want to hear.

So she waited, safely hidden behind stone walls that blocked the murmurs of the forest.

It was nearly time for tea when Gwen caught a flash of white fur in her peripheral vision. She leaned toward the window, pressing her palm to the glass. At last, he had come. It was the sign she had been waiting for—the catalyst that would set everything else into motion.

“He’s here,” she exclaimed in an excited whisper. She heard the tell-tale creak of the sofa as Marc stood up to join her.

The creature paused briefly to sit in clear view of the window.

He was there. The white rabbit. He’d found her.

A feeling of accomplishment pressed at the back of Gwen’s mind.