Wonderland

Rabbit Holes

" If I could just go back ten years

And say you're doing fine my dear

Don't let them tell you who to be

You're enough and in time you'll see "

There she sat, a young petite blonde girl of sixteen years. She sat on one of the nice white chairs on the deck of her home, looking out across the wide garden. It was a sunny day, golden rays lighting up her hair wonderfully, like a little angel according to her Aunt. Though, where she looked like one, she did not feel like it.

You see, this young girl was a bit different. A child fostered by the man who raised her now, an explorer who she admired greatly. Though she had not seen him in many months. It was on this sunny day that his sister, her Aunt, you could call her, though there was no blood relation, had decided to throw one of her famous lunch parties. The girl despised her Aunt's lunch parties which were full of other upper-class families trying to outdo each other and match their children up for profitable marriages.

After stomaching all she could of the prestige, the girl, clad in a blue and white dress with little black shoes, decided to take a walk in the gardens. She made her way to the small maze they had in the back, adorned with beautiful flowers. It was one she had walked so many times she could find the center with her eyes closed. She used to race through the hedges with wonder, but it had become a place of contemplation and regrets as of late.

She missed the days where she could run free without her governess or others yelling at her and dragging her back. She dreamt of days as a child, spending her time on a boat sailing across open water. A man with blue eyes and gentle hands, the same hands she remembered leaving her in a small orphanage never to be seen again. Everyone told her she imagined it all, that she could not recall instances when she was but 5 years old, but she stood firm. It all seemed so real, playing chess with her father or at least playing with the pieces. Soon she would be expected to find a suitor, someone to marry and she just couldn't fathom it.

"Oh, I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late for a very important date!"

The words pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked out to see a white rabbit, but this was no ordinary rabbit. This one dawned a vest and kept mumbling to itself as it raced through the maze. Now, this young girl had never even heard of a talking rabbit, never even dreamed it. She was a curious one and simply could not resist the temptation to follow. She raced after him, he seemed so familiar, like that of a dream from long ago. She wanted to know, she needed to know, curiosity taking over.

The rabbit lept into a large hole in the ground. It was one she hadn't noticed before as it had been covered by bushes and grass. She got onto her knees, cringing internally at the anger her Aunt would release upon her when she saw the dirt on her new dress. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to stop because a talking rabbit was worth investigating. She would never forgive herself if she let such an opportunity slip away. It was too dark to see much, so she leaned in even more, trying to catch a glimpse of the strange white rabbit. She leaned in a bit too far, and suddenly, she was falling.

~**~

They say all good stories start with "Once Upon A Time", but perhaps it would be better to start like "On a Day Like Any Other" since, in Piper Kingsley's experience, it is on those days that extraordinary things come to pass. On the days that seem to bleed into each other and one cannot tell today from yesterday; those are the days that invite adventure and even the smallest inconsistency can yield unimaginable results.