Once Upon a Tale

Chapter 15: Canopies

"Deep in the forest I stroll to hear the wisdom of my soul."
~Angie Weiland-Crosby~

"That's eccentric."

"It's fantastic."

"Seriously? You sip blood because you just want to scare people but you don't even find it tasty? That's very stupid of you." I stated, scrunching my nose to emphasize my disgust.

"I'm used to it. That trait of mine also makes me special you know." Hoseok grins, multicolored eyes sparkling under the sun.

That time, when I thought I was free from the grasps of the forest, when the hatter let me go, I thought I would never encounter the hatter again.

I was wrong.

After a while of being out of the forest, the mad hatter suddenly popped out of nowhere, wearing his glorious hat paired with his very fashionable clothing, smiling ever so widely at me.

When I ask why is he with me, he replied with, "Because I want to know the woman who sees me as a special human."

That answer of his led as to what we're talking about now, which is, our hobbies, traits, and other stuff.

"Still, that's really disgusting." I grimaced but the mad hatter beside me laughed like I didn't just insult him.

He softly nudged my side while laughing heartily. "You know, it's not fun if you don't know someone eccentric. Your life would be so bland."

Raising a brow, I turn to look at the mad hatter. "I know someone very eccentric, Hoseok. His eccentricity level is higher than his dreams."

"Who? Me?" Hoseok asked, making a cross-eyed look.

"Nope. My lover." I said giving him a tight-lipped smile after.

"Oh." Is the hatter's only word after what I said.

A minute of silence occurred. Only the chirping of birds and the crickets could be heard.

"Is he ugly?" Hoseok suddenly asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"What?" I asked bewildered, my tone somehow sounding like a hiss.

The hatter grinned sheepishly nodding his head repeatedly signaling a positive answer.

He just asked if my lover is ugly. Well, I'll left that for you to answer.

"I thought that your lover maybe ugly because you seem to badmouth him. Perhaps you got framed up then the only way out is to be with that lover of yours." Hoseok rambled out then proceeded on munching on his cotton candy.

Wait—

"Where did that sweet come from?" I asked baffled.

Hoseok looked at me for a few seconds before pointing at the cotton candy he's currently devouring with his sweet-cotton-candy-coated lips. "This? Oh, it came from my hat."

I tilted my head to the side. "Your hat produced that sweet? That little hat on top of your head did that?"

"Uh huh. This hat of mine is like my best friend. No, scratch that. This hat is my best friend. It gives me everything I want and need. And I mean everything as in everything." Hoseok explained, motioning his hands here and there to describe what he is saying.

"Wow, so that hat of yours could help me? Could that help me go back home?" I asked starting to get amazed by the wonders behind the mad hatter's hat.

"No." Hoseok stated clearly.

"W-why no? Don't that hat give you everything? If you tell it to bring me back home, it will fulfill your wish right? So why can't it—" He cut me off.