Utapri Short Stories

The Fall To Wonderland - Part 1

Walking through the park at night has always been something Haru liked to do, even before she lost her mother and her father disappeared when he went on a trip to London. Being surrounded by the green and the sounds of nature left her in peace and even a little happier. She also loved to read while sitting under one of the oldest trees in the park.
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Although she felt constantly alone and the feeling of abandonment did not leave her heart, she always tried to be smiling and to be kind to people.  That kindness got her a job at a candy store in the town and that was how she paid most of her bills. Haru had no idea what that seemingly ordinary night had in store for her.
~★~
She was starting to feel sleepy when she reached half of the book she was reading. Another one of those alternative novels about Alice in Wonderland. It was her favorite story, after all. The moon was full in the sky and the air was starting to get colder.  It was close to midnight.  She had to go home.
~★~
Haru remembers getting up, taking the wrinkles out of her dress and then stumbling when she took her first step to leave. Only instead of falling forward, she was falling on her back.  A strong light seemed to blind her and she thought it was the moonlight, but ... Something was terribly wrong.  Something really strange was going on.
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Falling ... Falling ... Falling ... Shouldn't she have hit the ground by now? The light was gone. Everything was dark around her and she continued to fall.  What was happening? Haru closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was looking at a beautiful, starry sky... And she was lying on the grass, but it was no longer the park. It was a forest.
~★~
“What place is this?” Haru got up quickly and felt a little dizzy. Then she heard a meow and the rustle of leaves nearby. She turned in the direction of the sound and it sat her heart racing when she noticed the boy hanging from the branch of the tree. He had pink hair and wore a hood with cat ears. “Who are you?” She asked.
~★~
“I can ask you the same question.” The boy replied with a sly smile and jumped from the tree following her gracefully. “Is your name Alice, by any chance?” He raised his eyebrow, studying her from top to bottom. Haru didn't like his look very much and took a step back. “How did you get here?  The cat ate your tongue?” And he giggled.
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“No. My name is Haru.” She decided to answer at last. “And I ... I'm not sure how I got here.” Haru let out a frustrated sigh. The boy finally decided to introduce himself, but the girl was not sure if she liked the answer very much. He said his name was Nagi, but everyone knew him as the Cheshire Cat.
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“And you are in Wonderland.” Nagi explained by stretching his arms and making a gesture that covered everything around them. “More specifically in the Forbidden Forest.” And he shrugged when he said that.  Haru wasn't sure how to react, but she was quite sure that this was a crazy dream and that it would be over soon.  So she decided that she would make the most of her own dream.
~★~
Nagi seemed to be interested in the girl the instant he saw her, so he offered to be her special guide to Wonderland. “But while you're here, you need to pretend that your name is Alice. Nobody from the Land of Reason is accepted in Wonderland, only Alice.” He explained and took her hand with a friendly smile on his face. “I like you. So I will help you.”
~★~
Haru was confused by the whole story, but she believed she was in a dream, so she saw no problem in following him. And he seemed to be a very nice person. It was easy to trust him. “Thanks.” She finally smiled, even if a little sheepishly. Nagi Cheshire guided her through the Forbidden Forest to the city, where she met many interesting places and people.
~★~
The clothing and shoe stores of the brothers Eiji and Eiichi Twedle, who were extremely receptive to “Alice” and presented the girl with a beautiful blue dress and a pair of black shoes from Wonderland. The Hole, the White Rabbit restaurant, Shion White, where they had lunch. The Mad Hatter's hat shop, Van MadHatter, where Haru got a beautiful black tiara and a horrible flirt from the owner.
~★~
They also visited an old friend of Nagi, who owned a cafeteria and library, Kira March Hare, the March hare. Everyone there seemed to be characters from the book that Haru liked so much and she found this dream more and more fun.  When they were about to return to the Forbidden Forest, where Nagi Cheshire lived, he warned her of a great danger: “Be careful with Yamato, the King of Hearts.”
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“The King of Hearts? Why?” Haru asked feeling a strange shiver run down her spine. Nagi explained that the King of Hearts liked challenges too much, but hated losing. And he always lost to people from the Land of Reason, so, after his great defeat, he closed the portal that connected the two worlds for good. “Or at least he thought it closed, right? I am here.” She giggled.
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“Alice didn't let the portal be closed forever. It opens once a month, always on the night of the full moon.” Nagi explained with a sad look that puzzled Haru. She asked about Alice and Nagi ended up revealing that she had disappeared forever after doing the magic to keep the portal open. “But nobody knows that. Just me.”
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“Why do only you know? And why didn't they find it strange that I introduced myself as Alice?” She questioned, confused. And he explained that it was because they didn't remember Alice's appearance.  They just remembered that they liked her very much. “And do you remember?” She asked fearing the answer, but Nagi simply shook his head and the matter died there.
~★~
The two finally arrived at the hut where Nagi Cheshire lived, in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, on the shores of Lake of Tears. The forest at night was much darker, but the lake of tears was lit by a flickering, surreal blue light. Haru didn't even realize that the time in Wonderland passed differently and she still believed she was in a crazy dream. She was sure that if she slept in the dream, she would wake up in the park the ‘next morning’.
~★~

[Continue in the next chapter]

~Chapter cover edited by me!~