Lost In Wonderland

1. Just Amelia

The man before me was a sight truly unpredicted, but his frosty personality made me wish I could wake up. Yes, I tried pinching my elbow, but nothing appeared to work. His unemotional eyes darted away every time I even dared to glance in his direction. The green hedges hid us from the mansion that lingered above us, and the sky was hidden by several cherry blossom trees. The gentle petals fell all over the silence that we shared.

Running his hand through his soft looking hair, he looked somewhat uncomfortable. I stared downwards adjusting my red dress in the small, blue metal chair.

Sliding my finger around the rim of the ornate teacup, I listened to the gentleman in front of me as he continued questioning what I was doing in his Garden. His intimidating image made it hard for me to look away, but I, too, was still in the process of trying to understand what has occurred in the past 8 hours to land me here.

Oh, let's take a major leap backwards to who I am, and what I'm doing on this man's property. It isn't much of a story, because my life has always been so simple, but I believe that from today on, something much more interesting. Starting with this man.

One moment, I was fast asleep in my warm bed, dreaming about a white hare with a ticking pocket watch who gestured for me to follow him. Then, I wake up in a lively garden that belongs to this strange man with an odd obsession of both tea and funky hats.

Before this dream, I was a country bumpkin with a foster family. Several siblings and a single mother who yelled nonstop for endless things. I've never felt out of place with them, even though I had insanely wavy hair and noticeable hazel eyes. We worked from the time we got back from school to the time we went to bed, and the cycle continued until the weekend, when we worked all day in the heat of the barns. It wasn't as bad as I made it seem, I promise. You get used to it over time, especially when you rather be in a stable home than a foster home of drug users. I've been there already, twice.

I twirled the strand of hair with my finger, lost in my thoughts. I feel lost when I stare into this man's dilated ocean blue eyes. His naturally pink lips don't move, so I try thinking of reasons for my sudden arrival. I could only recall the snow white rabbit's name, Levi.

Neither of us knows what brought me here, so eventually, he gave up on asking and sighed. A slight grin displayed on his face, he gave into the thought that I wasn't the intruder he was exaggerating out to be. It must have been like him to assume the worst in people who stray in his garden.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I properly introduced myself." He stood up and extended his gloved hand. His perky face differed from his previous appearance. "My name is Ethan Hatter, the son of the founder, or otherwise known as The Mad Hatter." His voice began to trail at the pronunciation of his father's name.

Faking a Smile, I stood up and shook his hand. He was obviously a nut job, so I'll just play along in his role play.

"I'm Amelia Gold." I thought it was only proper to exchange my name as well. Sitting back down, we talked lightly, not pressing on the subject of my arrival, just before a tall, young man walked over with a tea pot and a small plate of white cookies. His thin appearance remained straight and proper. He poured into both our glasses before turning to Ethan. Oddly, I could have sworn I saw two, long, pointy white ears on the top of his shaggy dark brown hair. Paying no mind, I watched silently as the two talked in short whispers. They exchanged odd glances my way before Ethan slumped back into his seat, reaching for the teapot.

"Amelia, my friend here was suggesting you spend your stay in my mansion." The hare looked the other way. " What do you say?" Ethan finally spoke up as a swift breeze blew past. A strand of his messy brown fell slightly and he pushed it away. The tall man in the black suit stood up straight, emerald green eyes focused on me.