ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʀɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟɪᴄᴇ ɢʀᴏᴠᴇ (ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪ)

It's very frustrating when you can't end a story. Picture this.

A great hero. A villain with a tragic past. A quest to save the world. In other words, it's your typical 'hero saves the world story'. But what about this? What if the hero is actually the villain and the villain is the hero? What if their society had gotten the stories wrong?

The villain is dangling from the cliff, and the once faithful servant is awaiting the downfall of the master. But then...

That's it.

Does the villain die?

Does the hero save the villain?

Or does the servant have a change of heart?

That's what I'm thinking in the taxi. And it's bloody frustrating.

A story has to have the right ending. And it's all based on the author's opinion and the characters. Wrong ending and you will find yourself shunned by the writing society. "Ma'am, your phone is ringing", the taxi driver yawned and bit into his green apple. Blushing slightly at my obliviousness, I answered the phone.

"Darling!"

Big mistake answering the phone. Big. Damn. Mistake.

"You are coming to the party tomorrow right?"

Shi-

"Yeah yeah yeah yeahhh totally...coming...to the party...tomorrow..."

"Don't buy any nerf guns for Bobby ok? I already got him that".

My mother was always a very cool person. I remember one time back in 3rd grade, some kids were bullying me for not being 'cool', and then my mom showed up in this black Mercedes car and acted all intimidating when she picked me up later that day in her sunglasses.

It was snowing.

"Mhm, yeah got it", I mumbled out an intelligent reply. "Ohhh I can't wait to see my mincykins!" she yelled. The driver snorted and I cringed. I liked mince pies as a kid and that nickname stuck ever since.

"I gotta go mom. Bye!", I said and hung up after she said goodbye. Huffing, I looked at my phone and opened my to-do list.

I love Bobby. He's my only nephew and was the first to hug me when I graduated college. I had to buy him the best present. Frowning, I checked up on my old notes.

I'm sure Aunty Forest would faint if I gave a kid a wine bottle. And nerf gun's a definite no. Maybe a 'My little pony playset'...

Then I remembered that old note from the 16th of May 2018.

I opened google.

How many cats does a cat person have |

Then the car came to a stop. I hit my head on the seat and let out a muffled ouch. "Why'd we stop?", I demanded. "Lady, I ain't no magical goose a'right? If you wanna taxi that flies, ask someone else", the driver huffed.

I am definitely raising a complaint to Uber about customer service. And why in the name of Great Aunt Gertrude would the guy speak about the damn taxi flying? I looked outside and noticed something very wrong.

Traffic.

I mean, there's always traffic on these streets, that's not weird. But then I noticed people were blocking the roads, and drivers and passengers were whispering in awe. I got out of the taxi and went over to a times square billboard.

The screen was displaying breaking news.

Beloved statue missing from Alice Grove.

Alice Grove? The Alice Grove that I'm supposed to be at tomorrow?

Then my phone rang again. "Oh my god, Mari, did you see the headline? It's legit. That girl statue is actually missing? It was there this morning; I swear and now...it's gone. Poof! It's like it walked away!". My childhood friend, Isana, was talking a mile a minute. "Remember the wishes we made in the fountain. And we would touch the statue's feet for good luck? I mean, it was a tradition in school, and sometimes, the guys would kiss the girl's cheek for luck in the love department. Isn't it crazy? I mean, Alice Grove isn't Alice Grove without Alice the statue!".

I could only let out a few words as she continued her everlasting rant. Finally, she said she would see me near the coffee shop tomorrow and cut the call before I could say goodbye.

The traffic was starting to clear up so I went over to the taxi guy, paid him, and walked home.

My phone was buzzing, probably more notifications on the news of the statue, and my relatives messaging me, saying they can't wait for tomorrow.

I couldn't wait either.

I was looking forward to seeing everyone. But in the back of my mind, a question kept nagging me.

Where did Alice go?