Into the Looking Glass: A Modern Alice in Wonderland

part 3 :D

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The morning was as cloudy as the one before it, though it wasn’t as damp or wet. I could even spot the sun peeking out a few times, lighting up the dew on my neighbours’ lawns to sparkling glass fragments. Alphonse was busy whipping his furry head from side to side, at the few rabbits that dotted the lawns closest to the forest. I jerked his leash roughly every time he stopped and tensed, too sick of rabbits and their eeriness to even look at them.

I’d woken up at 8 this morning, bleary eyed and remembering a distant dream of circling shark eyes and flames. I’d shaken off the dream, though, and gotten dressed to take Alphonse out for another walk. While feeding both him and myself, I’d written a note for sister reminding her to do the dishes, which would undoubtedly piss her off. But I’d remembered to take my phone with me today, so she wouldn’t have to sit at home and tense with worry over my location.

I came back to cold reality as I almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk that my foot had caught in. “What the-shit!!” I grumbled to myself as I felt the rough edge of the sidewalk against my socked foot. I kneeled down to inspect my foot, and saw that the sidewalk had actually torn my shoe so my pinkie was sticking out. I mumbled some other curse words, before continuing to walk in the direction of town. I’d have to place a special order for another pair of these sneakers at the only shoe store in this small town, since they weren’t popular enough to carry in stock.

Alphonse seemed to pick up on my dark mood, and he didn’t stop at any more rabbits that we passed. The rabbits tensed at the sight of us, then broke into sprints when we came too close. I grumbled at them too; mad at having to drag Alphonse into town. I’d only planned for a short walk around my block, but now I had to drag the too-friendly dog into the one place full with people he hadn’t met yet – tourists.

I noticed the amount of little kids and families as I walked to Hop, the only shoe store. Most were shivering in the slightly cold weather, and the dads all had beer bellies that pressed against the cloth of their t-shirts. I walked past the families quickly, pointedly looking away from any brothers. Alphonse had to sniff by every goddamn baby carriage though, so that by the time I was at the small library beside Hop I’d had to tug on his leash a total of nine times. I tied him to the bike rack outside of the library, trying my best not to look at the building beside me. I knew that, inside the rectangle building, copies of newspapers with important dates and historical events were kept in a section so people could read them. The one containing the article about my brother’s disappearance and the increased use of drugs was in there among them.

I finished tying Alphonse up and walked into the shoe store quickly. I didn’t trust Alphonse alone with all those baby kids to sniff and terrorize, so I talked with the short bald owner of Hop quickly about my order. I spent a good amount of time trying to place my order, while he talked about anything and everything. By the time we even got on the subject of my order I’d started worrying about Alphonse, and the amount of kids outside. The owner, Bob Hankings, was subtly trying to raise the price of the shoes, while I was trying to haggle them to cheaper than what I’d bought my last pair for. When we agreed on the exact same price as the last pair, I was ready to burst out of the store to check on Alphonse, but I forced myself to go at a decent walking pace.

I opened the red door of Hop, with its wind chimes tingling from the motion, to stare at Alphonse straining at his leash as hard as he could. His black and white-coloured body was stretched out as far as it could go, so the front part was hidden in the alley between Hop and the library. His tail was wagging furiously, so I could only assume that some poor kid was stuck petting Alphonse, scared that if they left Alphonse would growl and try to bite them.