Through The Rabbit Hole

Chapter Six: Ryan

I walked in circles around the forest, taking different turns every time I reached a fork in the road. If Alyssa went this way she definitely took a different way than me. It would be a miracle if I found her in the maze. At a certain point I thought I had backtracked too far because I saw grass that appeared a bit greener. This area was way bigger though. It appeared as if I was just in a gigantic grass patch. There was a section where a diversity of flowers grew and sat peacefully.

I walked over and saw a bunch of Tiger lilies and smiled. They were Alyssa's favorite. I only remembered that because when we were in grade school she told all the boys in class that if they were getting here flowers for Valentine's day, they had to be Tiger lilies. The next day every boy brought in bunches of them and her desk overflowed with flowers. I was the first one in to put mine on her desk but, It was slightly heart crushing since mine went unnoticed at the bottom of the pile. I turned to walk away when a voice rang out through the garden.

"Hello, may we help you?" the voice sounded sweet but it was traced with annoyance. I looked desperately for the source of it but no one was around. "Over here," it demanded and I turned to see a giant rose glaring at me.

"Sorry, I'm just looking for someone," I started out but was too intimidated to continue.

"Well, we don't welcome weeds here," she said through anger boiling up. She put extra emphasis on weeds as if I didn't know I was one. I wasn't one though.

"Um, I'm a human," I tried to explain. I looked around for some kind of savior only to see the other flowers had woken up and were glaring at me. Even the once sweet Tiger Lilies. The rose scoffed at me.

"Yeah, right. Don't test me, I know a weed when I see one," she shunned me from any explanation as other flowers joined in on the verbal bullying.

"I'm sorry, but, can you give me directions?" I pleaded only to be pushed down.

"Yes, out of my garden," she said in a sassy tone before pushing me to the exit. I tried to reason with her but the other flowers just cheered and snapped at me until I was pushed out of the grass patch. I stood and let myself steam for a few minutes before trying a different way. I continued through the grass before meeting another clearing. A caterpillar sat on top of a mushroom smoking and creating pictures with the colorful smoke. I approached him in hopes of a real answer but instead got as face full of smoke.

"Who are you?" he breathed out smoke that read what he said into my face. I coughed and waved it away.

"I'm Ryan and I'm trying to find a girl named Alyssa," I forced out through coughs. The caterpillar leaned back and continued to create pictures.

"I don't know who that is," he replied smugly. I frowned at his pathetic response.

"Well, have you seen a girl with blonde hair, freckles, and wearing skinny jeans?" I asked trying to describe her without embarrassing myself like last time. He continued to smoke and ignore my voice.

"I don't know who that is," he once again said. my tolerance was wearing low with this guy.

"Look, I know this may be uninteresting but, can you at least help me out a little?" I raised my voice at him which must've pulled a string because he got a little sassy with me.

"Not with that attitude," he snapped at me. I lost it.

"Then what attitude? I've tried being nice, but you keep ignoring me!" I shouted at him. At this his face turned a deep red and he stood up. He then proceeded to yell gibberish at me until he popped. He literally popped. A burst of smoke appeared and all that was left was his skin. I stared in disbelief at the mushroom. It wasn't until I heard a voice above me that I was filled with relief. He just turned into a butterfly.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but you could try asking the Queen," he yelled from the sky. I smiled and thanked him for his help before he flew off. I started back towards the path before realizing I don't know where the Queen is.