100 Days in Wonderland (Heather and Jasmine)

Chapter 2

The water filled to my chin. I felt like I was swimming in a giant saltwater lake. Sometimes the waves would push me under and pull me back up again. This happened for a while now, the up and down pattern. It was like the water was unsure whether to drown me or let me float.

I was frustrated with myself. I never wanted this to happen; the cake, the water, my amnesia. None of it, I wanted none of it. But I forced myself to keep alive. No matter what, I would live past this. The water forced me under once again, but with a newfound determination, I kicked my feet and forced myself upwards.

When I cracked the surface, I greedily took gasps of air. My hands waved frantically, splashing the water around me. Sometimes water would enter my mouth and I would choke on it. That's when I remembered something very crucial.

I couldn't swim.

Panic settled within me. I couldn't swim! I knew at one point I wanted to die, but I began to question my hysterical thinking. I wanted to live more than anything because there was something out there I knew I had to be alive for.

I began to cry out of fear and panic. My tears fell down my cheeks and mixed into the giant saltwater lake. There was no hope. I would die drowning.

"Little girl," a very distinctive, old voice sounded. "Stop your tears." I opened my tear-filled eyes to see a white rabbit in a fancy outfit and a monocle. The rabbit kept afloat on a silver platter that still had some cake on it. He fished his shirt pocket for something until he pulled out; a gold pocket watch.

"Oh dear, oh dear. We are late! Late, late, late. We are late." The fact that a rabbit was talking now was beyond me or my interests. What caught my eye was the giant whirlpool that began to form in the center of the lake. That's where the rabbit took his makeshift raft.

"No, don't go in!" I shouted after him. He would not take his life like this. Even if I didn't know this creature, I wanted it to live.

"Hurry, hurry! We are late! We can't be late." The rabbit grew dangerously close to the edge of the whirlpool. Next thing I knew, the platter tipped downwards, taking the rabbit that was on top of it into the whirlpool.

"No!" I shouted as the currents pulled me toward the whirlpool. I followed the direction of the swirling water, screaming all the way down and into darkness.

My eyes were tightly shut as I braced for impact that never came. Instead my body was cushioned by soft grass. I opened my eyes to see myself and the white rabbit perfectly fine. Never mind that the both of us fell down a raging whirlpool.

"Alice, we must hurry. We are late, and we mustn't be!" The rabbit tapped its foot impatiently as it scurried away. I couldn't help but to think about what he had said. The rabbit had called me Alice. However, my name was Alison.

Or was it really that? I don't remember being called either names.

"Alice, we are late and we mustn't delay any further." The rabbit called out to me.

I got to my feet and chased after it until I caught up to him. He scurried frantically across the forest floor.

"My name isn't Alice, Mr. Rabbit. I'm sure you must be mistaken."

"There is no time for jokes or games, Alice! I have told you countless times that we must hurry because we are late." The rabbit seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with me. "You are Alice Liddell, a guest of honor at the very place we are late to. Don't you know that it's rude to keep people waiting at a tea party?"

Deciding that the rabbit was very stubborn and clearly confused, I decided to go along with it. Surely I could pretend to be this 'Alice Liddell' person for a little while longer. But how long will I have to assume this false identity?

"Alison!" A voice echoed behind me. I whipped around yet no one was there. But I was one hundred percent positive someone had called me. As far as I could see there was no one. That was the last thing I remembered as I fell back into my pitiful darkness.