Behind Sanity

Chapter Ten

                                                                     Behind Sanity 

                                                                       Chapter Ten 

                                                                                1 

                Alice pumped her legs harder as she ran through the trees.  The patterns of branches seemed to part for her as she ran, but then again, perhaps she simply didn’t feel the sharp pains as small limbs popped her face and legs.  The rabbit was far ahead of her – as he had been this entire time – and he was moving so fast that Alice thought he was actually trying to lose her.  Finally, she decided she could run no more.  Her sides ached tremendously.

                “Stop!” she yelled with what was left of her breath, coming to a halt. “I’m not going any farther!”

                “You don’t have to.  We’re here.” said the rabbit, not the least bit out of breath.

                “We’re here?” asked Alice, looking about her.  This part of the woods looked just like all the rest, decorated with very little more than trees, rocks, and moss. “But, there’s nothing here!”

                 “That’s where you’re wrong!” declared the rabbit. 

                He leaned over to the side and parted the bushes to reveal the truth: nearby was an elegantly-built house in a clearing beside water.  It wasn’t large enough to be considered a mansion, but it was still stately in stylish Victorian architecture.  But upon closer inspection, Alice could see that the paint was peeling and the wood was rotting.  The roof was covered in slimy moss, and the water was actually a foul-smelling swamp.  Somehow, she recognized this place, though she could not place it.

                “This is all well and good, but I don’t see any caterpillar,” she said skeptically.

 The white rabbit laughed then.  “Oh, you silly girl!  There are other places to go first!  For you see, there are so many others who want to see you and welcome you home!”

                “This is not my home,” she said firmly.

                “Come, come!  Don’t be silly!  You must go pay a visit now!” he said, pushing her through the bushes and out into the open.

                “But who am I visiting?” she called back as she stumbled through.  To her dismay, however, when she turned her head, the rabbit was already gone.

                 She rolled her eyes and turned towards the house.  The place certainly didn’t look welcoming, but what was she to do?  She might as well humor these creatures for a while – as long as her tolerance held out or until she could find a way out of here.  Beside that, wasn’t there a nice pair of boots sitting there beside the door?  Her cold wet feet would certainly be happy if she took a closer look.  

                She approached the house and stepped up onto the rickety porch that creaked beneath her feet.  The calm wind and silence that accompanied it was disturbing, interrupted only by the croaking of frogs in the swampy water nearby.  She looked down toward the tall black boots with the silver buckles that sat outside the door.  She did not know why they were there.  They did not appear dirty or worn in any way, but they did appear to be just her size.