The Heart of Wonderland

Chapter 21

Mrs. Kim met Alison in Central Park, a worried frown creasing her face. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I could hardly understand you on the phone. And then when you hung up so suddenly..." She led Alison to a bench. "I was worried that you were in trouble."

Alison hunched her shoulders. "I'm sorry to bother you. I was at the Met with my aunt and I got overwhelmed." She sniffled. "I used to go there all the time with my mom, you know? Aunt Caroline wanted to try this group art class and I froze up, then totally freaked, so I kind of...took off."

"You 'took off'? You mean your aunt does not know where you are?"

Alison hung her head. "No?" Her voice rose at the end of the word, as if she was asking Mrs. Kim instead of the other way around. Guilt began to seep in around the edges of the anxiety that had driven her away from the museum.

Mrs. Kim squeezed Alison's hand. "I know you're in pain, but you must think before you act. This is what will make you a strong Keeper."

"I know."

"Come, we will go to my home," Mrs. Kim said. "You can call your aunt from my apartment and let her know you are all right."

When they reached Mrs. Kim's apartment building, Alison gazed up at the mirrored glass that coated the building's many windows. A uniformed doorman ushered them into the lobby and Mrs. Kim smiled at him.

"Hello, Mrs. Kim." The man returned her smile. "Who's your new friend?"

"This is Alison. She is a friend of my grandson, Maddox."

The doorman's eyebrows rose. "Maddox is doing better? That's great news."

Mrs. Kim's smile dimmed slightly. "Unfortunately, his condition remains the same. But Alison was kind enough to visit him at the hospital recently. His doctors say the extra stimulation might help him wake up."

The man looked down at Alison with kind eyes. "Well, that's good to hear. You tell Maddox I'm thinking of him next time you see him, all right?"

Alison nodded. "I will," she promised. But it won't be in the hospital. Excitement flip-flopped in the pit of her stomach. Soon she would be back in Wonderland with Maddox, on her way to finding the Heart and helping him come home to his family.

Mrs. Kim led Alison to an elevator that whooshed them to the very top of the building. When the doors opened and Alison stepped out into the hallway, she glanced around in surprise. "There's only one apartment on this whole floor?"

Mrs. Kim nodded. "I am very fortunate that I can afford the penthouse suite. I left Korea in the 1950s, during the Korean War, when I was a girl. When my family came to America, my parents established a martial arts school. Although we were separated by distance, your family and mine have been connected for many generations. When I was old enough, your grandfather helped me find work in Hollywood as a stunt double."

She smiled, remembering, as she unlocked her door and ushered Alison inside. "An actress and a talent agent—they hardly seem like the perfect jobs for a Guardian and a Keeper, do they? Of course, you know that your father followed in your grandfather's footsteps, but my son had little interest in becoming a Guardian. He was more like his father, very business-minded. He wanted only to become an investment manager and increase the family's wealth so I would never have to worry about money ever again." She smiled. "But he was a good son, and he did his duty as a Guardian. Until—" Now her smile faltered.

"Until what?" Alison prompted.

Mrs. Kim sighed. "Until Maddox's mother went missing."

"What happened to her?"