“London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.”
Soft footsteps echoed off the tiled floor. It was cold, this far underground.
“London bridge is falling down, my fair lady.”
The owner of the footsteps, Cecilia, shivered. She was bringing tea to the young girl in room 691. Alice.
The singing got louder as she approached the room. Cecilia brushed her short blonde hair out of her eyes.
Holding the tea tray in one hand, she unlocked the door with the other and gently pushed it open.
The room was dark, as usual. Cecilia turned on the oil lamp and watched as the flame illuminated the other girls features. Alice had turned seventeen a week ago. She sat in the corner, staring at an old, dirty rag doll. Her raven hair grew past her waist and she was so pale, she looked almost dead. Alice was petite and, honestly, quite beautiful. Too bad she was insane.
“Hello, Alice.” Cecilia set the tray on the small, circular table in the center of the white-tiled room. Up until today, there had been one chair for Alice to sit at as she ate, when she ate. Now there was two.
“Alexander is visiting today.” She continued. Alexander was a friend of Alice’s, before she went crazy. Everyone else she knew gave up on her. She was no more then a lost cause to them. Alexander never did.
They were allowing him to visit as part of an attempt to restore Alice’s sanity. The doctors hoped reintroducing a face from her past would shock her back to reality. They were almost certain it would work.
Cecilia was skeptical. She doubted it would work. She had spent more time with Alice then anyone else who worked in the asylum. At twenty-three, Cecilia was only a few years older then Alice. She had worked there since she was eighteen and had been working with her for five years. Before Cecilia came, Alice had been taken care of by and old lady who had passed away the week Cecilia started work.
Alice didn’t respond. She just continued singing.
“London bridge is falling down…” Alice looked up. Her blue-green eyes pierced Cecilia’s soft blue ones.
“Hello, White Rabbit.” Alice half whispered, half muttered.
White Rabbit. For whatever reason, that’s what Alice called her. Cecilia assumed it had something to do with her blonde hair and white nurses uniform.
She placed the tray on the table and crossed the room to where Alice sat. She helped the younger girl stand up and fixed her plain white gown for her. Cecilia led her to the table and sat her in the chair.
Alice clutched the doll to her chest. She stared at the pot of tea and cups. She stared at the plate of toast and jar of strawberry jam. She held the doll tighter.
From down the hall, Cecilia heard a faint whistling. It was a tune she didn’t recognize, but loved just the same. The whistling grew louder and Cecilia was able to make out two pairs of footsteps.
The whistling stopped just outside the door. Cecilia lifted the teapot and and began filling the two teacups as the door clicked open.
Two men entered the room. One was a guard who Cecilia recognized as John, thirty years old, married with two kids. He had a pistol visibly holstered at his belt.
The other was a young man, maybe twenty years old. He was tall, well built with slightly muscled arms and calloused hands, indicating he a lot of heavy lifting. Maybe he was helping to build the new bank in town?
He had shaggy, chocolate colored hair that fell in his eyes. The mans eyes were what startled Cecilia most. They were a dark brown, so dark they almost blended with his pupils. The way he looked at his surroundings was unnerving. Most people who saw the asylum for the first time were horrified, terrified, even.
But he seemed… calm. Too calm.
Cecilia saw a hint of childish glee in his otherwise emotionless eyes as his gave shifted to Alice.
A wide grin plastered itself on his face.
“Hello, Alice.”
His voice was like velvet. The way each syllable rolled off his tongue was a knife through butter.
Alice looked up from the now full teacup in her hands and looked at the man. In that moment, Cecilia saw something she had never seen before, and feared she’d never see again.
The corners of Alice’s mouth curled up into a small smile.
“Hello, Hatter.”
