Off To Wonderland

Peter Piper

A tall man with the deepest black hair she had ever seen strode into view. He was holding a then, long flute to his lips and playing such a soothing tune. She felt as if she was dreaming and the music filled her head making it hard to think. The piper locked eyes with her. Such icy blue eyes seemed to freeze her body in place. A chill of realization ran up her spine. Still playing he winked at her and moved his head in a way that meant she should follow. Slowly, almost as if she was floating, she stood up and followed behind. She couldn’t think about what she was doing. In fact, she couldn’t think at all. The music was so wonderful, so soothing. She smiled dreamily, closing her eyes and just following the man by ear.

The trees became deeper and deeper blues as the headed farther into the woods. The memories of the circus were gone, but were not the only ones. Slowly she began to forget who she was, or why she was there. She tried to remember. But her thoughts seemed muddled and thick. She felt like she was trying to run in water. Now everything thought, memory, dream, and wish was empty. All that swirled in her brain was the soft music and the image of the handsome tall piper who lead her forward.

They stopped at a soft mossy place and sat down. The piper slowly brought his song to an end, and Amber’s heart ached for him to continue, but he didn’t. Instead he smiled softly at her and asked,

“Did you like it?” Amber paused for a moment lost as to what he was asking.

“Oh! You mean your song,” she said wide eyed. “It was lovely. What was it called?”

“Midnight blue,” he said in a voice almost as soothing as his flute. “Would you like me to play another?”

“Yes! Oh yes please!” she said happily. He smiled and raised the flute to his lips. Amber closed her eyes and enjoyed the wonderful melodies he created. When she opened her eyes she noticed that a group of children had gathered around them. They seemed dazed by the music as she was. Something was wrong with them, but she couldn’t focus. The deformed bodies, and missing limbs were vaguely familiar, but she didn’t know why. She should be frightened by their appearances, but she wasn’t. A small boy with no eyes walked up to her and stood in front of her. She opened her arms and the child crawled into her lap, cuddling close to her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his hair. Other children sat by her or next to her, some resting their head on or leaned against her. Amber watched the piper and their eyes stared into each other’s. The world was so simple, so gentle, she felt as if she could stay forever.

“What is your name?” she asked the piper. The music stopped, and everyone listening blinked, as if waking from a dream.

“Peter. I am a corrector of the path; A leader.”

“Have we met?” she asked him, “your eyes are so familiar” he smiled sadly.

“No. I don’t think we have.”

“OUCH!” Amber yelped. She looked down at her arm. A blue haired girl had just bitten her wrist and blood boiled out of her skin. As she watched the blood ooze out she was hit with a blast of memories. She screeched, holding her head in her hands, and falling into a fetal position. The memories came fast and hard: her family, her friends, the clubbing, the drugs, the dreams, and the man who pulled her out of the green world. She sat up and looked at Peter. He was standing now looking down at her, worry in his eyes.

“It was you…” she whispered, “you pulled me out of the green world.” His worry turned to an empty stare.

“Yes,”

“Why?” she whispered. And then she looked at him with anger. “WHY?!” she shouted standing to her feet. The children scattered into the woods hissing.

“Because you fell off the path. You can’t stay in a dead world. You must move onto the next” Amber clentched her teeth in anger.

“Where you their when it happened? Did you see what they did?!”

“Yes,”

“AND YOU DID FUCKING NOTHING!! WHY DIDN’T YOU DO SOMETHING?!? WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP IT,”

“It was on the right path. There was no need for me to step in.”

“The path! What the fuck is this path thing you keep going on about?!?!”

“It is the path you chose when you opened the red door,” he answered. The air grew thick and suffocating with silent.

“The red….door?” Peter nodded. She looked around her for the children, but they seemed to have vanished into the air.

“Ok and what is my “path” in the blue door,”

“This dream is almost over. It is a short path. You will wake up soon.” He said, then turned and started to leave.

“WAIT!” she shouted, reaching out and grabbing his sleeve. She felt nothing and then fell through him. She rolled over and looked up but he was gone. She looked around franticly. The world seemed to blur and start to melt. She jumped to her feet and ran to her left and then to her right, confused as to which way to go.

“You ass hole!” she shouted to the world.