The Melancholy of Wonderland

Stranded

When Anya regained consciousness, she was staring into small pools of blue-violet. Or, more accurately, Raven's eyes.

"Anya? Are you alright?" he asked, a noticeable hint of worry laced into his words.

"Glad to see you're learning to put some emotion into your voice," she groaned. "I'm alright... Just wet, sore, and tired."

"I see. At least that is better than being a corpse floating at sea."

"If that was your attempt at humor then I am extremely unamused." Anya lifted herself up and stretched. "By the way, where exactly are we?"

"I'm not sure. I believe this is a small island."

He wasn't kidding when he said it was small. The island was barely thirty feet in diameter, the center congested with palm-like trees and lush greenery. The sand was blindingly white but the waters around the island were a wonderful deep emerald green. The color was a stark contrast from the dark blue of Captain Alex's hair and the seas he loved to sail. Anya swallowed bile, sincerely hoping Alex and Ray were alright. Speaking of Ray...

"Why do you suppose Ray threw us overboard?" It was hard not to keep a scowl off her face as she kicked a small stone by her foot. The stone turned out to be a crab-like creature, scuttling away while waving its pincers menacingly.

"Again, I am not sure," Raven sighed. "But never mind that. We have no means of getting off this island. Do you have a plan?"

"Thankfully, I do."

In sixth grade, Anya had picked up a book from her local library on basic survival skills. Back then, she had no idea when that information would come in handy but now she was extremely glad she had bothered to glean that extra knowledge. They would probably be dead without it.

"First, we have to find or make a shelter of some sort to protect ourselves from the sun. The trees over there look like they'll be fine. We'll leave our stuff there and then look for dry wood, floodwater wood, and make a fire with it. With any luck, a passing boat will notice the smoke and come find us."

"I see. A very solid idea." Raven nodded in approval.

"We'll also try again at nighttime; the light of the fire might be more noticeable."

Unfortunately, it was very hard to find dry wood suitable for a fire. The island was lush with greenery and hardly anything on it was dying. They did find some browned palm fronds but Anya wasn't sure how good of a fire they would make. Their fire had to last several hours, after all. There was also the problem of conserving resources. There was only so much burnable wood on the island that could be used before they had to resort to their clothes or something of the sort. Luckily Raven found a large piece of dry wood half-buried in the sand. They managed to break it into smaller chunks and started a fire from that.

"Here, have some water." Anya handed a water bottle to her companion. "Our main concern right now should be keeping ourselves hydrated."

Anya's phone was completely useless from total submergence in the ocean for who knows how long. She had no way of telling the time. She and Raven could only try to keep their fire going for as long as they could with the materials they had on hand. Hours passed and there was no sign of a ship.

"Hey... Grimlocke?" The boy took a glance at the girl on the other side of the flames.

Anya was sitting with one leg up and the other leg straight out. One hand was behind her, submerged in the sand while the other was draped over her knee. Her head was tilted back, gazing at the night sky overhead. The stars were reflected in her brown eyes, mingling with the violet in them and swirling into miniature galaxies. She looked dreamy and mysterious, giving Raven the sense that perhaps he did not know this girl after all.

"If we don't manage to get off this island... What do you suppose will happen?"

"Why would you say something like that?" he asked. The stiff tone of his voice surprised him.

"Why not? I'm just looking at the truth. You said it yourself: the geography of Wonderland is constantly changing. Taking that into account, it's very unlikely a boat will come near this tiny island, much less notice this small fire, unless by chance. The percentage that we'll be rescued is extremely small, and we only have so many provisions. We might not make it even for a week."

"I am not content with wasting away on a tiny island."

"That may be our only option, Grimlocke." Anya sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. I never should have taken you with me. This was a mistake. I was trying to avoid my inevitable death and ended up getting you tangled up in my struggle. It's my fault that you'll end up dying here... That we'll both end up dying here. Sorry, Mom, Dad. I guess I'll never live up to your expectations after all.

"I'm the oldest of three. I was supposed to be the inspiration to my younger sisters, the one who would succeed and clear the path for them. Instead, I proceeded to royally screw it up. My parents always nagged me about getting better grades. Every little thing I did that wasn't studying was futile and a distraction. It was always study, study, study and if you weren't studying, you weren't being productive. I liked to dance. Breakdance, freestyle. My parents didn't approve at all. Then in middle school... I just gave up.

"I went to a private school from kindergarten to eighth grade. Small school, pretty competitive. Everyone there was better than me. Better at athletics, better grades, better artists. I could never measure up no matter how hard I tried. My parents told me I had to be the best... but there was no way that was possible. I realized that I could never live up, that there would always be someone greater than me. Even my sisters were beginning to surpass me. So... I stopped caring. I said, 'screw it', and stopped trying, stopped paying attention. Whatever my parents wanted... To me, it just didn't matter. I struggled all that time and for what? There was nothing I could do but accept fate. And now look at me. I'm just gonna die without accomplishing anything like the sucker I am."

"Don't say that." Raven's voice was harsh and brittle. The forcefulness of his voice caught himself and Anya off guard, making them jump. Nevertheless, he continued on. "Never before have you not been able to accomplish something you set your mind to. Though others were better than you, you still succeeded at the task at hand, right? Even though I have not known you for very long, I can tell that is the case. That is who you are. Do not give up. You have always been thinking of the now. Although the 'now' is looking bleak, we still have a chance, right?" He sucked in a deep breath as he said, "You want to leave, don't you? So then leave. Do not lose sight of your end goal. You must escape. There must be people waiting for you back in your world.

"You do not belong here."

Those words made him feel weak and strange but there was no denying the truth. It was as though a piece of him were being torn away. Anya was a stranger to Wonderland. She came from someplace totally different; a reality light-years apart from Raven's own. And it was because of that one difference that Raven refused to let her or himself die right here and now. He'd struggle until the very last moment, all to bring her home.

"Heh... That is true, isn't it?" Anya laughed dryly. "I've looked at reality head-on for as long as I can remember. Bad test scores, bullies, disappointment, I've been through it all. I've always just accepted it and moved on. Our circumstances aren't great but we still have a chance. I'm going to bet on that chance. I've never believed in something like hope but..." Anya smiled. "There's no time like the present, is there?"

"Indeed. I'm glad."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Raven."

"Excuse me?" Anya laughed.

"As I said, there's no time like the present. We should have been on a first-name basis a long time ago."

"Your respect... I am happy to have earned it, Anya."

"Hey, is that a boat?" Anya quickly stood up, using her hand as a visor as she squinted at the figure in the distance. "Oh my gosh, it's a boat! We're saved!"

Anya grabbed her backpack, quickly running to the surf. She waved her arms around shouting, "Heey! Over here!!"

"Miracles do exist!" Raven cried.

"If an obscure concept like hope can actually be true, then I guess anything is possible."