Say it Once, Say it Twice, Third Time's the Charm!

Lydia In Wonderland

The summer sun shone brightly, making Lydia Deetz shield her eyes. It was too bright. Why were they out side anyway? She thought to herself as she listened to her stepmother Delia drone on about the history of modern art from a textbook. Lydia crossed her legs, stretching back against the tree trunk behind her. The branch she was sitting on was becoming uncomfortable from long exposure.

She breathed in the floral air, completely ignoring Delia’s reading. In front of her, her cat Jack-o-lantern lay sleeping soundly in the sun. His black fur fluffed up around his neck. She smiled as she fiddled with the pile of leaves mounded on her uniform’s skirt.

Jack stretched his legs out before him as he woke. Lydia giggled softly so Delia wouldn’t hear her over the reading. She relaxed and let one of her feet fall off the branch, lazily swinging back and forth.

“Lydia!” Delia scrolled knocking away Lydia’s foot.

“Hum?” She asked looking down at her stepmother to meet her angry face. “Oh I’m listening.” She sighed picking up her leg and going back to playing with the leaves in her lap.

“Good. Then once again…” Delia went back to reading as Lydia rolled her eyes in boredom. Jack crawled over to her and looked over into her lap at the leaves. Lydia raised one and started to dangle it over his head. Jack, being a curious kitten, started to paw at the leave over him. Lydia began to laugh happily at her little friend…only friend, which made her quite lonely for a twelve-year-old.

“Lydia! Will you please pay attention?” Delia sternly asked.

“I’m sorry.” Lydia said twirling her black hair around her fingers. “But how can I pay attention? That book doesn’t even have any pictures in it.” She finished pouting her read coloured lips.

Delia place the book on her lap and looked up at her stepdaughter. “There are many good books in this world that don’t have pictures.” She stated coldly.

“In this world, but in my world, the books would be nothing but pictures.”

“Your world?” She laughed, “What nonsense.” Delia picked the book up again.

“Nonsense?” Lydia asked out loud as Delia continued to read. “That’s it Jack!” She exclaimed to her cat, picking him up gently. “If I had a world of my own, the whole thing would be nonsense! Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be the opposite! So what it would be, it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would…you see?”

Jack looked up at Lydia with his big yellow eyes and meowed as if to say, ‘no.’ Lydia smiled as ideas of her world formed in her head. She slipped off the branch leaving Delia reading to fall on def ears.

“In my world you wouldn’t say meow. You’d say, yes miss.” Lydia curtsied to jack who meowed at her again. She picked him up off the branch and continued,

“Oh but you would. You’d be able to speak just like people Jack, and act like them too. And so could all the other animals. Come to think of it…in my world, animals could very well be skeletons, and the flowers would be able to recite poetry.” Lydia carried Jack over to the flowerbed and set him down.

“And it would be so different from here. The people would be more happy, more…colourful and interesting. It would be like Halloween …it would be an adventure ‘cause my world would be a Wonderland.” She giggled over at Jack.

Jack jumped up suddenly as some of the flowers began to sway. Lydia took no notice until he hissed. “Oh Jack it’s just a rabbit!” She looked up and shook her head. “With no fur…a waistcoat… and a watch!”

“Oh by bloody goblins I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” A furless, three-foot rabbit cried as he checked his watched. Lydia stood up quickly in surprise.

“What could a rabbit be late for?” She asked jack as she raced off after the fleeing creature. “Wait! Sir?”

“I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say, hello, good-bye, I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” The rabbit cried back over his shoulder.

It must be very important. She thought running after it. “Mr. Rabbit wait! Please!”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, I’m over due. I’m really in a stew. No time to say good-bye, hello, I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” The rabbit rhymed again before disappearing down a large rabbit hole.

Lydia slowed down and lowered herself onto her knees. Looking down the hole she could see nothing. No light or even a glimpse of the rabbit himself. “Strange.” She mused. “You know Jack, we really shouldn’t do this.” But she pushed on and started to squeeze through the entrance to the rabbit hole. “After all…we don’t know what’s down here…and curiosity often leads to trou-BLE!!!” Lydia shrieked as the ground dove down and she began to fall. She could hear Jake’s meows getting quieter as she fell farther away from him.

“Wow...” Lydia yelped as her skirt flared and she floated slowly down. No longer was she tumbling or rolling through the air. She sighed in exasperation. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything beneath her.

“Well,” Lydia breathed. “After this, I’ll think nothing of falling down the stairs.”

The tunnels around her grew darker and darker until only a small glow coming past her could be seen. It was a small gas lamp on an old cracked wooden table. Reaching out she turned the key and the flame grew brightly. All around oddly shaped, empty picture frames hung on cracked grey walls. Shelves held plates and clear jars filled with red and blue liquids. Floating armchairs and footrests.

“How weird…” She said as they past by.

Candles, an iron birdcage that looked rusted shut, a gold frame mirror that reflected the image before it upside down. A bookshelf.

As Lydia slowly passed by the bookshelf she pulled on of the hard cover boos from it’s shelf and flipped through it.
Dong, dong, dong…

Lydia looked down to see a grandfather clock pass by. As she watched it the large book slipped from her hand and floated in place as she continued her journey downward.

The grey walls turned to tile, and then gave away to dirty brick.

“How long I this hole?” She asked, unfortunately no one was around to answer her. “Humph…what if I keep going and pace through the centre of the earth, and come out the other side where people walk upside down?” She laughed at her own statement. “No, that’s silly. No one-Oh”

Lydia notice that she suddenly stopped, and was facing the upside down. She placed her hands on the floor by her head and rolled to standing but the room was still the wrong way around. The ceiling light stood straight out of the checkered floor, chairs and a table or two hung from the ceiling when they should be on the floor. Turning at the sound of padding feet Lydia caught the sight of a bony tail vanish around the corner down the hall.

“Mr. Rabbit?” Lydia took off down the hall and turned the corner but saw no one at all. Turning again at the sound of a creaking door and Lydia watched it slam shut. She walked over to it. It was dark green and was a bit smaller then the height she stood at. Quickly getting a hold of the handle, Lydia opened the door but was stopped by another, slightly smaller blue door. She opened that one and found another darker green door, slightly smaller from the one before it. Starting to get flustered Lydia grabbed the handle and threw the door open once again being stopped by another door, still smaller then the last, and this time light purple. She opened it and paused when she went to grab the next handle but didn’t find one.

Getting down on her knees and elbows Lydia squirmed through the tinny frame and came out on the other side into a large empty room. She got up slowly. The walls stood high, each a different shade of purple or green. In the centre on the far wall, close to the floor was a small red certain that swung gently.

Lydia half ran, half slid over to the certain. Hastily she threw back the certain and turned the golden knob of the little wood door behind it.

“ARRG!” The doorknob yelled. Lydia jumped back letting out a shrill scream of alarm. Shaking her head and getting her bearings she politely said,

“Oh I am sorry.” The doorknob cleared its through and wiggled its nose…the knob.

“Quite alright, but you did give me quite a turn.” He said calmly.

“You see I was-”

“Rather good what? Doorknob? Turn?” He laughed.

“Please sir…” Lydia tried to say but was once again cut short.

“Might as well, one good turn deserves another…what can I do for you?” He asked, suddenly not looking that all impressed.

Lydia leaned forward to look him at eye level. “Well I was fallowing a rabbit! So if you don’t mind…”

“Eh? Oh!” He said opening up his keyhole mouth to show the furless rabbit running along another path.

“Oh there he is,” she exclaimed brightly. “Please I must get through.”

“Sorry you’re much too big. Simply impassable.”

“You mean impossible.” Lydia corrected.

“No impassable. Nothing’s impossible.” He again laughed at her. Lydia wasn’t so amused. She bit her bottom red lip and sighed. “Why don’t you try the bottle on the table?”

“Table?” Lydia looked behind her and saw a black glass table with a blue bottle sitting on top.

“Read the directions and you’ll directly be pointed in the right direction.”

“DRINK ME!” She read. Pulling out the cork that sealed the top and placing it on the counter Lydia stopped. “Uhm…” She looked the bottle over. “It isn’t marked poison, or if it was I’m sure it wouldn’t be very helpful...”

“Beg pardon?” The doorknob asked.

“I was just thinking out loud.” Lydia shrugged. “Oh well.” She raised the small bottle to her lips and drank a sip. “Mmh.” She said licking her lips, and unknowing shrinking a good foot. “Tastes like cherry!” She took a bit more. “Chocolate…. pineapple? Chicken? OH!” She cried dropping the almost empty bottle, now bigger than herself. “What happened?”

“You almost went out like a light.” He chuckled.

“But look.” She said skidding up next to him. “Now I’m just the right size to fit.”

“Oh! Ahaha! No use…I forgot to tell you. Ahaha. I’m locked.”

“Gawd.” She groaned leaning back on the door.

“Ahaha, oh but of course, you have the key so-”

“What key?” Lydia asked, facing him. The doorknob looked at Lydia in astonishment.

“Now don’t tell me you left it up there.”

Lydia looked up at the table. A dark brown skeleton key lay on top. Walking over to the leg of the table she pushed herself up on to the base. The leg was too thick and smooth to climb. She jumped down and turned back to the doorknob.

“Now what do I do?” Lydia asked in anger sitting down on the hard floor.

“Try the box, naturally.” He said a-matter-of-fact. A small box popped up out of nowhere next to Lydia and she looked at it strangely before picking it up and taking off the lid. Inside lay a couple of cookies with the words ‘Eat Me’, spelt out in bright green slimy looking icing. She took one out and looked at it.

“Alright.” She took a beep breath and took a bite. “What will this do?”

TO BE CONTINUED!