Ria's Writing Corner
Across The Faded Glass
Chapter 1
Her name is Mae. The last name of this girl is unimportant and shall always will be. She's a young adult with an active imagination. That, you can blame on her mother. Her mother when she was little would tuck in her in and send the little child on a roller coaster of fairy tales. Mae has beautiful brown hair that reaches the middle of her back and eyes that match the color of milk chocolate. She rushed into the kitchen with water traveling down her back in water droplet packs. "Oh, Ma! The milk expired!" She exclaimed and dumped the white liquid down the drain. "Sorry dear!" Her mother yelled from the bedroom. Mae shook her head and put a bagel in the toaster. Mae slept soundly during the night besides for one dream. While it was a dream she used to have when she was younger, this one was different.
She's standing there in her pajamas in a green forest. The grass beneath her bare feet felt so soft that she didn't want to move. "Huh?" She said weakly and looked beside her. A figure seemed to appear out of nowhere. First the eyes, then the ears and then a body in the shape of a cat. The eyes were as yellow as a banana and the fur was reddish-brown with pink stripes. A smile that could blow anyone away creeped along its lips. The cat moved its paw to tell Mae to follow him. Mae listened. In front of her an opening to a maze began to appear and the cat pounced in with Mae still following it. When she entered the hole the cat had disappeared! "Odd!" Mae said and peered around. Nothing moved, not even an inch besides for her. It gave the poor girl chills. Suddenly, she appeared at a place that seemed full of life at one point before. She turned to view what was behind her when it snowed paper hearts. Some of the hearts seemed splashed with blood. "Odd indeed!" She repeated and stepped backward. The crunch wires and circuits of a watch made her cringe. Then the Cheshire Cat from before appeared before her. "This is a premonition." He started. 'I think I learned this word…' Mae thought as the Cheshire Cat continued on. "A long journey is a wonderful one if you know the end result." Mae was puzzled at this. She wasn't going on a journey. "Ex--" She then couldn't speak and the cat was going away!
Her eyes fluttered. Just a dream. That pretty much explained it. Mae sighed. It wasn't pleasant at all to dream things like that and by the way, why was the Wonderland her mother told her about be so different? Mae tilted her head. This Wonderland was like some sort of tradition. Everyone in her family had been in Wonderland some point in their lives. The way her mother talked about Wonderland it seemed like paradise. The bagel popped out of the toaster and Mae started to butter it. "Sweet, a test today." She thought sarcastically and licked some butter off her fingers. Then Mae went back to her other thoughts. She couldn't stay on one subject for far too long. She would bounce between conversations. Like so. Every Alice (Though her mother was named Alyce…) went down that long path to another reality. 'Mother would explain it so beautifully….' Mae crunched into the bagel. A bright and cheerful place. Soft green grass and lovely flowers everywhere. The mazes led to the most peculiar places and the people were the best of all. Her mother explained that the Red Queen of Hearts was just a funny woman who teased her folk. "Oh! How I dream of going one on one with that woman!" Mae exclaimed and grabbed her backpack. "Oh no! The bus will be here soon!" She rushed out the door and ran to the bus stop. Catching her breath, she looked around. Hoping, just hoping a White Rabbit would fly by and take her away from this place. Mae then crossed her arms and waited for the bus. The conversations around her made time go by slowly. Girls were talking about make up and skirts while the guys talked around who they scored with. Mae did another sigh. Then as if someone answered her unspoken prayers, the bus came down the road. Mae grinned and got ready to step on the bus. Of course everyone else wanted to get one first so she stayed behind until everyone else found their places. She stepped in, not knowing how the day will really be.
The wind rolled through the land. The grass was like silk to the touch and flowers scattered around and danced in the wind. The gusts of wind sounded like music to all the people's ears. The scattered forests seemed to be in different colors. One of the forests then changed into a hedge maze. A child ran through the open field, her crimson hair shined with the sun light. She soon disappeared into the maze. "I left to late! I left to late!" She cried and ran even faster. "Oh! How I wish I haven't left him behind!" She exclaimed and zigzagged her way through the maze. "Have a merry unbirthday!" The girl shook a flower's leaf. She continued her on her way. She reached the end in no time. "Hey-o!" The girl, who was the Princess of Hearts, waved.
"How awful. She came on time." A sultry voice sighed. "How DARE she miss a party." The voice growled lowly. "How DARE she rule over my land!" The voice screamed loudly. "Calm… calm…" The voice spoke to itself. "Just she wait…" It chuckled. "Soon, I'll take over every part of this land." The voice did another chuckle. To let you know, the owner of the voice is female. She's not nice either. The female kept watch on the Princess until it seemed like the right time…
"Oh! Heart! You're a second late!" A rabbit snickered. "I'm sorry, March Hare!" Heart bowed. Heart found herself a sear at the end of the long table. A tea kettle then moved and filled a cup that walked over to Heart. Such a sight to see, really. A kettle and cup moving on their own. Heart chuckled and took a sip. "Wine, dear?" The one with a top hat asked politely. Suddenly a pair of female hands grabbed Heart's shoulders and stared Hatter in the eyes. "You offer HER wine and not I? How terribly rude!" Heart laughed at her friend. "Where is this wine?" Heart was as polite as she can be. "Is there any?" The March Hare looked everywhere. "Butter! Butter!" The Hatter called out and flailed a knife around. Heart stopped listening. She stared at the one holding her shoulders. Her name was Funhouse. Why the name Funhouse? No one understood why. That was just what the Duchess would call her. Funhouse had brown hair that reached her chin. The one thing Heart always noticed about Funhouse was her eyes. They were just so pretty to her. "How about a song?" Funhouse removed her hands from Heart's shoulders and grabbed a cup for herself.
"Dormy shall sing!" March Hare gave a grin and poured tea all over his tired friend. The mouse creature yelped in pain and was wide awake. "Sing? I? I know some lullabies…" Dormy did a great yawn. "Lullabies are nice for those who are about to sleep." Funhouse enquired. "Of course!" Dormy shot back. "Tea! Tea!" Heart lifted her cup. "Aaahh…" Hatter did some scales. He figured he should sing something if no one else would. "We could just play Tea." Hare then blew into a tea kettle and it made a sound of a guitar. "The Hatter can sing a long!" Funhouse smiled. "I can! I can! Tw--" A trumpet blow from another tea kettle interrupted the Hatter. He pouted at that. "Play a little softer so we can hear Hatter!" Heart clapped, glad for her idea. "Of course!" The two shouted. Hare played his music and Hatter sang. Hatter's singing voice didn't match the beat but he didn't care.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Funhouse smiled and handed a rose to Heart. "Happy unbirthday!" Heart and Funhouse shouted at the same time. "Ah!" Heart grabbed Funhouse's hands and spun her around. She pulled Funhouse on top of the table and continued. The two danced for seemed like hours. "Oh, I'm getting thirsty!" Heart fanned herself and sat back down. Funhouse grabbed a tea kettle and casually poured tea into Heart's cup.
Something hit Funhouse just then. It wasn't a person but a feeling. Funhouse's eyes grew wide and she almost dropped the kettle. It wasn't a good feeling either. Funhouse shivered. "Funhouse…?" Heart held her friend's arm. "You're spilling the tea…" She added bluntly. Funhouse snapped back into reality. "Oh! Sorry!" She chortled. "Not paying attention!" She put the kettle down. 'Oh, what was that..?' She thought to herself. "Another song!" Heart demanded. Hatter and Hare restarted the same song from before. "Dance?" Funhouse bowed and waited for Heart's answer.
Mae drummed her fingers. It was about time for the test. Not much one can do but wait, really. 'We all studied! Just hand the damn test!' Mae screamed in her head. "Okay, the exam begins ….now!" The teacher slammed his hand on his desk and every was handed a piece of paper. 'What the Hell?!' Mae stared at her paper. 'This test is hard!' Mae's thoughts cried. 'Mae! Chin up! You can do it!' Mae pep talked herself. She did this at times because it seemed to help. Her pencil scratched in answers and she hoped she passed. "Time up!" The teacher yelled as the bell rang. Everyone passed in their papers and waited for the teacher to correct them. The school Mae goes to is much different than most. She doesn't switch classes as most schools do. For half the day she stays with one teacher and the other half, another teacher.
"Mae! You passed!" The teacher grinned and handed Mae her test. "Great!" She laughed. The bell rang again. "Seems it is time for lunch." Mae grabbed her things and headed for the cafeteria. She pounced her best friend, Sasha first. "I actually passed a test of Mr. Macosi's!" Mae clapped and danced around. "That's wonderful!" Her other friend, Chasta replied. The two sat in a corner and chattered away. Mae stood up. "I have conquered my goal! Tea for all!" She sat back down wondering why she said tea. It felt ..familiar. "Its juice you twit!" Chasta laughed. "Fair enough." Mae giggled.
She then shoveled food into her mouth. Then, as if someone struck her with a bat, a bad feeling came over her. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and felt like crying. Why? She did not know. This feeling felt so horrible. "Mae?" Sasha poked her. "Something isn't right…" Mae said without knowing. "Huh…?" Her friends looked at one another. "Nothing." Mae looked at her food and started eating again.
"Math time!" A lovely lady tittered. "Goody." Mae faked a smile and got to work. The final bell rang and she went to her locker. 'Damn it, Mae! Get over yourself!" She scolded herself. 'You passed a hard test! You should be happy!' Mae took a deep breath and smiled as she shut her locker. 'Happy!' She thought and walked to the buses and went her way home.
Funhouse picked up some plates. March Hare wanted to see how many he could balance on his ears. Suddenly the feeling came back and Funhouse dropped some plates. "Hey!" Hare yelled. "You're being very rude today!" Hatter implied. "S-sorry…" Funhouse held her head. Something was wrong. Heart knew it. She again held Funhouse's arm and looked at her friend. "Are you --" She never finished that sentence. Everyone gasped as Heart fell. "Heart!" Funhouse screamed. "Heart!" The others yelled. "Eeeyaaahh!" Heart screeched as she something wound itself tightly on her ankle and pulled. "Heart! HEART!" Funhouse wasn't paying attention to her movements. Hatter was right behind Funhouse as she spilled a whole kettle of scorching hot tea. "Agggh!" The Hatter growled as the tea hit his face. "Funhouse!" He called in a much darker tone than normal. "Hatter?" Hare walked to him and tried to see if he was okay. Hatter casually pulled out a napkin and wiped his face. "Oh, deary me! Seems our friend made a mess!" He spoke in usual cheerful tone. "Yeah…" Hare stared at his friend uneasily. The tea did something, he knew it. He could feel it. "Let's check up on the Dormouse!" He grabbed an utensil and turned. "Let's check on Funhouse first." Hare pointed to where Heart and Funhouse disappeared.
Funhouse chased after her friend. "Heart!" She screamed in hopes that it would make her friend stop moving. Funhouse had never been this far into the maze before and she was getting frightened. No matter how scared she got, she wasn't going to leave her friend behind. Heart screamed in fear and pain. She flailed her arms and tried to pry the thing off her leg. "Ack!" She grunted as she bumped and slammed into random rocks and twigs. "Funhouse!" She cried and tried to get her friends hands. After some tries they got each others arms and Funhouse pulled. "Errgh!" Funhouse pulled as hard as she could. "Oh, please! Let go!" Heart cried and kicked her legs. A shock of pain rushed over Heart's body. Her arms felt like they were about to tear from her body. Funhouse must've been on the verge of tearing her arms out of their sockets! "FUNHOUSE!" Heart continued to cry, tears starting to fall. Something then lightly touches Funhouse's shoulders. "Ooo…" It cooed. "Something terrible is going on, isn't it?" It went on with no interruptions. "I suggest you let go of the girl. She's of no use to you now." Funhouse snarled at that. "Shut up!" She yelled in anger and never once let her friend go. The person behind her exhaled. "If you wish to keep your wonderous sight, the princess you must let go." It spoke again.
Funhouse ignored the person and pulled harder. "Ow! OW!" Heart yelped in pain. In a wisp of black smoke the figure appeared next to the two. "How foolish." She stated and holds an elegant looking wooden box. It was small so it couldn't have been holding anything of importance. The shadowy figured tsk'ed and opened the box. Funhouse gasped as blue smoke surrounded her. "What the…?' She thought angrily and gripped Heart's arms tighter. Without any warning the smoke smacked Funhouse in the face. "AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!" Funhouse screamed in agony and clutched her face. "IT HURTS!" She screamed again and suddenly realized what she had done. "NO!" She cried as black shadowy hands wrapped around Heart. "HEART!" Funhouse tried to grab for her friend again but her vision had become blurry. "FUNHOUUUUUSSE!" Heart screamed and almost touched Funhouse's hand for the last time. Funhouse felt tears stream down her face as she saw Heart disappear deeper into the forest. To shocked to scream or move she fell down on her back like a ton of bricks. Her vision began to come back but something was different. The loss of her friend tore a hole in her heart.
She stepped off the bus. Hearing the doors shut behind her she knew the school day was over. "Ah!" She breathed in relief. "What a beautiful day!" She laughed and turned a corner. Today she was going to take the long way home. She adjusted the backpack and walked. She loved walking past the tall buildings. The windows were like mirrors. "Mirrors. Tsch." Mae laughed to herself as she continued walking. Seemed like a much longer walk than usual. "Uh…?" She opened her mouth when a speck of red caught her eye. No one around her was wearing red. She turned to see what it was and freaked. A young girl was in the window of one of the buildings. She seemed hurt and had been crying a long time. Mae peered closer. The girl spoke. "Help us, Alyce!" She cried and the building faded away. "Wha--?!" Mae gasped. She wasn't in the city anymore. The roads turned into a field of snow white lilies. She gasped in delight. "How pretty!" She whispered. She dropped her backpack and breathed in. Turning around she noticed a big hole in the ground. "How odd…" She looked confused but walked around the field of flowers. She twirled around. The smell, the look, the feeling of peace. It was fantastic. She didn't notice a twig suddenly pop out of the ground near her. She walked right into it. "Ah!" Mae choked as she fell …straight for the hole in the ground! She couldn't stop the fall and screamed as she fell in. "Aah!" She whined loudly as she fell into the darkness. She continued to whine to no one but herself. "Oh, jeez. I hope this isn't bottomless!" She cried out in fear.