Howard frowned, his attention not leaving the flower. “You really believe that? Or is that just how you are coping with it all?”
I didn’t answer. Truthfully, I had never had a dream that seemed this real and lasted this long. I felt everything here, even the warmth of the fire on my skin.
“Besides,” he went on. “Even if it was a dream, would it matter? How do you know what is really a dream and what is reality? There once was a Chinese philosopher who had a dream he was a butterfly and he was full of joy and happiness. Then he woke up and realized he wasn’t a butterfly, but a man. Yet, in the dream, he had no recollection of being human, so he wonders was he truly human, or was he, in fact, the butterfly’s dream? Reality is a lot more complicated than any of us understand.”
A butterfly’s dream? What was he trying to say? I stood there, watching as the fire crackled. A dream could seem real, I suppose, as in that story. But at the same time, how could I recall so many things in reality, usually in dreams you forget reality and only dream.
So this wasn’t a dream. This was real. Which meant Wonderland was real and that I was missing from the real world.
I covered my mouth. “This is real. I can’t leave, I can’t get home. How do I get home?”
Howard frowned. “You can’t, Alice, not until the Cirque de Rêves is destroyed.”
My eyes widened. It never occurred to me that there would be no way out of this, I just thought at any moment I would wake up and be home. Even though it wasn’t a dream, it was definitely turning out to be a nightmare. “What? What do you mean I can’t?”
“The portal between dimensions is being watched closely. If you went home, you would be followed by the White Rabbit again, and you won’t be so lucky to have Chase save you again. The only way to stop it is to destroy the Cirque de Rêves and then you will be safe.”
I shook my head. “But why me? What does this have to do with me?
“Let us start at the beginning Alice.” He flicked his hand at the fire and the fire became alive. Figures appeared in the flames, figures of guards and a Queen in red. The guards danced around the Queen and all those who were citizens seemed to be bowing in front of her. I watched in amazement, surprised that the fire could do such a thing.
“A long time ago, Wonderland was ruled by the Kingdom of Hearts,” Howard explained as the flames flashed into a great kingdom. People looked happy as they went about their day, smiling and talking to other figures.
“We lived in peace and harmony. That is, until the Queen came.”
The flames roared up and many of the figures disappeared. Chaos ruled over the transfigured scene. Guards had their swords out, attacking the once happy citizens. The Queen stood up on a pedestal, laughing as her people were attacked, the people she was supposed to rule.
“She made everyone in Wonderland live in fear. This was supposed to be where people came to get away from everything, but not when she came into power. She destroyed the link between worlds and the dreams that once thrived here vanished. Everyone hated her but we couldn’t do anything.”
The flame changed slowly, showing a girl in a dress following a rabbit down a hole. “Then one day, a little girl came into our world by the name of Alice.”
“Just like in the stories,” I said.
He nodded. “Yes, just like in the stories. No one knows how the white rabbit got to her or how she followed him, but she was able to go pass the barriers the Queen of Hearts put up.”
The image of the white rabbit appeared, the little boy that had tried to kill me, but this time he had bunny ears just like Melvin.
“That’s the boy who tried to kill me.”
“Yes, we are getting to that.” The Caterpillar turned back to the flames. “Alice came and questioned everything. She helped understand that we didn’t have to live in fear any longer. Her and a group of us went against the Queen and the battled lasted days…”
The fire sparked up, the image of men on horses with swords fighting, and there in the middle of it all was a little girl. She fought alongside them all even though she was still just a little girl.
“And we won. We brought down the Kingdom of Hearts and as fast as she came, Alice left us. She didn’t even say goodbye, but simply disappeared back into your world. But then something happened, the door was opened and human dreams came back once again. We thought everything was perfect, and that we would never have to worry about anything ever again. And never see Alice again.”
Everything did seem perfect in the fire. People were appearing once again as a new Kingdom started to emerge. It was the Red and White Kingdom.
“But we were wrong. The Red and the White Kingdom started to have grudges against each other and fights broke out daily. The peace we knew for only a short time was going away yet again.”
“Is that where we are now? In the Red and White Kingdom?” I asked.
Howard nodded. “Yes. They both wanted Wonderland for themselves and could never make a treaty. Many dreams were destroyed in the process.”
The flames danced around again and suddenly Alice appeared. She was different, this time. She was older, just a bit older than I was.
“And then, as if by magic, Alice came back. She tried to put an end of the fighting but failed. Neither side would
