the fall

i stumble

then I begin to fall down a large manhole that I missed when I entered the alley. As I was falling, bracing for impact, I noticed that this was an unusual manhole in that there was no ladder to climb up or down. "I wonder how I will climb out of here," I thought to myself. I fall for quite some time, watching the face of the man holding the rabbit in a waistcoat become smaller and smaller. There was no emotion on the man's face, just a faint sound of him repeating himself, "You're late." That seemed to echo off the walls of the manhole. I could no longer make out the shape of his head and he disappeared all together.

I was still falling.

Since I did not know how long I would be falling for, I decided to look at the picture I took. I pulled out my phone and lay back as if I was lounging on a bench in the park. I tried sending the picture to my sister but there was no reception. Without reception I could not play any games, check social media, or even edit some older photos for later on my phone. As I was putting my phone back into my pocket I noticed some smoke. "I must be getting close to the bottom if I can see smoke," I thought to myself. As the smoke became thicker, I noticed that it was purple. It was a purple cloud which slowed my fall as if I was stopping and landing on it. I stood up on the purple cloud and found my balance. "This is so cool, I am standing on a purple cloud! " I said out loud to myself since no one else was around.

As soon as the words left my mouth I began to fall again.

This time the walls were not like before. The walls of the manhole had turned into that of a long hallway. The space I was falling through became much wider since the purple cloud. There were bookshelves full of colorful books, radios, and on one shelf there was even a flat screen T.V. Cabinets! I opened one and found that there was some flavored honey inside beside a KitchenAid stand mixer. I tried some and it tasted of fresh blackberries. I carefully put the jar of blackberry honey back into the next cabinet I passed. A baby grand piano passed by playing Once Upon a December from the movie Anastasia. The oddest thing that I saw was a raven on a writing desk.

I was still falling.

"I must be getting close to the bottom of this hole by now," I said out loud again to myself. "I wonder if I will fall straight through the Earth and end up on the other side."

I looked down and saw a purple spot coming closer. It was coming at me faster than the other objects that I passed on this fall. Suddenly I hit the purple cloud. This one much harder than the first. I could not see through all the cloud poof around me. When the cloud began to settle, I saw something white. I started waving the cloud away so I could see better. It was the white rabbit! How did the rabbit get down here? I didn't see the man jump into the hole he pushed me in.

the rabbit looked at me

and said, "You're late." It was still the man's voice, but this time it was the rabbit saying it. I hurried to get up and ask the rabbit what I was late for. But the purple cloud stirred up and I could not see the rabbit anymore.

Click. I heard a door shut. I began to look around when the cloud settled and I am far enough away not to stir it up again. Which door did he go through? All of the doors that I can see are shut. I tried opening the doors.

"How did that rabbit go through a door if they are all locked? " I wondered. I took a step back. And I looked at all of the doors once again, then I bump into a table. This table was not there before. The table top was glass, with an ornate wood base. It looked like it would belong in my Grandmother Alice's house. There were two clear acrylic little boxes sitting on the table. Each box had a speaker on it. One box was saying "Eat me," and the other saying "Drink me." As if the two boxes could hear the other. I picked both of the boxes up and inspected them. Each acrylic box had a small speaker on top, and a latch like you find on a young girl's jewelry box easy to open. Inside the box saying "Drink me" was a small clear wine bottle with a clear liquid inside. Inside the box saying "Eat me" there was a platter of pink bite-size cakes that looked oddly familiar. They each seemed fine to consume, so I took a drink out of the little bottle in the box that said "Drink me."

It tasted like a pineapple, cherry pie, gelato soda water. My stomach began to rumble, and all of a sudden I am looking up at the bottom of the table. I had shrunk to a mere fifteen inches tall. I set the boxes down and began to look around some more. Then I saw just a glimpse of something behind a curtain that was too small for me to see when I was of normal size. This must have been the door the rabbit had gone through. I went to the door to open it but it is locked. I turned around and looked at the table. There is now a key upon the table.

Was there someone else in the room with me? I had not heard or seen anyone else in the room with me. I tried to climb up the legs of the table, but I was too small. I kept sliding down the legs. I went over to the other box that said "Eat me" I had in my hand when I shrunk. I opened the box and inside was a little cake.

I took a bite of the little cake, and it tasted like my favorite cake. A rich vanilla cake, with a strawberry jam filling, and a white chocolate buttercream frosting. I had to be careful not to eat too much. I shot up so quick and so tall that my head was nearly in the purple cloud. Carefully I squatted down to grab the golden key off the now tiny glass table. I slowly set down and put the box of cake into my now tiny backpack. I picked up the box with the bottle inside that said "drink me" on it and took another drink of the pineapple, cherry pie, gelato soda water. With the key tight in my hand, I began to shrunk again to a mere fifteen inches tall.

Finally I was able to open the door. My backpack with the two boxes inside, I grasped the golden key in one hand, and my phone in the other hand recording. I unlocked the door and... [Read on]

Images:

Banner Photo by Sharosh Rajasekher on Unsplash

Purple smoke Photo by Camille Couvez on Unsplash

Writing Desk Photo by Alexa Mazzarello on Unsplash

Assorted colored doors Photo by Dil on Unsplash

Cakes Photo by Gaby Dyson on Unsplash

Bibliography:

Based off Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland published in 1865. Can be found here in the Un-textbook unit: Alice in Wonderland.

Author's Note:

For this part of the story I focused on the fall down the rabbit hole which is Chapter One of Carroll's novel. Ali falls for a really long time as does Alice. They see similar and different things while falling down. Alice sees bookcases, the cabinets, and a desk. They both try something in a jar while falling. Alice tries jam and Ali tries flavored honey, and Ali sees a radio and a flat screen T.V. where they are not yet invented in the original version. I go to the Affair of the Hearts when it is here in town and there is a booth that sells flavored honey. It is delicious, and they have a wonderful blackberry honey that I received my inspiration from for the flavored honey. I added the raven to the desk in reference to "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" the riddle that comes later in Carroll's story. Did you catch that? The purple smoke or cloud was inspired by the purple smoke picture I found on Unsplash. I used it to symbolize Ali leaving her world and entering into Wonderland. In Carroll's book Alice grows and shrinks many more times before realizing what size she needs to be to fit through the small door. I shortened the flavor of the drink. I thought that it was too many flavors for a drink. And for the cake, well, it is my favorite cake from Ann's Bakery in Tulsa, OK (the image of cakes is not from Ann's Bakery, just one I found on Unsplash). In Carroll's version the white rabbit is the one to say "You're late!" repeatedly. Here the man in the rabbit mask and the white rabbit in matching waistcoats become one character.

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