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Description
Alice was falling. She fell for what seemed to be hours. It was almost as if she was falling in slow motion. As she fell, she could see many commonplace objects passing her on her way down, like books, teacups, a rocking chair, a mirror, a jar of marmalade…

And the fall abruptly came to an end. She landed on a cold tile floor. As she looked around, she noticed that she was in a round room surrounded by four doors with a glass table in the center. The boy was nowhere in sight.

Then, her wandering eyes settled upon a key sitting on the glass table. Curious, she picked it up and examined it carefully. She went to one of the doors, one with a heart painted on it, and tried to open it. It was locked. She tried unlocking it with the key, but it was no use. She tried the other doors, diamond, spade, and club, but it was the same, all locked and the key just didn’t fit. Sighing, she turned and put the key back on the table.

She noticed a large space between two of the doors. There was a dark curtain hanging over the wall. Alice stepped towards it cautiously. Slowly, she pulled it back, revealing a fifth door. It was also locked.

She went back to the table to retrieve the key, when she found a small bottle with a note that said “Drink me” on it. She also found a small, lacy box. When she opened it, she found it was filled with mini cakes with the words “Eat me” intricately printed on them with icing. Well, she was neither hungry nor thirsty, so she decided to take both of them with her and stuck them in her pocket.

Then she picked up the key, returned to the door and slipped the key inside the lock. It turned easily and she heard a click. She turned the knob, pushed the door open, and stared with wonder into the world that lay before her.

~

The world was incredibly colorful. The plants were lush green, the flowers were vibrant shades of red, blue, and yellow. Alice was awe-stricken at how beautiful it was in comparison with their dull garden back home. She walked through the door into this lovely place. She was surrounded by all sorts of greenery, from flowers and mushrooms to fully grown trees. There was still no sign of the boy she’d seen earlier.

Then she saw some footprints on the dirt path she was walking on. They were still very defined, which meant their owner shouldn’t be too far off. She followed them closely through a few twists and turns. Then, the footprints turned off the path and the grass there had been flattened.

As she followed the trail, she came upon a medium sized lake. It was mesmerizingly clear. Something about it made Alice feel dizzy and she sat down on the water’s edge. As she tried to regain her bearings, she looked down and saw herself reflected perfectly on the water surface.

“How can it be so clear?” she thought out loud. Then she thought she saw something behind her…

“It’s called the Pool of Tears,” a voice from behind her said. Quickly she whirled around to see this intruder, but since she was just recovering from her dizziness, the sudden motion was too much for her. She cried out as she began to fall backwards into the lake. Then, she felt herself being pulled forward by both of her hands. So instead, she fell forward, and she was caught by two strong arms.

“Whoa, steady there,” the voice said. And after steadying herself, she finally looked at the stranger’s face, and was surprised to find that it was not so strange after all.

“You!” she said, pulling herself out of his grasp. It was the boy from before, the boy dressed in white.

“Me?” he replied in a questioning tone, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes! You’re the one who knocked me over before,” she replied, standing up.

“Oh, yes,” the boy replied calmly, standing up as well. He was slightly taller than her. “Sorry about that. I was just in a-“

“In a hurry, I know,” she said looking into his emerald eyes. “And what’s with you sneaking up on me like that?”

“I didn’t sneak up on you, you were following me.”

“Well…” She paused. It was true, it she had been following him. She blushed slightly before saying stubbornly, “you still snuck up on me.”

The boy scratched his head lightly while saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I wasn’t scared. Just… surprised. And it’s alright.”

“I’m Oz, the white rabbit, by the way,” the boy said. She hesitated before responding.

“I’m Alice, Alice Baskerville.”