Welcome to the best theme park in the world, Alice in Wonderland World.  Take a trip down the rabbit hole and into a land of madness where it is everyone's most merry unbirthday.  The park is not responsible if you see real Cheshire cats, believe you are really growing or shrinking, or see a real white rabbit.

Alice in Wonderland World Part 2

Pool of Tears.

              I walked to the end of the hall, straightening out the apron on my dress as I walked. “I can’t believe she would just run off like that. Not even wait for me or wave to me. Just because she is dressed in a White Rabbit outfit doesn’t mean she has to act like one.”

The walls were made out of porcelain. There were many doors, all of which had intricate designs of a roaring lion with wings and a tail.  Just why do they need this many doorways? Where could they all go to?  The floor had a black and white checker pattern, yet it was a striped ceiling pattern. As I started at the ceiling, I noticed it was coming closer.  That is peculiar.  I reached out with my hand. “What is going on? I am sure this is just a slanted floor that the park put in. Goodness though this is weird.”

I reached the door at the end of the hall. “Well, at least I know she can’t get too far ahead of me.” I tried to open the door, but it held firm.

“Huh? I just saw her go through this door. What madness is this?” I continued to try at the door before I realized that I had to push the door open, not pull.

I let out a sigh as I wormed my way through the door. “Ok, calm down. You are making this a bit more strange than it has to be. It is just a theme park with gimmicks based around Wonderland.

That is all. Everything is perfectly normal.”

I walked into a massive circular room with multiple doors. The door behind me creaked shut. The same black and white checkered pattern were on the floor here, and the same intricate designs lined the doors. There was also a glass table in the room's center with curved floral legs and a person in an Alice outfit. “Oh, hello there.”

She didn’t respond. I walked up and noticed that it was nothing but some kind of inflatable dummy. There was a bottle marked Drink Me next to her. “That is peculiar. I wonder what this is for.”

I noticed a button on the glass table.  “See the Pool of Tear's attraction.”

I sighed. “Well, I was wondering at how they recreate the growing and shrinking scenes from Alice in Wonderland.” I pressed the button and watched as the Alice dummy brought the bottle next to her mouth before shrinking by letting air out from the base of her heels.

I crossed my arms. “Well, that wasn’t that creative. They couldn’t even get her to talk. Hmm, now how do I get out of here?” I walked up to the nearest door and found it to be locked. “Not this again. I get it; it is a pull this time.” Still, the door held firm. “Maybe one of the other doors?” I went to another, and another, and another until I tried all six.  How am I supposed to get out?

I looked around and notified a massive red curtain on the wall that hadn’t been there before. “That is strange. That wasn’t here when I entered. I wonder what kind of trick this is.” I walked over to the curtain. “Why would a need to hide? It is a bit silly when you think about it.”

I blinked. “What nonsense am I saying? I should just focus on leaving.” I walked over to the curtain and pulled it open. I looked for something to tie it on, but after I pulled it to the side, it held in place. “Curiouser and cuiouser.” Behind the curtain was a door that was just like the others in the room; the only difference was a minutiae version. I knelt down and tried the door, but it too was locked.

I stood up and turned around. I then noticed that the Alice dummy had vanished. “That is odd. Did she just decide to slip out when I wasn’t looking?” I walked over to the table. “That is silly; it was just an inflatable dummy. Stop talking nonsense, Sarah.” I noticed a golden key on the table. I picked it up and looked around. “Ok, nice one. I am really laughing. Letting me experience what it is like to be Alice and all. Can you let me out now?”

There was no response. “Well, I guess I should see which door this fits with. I wonder if everyone who enters the park has to go through this.”

I walked up to every door and tried to fit the key in but had no luck until I came to the tiny door. I lowered myself down onto my hands and knees and unlocked the door. Beyond the door, I could see daylight, a cute paved pathway, and hedged paths. I could also see more people moving enjoying the park.

I stood up, closing the door. “But how am I supposed to fit through there? How did everyone else fit through there?” I scratched at my chin. “Maybe this little key needs to be encouraged to go into one of the other doors.” I turned around. “It must be shy.”

I noticed a bottle with red liquid on the table with a label hanging from it. “Where did that come from?” I walked up to the table and set the key down as I picked up the bottle. “Hmm, it feels real enough.” I looked at the label, which read Drink Me in bold white print. “Well, it doesn’t read poison. I am sure a taste won’t hurt.” I pulled the cork out and raised the bottle to my lips. “Mhmm, it tastes like cherry tart.” I took another gulp. “Custard and pineapple.”

I noticed that the table was suddenly more enormous than it had been a second ago. I looked at it as I took another drink. “It even tastes like roast turkey.”

The bottle became too big to hold in my hand, and I had to cradle it in my elbow. “Oh my goodness. What is this curious feeling?” I watched as the table grew before my eyes, the top quickly becoming out of reach.

Soon I had to hold the bottle with two hands as I came closer and closer to the ground. “Oh, my, will I ever stop shrinking?”

Suddenly I stopped shrinking, falling to the floor as the bottle rolled away from me. “Did that just happen?” I looked up at the monolithic table. “I really did just shrink. I thought this was just a theme park.” I stood back up. “What do I do now?”

I turned and looked at the door. “Perfect. I am the right size to fit through the door.” I rushed over and tried the door only to find it locked. “Wait the key.”

I tried my pockets and remembered that I didn’t have any. “Where did I leave the key? Goodness me, what did I do with it?”

I turned around and looked up, seeing a golden shimmer from above me. “Oh no.”

I ran back over the table and tried to shimmy my way up one of the legs, only to slide down the glass. I sat down on the floor, my hands in my dress. “What will I do now?

I noticed a glass box just in front of me. I narrowed my eyes. “Hmm, I wonder where you came from.” I pushed myself onto my knees and opened the lid of the box. Inside were cute little cakes with the words Eat Me on them. I picked up the first cake with pink frosting and held it in my hands. “Hmm, are you going to make me shrink as well? Or are you going to make me grow?” I looked up at the key on the table. I bit off a small piece of the cake. “Either way, you will help me get out of here.”

I stood up and straightened my dress as my surroundings began to shrink.

“What a curious feeling.” I looked down at my shoes. “Goodbye, feet. I will have to get someone else to put on shoes for you as you will be too far down for me.” I shook my head. “Oh, what nonsense am I speaking?”

“Oww.” My head hit the ceiling. “Oh my, I grew a bit too much.” I looked down at the table and tried to pick up the key, but my fingers were too big. “What am I supposed to do now? Look at you, growing like this and all. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

My eyes became watery. “What if I am never to get out, though? See my friends and family again.” I wiped away a tear. “Oh my, why did I have to go and grow?” I began to sob, my tears forming a pool on the floor around me.

“Oh my, I need to hurry to the duchesses’ house. I can’t wait to see what spin this park has on her character.”

I wiped away a tear. “Carien?”

I watched as she hopped through in her white rabbit outfit, carrying a fan and white gloves. She looked up at me and shrieked before running out one of the nearby doors.

“Carien, wait.” I sniffled, a few more tears falling down into the pool below. “Everything was so normal before. Now look at me; I am huge and trapped.”

I felt the water rising even though I had stopped crying. I looked around and realized I was shrinking again. “I wonder what is making me grow smaller.”

I realized that I was now holding the fan that Carien had been holding, and somehow I had slipped on the gloves she had been carrying. “You must be the cause.”

I dropped the fan into the pool as I pulled the gloves off. I began treading water as I pulled off the first glove.

“I need to get the other one-off before I go out like a light.” I pulled the second one off just in time, floating there in a pool of my own tears.

“What do I do now?”

Suddenly the tiny door opened and I became swept up as my tears rushed out of the room. “Goodness.”

I washed up on the edge of a gardened path with two park employees in two of diamonds staring at me. “Where did you come from?”

I stood up. “I don’t know. I was chasing my friend. In the white rabbit outfit. Where am I?”

The man on the right pointed down a forested path. “That leads towards the rabbit house attraction.”

The man on the left pointed in the other direction. “That leads towards the caucus race area and the Red Queens gardens.

By the looks of it, Alice, you might want to go and run the race.”

“I am not Alice.” I scratched my chin.  Right?

“Well, anyway, enjoy the rest of your time here. Just don’t let us catch you breaking any more of the rides.”

They walked away. “I can’t believe what she did to the Pool of Tear's attraction.”

I crossed my arms. “I don’t know what is going on here, but all I know is I need to find Carien and go. But which way. Hmm, my guess is she would go to Fredricks Rabbits house before the Red Queens garden.”

I turned down the right path and headed for the rabbit's house.