“Not in this house, dear mad sister.” Edith turns the TV on. “The rabbit is all over the city.”
I stare at the TV and see someone has leaked the news of a loose rabbit with a bomb inside. People all over London are going bonkers looking for it. Streets blocked, others shut down, in a frantic search for the rabbit. Other people catch all the rabbits they can and lock them in a cage on the back of a huge truck, preparing to drive out of the city before the deadline.
The whole city of London has gone mad.
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Alice Wonder's house, 7 Folly Bridge, Oxford
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“How is that possible? Who leaked the news?” I ask.
“That mysterious man who calls himself the Hatter was on TV an hour ago,” Lorina says. “Just like the Muffin Man last week. Living in London is starting to feel like a curse.”
“But the rabbit is here.” I stare back at the device in my hand. “It has to be here. The Hatter gave me this device. What’s the point in fooling me again?”
Edith laughs. “Poor sis, can’t you get it?” She approaches me. “Whoever is playing this game with you doesn’t care about the rabbit. Haven’t we warned you before?”
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever is playing this game with you is playing it with us too.” Lorina shows me a message on her phone. It’s from an anonymous number, saying they know about the Event.
“The Event?” I grimace.
“We used to call it the circus,” Edith says.
A big lump is struck in my throat. “You know about the circus, too?”
“Oh.” Lorina faces Edith. “So this Hatter must have shown her, or told her, about the circus, too.”
“This is getting on my nerves,” Edith says. “I wonder what he has on his mind. Why is he doing this?”
“Wait, you two!” I shout. “What are you saying? How do you know about the circus?” Then a thought strikes me. “Are you two from Wonderland, too?”
Now both my sisters really laugh.
“No, darling.” Edith pats me, but not in a kind way. “Wonderland isn’t real. It only exists in your franjous mind.” She laughs louder. “Lorina and I are real people. We are from the real world.”
“But, of course, we still know about the circus.” Lorina grins, as if intentionally wanting to drive me mad.
I grit my teeth, collect what’s left from the fragments of my thoughts, and pretend I’m the most logical person on earth. “Let’s go over this again. Are we both talking about the same circus?”
“The one where mad Wonderlanders were kept in a cage by humans and made fun of?” Edith’s grin widens. “Then yes, we’re talking about the same circus.”
I have no idea how she knows that.
“The same circus where people had the Invisible Plague.” Lorina waves her fan. “Yes, loony sis, we know about that.”
“But how is that possible?” I say. “How could you not believe in Wonderland and believe in the circus in the same instant?”
“You really want to know?” Edith looks at my device flashing red.
I nod.
“Are you sure?” Lorina says. “I mean, you seem to have forgotten all about it somehow.”
“Forgotten about it?”
“Yes, forgotten about our greatest secret,” Lorina says. “Me, you, and Edith—Mother included, too.”
“What secret?” I find myself taking a step away from them. It’s as if I am close to remembering something, but my mind is resisting it.
The haze in my mind returns, and I realize that’s a sign of remembering the things I fear to remember. It’s been the same all day long. Whenever I felt dizzy or saw that haze, I was unconsciously resisting the truth about my past.
“You know where your device is pointing at?” Lorina says, sounding too sure of herself.
“It’s supposed to point at the rabbit.”
“That’s what the Hatter wants you to think,” Edith says. “We have no idea why he wants to lead you down this road, but we don’t care, because it’s time for us to remind you about what really happened in the circus.”
And I thought I had seen enough—remembered enough.
“The device is pointing to the right spot,” Lorina explains. “Only it’s not the rabbit, but the basement underneath your feet.”
“The basement?”
“Yes.” Edith grins. “Want to go down there to remember our secret?”
I know I shouldn’t say yes, but curiosity definitely killed the cat. And I’m starving for any real truth about my past, even from my hating sisters.
“Good girl,” Lorina says. “Let’s go.” She glances at Edith. “By the way, the maid’s dress looks so good on you, Alice.”
I have a feeling I am going to understand what she is implying in a few minutes.
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Alice Wonder's house, 7 Folly Bridge, Oxford
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