CONSTANCE'S HOUSE
T he doorbell to Constance's house is a cuckoo sound. I try not to laugh.
"Just a minute," a woman's voice calls from inside. A moment later, she opens the door.
"Hi." I bend my neck slightly. "My name is—"
"Alice," the woman says. She looks like Constance's grandmother, but she must be her mother. Her eyes are moistened. Was she crying? "I know." She pulls me closer and hugs me. Actually, she is squeezing me, and her armpits smell. I expect more hygiene from sane people, but I say nothing. "We were waiting for you."
"I brought you this." I show her the notebook.
Constance's mother stares at the notebook for a while, then breaks into tears. It's the kind of sniffling tears that make you think the person is sneezing in your face. I understand she is emotional, but I am bringing her the notebook. She should be happy.
"It's Constance’s." She holds it in her hands. Constance is the kind of word that is pretty good for spitting. She almost drenches me.
"I know." I smile. "Can I see her? I was told—"
The mother breaks into tears again. She needs a handkerchief, and I have none. Why does she keep crying? "Come in." She ushers me inside. Finally.
I walk into the modest house but don't get to look around, since the mother pulls me by the hand to Constance's room.
Constance's room is all about Alice in Wonderland . All kinds of wallpapers, toys… even the carpet has one big Humpty Dumpty on it. In between, there is always Alice, fighting dragons, wolves, and human-sized spiders. All the Alices are me. If I had doubts about the notebook, I can't escape a wall-size portrait of me.
This isn't happening. How could it be?
"She always talks about you," her mother explains. "I've always wondered why you never showed up. She said she keeps inviting you to dinner, but you're busy saving lives."
"I…" I am speechless, afraid that I'll burst into tears when Constance comes through the door. Did the Cheshire Cat plan this on purpose?
"Yesterday, she told me that even if the Cheshire kidnaps her again, you promised her you will always save her."
"Of course—"
"And now that it's happened, I believe you're here to—"
"What's happened?" I interrupt.
Suddenly, we both realize the horror. She doesn't know why I am here, and I don't know why I am here. The Pillar played me.
"You don't know?" Her mother looks puzzled. "Constance was kidnapped again yesterday by the Cheshire."
"What? How?" I slump to the bed, tears filling my eyes but refusing to burst out. "Didn't the police protect her? What is this, a jungle? The Cheshire kidnaps a girl twice? Why didn't you take care of her?"
"She wasn't taken here," her mother explains. "She went to the Alice Shop in Oxford. She was planning on buying you a present."
"The Alice Shop?"
"Yes. You must know it. It's on 83 St. Aldates."