I roll the sheets into a rope and dangle it down the window. Lily climbs on my back and wraps her tiny arms around my neck. Tiger holds me from the front, head on my bosom, arms wrapped around my back. We climb down, and I am surprised at my athletic physique. I must have trained well throughout the war. Chubby but strong.
Midway, the rope starts waving left and right, like a pendulum.
“Like Tarzan!” Tiger chirps.
“No, like Rapunzel,” Lily insists.
“Like the worst mother ever,” I say.
Finally, we hit the ground. My husband’s voice is calling for me upstairs. He must be in my room now. And soon he’ll see the dangling rope.
I let my children guide me to my car. It’s around the corner from the fabulous garden. I still can’t believe I’m living luxuriously in this future. Did someone compensate me that well for killing monsters and saving lives?
Tiger points at what looks like a vehicle, draped in a large white cover. It’s parked in a garage full of pink roses, covered with a pergola of green leaves.
Surreal.
I uncover it, and there is one funny-looking car underneath it. It looks like a modified Corvette, redesigned into the shape of a rabbit. The front is the rabbit’s nose, mouth, and chin stretched out to serve as a car, a convertible with custom-made backseats. The back is the rabbit’s ass.
“Is this my car?”
“Come on, Mum.” Lily pulls me by the hand. “We’ve wanted you to take us for a ride in it since forever.”
“Okay.” I shake my shoulders. “Jump in.”
They do. I get into the driver’s seat. There are no keys. There is a button that says ‘Push Me.’
I push it, and the car stirs into existence. My kids cheer behind me, ready for a ride.
“Mrs. Alice!”
I hear someone call me. Not my husband. Another voice. Familiar.
“It’s Mr. Jittery. Our neighbor!” Lily says. “He designed the garden.”
I turn and watch the March Hare stepping toward me. He is in his pajamas and wears a nightcap on his head. He looks much older now.
The kids greet him and play with him for a moment. This is the first of my friends that I’ve seen in this fabulous future. I have so many questions for him.
“Good morning, Mrs. Alice,” the March Hare says.
“Mrs. Alice?” I squint.
He dismisses my inquiry and hands me an envelope. “I thought I’d give you this back.”
I take the envelope. It has pictures of six keys on a chain on the back. It doesn’t look like there are keys inside.
“Thank you.” I lean forward and whisper, “So we won the war?”
The March’s ears stand erect. His eyes widen. It’s the same look he had when I first met him in the asylum called the Hole.
“What is it? Aren’t you happy?” I say. “We won the Wonderland War.”
The March’s face turns red. His eyes roll sideways and upward.
I pull him closer to me. “Don’t tell me you still have the light bulb in your head?”
“What light bulb?” He manages a weird smile that I can’t interpret.
“Come on, Mum.” Lily taps me on the shoulder. “We’re late for school.”
I realize children come first and decide I will talk with the March later. “Okay. But you lead the way,” I tell my children, and hit the pedal.
“Bye, Mr. Jittery!” Lily waves.
“I know the way.” Tiger hugs the back of the passenger seat and begins to guide me into the fantabulous world of the future.