“A lice!” The Cheshire — Jack — or whoever that is — runs to me and wraps his arms around me.
I stand stiff with a tear on the verge of rolling down my cheek. I don’t know who is who. But I miss Jack so much. This body holding me smells of him. It talks like him. And I might want to kiss him like I wanted to kiss Jack.
“I missed you so much, Alice.” He holds my head between my hands, Jack’s eyes melting me on the inside.
“I missed you too, Jack.” I hug him back.
“Don’t fall for him,” the Pillar says. “This isn’t Jack.”
“But — ”
“Jack died inside the Cheshire a long time ago,” the Pillar says. “The Cheshire has gone mad, overwhelmed by human emotions he can’t understand.”
“You know what this means?” I pull Jack closer to me. “It means Jack’s love for me is so strong. Look what it has done to the devil himself.”
The Pillar waves a hand, unable to persuade me.
“I’ve been looking for you for fourteen years,” Jack tells me.
“I’m sorry I left you behind, Jack.” I run my hand over his face. Oh, those dimples. How I’ve missed them. “I should have saved you from the Cheshire.”
And it’s then when the Pillar’s pout makes sense.
It’s then when I realize the horror I’m holding in my hands. I was only fooling myself. Who I am holding, whether I like it or not, is the Cheshire.
Jack is dead. For good.
I push the Cheshire back and step away.
“But I love you, Alice!” he says.
“Don’t.” I lift a hand in the air, looking away from a beautiful face I’ve always loved — and killed. Maybe I can fix that later in the future. I turn to face the Pillar. “Why did you bring me here? To play games with my mind?”
“Not at all,” the Pillar says. “You might not know it, but I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Then why are we here?”
“Because the Cheshire can help us enter Oxford Asylum.”
“How so?”
A smile sweeps the Pillar’s face as he looks at the Cheshire. “Tell me, Jack,” he says. “Would you do anything for the one you love?”